Worry is a useless emotion we are all prone to. The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:34, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.  Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” We know that God has promised to meet all of our needs, yet instead of leaving all of our cares with Him, we worry and fret about whether or not He will supply.

The truth is our worry is pointless. God tells us not to worry about tomorrow. Our Lord has all of tomorrow’s cares already under control and worked out in the best possible way: the way which will draw us closer to Him. Yet we find it very difficult to refrain from giving in to the temptation to worry.

What is it we think we are accomplishing when we continue to mull over problems in our minds? Do we think that if we fret upon a problem long enough that it will magically disappear? That in times of financial need, our worry will cause God to send a windfall of money from the sky? Logically, we understand that both of these thoughts are ludicrous, but we fail to recognize that so is our penchant to worry. Worry accomplishes nothing. In fact, it is a sign that we do not take God at His word when He promised to take care of the things that we need.

Worry is not a new problem. The disciples also experienced it. In Luke 5:3-9, the Bible says:

3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

This passage provides us with a powerful example of doubt. We must remember that the Lord sees beyond the immediate. As humans, we have the ability to see the past and the present, but we cannot see the future. When Jesus told the disciples to let down their nets, He knew what was going to happen, but the disciples thought they knew better based only on their faulty experience as human beings living in an imperfect world. When we worry and doubt in our circumstances, we are communicating a lack of faith in the One who has promised to provide for our every need. It becomes all too easy for us to think we understand the nuances of our troubles better than God does, and therefore, He may need our assistance sorting out our issues. God doesn’t need our help to resolve pressing matters in our lives. While we were still deep in worry, God was already bringing about the resolution to our problem.

Peter and the disciples learned a valuable lesson that day. Jesus told them to let down their nets, but Peter’s faith was small. As a result, he only let down one net. Peter didn’t really believe that God was going to do what He said He would. Many times, we present this same view of God ourselves through our actions. God has promised to meet our daily needs. Yet often, we pray that the Lord would take care of specific things in our lives yet continue to try to devise a “backup plan” in case God doesn’t follow through with what He said He would. Our lack of faith limits what the Lord wants to do for us and robs us of the enjoyment of His richest blessings.

James 1:6 tells us, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” We must come to God believing that He can and He will supply our needs according to His perfect will. God is faithful to keep His Word; all He asks is that we ask in faith, believing that He will supply.

Are you plagued by worry? Let Anchor of Hope Ministry help you to learn the joy of trusting in the Lord. Contact us now at (306) 940-9554. We welcome the opportunity to help you!

Many people think they are free from sin if they make a sincere faith effort to keep from doing things they know are displeasing to the Lord. The problem with this type of thinking is it turns the Christian life into a “to do list,” whereby we spend our days trying to avoid the pitfalls that present themselves in life. However, there is more to a right relationship with God than simply refraining from known sin.

Though God has given us clear guidelines as to the best way to conduct ourselves to live a fruitful, blessed life that honours Him, God has given us the free will to choose the things we will allow into our hearts and lives as well as those that we want to avoid. Free will can feel like both a blessing and a curse as sometimes it becomes difficult to determine the best path for us to take. The devil makes sin look very attractive, and often pretties up the path to destruction in an attempt to make it look less dangerous, making us doubt God’s commands for us and question if that road really leads to our peril.

The Bible adds another layer of responsibility through this verse found in James 4:17:

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

We spend much time focusing on things that we shouldn’t be doing. Yet the Bible clearly teaches that there are things that we SHOULD actively be seeking, and failure to fulfill these roles in our lives is also sin. The dilemma we often encounter is the fact that many of the things we are commanded to do are hard for us, so we prefer to relegate them to a distant corner of our minds, rationalizing that if we devote ourselves to obeying the “Thou shalt not’s” that somehow God will overlook our unwillingness to comply with the “Thou shalt’s.” Yet some of the most important commands in Scripture are not things we should not do, they are things that we know in our hearts that are right, and that deserve our attention and commitment.

It is not easy to love our neighbour as ourselves; to place his good and needs above our own. But the Bible tells us this is our God-given role. We are to die to self and to deliberately seek opportunities to serve others. Failure to follow this important commandment is sin.  

