I Was Young And Now I’m Old But The Anchor Holds

I have journeyed through the long, dark night out on the open sea By faith alone Sight unknown And yet His eyes were watching me The anchor holds Though the ship is battered The anchor holds Though the sails are torn I have fallen on my knees As I faced the raging seas The anchor holds In spite of the storm I’ve had visions I’ve had dreams I’ve even held them in my hand But I never knew They would slip right through Like they were only grains of sand I have been young But I am older now And there has been beauty That these eyes have seen But it was in the night Through the storms of my life Oh, that's where God proved His love to me

I was sitting here thinking about my life in the past feeling sad, blue, and down in the dumps when I heard Jimmy Swaggard sing “The Anchor Holds” and what a blessing that was for me to hear that song. It gave me much comfort.
I was born in the year 1946. The old ship that I have been sailing on, upon the seas of life, is by the grace of God still sailing. The Lord has never faltered or failed me. I give God all the Glory for that. During my life time I have gone through many trails, heart aches, dangers, toils, and snares. During my journey I have realized that I was not alone. And all I can do is just sail on until my journey comes to its end. When that journey is over I will see Jesus and I will step onto that Heavenly shore to receive my eternal reward. Until that happens the Anchor still holds! I never knew where that old ship would take me and I still don’t know where the old ship will take me, but I know where that ship will end up in the end because the anchor still holds!
All through my life I have been tossed around on the sea of life. I have always had hardships and at times not a very pleasant life. One minute the seas of my life would be as smooth as a glass and the very next minute, the waves of this life would roll, the winds of adversity, hardships, and difficulty would blow, and it always seemed that I would lose control. Some people may say that they are the master of their own destiny but just like me they are not. Jesus is the Master of the sea. We do not have control over the storms that come our way in this life. During my life time I have come to realize that completely, but I have also come to realize that the Anchor still holds.
I have been sick many times in my life, I have had a heart attack, I have a stent in my heart, I have been in car accidents, I have lost two loving grandmothers, a mother, and face the fact that my 87 year old father might not be here on this earth much longer, but the anchor still holds. I have been through many heart aches and disappointments in my life, but the anchor still holds. I have been through marriages that were in God’s eyes to last till death do us part but ended in hurtful disappointment. I have always wanted a home, but only had a house, but the Anchor still holds.
It took me years to finally realize that no matter what I do on this earth it will not keep me from facing the storms of life that will surely come my way. Nothing in this world is certain except for the uncertainty of what is coming next. Only God knows what is coming next.
I’m glad that I have found an anchor for my ship called life. It is an Anchor that I can place all of my trust in, and one that I can rely upon, to keep me safe in the stormy seas of my life. That anchor is none other than Jesus Christ, the Rock of all ages. I know that anchor will always hold.
Through my life my anchor has not been in the soft sand, the easy life, or the things of this world, nor has it been attached to a false hope of security or any earthly person. My Anchor is steadfast; it is fixed firmly and securely in the Rock of Ages, the Lord Jesus Christ, who never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. My life is anchored on the end and attached to something that will never move, never change and never let go. He is always there with his hand out stretched, because the Anchor still holds.
I know that even as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ I will encounter the storms of life. It is not a question of if they will come, but rather when they come. That is a given fact. I have lost jobs, faced a divorce more than once, and many of my love ones have died leaving me hurt. One day there will be no more stormy seas for me to sail because the Anchor still holds.

