We kind of touched on this in a previous part of this Rant series, but I really want to drilll down on the "coming boldly" part of coming boldly to the throne of grace to find grace in time of need. Because I think it's really important. And that's why I write these things every day--to help people, because I think it's important. So. Let's get into it. I think a lot of the time we don't ask for the help we need. And I think it boils down to one of two reasons. 1. We think asking for help is a sign of weakness. And we don't want to be weak. We don't want to NEED help. We don't want to feel like we can't do it all ourselves. But, guys, we CAN'T do it all ourselves. We're not supposed to. It is not good that man should be alone. Things work out better when we work together. Teamwork makes the dream work. All of those sayings. True sayings. Listen, I know there are things I can't do. I know there are people I can't reach. Some people... when you start talking some people's eyes will roll up into the back of their heads and they will totally and completely check out. They can't hear what you're saying--whatever it is--because YOU'RE the one saying it. Sad but true. And not your problem. Shrug your shoulders and move on. Understand that asking for help is not weakness, it is wisdom. Because it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. The second reason I think people don't ask for help is because we don't want to be a burden to anybody. We think we're not worthy of the help we need. We think we've messed up so many times... and here we go, messing up again. Like people will think less of us because we need help, and will just see us as another problem in THEIR life. Which, let's be real, CAN happen. I'm sure you know people who are always take take taking from you. People who only hit you up when they need something. But that will happen. If freedom can't be abused it isn't freedom. But we don't get rid of it just because some people take it to the extreme. You don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, if I can use that metaphor. If mercy is NOT getting what you deserve, and grace is GETTING what you don't deserve, then when we're talking about needing either one, we're talking about something that is in abundant supply. We're not just talking about what God has. We're talking about who God is. We're not just talking about scraping by. We're not just talking about surviving. We're talking about thriving. Enjoying the gift of eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life. We're talking about knowing (and believing) that we have what we need before we even need it. Coming boldly to the throne of grace because we know that it is the source of grace. The mercy seat. The (righteous) judgment seat. Not crawling in on our hands and knees, hat in hand, begging for scraps from the master's table. But coming boldly. Sitting down at the right hand (power seat) of our heavenly Father. I've told my son his whole life, "If I have a spot, you have a spot." That's how God feels about us. He WANTS us come to Him. Don't run FROM your heavenly Father. Run TO Him. Come boldly. He's got your back. He loves you and there's nothing that can stop Him from loving you!

Let's be real: What else but grace could the throne of the God who is love be built out of? Grace is so amazing. So important. Look at 2 Peter 3:17-18, "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." There's a way that seems right unto a man, but the end of that way is death. Then there's the straight and narrow way that leads to life. The way of grace. Which is what Jesus made for us on the cross. And we respond to that way of grace with the walk of faith. Letting love lead us, guide us, direct us, and protect us. Letting love light our path. Here's the thing though: We can come boldly to the throne of grace to find grace in times of need. Because there are times when we need it. And by that I mean all of the time. We always need it. It's so easy to be led astray. So easy to get mixed up or twisted around. The opposite of that is learning and growing. Making mistakes and learning from those mistakes. Growing in grace. Growing in the knowledge of who we really are--which is who we are in Christ. Which is who Christ is in us. Christ in you the hope of glory. Revealed glory. Christ in you coming out of you. Coming through you. That's what grace is all about. Grace is not "soft on sin." It's not this "greasy grace" that "lets" you do any old thing you want to. "License to sin." I heard a preacher once say people have been sinning without license for a long time. Grace is not freedom TO sin. It is freedom FROM sin. Look at Romans 5:20-21, "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." Where sin abounded was in all of humanity BEFORE the cross. Then grace did much more abound ON the cross. You know, when the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world. Sin reigned until that death. Jesus's death. Our death. The second death. The death of death. Now grace reigns. What comes from the throne is the Word of the King. And when a King speaks there is power. The Word of God is Jesus. The Word of God is love. What flows from the throne of grace--and remember, yesterday we saw that it is OUR throne. He is the King of kings because we are kings and priests that rule and reign on this earth--is grace, and mercy, and forgiveness... and love. Love is what we need. Love is what makes a difference in this world. The days of heaven on earth come with the abundant life that Jesus gave to us. And love is what makes the abundant life abundant. A life of love is a life that is worth living. A life of service. That's what a true king and a true priest is all about. Being graceful. Giving grace because we have been given grace. Giving forgiveness because we have been forgiven. Loving because He first loved us. Loving HIM by loving people. Receiving and releasing the love of God. Receiving it by releasing it. And releasing it by receiving it. Filling yourself to overflowing with what you've already been filled with. Letting what's inside come out by knowing and believing it's in there. That's what it means to be graceful. To come boldly to the throne of grace. To try things even if there's a chance you'll mess up. To give yourself (and others) the grace to grow. More is lost by indecision than wrong decision. And if your decision is to love it is never wrong!