We cannot claim ignorance as a reason for not following through on clear Bible teachings. If we have been made aware of something, we then have a responsibility to act on it. Anything less than that is sin. It is not enough to choose not to lie because we are commanded to not bear false witness. To please God, we must also be committed to speaking the truth. It is not enough to refrain from doing things that would blemish the name of Christ; we must also seek opportunities to share what He has done for us and to live a life that brings honour to His holy name and draws people to Him. God has clearly outlined the good things we are to be doing; a decision not to do them is sin.

In Ephesians 5:18-21, Paul asserts the following truths:

 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

When our hearts are filled with the Spirit of God, we have the strength that we need to resist the temptation to yield to that which is displeasing to God and to reach towards those things that bring glory to His name. In our own flesh, we lack the power to make good choices, but with the Holy Spirit empowering and guiding us, we are then able to focus on living a life that is well-pleasing to our Lord. The key to knowing what is good and doing it lies in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

Are you struggling to “do good”? Anchor of Hope Ministry can help. Contact us now at (306) 940-9554 to learn more about how Jesus can empower you to live for Him.

Statistics Canada reports that in 2017, 4,157 people ended their lives by suicide. As heartbreaking as this number may be, even more devastating is the knowledge that for those who succumbed to death at their own hand, there are many more who attempted suicide and were unsuccessful in their efforts. Today, suicide is the 9th leading cause of death in Canada, standing in line behind Alzheimer’s and marginally ahead of liver disease.

In the small community of Saint John, New Brunswick this past week, three people in the prime of their youth ended their own lives. One of these tragic deaths occurred when a young man chose to jump from an atrium at a popular area shopping mall, while stunned onlookers watched, horrified. There is no question that many people are suffering, lacking the strength and will to live. When hope is lost, where can those who are hurting turn for the fortitude to continue?

In John 10:10, the Bible teaches that, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

The devil, described in this verse as a thief, is the author of evil thoughts. His intention is to rob believers of their hope and joy and to render them ineffective for God’s service. Because he can lay no claim to those who belong to Christ, he instead applies his focus to instilling fear, discouragement, guilt, and feelings of low self-esteem and hopelessness into them. If he can get a Christian to believe that he is too great a sinner to be worthy of the love of his family, friends, and a holy God, then he has been successful in keeping that person from experiencing the true depths of the forgiveness and unconditional love that Christ freely offers.  Make no mistake, the devil is a formidable enemy, and he is on a mission: to steal, to kill, and to destroy.

Jesus came for us to enjoy a life of abundant joy. When we allow our emotions to convince us we are unworthy of God’s love or that life is not worth living, we rob ourselves of the blessings God wants to richly bestow upon us. Our focus is critical. Our troubles, though often a heavy burden, will not last forever. Suffering is only temporary, and God has promised to see us through the darkness to brighter days ahead.

Isaiah 41:14 expresses this truth:

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Even in the midst of our darkest thoughts, God is with us. Though times of deep discouragement come when hope seems like a distant impossibility, God promises to give us the strength that we need to weather the storm. When we lack the fortitude to stand on our own, God upholds us through the power of His hand and His Word. God’s promises are true and give us a record that He is a loving Creator who always honours that which He has committed to do. Though we struggle, our pain does not last forever. We have the hope of a loving God who stands beside us and gives us the strength we need to face each day with the knowledge that our sorrows have an expiration date. What we are enduring today will not last forever.

Perhaps one of the most powerful promises for those who have lost all hope is found in Psalm 34:18-19:

“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”

When we are at our lowest point, God is with us to provide the comfort and help that we need. Though affliction comes, God has promised to deliver us from our woes. When we are most broken, God is the most near. We do not cry or suffer alone. Our Saviour stands beside us as a constant to remind us that though today may seem insurmountable; a better day is coming.

Psalm 55:22 tells us to “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

 We don’t have to carry our burdens alone. God intends for us to share our hearts with Him, so that He can shoulder the load and give us that which we need for daily sustenance. The devil wants us to feel that God has forsaken us and will not fulfill His promises. God wants to remind us that He is always with us and that our struggles our only temporary. Our Heavenly Father can and will provide deliverance and healing.