The Truth Of The Matter

And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. (Genesis 16:12)
This verse of Scripture describes the Arab people to a tee. It could have not been said any better. It is perfectly said. So if you are not a reader of God’s Word read and see for yourself the truth about the Arabs. The descendants of Ishmael (The Arabs) cannot get along with anyone in the world today. I’m speaking of the Arab nations as whole, not individual persons of the Arab race. They have not gotten along with anybody since Biblical times and they cannot even get along among themselves in today’s world. It is a plain fact that they will be fighting with other nations of the world and between their selves until Jesus comes back to this world to set things in their rightful order.
When that day comes there will be no more acts of terrorism by these people, no more suicide bombings, beheadings, violence, mass murders, no more 911’s, or any other evil thing in the name of their god because the one true God will reign for evermore. There will be no more 911’s , no more Christians killed, no more churches burned, and no more will there be any tax paid to the Arabs in those Arab countries just because you are a Christian.
For those of you that do not believe the words from the Bible then you can research it with all the tools available to you on the computer and history books. In the end of your research you will find that the Word of God (as always) is correct.
It amazes me that people will not believe the word of God but will listen to every other person that comes along with a theory of why the Muslims are doing what they are doing.
I have always been a person who studied the Bible, and world history. When the events of September 11 attacks happened, all the things that I had read and studied about the Middle Ages and the crusades suddenly became very relevant as I put what happen into a perspective view because both are related and go hand in hand.
Some people think that 911 happen because the Islamic world just had a grievance against the West, but the real truth is 911 and the present violence in our world today is mostly caused by the Muslims, and has its roots in the Middle East Crusades. You have to understand history and the evil that takes place to understand what is happening in today’s world.
So what is the truth about the Crusades? Some people are still trying to figure that out. What is there to figure out? So much can already be said with accurate certainty. For starters, the Crusades defensive wars fought by Christian countries. These wars were a direct response to Muslim aggression, or in other words an attempt to turn back or defend against Muslim conquests of Christian countries. Is not that the same thing that that is happening today? Some people will try to explain it away but it is the truth!
Christians in the eleventh century were not suspicious radicals or extremist (The same is being said today), because the Muslims really were wanting to destroyed and conquer the Christian nations. Some Muslims can be peaceful, but the truth is Islam was born in war and it grew the same way. From the time of Mohammed, the means of Muslim expansion and growth was always the sword. The Muslim’s and their religion divides the world into two groups, the Abode of Islam and the Abode of War. Christianity, and for that matter any other non-Muslim religion—has no abode. Christians and Jews can be tolerated within a Muslim state under Muslim rule. But, in traditional Islam, Christian and Jewish states must be destroyed and their lands conquered. That has been going on since biblical days and is still going on.
We must understand the crusaders and how the Crusades started. It was not a power hungry pope as some people think and write about, but the truth is it was the reactions and the response to more than four centuries of conquests in which Muslims had already captured two-thirds of the Christian world as it was then. At some point, Christianity as a faith and a culture had to defend itself and their Christian belief or be conquered by Islam. The Crusades at that time was that defense. Sad to say, but pending the return of our Savior there might be yet another Crusade. Will that Crusade bring the return of the Savior?

IT’S JESUS: All Other Is Sinking Sand!

Do you want to know what is wrong with America? The answer is simple. A blind man can see it easily! America has turned their collective backs on God. America has become a depraved nation and for the most part with depraved leaders. The people have become immoral, unjust, corrupt, evil, wicked, and degenerate in all their thinking and their actions. From my youth up there was one thing that I was always taught in the home, in the school, in church, and in the public in general America was a Christian nation. How far this nation has come down through the years of my life is almost unbelievable to me. It’s almost like anything goes.
The American people have become immoral and wrong in their thinking. What was a nation of “In God We Trust” is now a nation of “In the government we trust.” Some even go so far as to call our president the messiah. I’m talking about a government and a president who makes the killing of unborn babies legal and the government that gives homosexuals special rights, when in fact both are sins in God’s eyes. America has become a nation of calling bad good and good bad. When a nation has laws to protect the killing of whales and another law that allows the murder of millions of unborn babies something is wrong. The people are depraved in their thinking. Instead of depending on the one who created heaven and earth depend on the government for their daily needs.
When Christian churches in America which were once full of the spirit of God, allow the Muslims who worship Allah to worship beside them in church and have the Muslim Karan beside the Holy Bible in the pew racks this nation and her people are in trouble. Some churches are taking the cross down from their steeple and calling their church a campus instead of church. Why? Something is wrong when church leaders allow a rock group with all their seductive and suggestive songs to perform at God’s house thinking that is the way to get the youth in church when it used to be the preaching of the anointed word of God that did the work. We need to lift Jesus higher and the Holy Spirit will do the drawing. It is the preaching of the cross that is the answer. We have a man in the White House that makes fun of the Bible while quoting from the Koran and stops the national day of prayer but allows Muslims to pray on the White house lawn. He also made the statement that America is no longer a Christian nation. We have homosexuals in congress and some who see an unborn child as “just a blob of nothing”. What happen to the Godly leaders in this country? They say that they believe in God, but let me say this; the devil, according to the scriptures, also believes in God.
America as a nation is becoming so politically correct instead of becoming more biblical correct that our nation is being destroyed, lost without God or His Son. No longer do people say Merry Christmas but opt for saying happy holidays so certain people will not be offended and Christmas is no longer for the most part celebrated as Christ’s birthday but just a happy holiday.
When I was in school before the day even started the class had prayer and Bible reading. We each took turns reading scriptures when it was our day to it. There was always a Bible on the teacher's desk. So what has happened? We no longer have the Lamb of God or those other Godly things in our schools so what were they replaced by? They were replaced by sex education, condoms, birth control pills, and a doctrine that tells our children it is normal and okay for Adam to marry Steve. It is just a different lifestyle. In schools years ago the greatest bad thing was chewing gum in class or smoking in the bathrooms. Now there is violence with no end in our schools with police patrolling the halls to guarantee security for the children. People ask when violence happens in our school where God is. The answer to that is “The Lamb” is not allowed in school anymore. You will have chaos, darkness, evil, and sin without the Lamb of God.
What is the bottom line to all this? It is the family unit. How we raise our kids, what we teach them in the home. We do not need a village to raise our kids as some in the government say; we just need Godly mothers and fathers. If our children at an early age are not taught about Jesus Christ then they will know not him when they get older and that’s what is happening to our country right now. The American people are reaping what they have sown. We have people that are in our government who know not God because they were never taught about Him. We need fathers (a male) and mothers (a female) to start bringing up their children in the way they should go and when they get older and on their own they will use the wisdom that they received in the home when they were raised, The wisdom to govern this nation and to be right in God’s eyes. There was a reason why God said in his Word to; “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) and there is also a reason why God told the Israelites always repeat and tell the meaning of the judgments, testimonies, and statues to their children in (Exodus 6:20-25)
Just like the Hebrews told their children what great things God has done for them, Americans need to tell their children what great things the Lord has done for America over the past two hundred years. To bring all this about we need a move of God, a revival that starts with you and me, we need a revival in our churches and all across this great land. We might not have to sit in sackcloth and ashes, but it might be a good idea to bow on bended knees and plead with our God, with true tears of repentance, to save our nation and to forgive us of our many sins. Even come Lord Jesus!

