This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast. Hebrews 6:19

Last weekend Charlie and I spent the day on a pontoon boat drifting around a south Missouri lake. There was an anchor on board, a plastic bucket full of concrete tied to a rope. That will do while you’re fishing on a lake, but isn’t the anchor you need in a storm at sea.

The anchor you need when the big waves hit is made of steel, it’s shaped to grab hold and it must find something to grab hold of. Heaving an anchor onto a sandbar won’t do you a bit of good. In the storms of life, money, people and stuff are nothing more than sandbars. But Jesus Christ is the rock your hope can hook on to. His promises, backed by his character will keep you from drifting when the big waves roll in.

What kind of hope are we talking about here? It’s a hope "sure" and "steadfast". The word sure means, "something that won’t sway or wobble." And steadfast was a word used during New Testament times for a surface that didn’t give way or break down when you stepped on it.

Hope anchored in Jesus Christ, His promises and His character, never gives way under pressure. You’ve grabbed hold of a rock, and not just any rock–it’s The Rock. If you secure your faith in the promises of God and don’t jump ship, you’ll remain sure and steadfast when the storms roll in.

As I prepare my heart for the fall teaching schedule I’m reading through the book of Hebrews–reading, just reading. Not dissecting the words and phrases but reading it like you read a letter from a friend for the fun of it.

The warning in Hebrews 4:1 rings fresh this morning, "Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it." I hear God saying–Don’t be afraid of the future or the problems you’ll face today. If you want to be afraid of something, fear this Fawn–that you’ll stop short of peace and rest by leaving a promise unclaimed.

Somebody once counted up that there are over 7,000 promises in the Bible available to us. Whatever comes my way today, there is a promise from God that will see me through. But to find rest in the midst of this day I’ll have remember at least one of those promises, believe it and follow through with Hebrews 4:11, "Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest…"

Have a Diligent Day!
Fawn

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We finally saw Alaska this year. Along with my husband Charlie and some good friends we fished for salmon, hiked through the Pacific rain forest and traveled by skiff along the Inside Passage.

The highlight of our trip was the Mendenhall Glacier. We drove to a lookout point for our first view. Surrounded by a placid lake, the glacier flows out of the mountains, empties into the lake and looms majestically from the water. Large icebergs that have “calved” from glacier float in the icy lake. It was a vivid, translucent blue. “Glacier blue” didn’t originate with the ’69 Camero. It originated in the mind of God when He painted a glacier.

We were up for adventure, so some friends introduced us to Debbie Douglass, a kayak instructor and guide. Debbie agreed to loan us a kayak and lead us out on the lake for a close-up look at the glacier … after taking us through safety tips. She had my rapt attention with her first statement: “If your kayak tips over, you have about 15 minutes before hypothermia sets in.” The survival procedures she went through are still a blur — something about turning my kayak right-side-up as quickly as possible, then hoisting my belly up on the kayak, swinging my legs (with my hiking boots on) around, and then getting myself back into that tiny hole. As a final step I was to use the handy manual pump to extract the water from inside my kayak. Dragging my kayak down to the water’s edge, all I could think was Fawn, you’re going to die.

Charlie sat up front in our two-person kayak so he could get good photos. I back in back so I could control the rudder. We both paddled. I was content to paddle smooth and slow. Charlie paddled like we were contestants in The Amazing Race. Every time he pulled back on the oar, the kayak rocked.

“Sweetheart,” I called, “Would you please not rock the boat? I’m a little frightened back here.”

He tried, but was focused on the scenery and his camera. I was focused on keeping the kayak upright. It rhythmically tipped to the right and then the left every time his oar hit the water. As we got further from shore and started passing between icebergs, I found it hard to breathe. My gentle reminders to Charlie soon turned to furious outbursts. He kept shooting pictures, jerking the oars and tipping the kayak.

Our guide had warned us to keep our distance from the icebergs with this cheerful thought: “They can roll over and pull your kayak in.” Charlie wanted a closer shot of the birds sitting on the iceberg and twisted around (making the kayak dip sideways) to say, “Get in closer to the iceberg!” I turned the rudder slightly in that direction, but he urged, “More!” He had stopped paddling to dig into his gear for a different camera lens. When the kayak took a big dip to the right then the left, I yelled back, “NO. I’m not going closer. AND STOP ROCKING THIS KAYAK!”

As my voice carried over the water, my own panicked words came back to me. I had a decision to make. I could scream at Charlie for the next hour and miss the adventure of a lifetime, or I could relax and trust the Lord. I remembered one of my sessions from Keep a Smile On Your Faith™ that Debi and I teach: “Keep your eyes on the Who.”