Here's the thing--the throne IS a judgment seat. But you have to understand what that really means. Four times in the book of John Jesus spoke of the judgment of the world. "And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind" (John 9:39). "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out" (John 12:31). "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8). And, "Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged" (John 16:11). Did you see a theme there? The prince of the world is the one who was judged. Not us. The pirice of the world was cast out. Not us. God's judgment--which took place in fullness on the cross, or if you want to be pedantic, three days after--was not a death sentence. WE sentenced His Son to die. God's judgment was to raise Jesus (and us in Him) back from the dead. Part of Jesus's death was HIS judgment. Reproving the world of sin, and righteousness, and judgment. First He took away the sin of the world. Became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And then came the judgment. Which is pretty much what Hebrews 9:27 says: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Think about that. You can't punish a dead man for the crimes he commited when he was alive. Dying wipes the slate clean. If our judgment comes after our death (which was Jesus's death on the cross... the death OF death) what else could it possibly be but life? This isn't God judging whether we'll go up or down on that cosmic elevator. This is God fulfilling His gift to us of eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life! You can't have resurrection life until you've died and been, you know, resurrected. Otherwise it would have to be called something else, right? So the judgment seat is not something scary. It's not where we go to find out what our punishment is. God is not in the punishing business. God is in the blessing business. The mercy and grace business. The forgivness business. So Jesus judged and cast out the prince of the world. Took away the sin of the world. Wrapped us up in Himself and died--so that we could die. And then the judgment came. From the judgment seat. The mercy seat. The throne of grace. God judged His son (and all of humanity in Him) and raised us back to life. There is nothing scary about the throne. Look at Hebrews 10:12, "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God." That's the power seat. Son of my right hand. Son of strength and authority. That's where Jesus is, which means that's where we are. As He is, so are we in this world. He is seated in power and authority. We are kings and priests equipped and empowered to rule and reign on this earth. His throne is OUR throne. That's why we can come boldly to the throne of grace to find grace in time of need. We don't ahve to come grovelling, or begging. We don't have to come hat in hand. We can come boldly. We can sit down. Isaiah 66:1 identifies the heaven as God's throne and the earth as His footstool. So if we are experiencing and enjoying the days of heaven on earth... we are seated in the throne and everything is under our feet. WE don't need to overcome because have already overcame! Because HE already overcame! He did what needed to be done and now we get to enjoy the fruit of His labor. The fruit of the Spirit. Love!