He’s Coming Soon

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Matthew 24:6.

We read in the Bible where Jesus narrates and warns of the last days of this age and how it would be filled with wars and rumors of wars and that is happening on a greater scale in this world today as never before. No one can dispute Jesus’ words because it is truly coming to past right before our eyes. More and more unstable Middle East countries are gaining nuclear power and the knowledge to use it to destroy other people. There can be no doubt, not for one second, with anybody that one or more of these nations “evil leaders” will use their nuclear power to end all life as we know it.

Jesus laid out for His disciples some of the specifics and facts on how certain events would lead up to the last days. One of these events was wars and rumors of war. Years ago wars and the very rumors of wars was something that people would hear or read about but think nothing about it because they thought the wars were a world away. Most people, in today’s world, think of these rumors of war itself as nothing really to be disturbed about and that is because they are blind and cannot see. Many years ago it was just about impossible to hear or read of the current conditions on a worldwide scale as we do today. But in today’s world we hear about it as fast as a person can blink their eye, on a daily base and at once, not a week after it happens.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:7- 8). Jesus tells His disciples that there are other signs to watch for that would occur before His return to earth. All of us has witnessed and seen the very signs Jesus spoke of for quite a long time now but we can all see that they are increasing and enlarging in the frequency and intensity of each new event. Some Christians say that we are long overdue for God’s Word’s to be fulfilled. I agree.

Every day brings about more fears as to which of this worlds evil leaders will push that well-known button, and launch their nukes for a first strike. How much longer before the end? When will that long awaited day be? Christian friends, be on notice, the end is in sight. To be sure, everything is winding down for that day of deliverance. Even though we see signs that indicate nukes will be launched in the near future there are many other events Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24 of which people would become acutely aware of during the last few years on planet earth. Watch!

Here’s some news for the people who say things will get better in the Middle East. Better times aren’t going to happen anywhere in the world including the Middle East until Jesus returns. That is a fact. This world is only going to experience further tendencies towards corruption and depravity. This world is in a process and is steadfast moving from order to disorder, in other word chaos. Since the introduction of sin into the world and the subsequent curse and the fall of man, the enemy of mankind (Satan) has been hard at work guaranteeing that evil and the sins of man runs its full course. This world is becoming more evil, depraved and lawless with every passing day. What was once good is now bad and what was once bad is now good. Yes we are living in a upside down evil world were sin is running ramped more everyday.

All the warnings which Jesus gave to His disciples in Matthew chapter 24 are coming about very quickly now. The nations of this world for the most part (and that includes America) are run by men who are deceitful and have evil hearts. The plain fact is they are lost and undone without God or His Son. They are the product of Satan and his demons.

Men have been going to war to conquer their fellow man for thousands of years. We can read this in the Bible. But in these end times we’re facing, many nations that are being run by men with very evil hearts, warped minds, men who have no sense of right or wrong, and who are controlled by demons. These evil men have the idea they can rule over the whole world, but in the end they will destroy the earth. Wickedness and evil abound in this sin tossed world that we live in and, of a truth there’s no hiding wickedness or an evil heart which is determined on destroying others.

