The Anchor - Lynne Phipps

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19 NIV

The windstorm was fierce. I was thankful for the anchor.

The howling awoke me from a sound sleep. As I lay cozy under the blankets, I heard a loud roaring and flapping, like some huge carpet shaken in the heavens. I rose and ventured outside to see where the noise was coming from. Everything seemed fine. Since the noise had decreased, I returned to my bed.

In the morning, my daughter came over and told me to look at something. The wind from the night’s ferocious windstorm had lifted our ten-by-twenty-foot steel hay shed and moved it several inches. This was the noise I had heard in the darkness, but could not see because of the tree barrier between my house and the shed.

Fortunately, our shed was anchored to the ground. Although it moved slightly, it did not flip over or move from its foundation. Within hours, my son-in-law had it pushed back squarely onto the foundation. He then proceeded to drive in even deeper anchors for protection against the next severe storm that might come our way.

Likewise, today’s scripture ensures that we also have an anchor for our souls, one that holds us firm and secure against life’s storms. Our belief in Jesus Christ is our hope now and for eternity. Our trust in Christ ties us to him as our Savior, who even now abides in heaven with God our Father and is busy preparing a place for us. This anchor of hope is secure because through God’s written word, God has said so, and he cannot lie. His word is true and firm now and forever.

Life will seek to beat against us with its often-ferocious winds of suffering, turmoil, confusion, and discouragement. It may even, at times, cause us to doubt God’s eternal love and care, threatening to shift us from our foundation of faith. Amidst it all, however, Christ, the anchor of our souls, will never leave nor forsake us. Through Scripture and his still small voice, the Holy Spirit will comfort, encourage, and remind us that we belong to him. He will gently move us back to our firm foundation of faith.

Pray that these truths might be more deeply anchored in your heart and mind. Then, no matter what may blow your way, your faith will not shake.

Father God, grant me a hunger and thirst to know the truth of both Your written and living Word. Remind me that Jesus Christ is the hope that anchors my soul. Keep my faith from shaking or moving. In Christ’s name, amen.

Lynne Phipps and her family live on a small hobby farm in the heart of Alberta, Canada’s farming country. She has been writing devotions for forty years and never tires of the spiritual correlation the Holy Spirit blesses her with. He uses normal everyday events and the behaviors of the multitude of glorious creatures He has brought across her path to point her to the truths of God. Lynne is a devotion writer for VineWords: Devotions and More, Christian Devotions, and Love Lines from God.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Keeping the Death Vigil - Martin Wiles

Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8 NLT

He lay almost motionless—a Superman tattoo on his arm. And as he did, my wife and I were keeping the death vigil.

My brother-in-law often kidded that he was Superman. And he had been. He survived things that had killed many people. Although a young man, he had suffered several heart attacks that damaged his heart beyond repair.

Not only had he survived health issues, but he had also made it through many years of reckless living. He had endured beatings, robberies, and a near-fatal shooting. He made it through work injuries. When I perused the list in my mind, I could understand the Superman tattoo on his arm and his mentality.

But at last, the great leveler of all humanity was about to conquer him. Doctors had done all they could. Now he lay in a hospital bed in a local Hospice house. The doctor talked to the family. His body was shutting down. There was nothing else they could do but make him comfortable. My wife swabbed his mouth, used a machine to suck bodily fluids, held her phone to his ear to play one of his favorite songs, and cried. Family members took turns talking to him and expressing their love.

Had his dilemma happened six months before, we would have worried more. A part of his reckless living was holding God at arm’s length. He grew up going to church, but had left that part of his life many years before. Although filled with grief, we weren’t as worried now. He recently made his peace with God and spoke often of his readiness to meet his Savior, which comforted our hearts.

Paul also took security in knowing that if persecution took his life, he would immediately be in heaven with his Savior.

Losing a loved one is never easy, but knowing they will enter heaven’s gates and that we will see them again in eternity makes the process easier. Heaven isn’t a pie-in-the-sky fairy tale believed by those who need courage to face death, but an actual place prepared for those who choose to follow Jesus Christ. Jesus said there are many rooms there—enough for as many as believe in him.

Our family took comfort in knowing our loved one would be waiting for us. We invite you to join us. Believe today. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Father, thank you for preparing a place for those who love and choose to follow you. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

 

Ingredients

1 pound bacon

1 onion

2 tablespoons butter

1 ½ pounds ground beef

1 bag of frozen diced potatoes

1 carton of chicken broth

16 ounces of cream cheese

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Salt/Pepper to taste

Milk

Directions

Cut bacon and onion into small pieces. Sauté with butter. 

Add ground beef once bacon is crisp. Add salt and pepper.

Once meat mixture has cooked, set aside.

In a pot, combine potatoes, one-half carton of broth, and 1 to 1 ½ cups of water.

Bring to boil and cook until potatoes are tender. Add meat mixture along with sour cream.

Mix well and add milk to make soup the desired consistency. 

Let simmer on low until ready to serve. 

Top with cheese before serving. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Why Believers Drop Out—and How to Stay Faithful - Martin Wiles

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. 

Ephesians 2:10 NLT

I hated school, so I decided to quit. Join the ranks of the dropouts.

I enjoyed elementary and middle school, but when I got to high school, I developed a sudden distaste for education. By the time I reached my senior year, I’d had all I could take. I had no interest in learning, didn’t see how any of it would benefit me, and wanted out. I pranced up to my parents and said, “I’m quitting school.” Dad didn’t take the news well and politely told me that if I quit, I would be going to work. I was okay with that. I had no plans to sit around and do nothing.

