Scripture: Hebrews 6:19
“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil.”

Jesus, thank you for being the anchor for our souls. No matter how strong the storms in our lives become, we trust You as the anchor that holds. You are trustworthy, Lord, and we place our hope in You alone. Your sacrifice provided direct access to Your Father. Our only response is to fall to our knees and worship. It’s in Your wonderful name we pray, Amen.

Zephaniah 2:3 AMP
Seek the Lord [inquire for Him, inquire of Him, and require Him as the foremost necessity of your life].

If God were water, we would thirst for Him each day. If He were food, we would hunger for Him. If He were air, we would breathe Him into our lungs twelve to twenty times a minute. Yet God, our Creator, is all these things and more. If we need these basic necessities for our daily physical existence, why then do we so easily allow our spirits to starve by not opening our Bibles? When Jesus fasted and prayed in the desert for forty days, the devil tempted Him by urging Jesus to turn stones into bread. And even though Jesus was famished, He answered, “Man shall not live on bread alone.” (Luke 4:4 NIV) There is more to this life than basic survival. Our bodies hunger for one thing and our spirits for another. Thankfully, God provides a daily portion for us through Scripture, which is manna for the soul.

We all have problems in this life, worries, concerns, sad situations, and important decisions to make. Most importantly, we all have questions we need the answers to. To find “The Answer,” open your Bible and read. Feed your spirit with good soul food!

Genesis 39:3 NKJV
And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.

Have you ever found yourself in a position completely opposite of where you hoped to be? Well, you’re not alone. Joseph, a favored child, was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and faced the prospect of a dismal life. Still, he made the most of his situation and excelled in his lowly state. Then things got even worse. Joseph was accused of a crime he didn’t commit and was thrown into prison. Most people would be downright depressed at this point, mad at the world and mad at God. But he again found favor, this time with the prison warden, who entrusted him with important responsibilities. Afterwards, through another series of miraculous circumstances, God raised Joseph up to become Pharaoh’s “right-hand man,” and God ultimately used this former slave and prisoner to preserve the people of Israel during a great famine.

You might find yourself in a difficult training ground as well, but be assured that the same God who prepared Joseph for great things is preparing you. A person who excels in his or her work will stand before kings (Proverbs 22:29).

Revelation 21:23 NIV
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

In a popular magazine, a reader posed the question, How is it that we can look up at the sky on a cloudless night and see thousands upon thousands of stars, yet in pictures of Earth taken from space, our planet always seems to be shrouded in darkness? The answer is simple. The earth, when lit by the sun, is thousands of times brighter that the stars around it.
In the light of God’s presence, we diminish as well. For believers, as bright as our little lights shine in the darkness of this planet, they will barely register a flicker in the presence of the glory of Jesus, the Light of this world.

When the temptation arises to take pride in our accomplishments or achievements, we must remember and recognize that it is His light shining through us and directing our path that makes us shine, not anything in ourselves. As the brightness of the earth is a reflection if the sun, so our light is a reflection of the Son if God.

Luke 10:38 AMP
The two sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, are often used as Sunday school examples. Jesus and His disciples had come to their house to visit. Martha’s mind immediately went into hospitality mode, proving that she had a lot in common with a good Southern hostess. She got right to work making sure everybody was comfortable and had enough to eat. But Mary didn’t lift a finger to help. Instead of helping, she plopped herself down at Jesus’s feet. Frustrated and feeling sassy, Martha put her hands on her hips and asked Jesus, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?” (Luke 10:40 NASB). Jesus acknowledged her worry and anxiety, and then to Martha’s surprise, He defended Mary. “But only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her”(Luke 10:42 NASB). Jesus knew His time on earth was limited and that Mary had made the right choice to sit at His feet and hear what He had to say.

Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in serving at church, we forget why we’re there. Mary wasn’t lazy like her sister thought. She knew when it was time to take her apron off and be still before God.

You are Welcome Here!!

Philippians 2:4 NASB
Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

A fond memory many of us have about going to the doctor’s office as children is the time we spent in the waiting room, for it was there that we had the opportunity to peruse the “Find the Hidden Pictures” page in the Highlights magazine, delighting in each discovery of obscure items like tiny pencils, paintbrushes, toothpicks, and thumbtacks. How is it that we lose some of that skill as we grow into adulthood? Why do we sometimes miss signs of danger and clues that those around us are suffering? Because when we neglect to focus on anything but ourselves, we fail to notice the little details. And as they say, the devil is often in them.

Remember the words of Sir Isaac Newton, who said of his own scientific discoveries, ” If I have been able to see further, it was only because I stood on the shoulders of giants.” For believers, to see beyond what is natural, we must stand upon the big shoulders of God and see things from His point of view.

John 1:46 NKJV
And Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’

Soon after that famous question, Nathanael became a disciple of Jesus Christ. But if he had based the decision to follow the Messiah purely on his bias toward Jesus’s humble hometown, he might have spent a lot more time sitting under fig trees waiting for something to happen in his life. Most of us are impressed with titles, credentials, and backgrounds. We tend to look up to people who have incredible resumes and vitae, seemingly perfect people who are followed by a train of education, experience, and widely publicized good deeds. But how many times have we put someone on a pedestal only to be disappointed?

People are easily impressed by titles, but God is not. Whether you are rich as a king or poor as a church mouse, whether you sit on a throne or a milk stool — it’s not where you come from that matters, it’s where you’re going to spend eternity that counts. Where are you going?

John 10:9 NKJV
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.

During a visit to the observation deck of the Empire State Building, tourists were astonished to discover ants. Granted, these ants were probably part of an ambitious high-rise-colony that decided to “move up” in the world, 102 stories up, to be exact. But those tenacious little insects had worked hard nonetheless to reach such heights. One has to admire their determination.
Many of us are just as determined to reach heaven through sheer force of will and purpose, successfully scaling mountains of adversity and flying high on our own accomplishments. But like the ant, no matter how high we climb, we cannot reach heaven on our own strength. The only way to heaven is through Jesus, the Way through which each believer must pass into eternal glory.

Are you tired of reaching for the stars? Then use your hands to knock instead. “So, I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9 NKJV)

Proverbs 16:24 NKJV
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

The welcoming parlors of the South are its tidy porches and sweeping verandas, complete with fans, ferns, and white wicker furniture. And no one can deny that sipping the thirst-quenching goodness of sweet tea on a lazy summer day is pert’ near heavenly. But sometimes in the devilish heat, the desire to gossip or “spill the tea” to a friend or two creeps in and many a godly woman shares what shouldn’t be spoken. Often the gossip is disguised as a call to pray. ” We really need to pray for so-and-so. I heard she did this or that.” Scripture instructs us to keep our tongues from evil and our lips from telling lies (Psalm 34:13). The next time you find yourself tempted to spill the tea, smile and take a sip of your sweet tea instead.

A wise Southern woman once said, “It’s always best to stop and taste your words before you let them pass through your teeth.”