Until now, my eyes had been drilling a laser through the rain coat on Charlie’s back. I took a deep breath, and thought, “Lord, You are sovereign over this kayak and You are in this boat with us. You are omnipotent; all-powerful to protect; merciful and faithful. And as I exhaled in faith, lifting my eyes to heaven, I added (with not a little bit of drama from the book of Esther), “If I perish, I perish.”

As our kayak continued rocking and tipping its way across the lake, Charlie took photographs, including the one at the top of this blog. And me? I turned my attention to the creative majesty of God, who carves and paints a glacier and then floats out with me to admire it.

“Every word of God is tested; he is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” Proverbs 30:5

As a business owner I’m always trying something new; a new system for tracking clients, a new office procedure or a new technology gadget. It’s always, hit or miss. Some stuff works out and the rest gets discarded.

But when it comes to the promises in God’s word, I don’t have to wonder if they’ll make the muster. “Every word of God is tested.” This word “tested” means that God’s promises are “refined, smelted,” It’s the same word used for melting the dross out of gold. When you find a promise from God in the Bible, you can be sure that it is pure, it’s all true. You can be certain that it will meet your need because it comes to you pre-refined, already tested.

But here’s the catch, if you’re going to get any benefit from the promises of God you have to do what it says in the rest of this verse, “he is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” Here’s what that looks like: Every time you start to worry and spiral down into despair, ask God to help you find a verse from the Bible that addresses to your problem. (This is a great time to call a friend who knows a lot of Bible verses.) When you find a verse that applies, speak it out loud, memorize it, meditate on it, believe it and stand behind it like you would stand behind a shield. Let God’s true words from Scripture take the blows from your own mind and from the stuff life dishes out.

Will it work? God’s word comes to you pre-tested with a 100% satisfaction, guaranty! The question is not: Will it work? The question is: Will you find refuge there today?

We finally saw Alaska this year. Along with my husband Charlie and some good friends, we fished for salmon, hiked through the Pacific rain forest, and traveled by skiff along the Inside Passage.

The highlight of our trip was the Mendenhall Glacier. We drove to a lookout point for our first view. Surrounded by a placid lake, the glacier flows out of the mountains, empties into the lake and looms majestically from the water. Large icebergs that have “calved” from glacier float in the icy lake.

In color it was a vivid, translucent blue. “Glacier blue” didn’t originate with the ’69 Camero. It originated in the mind of God when He painted a glacier.

We were up for adventure so some friends introduced us to Debbie Douglass, a kayak instructor and guide. Debbie agreed to loan us a kayak and lead us out on the lake for a close-up look at the glacier. First, let me explain that I have never been in a kayak. So before we could get in one, Debbie took us through safety tips. She had my rapt attention when she started out with, “If your kayak tips over you have about 15 minutes before hypothermia sets in.” The survival procedures she went through are still a blur—something about turning my kayak right-side-up as quickly as possible, hoisting myself up so that my belly is on the kayak while I swing my legs (with my hiking boots on) around to get myself back into that little hole As a final step I was to use the handy manual pump to extract the water from inside my kayak. Any one of those activities sounded like it would use up my entire 15 minutes. Dragging my kayak down to the water’s edge all I could think was, “Fawn, you’re going to die.”

They were two person kayaks. Charlie wanted up front so he could get good photos. I wanted in back so I could control the rudder. We both paddled. I was content to paddle smooth and slow. Charlie paddled like we were contestants in The Amazing Race. Every time he pulled back on the ore, the kayak rocked.

“Sweetheart, would you please not rock the boat? I’m a little frightened back here.” He tried, but was focused on the scenery and his camera. I was focused on keeping the kayak upright. It rhythmically tipped to the right then the left every time his ore hit the water. As we got further from shore and started passing between icebergs, I was finding it hard to breathe. My gentle reminders soon turned to furious outbursts. He kept shooting pictures, jerking the ores and tipping the kayak.

Our guide had warned us to keep our distance from the icebergs. “They can roll over and pull your kayak in.” Charlie wanted a closer shot of the birds sitting on the iceberg and turned around (which made the kayak dip sideways) to say, “Get in closer to the iceberg!” I turned the rudder in that direction slightly. “More!” Charlie had stopped paddling but now he was digging into his gear to change lenses! The kayak took a big dip to the right then the left. I yelled back, “NO. I’m not going closer. AND STOP ROCKING THIS KAYAK!”