After three or four months, my status as a high school dropout wasn’t fun anymore. The job I found ended, and I was on the unemployment line. Even in the lenient seventies, most employers wanted employees with at least a high school education. I decided I’d return to school. I couldn’t graduate with my class, but I did graduate that summer.

Thankfully, the statistics for high school dropouts have dropped (no pun intended). Only about 5% leave without graduating. But school isn’t the only place from which people drop out. Church follows on its heels. Among 18- to 22-year-olds in America, 66–70% drop out after high school. The reasons vary: life changes, move to college, work, judgmental Christians, and changes in their religious views.

Dropping out of church, however, isn’t relegated to this group alone. Others do as well. And sometimes the dropouts don’t actually leave the church. Some burnout and stay. They take on too much—perhaps because others aren’t doing their part. Others drop out because they’ve been hurt, but stick around and spread their negativity. And some just atrophy, like unused muscles.

God doesn’t intend or want us to drop out of his work. He saves us by his grace and mercy, creates us as his masterpiece, and wants us to do good works that will disseminate his love across the world. These works don’t initially save us or keep us saved thereafter, but they are proof of our connection to him in faith.

When asked, God will give us wisdom to balance our lives, so our chances of dropping out of his service diminish significantly. Don’t drop out on God. With balance, serve him faithfully to the end of your life.

Father, thank you for the privilege of serving you and others. Give me the strength to keep on keeping on in your work. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Time to Change - Anita van der Elst

Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind! Psalm 66:5 NIV

Fall back. Spring ahead. Just when we get used to one, it’s time to change. 

For most of us in the United States, the switch between daylight saving time and standard time occurs twice a year. Originally put in place during World War I to conserve fuel and power, and then abolished at war’s end, the Uniform Time Act was passed in 1966. But it has never made sense to me.

After all, God created systems that help us know day from night. He put everything into place—sun, moon, stars, planets, all we see and don’t see. For thousands of years, people knew nothing about molecules, atoms, viruses, or anything microscopic, and had no means to do so. But God also gave people minds and brains to wonder and think, the desire to explore, and the ability to discover and invent. And still there is much we have yet to see and discover.

How thankful we are that the Holy Spirit gives us understanding as we discover what God tells us in his word. No matter how we manipulate the way we measure the passing of time, all of our times are in God’s hands. 

The important thing is how we spend the minutes and hours in those times. Do we give attention to learning more about God and sharing his most awesome deed for us? In his love, he sent his Son, Jesus, the Messiah, to live on earth. And by his grace, he offers us eternal life in heaven when we believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Are you ready for what lies beyond your time on earth? If not, it’s time to change. Make sure that your destination is heaven by acknowledging your need for Jesus and believing in Him.

Anita van der Elst finds joy in creating with words, believing God gifted her with the desire to do so. Married to her best friend, Edward, since 1976, she is a proud mom of four adult children and Oma to three of the most delightful grandchildren ever. Other joys in her life include bringing beauty to Facebook through photos she takes on her iPhone, exploring the state parks in the PNW, facilitating a small group of women, and participating in a Bible study.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

 

 

How to Establish Healthy Habits - Martin Wiles

Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil. Jeremiah 13:23 NLT

Old habits are hard to break. And how to establish healthy habits is sometimes more difficult than we imagine. 

For four years, we lived in a small townhouse. Our Chihuahua, Twix, was accustomed to the way the doors to the bedroom and outside opened and would stand at the appropriate side of the door to enter or exit. Then we moved. Although the townhouse we moved into had the same floor plan, it was a mirror image of our previous one, which confused Twix.  

On Twix’s first trip outside, he stood at the left side of the door. That’s what he had been accustomed to. But now the door opened from the right. He repeated the same action for the bedroom door and had to change sides when I opened it. After a week, he managed to break his old habit and stand at the proper side for entering and exiting.

Being born with dark skin was a genetic trait among Ethiopians. So was a leopard having spots. An Ethiopian had no power to change their color, nor can a leopard become spotless.

According to the prophet, we, too, have a genetic flaw of sorts. We can’t do good because we’ve all done evil. The reason is our sin nature, which leads us down the wrong path toward sinful behavior and attitudes.

My dog’s habits were neither morally good nor bad. They were just habits. I’ve had a few habits like that myself. Among them, biting my fingernails. It took my grandmother giving me twenty dollars and one finger getting infected for me to break that habit. But I’ve also had some habits that were morally wrong and difficult to break. Those habits emerged from the sinful nature I was born with. By myself, I was helpless to do good.

In our own power, we can’t break the habit of doing bad and adopt the habit of doing good. But it is possible when we appeal to a Higher Power. Christ in us enables us to change the color of our skin and lose our spots. He enables us to consistently do good rather than evil. Accepting his offer of forgiveness opens new possibilities for an abundant life.

Accept Christ so you can break the old bad habits and adopt new healthy ones.

Father, give me the power to throw away that which is damaging to me and others so I can adopt healthy habits that glorify your name. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Bacon Cheeseburger Pie

 

Ingredients

½ POUND GROUND BEEF

½ CUP ONIONS (CHOPPED)

½ POUND BACON

2 CUPS GRATED CHEESE

Directions

BROWN HAMBURGER MEAT AND DRAIN. 

PLACE ALL INGREDIENTS IN UNBAKED PIE SHELL.

Ingredients

¾ CUP MILK

¾ CUP MAYONNAISE

4 TABLESPOONS CORNSTARCH

3 EGGS

½ TEASPOON SALT

½ TEASPOON PEPPER

Directions

WHIP AND POUR OVER MIXTURE IN PIE SHELL.

BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 35 MINUTES OR UNTIL BROWN.

(Photo courtesy of allrecipes.com)

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.