Every once in a while you need to go cow tipping, right? Knock over those sacred cows, or those twisted ideas that somehow take root and take hold. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Now what I DON'T think this means is that we should spend all of our time and effort chasing every thought we have. Overthinking. Worrying. I think this means we should cast our cares on Him because He cares for us. Instead of focusing on what's wrong... we should fill ourselves with what's right. If you know the truth, you can ignore the lie. Ok. I said all that to say this: I think one of the biggest misconceptions about God is that He is a distant, angry taskmaster who is just sitting on His throne of judgment waiting to get us. That's not God. Not the God who is love who was personified in the man Jesus. So let's look at the throne. The so-called "judgment" seat. Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." The throne of grace. The mercy seat. And let's be real for a second: When you want something (or need something) you have to look for it in the right place. Looking for love in all the wrong places will ensure that you don't find it. Where else BUT the throne of grace could you go in order to find grace? You have to go to the source. Now let me add another layer to this. Genesis 6:8 says, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Again, he went to the source. Found it where he was looking for it. And isn't it odd that there's a "law" in the old covenant that says no man can look into the face of God without dying... but we see over and over again that God has always WANTED to show us His face. He has grace in His eyes. Why woudn't He want us to see it? God has never had a problem giving signs to people when they needed them. God has never had a problem showing up and showing out. Remember when Paul wrote, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19)? So powerful to me. Because we can't go to the source if we don't know what the source is. Or where the source is. Or who the source is. We can come BOLDY to the throne of grace. To find grace. In times of need. Because that is what we need. In times of need. I think one of the worst feelings in the world is needing something that you can't have. Or something that you don't have. And I'm not talking about "wants." I'm talking about needs. My God shall supply all your NEED. Needs are greater than wants. And God has us covered in those situations. In ALL situations. But here's the thing--while I believe God does a lot for us behind the scenes that we don't even know about... I believe that a lot of the time "...ye have not, because ye ask not" (James 4:3). God makes things available to us. He doesn't force things upon us. But when we ask... when we approach the throne with boldness, "...all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (2 Corinthians 1:20). Don't be afraid of the throne. That's my point. And don't be afraid of the One who sits on the throne. He's got your back. He loves you. Because He is your heavenly Father and you are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased!

God's promise--made from Him to Him, with us included in it--is the anchor to our soul. The hope isn't that something will happen. It is the assurance that something has happened. We don't need anything because we have already been given everything. For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son. That's all we've ever needed. All we could ever need. What you got if you ain't got love? The kind that you just want to give away. Because that's what love is--love is giving. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. Here's our key verse for this Rant series in the ESV, "We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain" (Hebrews 6:19). God holding up both sides of the bargain is our sure and steadfast anchor. That's what keeps us from going off the straight and narrow way that leads to life. Look at Isaiah 30:21, "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." Now, again, that's not God punishing us. That's our heavenly Father chastening and correcting us. Which isn't a bad thing. That's a good thing. It's so easy to get twisted around. So easy to be like that ship tossed by the waves. But look at Ephesians 4:12-14, speaking of the five-fold ministry, "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." In other words, if you know the truth... you can ignore the lie. If you're anchored... you won't be tossed to and fro. You can stand on the Rock and not be shaken. That's why it's so important that we know what we believe. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. If you only have head knowledge and not experiential heart knowledge you might THINK something... but you won't KNOW it. A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. When we know and believe that God loves us... we will be able to withstand anything. The fire in us will always be hotter than the fire we're in. But, as always, it's a trust issue. It's a faith issue. When we hear that Word (which is Jesus, which is love) from behind us (the finished work. Not something that needs to happen, but something that has already happened) we can course correct. The Holy Spirit will lead us, guide us, direct us, and protect us. He will tell us where to go... and where NOT to go. It's ok to have limits. It's ok to stay in your lane. You don't have to do everything. And, really, you shouldn't try to do everything. Because you can't do everything. You're not supposed to. You weren't meant to. Just do your best and forget the rest. Just be still and know that HE is God. Let Him do what He is of a mind to do. Let Him take care of you. Like any good father would. Don't try to be someone you're not. And don't try to get something you think you haven't got. Not everything is for you. That's ok. Trust in Him to give you what IS for you. Trust in Him to be who HE is, and in that knowledge of who HE is... be who YOU really are! The sure and steadfast anchor of our soul is the love that our heavenly Father loves us with. That's what keeps us, and leads us, and guides us, and directs us, and protects us!

