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&
Brooksyne Weber
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Thursday, October
27, 2022
These huge anchors are displayed at the entrance
to Fort Adams in Newport RI.
"Christ
the Sure and Steady Anchor"
(Part
4)
Note: All this week
we are using both the same verse and theme song as we
consider twelve types of hope we have in Christ,
highlighting three each day. Today we
consider three more ways in which Jesus Christ is our sure
and steady anchor of hope. Points 1-3 were shared in Tuesday's message and 4-6 in Wednesday's message.
Message
summary: Place your hope
in Christ the sure and steady Anchor, a hope that brings
comfort, joy and stability!
"We who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19).
Christ the sure and
steady anchor
Through the floods of unbelief
Hopeless somehow, o my soul
Now, lift your eyes to Calvary
Through the floods of unbelief
Hopeless somehow, o my soul
Now, lift your eyes to Calvary
This my ballast of
assurance
See His love forever proved
I will hold fast to the anchor
It will never be removed
See His love forever proved
I will hold fast to the anchor
It will never be removed
7) "Christ the Sure
and Steady Anchor" is a comforting
hope.
We've all experienced disappointments and many have experienced significant losses, including the loss of a loved one or perhaps a spouse due to a break-up or a wayward son or daughter. Such losses often lead to deep grief and distress. Receive great comfort from this verse, "O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress" (Jeremiah 14:8).
God's delight is to administer comfort to wounded souls. The Irish poet Thomas Moore wrote it this way in his hymn, "Come Ye Disconsolate", "Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal". (Disconsolate describes one who is inconsolable, without consolation or solace.)
We've all experienced disappointments and many have experienced significant losses, including the loss of a loved one or perhaps a spouse due to a break-up or a wayward son or daughter. Such losses often lead to deep grief and distress. Receive great comfort from this verse, "O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress" (Jeremiah 14:8).
God's delight is to administer comfort to wounded souls. The Irish poet Thomas Moore wrote it this way in his hymn, "Come Ye Disconsolate", "Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal". (Disconsolate describes one who is inconsolable, without consolation or solace.)
8) "Christ
the Sure and Steady Anchor" is a joyful
hope.
“Be joyful
in hope” (Romans 12:12). Christ came to bring
us “a garment of praise instead of a spirit of
despair” (Isaiah 61:3)
When people outside our
area ask where we live, we usually tell them Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania since many in America are somewhat
familiar with our area and can mentally picture our
region. Less familiar is the name of our small town, Mount
Joy, which we really like to identify with (though we do
live outside the borough limits). Mount Joy sounds as if
its name might have originated from Scripture such as
Mount Sinai or Mount Zion. Mount Joy prompts a
consideration of many verses conveying joy.*¹
There are multiple sources
of joy in one’s life; a newborn baby, a wedding, a
milestone or accomplishment such as a graduation or job
promotion. People also find joy in activities such as
sports or being a spectator at sporting events such as the
current World Series, especially here near Philadelphia.
Paul expresses, in the
four words of our text, a blessed outlook for those
belonging to Christ to "be joyful in hope".
Essentially it seems when we are joyful we are hopeful and
when were hopeful we are joyful!
An old chorus comes to
mind that some of you will remember:
Joy is the flag flown high
From the castle of my heart (3X)
Joy is the flag flown high
From the castle of my heart
When the King is in residence there!
From the castle of my heart (3X)
Joy is the flag flown high
From the castle of my heart
When the King is in residence there!
9) "Christ
the Sure and Steady Anchor" is a fixed hope.
"Beloved, now we are
children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what
we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be
like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And
everyone who has this hope fixed on Him
purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2,3).
Our vital outlook is to
keep our hope fixed on Christ. A similar truth is
expressed in Hebrews 12:2,
"fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith".
"fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith".