We can clearly see that from nations such as North Korea, Syria, Iran and that is only three of the never ending list. The three that control and dominate the headlines these days are Syria, Korea and Iran because they are run by men that are controlled by Satan. North Korea wants to destroy the United States and Iran wants to destroy Israel and the US. Syria hates Israel. Two of them have or soon will have the nuclear means to do it. And both nations are run by men who are psychotic (nut cases) and demon processed. Will one of these psychotic and evil men go to the extreme limit and launch a nuclear strike that will set this world on fire? The Christian people of this world already know that it is just a matter of time. Even so come Lord Jesus!

Here in the US the man who claims the title of commander in chief (not capitalized because it’s his claim not the claim for a lot of Americans) is currently scaling back on our military to make our enemies happy. Who can understand his way of thinking or his tactics? We have had years of mostly peaceful existence with all those who would like to see us either destroyed or conquered because of our strength. But now, according to our leader in the name of peace, we will drop our guard for that of a greater united world in other words a one world government. All the while North Korea and Iran are arming themselves as your commander in chief (not mine) disarms our military and even wants to disarm the private citizens.

Our other enemies, such as Russia and China, are also arming themselves to the max. So we drop our weapons, raise our hands high in the air, and give up in the name of peace? And that will stop our enemies from destroying us or invading our shores and placing us under their control? That scenario is so ridiculous and absurd, but watch out! You can bet our enemies are laughing not only at that idea, but also at our commander in chief. What Mr.. Obama apparently does not know is that there will be no peace in this world until the prince of peace comes. This episode of sin, deceit, and corruption in Americas history could be just be the thing that destroys America. But that really isn’t what this article is all about.

The fact is, and the Word of God proves it, there will be wars. There will be evil men taking advantage of good people whenever and wherever possible. Everything that is now coming to pass in this world was prophesied in the Bible thousands of years ago. Read the BOOK! All this evil that we see in the world today is one hundred percent Biblical and it is God’s Word. If our present leader has his way and is successful in his attempts at “change”, as he calls it, then America will most likely cease to be an influence in world and spreading the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we continue to allow Obama to have his way it will happen. The Gospel could soon become very infrequent and erratic. There will be a famine, not only in this country but the whole world, for the Word of God.

Just seeing this with our very own eyes and knowing in our hearts that everything God said would happen in the last days is coming true makes the Christian more of a believer in his God. Major prophecies that are found in the Bible are coming true. No need to sit around worrying about who is running America or about some evil dictator, who is set on helping Armageddon to get here. Let everyone of us that are called by God’s Name stand firm and faithful in our faith while we continue to put out the Gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world, for as long as we can, as we await and look for Jesus’ soon return for His Church. Soon and very soon we will see the King.

THE CHRISTIAN – Under Pressure

a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you." While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you. Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. (Job 1:14-20)

I recently read an article about being under pressure and as I read that article I began to wonder how many things in this world that has the warning, “WARNING UNDER PRESSURE” Those three words caught my attention and stayed with me, in my mind, for the past few days. Those words started me to thinking because they pretty much, for me, sum up, the condition and circumstances that is going on in so many lives of Christian people in this world today. Some of God’s people in the Bible, like Job, are living under extreme pressure and are just about to explode. They do not know if they should turn to the left or right. Satan has them to the point of losing control of their very being and mind. I have seen it so many times.

The pressures, and the tragedies of life in this present sin tossed world’s environment are very damaging and they are destroying God’s people. They are living under pressure, wondering just how much more they can take. We all have been there. It just seems sometimes that life is one big problem after another. It has happened to us all one time or the other, being under extreme pressure. One problem, after another problem and it goes on and on. And the truly sad part about the whole thing is people are trying to figure out, how to handle what they just cannot handle without God’s help. They need to put their problems in God’s hands. The one who controls heaven and the earth.

If you read and study God’s Word then sooner or later you will come across the book of Job and read about the problems of Job. What a truly amazing story full of meaning for today’s Christian. Now there was a man who had major problems. Job had more come against him in just one day than most people could handle in a lifetime, no matter how righteously and Godly he tried to live. This was because Satan came against him. Not only did Satan want to destroy all that Job had he would have killed him if God would have allowed it. Although Job was a righteous man Satan tried to destroy him and to rip apart his life just like he tries to do to you and me, because the devil walks among us the same as he did in Job’s day.