So let's talk about what our key verse for this Rant series actually identifies as the anchor for our soul: "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil" (Hebrews 6:19). The hope we have in Jesus. But let's get even a little bit further into it. The phrase "hope we have" is number 2192 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, quite simply, "to hold." Biblical hope is never, "Gee, I hope this happens... but I guess it might not." Our "hope" in Jesus is our trust in Him. Our faith in Him. Fighting the good fight of faith isn't trying to make something happen. It is knowing and believing that it has already happened. The cross accomplished what needed to be accomplished. On the cross, what needed to happen... happened. He entered into that veil. It's not a pulling flower petals and hoping it ends up on "He loves me" instead of "He loves me not." It's not a blessed hope in that sense. It's a blessed assurance. So, "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)" (Hebrews 10:22-23). He is our hope. Our assurance. Our promise. Chris in you the hope of glory REALLY means Christ in you the hope of REVEALED glory. The glory is in there. I heard one preacher say it like this: You are the spout where the glory comes out! We are the visible face of the invisible God. Every time someone sees someone love someone... they are seeing God. That's how we show Him to people. "By this shall all men that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35). Jesus said that. If you want someone to know what you're about... be about it. Don't just talk about it, BE about it. But, as always, you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. That's why it's so important to understand what our anchor is. What our hope is. We love because God first loved us. He gave us the ability to love by filling us up with His love. He wanted us to do it, so He did it first. He wanted us to have it, so He gave it to us. That's the Divine Order of things. So we don't have to throw up a Hail Mary on a wing and a prayer. We don't have to run around like chickens with their heads cut off. We don't have to "hope and pray" that something will happen. Something already happened. The cross happened. And on the cross Jesus cried out, "It is finished." The finished work. That's why we can be sure of who we are. That's why we can be sure of why we're here. That's why we can stop trying to be someone we're not and start embracing ourselves (and each other) for who we were created to be. We were created to love. To be loved by God, and to love each other with that same love. That's our pupose. Our EPIC (Eternal Purpose In Christ) destiny. And in order to fulfill, and experience, and enjoy that destiny all we have to do is hold on to Jesus. Fight the good fight of faith and lay hold of the gift of His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love that we have already been given. We don't have to get it. We already have it. We don't have to (and can't) earn it. It's a gift. All we have to do is receive it and release it. All we have to do is let God love us and then love Him back by loving each other. That's the New Commandment for the New Man. That's the hope that we have in Jesus. That's the anchor for our soul!

This is where it can get a little bit tricky. Because while an anchor keeps you from going off course, it can also keep you from certain things that aren't good for you. Keep you in your lane. Keep you in place. Look at Acts 16:6, "Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia." To me this is an important piece of Scripture. Because, again, that anchor that holds us in place can also set limits. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you HAVE TO. Doesn't mean you should. Paul wrote, "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not" (1 Corinthians 10:23). Freedom isn't about doing whatever you want and getting away with it. If that's your goal... you've gotten completely twisted around. If you have to lie about something in order to do it... you shouldn't be doing it. If you know something you're going to do will have bad consequences... listen. Consequences and punishment are two different things. If you cheat on your wife God won't punish you. But your wife will. Every action has consequences, whether they be good, bad, or ugly. The trick is to listen to the Holy Spirit. Those who are led by the Holy Spirit are called (identified as) the Son(s) of God. And the Holy Spirit only ever directs us... to love. That can look like many different things to many different people, but at the end of the day that's what it means to stay in your lane. Do what you do out of love. Because of love. For love. In love. Guys. It's all about love. And if you're letting love lead you, guide you, direct you, and protect you... then you're not doing things that you shouldn't be doing anyway. People always ask--especially when they find out that I'm a pastor--basically the same question. "How far can I go without getting in trouble." And that's the wrong question. That's the wrong focus. If you're trying to use your freedom as "license to sin" then, again, you've totally missed the point. Grace is not freedom TO sin, grace is freedom FROM sin. It's being able to live a life of love instead of being trapped in a life of slavery and bondage. So, yes, the Holy Spirit will convict you. Tell you, "Don't go there. Don't do that." I call it the tummy test. If something makes my tummy hurt, I'm not into it. Trust your gut. Follow your heart. Let love be your guide. And don't think just because you CAN do something... you HAVE TO. That's how we get into a lot of trouble a lot of the time. We do things because we think we have to. We do things for all the wrong reasons. Look for love in all the wrong places. This life is not about chasing. This life is about resting. Resting in the arms of our heavenly Father who loves us and cares for us and died for us. This life is about letting Jesus live His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love in us, and through us, and as us. About filling ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. This life is about living. And that doesn't mean doing anything and everything. That means doing what we were created to do. What we were created to do is be loved and love with that same love. Be known and know. Build relationships. Give ourselves to one another. Listen to that still, small voice deep inside and follow where love leads. So, again, the anchor of our soul, our heavenly Father, will hold us fast. Hold us strong. And hold us back. But that's not a bad thing. That's a good thing. If your Father can keep you out of trouble (the natural consequences of your actions) why not let Him?

