[Membersandfriends] Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Mon Aug 2 22:01:44 PDT 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Tuesday, August 03, 2004

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Words of Comfort

The Upper Room offers Words of Comfort, daily words of comfort, hope, and encouragement, along with links to other resources that may be helpful during times of personal or corporate crisis. 
http://www.upperroom.org/comfort/
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THE WAY TO FISH
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Hebrews 6:16-20 (NRSV)

Human beings, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute. In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

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We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
- Hebrews 6:19 (NIV)
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AS a young boy I learned to fish. My uncle's pond was located in the community of Wildfork, in Alabama.  The pond was secluded, surrounded by high weeds that made fishing from the bank difficult.  So one day I loaded my gear into a plywood boat that my uncle kept nearby and shoved off across the pond.

After finding an ideal location, I began reeling in the fish. Minutes later, I realized that I had drifted away from where I needed to be.  It wasn't until I went fishing with my older brother that I learned the purpose and usefulness of an anchor.  After finding a great spot to fish, he dropped the anchor to stabilize the boat.  I'll never forget thinking, This anchor is great! This is the way to fish!

Life is like being in a fishing boat on that pond.  We tend to drift; and in order to remain stable, we need an anchor.  The writer of Hebrews tells us that confident hope in an unchanging God serves as an anchor for our souls.

Good fishing requires an anchor.  The same is true of good living.

Prayer:  Loving God, anchor our souls to keep us where we need to be.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
God's promises anchor our lives.

-- Van A. Morris (Kentucky, U.S.A.)

PRAYER FOCUS: Those spiritually adrift

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RELATED READING ...

Grow in the awareness of God's grace at all times and places through the book, SYNCOPATED GRACE: Times and Seasons with God, by Dwight and Linda Vogel. Connect the ups and downs of your faith journey with the church year as ways to experience God. This book will help you when you are weary of doing, yet driven to do more. SYNCOPATED GRACE will help you sense God's grace within the moment.
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=96935

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The scripture quotation is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright (c) 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.