The word of the Lord tells us, that Satan goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He did it in Job’s day and he is doing it now. This present world and the people in it are under a lot of pressure. There is strife, struggles, and violence, no morals, no rules, and there sure is no accountability anymore. What will the Christian do, when trouble comes their way? What will they do, when trouble, distress, and suffering comes out of nowhere for no obvious or clear reason.
The Word of God tells us, that Job was a perfect and an upright man. He was a man that feared God and he had no part whatsoever with evil,
but trouble still came his way. The scripture tells us, that Job believed in God and he prayed everyday but trouble still came to his house. He lost his flocks, he lost his servants, and he lost his children. All this happened in just one day. His wife told him to curse God and die. What would happen if your day or my day started like that.
How would we handle the things it is impossible for us to handle?
What will you do, when Satan and his demons comes looking for you and with him and his demons comes trouble, misery, and disappointment, or even death. What will you do when he comes looking for you? In most cases people will try to take care of things on their own when they should be looking for God for help.

We need to know where the trouble comes from; it comes from the devil, [Battles are always fought and won in the spiritual realm] but help come the Lord Jesus Christ. Persecution comes from the devil, but victory comes from our Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

In just one day Job went from prosperity to poverty, from riches to rags, from popularity to obscurity. In one day, he lost his fortune, and he lost his fame. Not in a lifetime, but in one day. Job did not blame anyone else for his problems; instead he fell down on his knees and worshipped the one who created heaven and earth. He said the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

Whatever situations that is in your life. Whatever the battle is whatever you are fighting against remember this, Jesus paid the price for you on Calvary’s Cross. Do not let the problems of this world get you down. Stay anchored in Jesus.

The Pure Raw Word

I have set in church many years and heard my father preach his sermons that he so painstakingly prepares. As I think back there was a sentence that he used in one of his sermons that keeps coming to my mind lately. He said that "it takes the pure raw word of God to save the sinner, You cannot sugar coat the word of God!" As I sit and think about that statement I thought how very true that statement was.
America has gone from being a Christian nation to a nation without God. Sometimes as I read from the prophets in The Old Testament it is almost like it is talking about today's world. The same woes and warnings that were put out to the nation of Israel back then could also be put out in America today. Israel started out as a nation that served God and then there came a generation that did not know God. Is not that the same way it is in America today?
America is for the most part on a downward spiral and is spinning out of control fast. America has gone from being a Christian nation, with Christian leaders, that believed in and lived by God's law to a godless nation. Because of this some Americans wonder what is happening to this great nation.
America is on a slippery slope. Years ago mothers and fathers accompanied their children to church, then they just sent their children to church, and now they do not even send them to church. Sunday use to be a holy day, but now it is just like any other day for most Americans. The family unit (the building blocks of America) is just about gone. Most homes anymore have just one parent and anybody knows that a child needs (and the Bible speaks of) a mother and a father. What ever happen to the "Family that prays together stays together. I thank God for my mother and father, and also my two Grandmothers who never slacked in their duty to show me the right way.
America was a country that for the most part governed by God's laws. Abortion was against the law and never hardly ever heard of. Now babies can be aborted (murdered) in the mother's womb and it is legal. Young girls as young as 12 years old can now get the morning after pill without the parents' consent. Condoms are passed out by the government freely in the schools. The word of God plainly teaches against all forms of fornication but the government by their doings and laws are condoning it for its citizens even as young as 12 years old.
This country once looked on with disgrace the act of sodomy. If you were a homosexual or lesbian you hide it in the closet and keep it from everybody. God called it sin and so did most Americans and now the government promotes it by giving them special rights, and allowing them to even get married. Nature itself even tells a person that it is wrong. But yet we have an American president (Obama) who recently called a well known sports player and congratulated him for making it known that he is a homosexual. What is wrong with this picture?
Not only has Obama said that parts of the Bible are not for today, but has on numerous occasions mad fun of certain scriptures while he is always quoting words from the Koran. He needs to know that God said that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is a shame that we have a leader that comes so close to blasphemy.
But lets not stop there. We also have a problem with churches and their pastors also condoning these things. We have preachers who will marry homosexuals and churches that will add their names to the book as saved souls. This should not be. We have preachers teaching that it is not the blood that Jesus shed on the cross that saves the sinner. I can assure these preachers that it is nothing but the blood of Jesus that can wash away your sins. Where are the true churches of the Living God? Why is it that only a few preachers will stand up to the government and call sin what it is "SIN". The majority of preachers will not even preach sin in the church anymore. They preach smooth words to itching ears so they can have their mega churches and their mega dollar income.
A preacher must preach a well rounded Gospel, not only just love. If the American people do not listen to some fire and brimstone once in a while as preachers give us the word of God then I'm afraid it will be fire and brimstone for the American people.