Sometimes it feels like you're a ship tossed on the ocean. The winds are blowing, the rain is coming down, and you don't know what to do. But guys... that's just life. It's not always smooth sailing. You can't control everything in your life. But what you can control... is yourself. What you can control is how you react to what happens to you in your life. Look at Mark 4:37-40, "And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that is was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" They had the anchor right there in the boat. Resting. Sleeping. Totally unconcerned. And yet they still freaked out. But at least they took their problem to the solution. We can say that about the disciples. In their moment of need... they went to Jesus. That's always a good call. That's always the best call. And the first thing He did was not to rebuke the disciples. That came later. The first thing He did was rebuke the storm. Told it to knock it off. Didn't freak out, just spoke a word of power. Ecclesiastes 8:4 tells us that, "Where the word of a king is, there is power..." What we say matters. What we do matters. If you speak fear, fear will manifest. If you speak life, life will manifest. What you feed is what will grow in your life. If you don't want something in your life you simply have to stop feeding it. Starve it. And watch it wither and die. Because not everything belongs in your life. Not everything should get your three T's (Time, Talent, Treasure). If you're anything like me you only have so much energy to give. Which means you need to prioritize things. Jesus didn't struggle with the problem. He simply spoke a word and that was that. Then, once the crisis was over, He was able to deal with His disciples. Because, realistically, they should have been able to handle that without waking Him up. They had the same power He did. Jesus identified Himself as the light of the world, and He identified US as the light of the world. It's the same light. The same life. The same love. He is the anchor to our soul. And catch this: We think it's so important that we hold onto Jesus as long as we can, as strong as we can. When the truth of the matter is... He is holding on to us. And He will never let us go. He swore that He would never leave us nor forsake us. He even went so far as to say, "My Father, whih gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one" (John 10:29-30). Paul wrote at length about how nothing--NOTHING--can separate us from the love of God. Nothing we do, or nothing anybody else does. What others mean for evil, God uses for God. That's the anchor. That's what equips and empowers us to stand fast no matter what's happening. The ocean can try to toss us, but we aren't going anywhere. God's arm is holding us up. We are standing firm on the Rock that is Christ. On the only foundation that can truly be built upon. He is our refuge. Our safe place. He is where we go when we need... anything, really. He is our "break glass in case of emergency." And, as we learn to trust Him and include Him in every aspect of our lives, we will find that we get into less and less emergency situations. When you try to do things by yourself you find yourself needing God. When you include God from the start you find things going the way they were always supposed to go!