Though the troubles of this life threaten to overwhelm us, God stands beside us in the midst of the storm to provide the stability we need and the hope of a better tomorrow.

If you are struggling with feeling there is no hope for your life, contact Anchor of Hope Ministries to learn more about how you can have the blessed hope through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The fall of man in the Garden of Eden brought with it many consequences. Prior to Adam and Eve’s choices in the Garden, they had the privilege of communing with God daily and the deep enjoyment of His company. In those early days, they knew nothing but contentment and peace, a self-assuredness that they loved and were loved by a Holy God. Yet when sin entered the equation, things changed. Man who once applied his focus to enjoying the riches of the Garden, fellowshipping with God, and loving the mate God had provided for him, suddenly became self-aware. With that self-awareness came many things, but three traits bore a lasting impact: feelings of insecurity, guilt, and shame brought on by the realization of sin.

After the fall, man saw himself in the cold hard light of reality. This new revelation unveiled a man with flaws and human frailties, bringing with it doubts and uncertainty. Yet in spite of man’s failings and penchant towards sin, God remained consistent in His love.

The Bible teaches in Romans 8:38-39 this powerful truth regarding God and those who have accepted His free gift of salvation:

“ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Though we sin and our sin causes God pain, He remains steadfast in His love for us. We cannot deny that our sinful nature brings a rift in the depth of the relationship a Holy Saviour wants to enjoy with His children, but we also have forgiveness in Him and the assurance that His love for us is not dependent on the things we do or choose not to. God makes the choice to love us in spite of our sinful state, and He continues to encourage us towards the higher calling of a right relationship with Him.

It is a precious truth that nothing in this world has the power to separate a believer from the love of God. Even though our sin grieves His heart, it does not possess the strength to cause Him to turn His back on His beloved children. The most potent forces of separation this world has to offer have no foothold over God’s love and His willingness to bestow it freely.

When the devil tries to persuade us that our lives are too marred by sin for God to forgive, it is only a ploy to get us to willingly limit God’s ability to use us. The devil wants to remind us of the things we feel make us unworthy. If he can succeed in this way, he gains an advantage when Christians voluntarily sideline themselves from God’s work, feeling they are too sinful to be of use for our Lord. But God does not view us in this way. When He looks at a believer, God sees only the blood of His Son which has washed us and made us clean. Though He longs for us to make better choices and to be freed from the bondage of sin, His love for us is given without any conditions on our behaviour.

In Ephesians 1:6, Paul encourages us with these words:

“ To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

For those who have received Christ as their Saviour, they now bear the mark of heavenly approval through the blood of God’s Son. This simple choice makes us “accepted in the beloved.” Satan wants to remind us of our past decisions that took us away from God’s path; Jesus wants to remind us of our future with Him.

If you belong to God, nothing can separate you from His love. Whether in life or in death, in this world or the world to come, those who have called upon the name of the Lord are loved freely; without any conditions.

Have you experienced the acceptance of the beloved? Are you ready for a love that will not let you go? To learn more about how you can know the unconditional love of Christ, contact our ministry at (306) 940-9554 today.

Brother Andrew, a missionary commonly referred to as God’s Smuggler, served our Lord by putting his life at risk to smuggle Bibles into forbidden territory during the Cold War. His mission often took him across enemy lines for the sole purpose of placing the gospel in the hands of those who needed it most. Many of his border crossings placed his life in dire peril, yet he continued on in service to His king, trusting the Lord would protect and enable him to continue in His service.

Over the years, Brother Andrew’s Bible delivery mission took him through many different locations throughout the world. He developed a prayer which became a staple of each endeavour he undertook which reads:

“Lord, in my luggage I have Scripture I want to take to your children. When you were on earth, You made blind eyes see. Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind.  Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see.”

Due to the immense danger of Brother Andrew’s global Bible delivery mission, he earned himself the affectionate nickname of “God’s Smuggler,” a moniker which later became the title of a book detailing his life and ministry. A bestseller, this book sold over 10 million print copies and was later translated into a total of thirty-five languages.