It’s funny how your voice carries on the water. I heard my own panicked words. I had a decision to make. I was either going to scream at Charlie for the next hour and miss the adventure of a lifetime, or I could relax and trust the Lord. I remembered one of my sessions from the faith retreat that Debi and I teach, “Keep your eyes on the Who.” Until now, my eyes had been drilling a laser through the rain coat on Charlie’s back. I took a deep breath, and thought, “Lord, you are sovereign over this kayak and you are in this boat with us. You are omnipotent; all-powerful to protect; merciful and faithful. And as I exhaled in faith, lifting my eyes to heaven I added (with not a little bit of drama from the book of Esther), “If I perish, I perish.”

As our kayak continued rocking and tipping its way across the lake, Charlie took these photographs. And me? I turned my attention to the creative majesty of God, who carves and paints a glacier and then floats out with me to admire it.

I can’t find any good news about the future real estate market. Over a million people have stopped paying their mortgages and the only job creation is in governmental agencies that promise to bring us more government regulations. Most people I talk to feel like the woman in 2 Kings 4—no resources, lots of creditors, no hope. But when I read the story in 2 Kings 4:1-7, I find some principles that can help all of us.

verse 4:1

The woman “cried out.” She had a good heritage in following the Lord. As the wife of one of the prophet’s sons, she had seen God do some miraculous stuff. But now she needed a miracle herself and she wasn’t too shy to speak up.

–God can’t meet your need if you won’t admit you have it. And if you tell somebody, talk to a person who knows God and is mature in the faith.

verse 4:2

Elisha asks her, “What do you have in your house?” It’s a little like when God asked Moses at the burning bush, “What do you have in your hand?” If you are in need, don’t curl up in a corner and whine. Answer the question, “What DO you have? What resources ARE available to me?”

–The very thing God probably wants to use is right in front of you.

verses 4:3-7

God could have used Elisha to just fill up her water pots with oil, but He didn’t. Instead, the woman had to commit herself to an act of obedience that showed she believed and she involved her sons in the process. After all, their lives were on the line as well. The prophet told her to go get some empty jars, “not a few.” Elisha doesn’t tell her how many to go borrow, but he tells her to get a lot of them. We don’t know how long it took for her and the boys to scour the neighborhood and we’re not sure what they told the neighbors when they asked to borrow vessels. But we do know they were obedient and were willing to work.

–The object of any test God permits in our lives is not just so God can supply it. He could drop what you need out of the sky. God’s objective in testing is this: to give our faith an opportunity to be exercised and grow strong through obedience.

There was just enough oil to fill every borrowed vessel. And those vessels were enough to pay the widow’s debts. There are no shortages in God’s economy. Here’s what we can learn from the widow and her sons:

• Cry out to God with your need and share it with a believer who has divine viewpoint.
• Be ready to answer the question, “What resources DO I have?”
• Move out in faith, do the work required and leave the supply to God.

I often wish that this verse promised that God’s word would be a lamp for my future and a light for what is way ahead. But it doesn’t. God promises that I’ll have just enough information to know where to set my foot next. The Hebrew word for “path” just means that place where your foot steps. The path where I step is secure and lets me keep going with confidence–that is if I use my faith. It takes faith to walk with confidence when you can’t see beyond your feet; confidence in the one guiding you; confidence in the words you’re hearing.

Faith’s Response: Lord, help me to walk confident today, trusting in your promises and in your love for me. Love that never fails, always protects and tells me where to plant my next step.

I found this on the Tangle website. What a fresh expression of love for Christ. Are you ready to make this decision?  More information can be found at www.P4CM.com

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” Hebrews 8:37

Monday morning I took my Bible to the lake behind our house to sit in my favorite spot. I’ve sat there countless times before on clear days and enjoyed the peaceful view. But on Monday, the lake was obscured by a thick blanket of grey. I stared out into the mist. 

Life looks like this for me sometimes. It calls me to trust in what I cannot see; to wait on Him, believing that the Lord knows what’s ahead and that He will lead me through it. 

These days I’m busy preparing for speaking engagements, certain of my calling but uncertain of how God will unfold the details. My guess is, you are sitting in the chair next to me, waiting on the Lord for something. Let’s wait in faith.

But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.        Micah 7:7    

Post a comment and tell us what you’re waiting for so we can join with you in prayer.

I’m tweeting! Believe it or not, it was a Bible verse that made me tweet.

Isaiah 50:4 “The LORD GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.” What is “the tongue of disciples?” It’s the language your audience is speaking. While I love a handwritten letter, that’s not how we communicate in today’s world. My audience is listening to the words that come over a computer.

So here I am, tweeting away. Sign up to get my occasional twitters by @FawnBrents. (http://www.twitter.com/FawnBrents) 

I’m new to this world so do me a favor and tell me who you follow on Twitter. I want “to speak the tongue of disciples” so that I will be effective in having an encouraging word to “sustain the weary one.”

Thanks for your help!