In reference to "fixing
our eyes on Jesus" other versions/commentators expound:
- looking with undivided attention (Analyzed Literal)
- Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus (Amplified)
- looking steadfastly on Jesus (Darby)
- simply fixing our gaze upon Jesus (Weymouth)
- looking off and away to Jesus (Wuest)
The song we are
featuring all week has a line "This my ballast of
assurance". Tony de la Riva writes,
"Calvary, is my ‘ballast
of assurance'. So what exactly is a ballast? Well, in
keeping with the nautical theme, a ballast is
essentially the weight at the bottom of a ship that
keeps it upright and prevents it from capsizing. And
the song says that Calvary is the ballast of my
assurance.
Think about what this is saying: The ballast that guarantees the non-capsizability of my salvation is not my own performance, not my moods, not my consistency, not my faithfulness, not my sincerity, not the fact that I prayed a prayer, walked the aisle, or signed a card, but that Jesus has died instead of me. It is the death of Christ that ensures my salvation cannot be capsized. His death is the ballast of my assurance.”*²
Think about what this is saying: The ballast that guarantees the non-capsizability of my salvation is not my own performance, not my moods, not my consistency, not my faithfulness, not my sincerity, not the fact that I prayed a prayer, walked the aisle, or signed a card, but that Jesus has died instead of me. It is the death of Christ that ensures my salvation cannot be capsized. His death is the ballast of my assurance.”*²
Place
your hope in Christ the sure and steady Anchor, a hope
that brings comfort, joy and stability!
Christ
the sure of our salvation,
Ever faithful, ever true!
We will hold fast to the anchor,
It shall never be removed.
Ever faithful, ever true!
We will hold fast to the anchor,
It shall never be removed.
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we thank You for
Calvary, for Jesus' supreme sacrifice
that He made for our sins. This event
in history is essential to our
salvation and assuring to our faith.
But the unpredictability of daily life
along with the disappointments it
often brings can so easily capture our
thoughts and get in the way of our
following hard after You. When Satan's
recurring deterrents seek to capsize
our faith, reinforce in our minds and
instill in our hearts that we are
never without hope in You. It is firm,
secure and fixed because You are a God
who does not change no matter what
changes around us. You are our steady
hope, our comforting hope and our
joyful hope that gives us courage to
never give up but always remain
faithful. Amen.Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"Christ
the Sure and Steady Anchor" Video
T4G Live IV Another presentation
of the song we have featured all week.
This is the type of vocally dominant
congregational singing I am especially
blessed by.
"His
Mercy Is More"
playlist Video Keith
& Kristyn Getty, Matt Boswell, Matt
Papa, Shane & Shane
*¹ Mount
Joy is actually named after an Irish
ship rather than a mountain (since we
are not on or near any mountain)!
Another interesting village name here in
Lancaster County is Mount Hope. It would
be interesting to explore the derivation
of this name. Since many devout
religious immigrants settled this area
in the 18th century it possibly
represents an expression of faith.
*²
Lyrical
Expositions: “Christ the Sure and
Steady Anchor” by Matt Papa and Matt
Boswell. We normally think of
exposition in regard to a careful
study of the Scripture text. This blog
has lyrical expositions of several
thoughtful songs.
Yesterday
I had a lunch meeting with leaders and
teachers from our "Crossroads" Sunday
School Class, known as an Adult Bible
Fellowship (ABF) in our church. The
inevitable has happened as we have aged,
we are now in a senior class with most
members being 60+! Presently we use a
variety of bullpen teachers, giving us
older teachers, who still have some gas
in the tank, to keep active without
teaching every week. Our oldest teacher
is in his 80's. In our group we have two
businessmen, two missionaries, a college
administrator. Best I can tell I am the
only former pastor/chaplain. Each one
brings an interesting and varied
approach.
Click on photo to enlarge
Click on photo to enlarge
Autumn
foliage in our backyard.
Click on photo to enlarge
Click on photo to enlarge
Manheim, PA
farm next door to our friend, Lamar
Dourte, who took this photo. We talked
with Lamar via telephone this morning. He
was diagnosed with ALS several months ago
so we lift him up in our daily prayers as
he deals with the progression of this
disease. Lamar's wife grew up on this farm
and her family later sold it to an Amish
family who resides there now.
Click on photo to
enlarge
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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