Brother Andrew’s life affected other believers deeply through the powerful reality that he was an ordinary man used in an extraordinary way by a loving and holy God. This truth gives hope to all that God still works through the humblest of people to accomplish His greatest tasks.

In the words of Brother Andrew, “The Bible is full of ordinary people who went to impossible places and did wondrous things simply because they decided to follow Jesus.”

“The real calling,” he has said, “is not a certain place or career but to everyday obedience. And that call is extended to every Christian, not just a select few.”

Brother Andrew was not only a faithful servant in fulfilling His God-given calling but also in serving as a source of inspiration for other believers. His testimony and life’s work was an encouragement to many to seek their own ways to provide tangible help and support to Christians suffering persecution worldwide.

The ministry Brother Andrew started, Open Doors, now has operations all throughout the world which provide assistance to persecuted believers in more than 60 different countries.  These workers continue Brother Andrew’s mission, risking their own lives to bring Bibles into countries where the Word of God is strictly forbidden.  

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 1: 27, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” God takes His greatest pleasure in using ordinary men to do extraordinary things for His glory. What extraordinary job does God have in store for you?
 

Worry is a useless emotion we are all prone to. The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:34, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.  Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” We know that God has promised to meet all of our needs, yet instead of leaving all of our cares with Him, we worry and fret about whether or not He will supply.

The truth is our worry is pointless. God tells us not to worry about tomorrow. Our Lord has all of tomorrow’s cares already under control and worked out in the best possible way: the way which will draw us closer to Him. Yet we find it very difficult to refrain from giving in to the temptation to worry.

What is it we think we are accomplishing when we continue to mull over problems in our minds? Do we think that if we fret upon a problem long enough that it will magically disappear? That in times of financial need, our worry will cause God to send a windfall of money from the sky? Logically, we understand that both of these thoughts are ludicrous, but we fail to recognize that so is our penchant to worry. Worry accomplishes nothing. In fact, it is a sign that we do not take God at His word when He promised to take care of the things that we need.

Worry is not a new problem. The disciples also experienced it. In Luke 5:3-9, the Bible says:

3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

This passage provides us with a powerful example of doubt. We must remember that the Lord sees beyond the immediate. As humans, we have the ability to see the past and the present, but we cannot see the future. When Jesus told the disciples to let down their nets, He knew what was going to happen, but the disciples thought they knew better based only on their faulty experience as human beings living in an imperfect world. When we worry and doubt in our circumstances, we are communicating a lack of faith in the One who has promised to provide for our every need. It becomes all too easy for us to think we understand the nuances of our troubles better than God does, and therefore, He may need our assistance sorting out our issues. God doesn’t need our help to resolve pressing matters in our lives. While we were still deep in worry, God was already bringing about the resolution to our problem.

Peter and the disciples learned a valuable lesson that day. Jesus told them to let down their nets, but Peter’s faith was small. As a result, he only let down one net. Peter didn’t really believe that God was going to do what He said He would. Many times, we present this same view of God ourselves through our actions. God has promised to meet our daily needs. Yet often, we pray that the Lord would take care of specific things in our lives yet continue to try to devise a “backup plan” in case God doesn’t follow through with what He said He would. Our lack of faith limits what the Lord wants to do for us and robs us of the enjoyment of His richest blessings.

James 1:6 tells us, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” We must come to God believing that He can and He will supply our needs according to His perfect will. God is faithful to keep His Word; all He asks is that we ask in faith, believing that He will supply.

Are you plagued by worry? Let Anchor of Hope Ministry help you to learn the joy of trusting in the Lord. Contact us now at (306) 940-9554. We welcome the opportunity to help you!

Many people think they are free from sin if they make a sincere faith effort to keep from doing things they know are displeasing to the Lord. The problem with this type of thinking is it turns the Christian life into a “to do list,” whereby we spend our days trying to avoid the pitfalls that present themselves in life. However, there is more to a right relationship with God than simply refraining from known sin.