Saw this on my pastor's Facebook today and told him I was going to use it. Hebrews 6:18-20, "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." Here's what I want to draw out of that: The two immutable things were the Father and the Son. This is talking about the covenant God made with Abraham (at that time still Abram), when the two parties who were entering into that covenent were supposed to walk together in between the cut in half sacrifice... God walked with Himself. A smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between them. God made a covenant with HIMSELF. And He included us in it. Because if man was expected to hold up one side of the bargain... that covenant we doomed to fail. But if the Father is holding up one end and the Son is holding up the other end, then that promise will stand forever. Because it is impossible for God to lie. Not even in the sense that He just won't do it, but because whatever God says is true. Him saying it MAKES it true. That's why we can trust in Him. That's why we can flee to Him as a refuge. A safe hiding place. And I want to point out by way of the foundation for this Rant series that "anchor" is number 45 in Strong's Greek Concordance, which sends you to number 43 in Strong's, which means, "an arm." God's anchor for our souls is His arm. He holds us up. Keeps us from falling. And if you look on dictionary.com you find that an "anchor" is, "any of various devices dropped by a chain, cable, or rope to the bottom of a body of water for preventing or restricting the motion of a vessel or other floating object, typcally having broad, hooklike arms that bury themselves in the bottom to provide a firm hold." Again we see the picture of an arm holding something (or someone) firm. Because we are the vessel in this picture. Planted on a rock and unable to be shaken. Held fast in the midst of a stormy sea. Safe and sound in the ship no matter what is going on around us. Knowing beyond just head knowledge (in that place of experiential heart knowledge) that if worse comes to worst we can join Jesus in walking on the water. It's a trust issue. A safety issue. Parents don't bully or frighten or manipulate their children. They protect them. Take care of them. Give them a safe place to be. Teach them how to live. Chasten and correct them. That's what our heavenly Father does. That's who He is. That's why we can trust Him. One: Because He has proven Himself trustworthy. And two: Because He loves us. With a sacrificial, selfless, agape love. God is the anchor to our souls. LOVE is the anchor. When we feel like we're spiraling out of control... God (LOVE) is what keeps us secure. God (LOVE) is what keeps us right where we need to be, no matter where we are. If you anchor your boat, it ain't going nowhere. If you anchor your soul... same thing. So in this Rant series we are going to explore kind of how we do that. How we set the anchor. And, spoiler alert, a big part of it is simply setting our affection on things above, and not on things on the earth. Just purposing in our hearts to focus on the things that are good--the things that are God! Focusing on the things that matter so we don't get distracted and pulled off course. That's what the anchor does. It keeps us right where we need to be. Safe and sound. On that straight and narrow way (which is Jesus, which is love) that leads to life!

"And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:7-8). That was Jesus's mandate to His disciples. And right there in the middle He talked about death. As if it was no big deal. Raise the dead. Shrug. Which, if you think about it, is exactly how Jesus felt about it. To Life itself (Himself) death ISN'T a big deal. Not only did Jesus raise people from the dead... He literally died and then rose back to life. 1 Corinthians 15:26 says, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Jesus did that. He took away the sin of the world. Cast death and hell into the the lake of fire. God is that consuming fire. Love is that consuming fire. Everything is swallowed up in love. And if you look at that verse in 1 Corinthians in Young's Literal Translation of the Bible it reads, "the last enemy is done away--death." That isn't a battle Jesus needs to win. It is a battle He already won. Through the cross. When He rose from death. See, His death was our death, but that was done so that His life could be our life. The abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God. That is what the gift of God is. So when we talk about being a dead man walking--walking by faith and not by sight--we're really talking about walking in newness of life. Leaving the old behind. Not looking at death as the end of the road. But seeing it as the old passing away and the new coming forth. Seeing it for what it really is. And, remember, when Jesus's friend Lazarus died... Jesus wept. Even though He knew He was going to raise that man back to life. You can still feel and experience things. I always tell people "Feel what you feel, but don't let it control you." See the bigger picture. Understand that God has a plan. Preach the gospel at all times, and if you have to... use words. Heal the sick. Cleanse the leapers. Cast out devils... and raise the dead. So many people zombie their way through life. Just going through the motions. Just taking what life gives them. Not even trying to make lemonade out of the lemons. Just being sour about it. Which is tragic. Because there is so much more available to us. A more excellent way. One more time... the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God is available to us! He has give it to us. Because He wants us to have it. Because He wants us to experience and enjoy it as HE lives His own life in us, and through us, and as us! That's what this life is all about. We live in Him because He lives in us. We love because He first loved us. We died because He died. His death was our death. Now His life is our life! That's what so great about this; Jesus did it all so we could get it all. And now we have it all. We can raise the dead because we have been raised from the dead! We can live because death no longer has any hold on us. Sin no longer has any hold on us. Grace is not freedom TO sin, it is freedom FROM sin! Those born of God CANNOT sin because His seed remains in us. So we don't need to worry about things like sin and death. We can instead focus on a life of love. Receiving and releasing what God has given to us. Freely we have received... freely we can give!