Though God has given us clear guidelines as to the best way to conduct ourselves to live a fruitful, blessed life that honours Him, God has given us the free will to choose the things we will allow into our hearts and lives as well as those that we want to avoid. Free will can feel like both a blessing and a curse as sometimes it becomes difficult to determine the best path for us to take. The devil makes sin look very attractive, and often pretties up the path to destruction in an attempt to make it look less dangerous, making us doubt God’s commands for us and question if that road really leads to our peril.

The Bible adds another layer of responsibility through this verse found in James 4:17:

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

We spend much time focusing on things that we shouldn’t be doing. Yet the Bible clearly teaches that there are things that we SHOULD actively be seeking, and failure to fulfill these roles in our lives is also sin. The dilemma we often encounter is the fact that many of the things we are commanded to do are hard for us, so we prefer to relegate them to a distant corner of our minds, rationalizing that if we devote ourselves to obeying the “Thou shalt not’s” that somehow God will overlook our unwillingness to comply with the “Thou shalt’s.” Yet some of the most important commands in Scripture are not things we should not do, they are things that we know in our hearts that are right, and that deserve our attention and commitment.

It is not easy to love our neighbour as ourselves; to place his good and needs above our own. But the Bible tells us this is our God-given role. We are to die to self and to deliberately seek opportunities to serve others. Failure to follow this important commandment is sin.  

We cannot claim ignorance as a reason for not following through on clear Bible teachings. If we have been made aware of something, we then have a responsibility to act on it. Anything less than that is sin. It is not enough to choose not to lie because we are commanded to not bear false witness. To please God, we must also be committed to speaking the truth. It is not enough to refrain from doing things that would blemish the name of Christ; we must also seek opportunities to share what He has done for us and to live a life that brings honour to His holy name and draws people to Him. God has clearly outlined the good things we are to be doing; a decision not to do them is sin.

In Ephesians 5:18-21, Paul asserts the following truths:

 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

When our hearts are filled with the Spirit of God, we have the strength that we need to resist the temptation to yield to that which is displeasing to God and to reach towards those things that bring glory to His name. In our own flesh, we lack the power to make good choices, but with the Holy Spirit empowering and guiding us, we are then able to focus on living a life that is well-pleasing to our Lord. The key to knowing what is good and doing it lies in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

Are you struggling to “do good”? Anchor of Hope Ministry can help. Contact us now at (306) 940-9554 to learn more about how Jesus can empower you to live for Him.

Statistics Canada reports that in 2017, 4,157 people ended their lives by suicide. As heartbreaking as this number may be, even more devastating is the knowledge that for those who succumbed to death at their own hand, there are many more who attempted suicide and were unsuccessful in their efforts. Today, suicide is the 9th leading cause of death in Canada, standing in line behind Alzheimer’s and marginally ahead of liver disease.

In the small community of Saint John, New Brunswick this past week, three people in the prime of their youth ended their own lives. One of these tragic deaths occurred when a young man chose to jump from an atrium at a popular area shopping mall, while stunned onlookers watched, horrified. There is no question that many people are suffering, lacking the strength and will to live. When hope is lost, where can those who are hurting turn for the fortitude to continue?

In John 10:10, the Bible teaches that, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

The devil, described in this verse as a thief, is the author of evil thoughts. His intention is to rob believers of their hope and joy and to render them ineffective for God’s service. Because he can lay no claim to those who belong to Christ, he instead applies his focus to instilling fear, discouragement, guilt, and feelings of low self-esteem and hopelessness into them. If he can get a Christian to believe that he is too great a sinner to be worthy of the love of his family, friends, and a holy God, then he has been successful in keeping that person from experiencing the true depths of the forgiveness and unconditional love that Christ freely offers.  Make no mistake, the devil is a formidable enemy, and he is on a mission: to steal, to kill, and to destroy.

Jesus came for us to enjoy a life of abundant joy. When we allow our emotions to convince us we are unworthy of God’s love or that life is not worth living, we rob ourselves of the blessings God wants to richly bestow upon us. Our focus is critical. Our troubles, though often a heavy burden, will not last forever. Suffering is only temporary, and God has promised to see us through the darkness to brighter days ahead.

Isaiah 41:14 expresses this truth:

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Even in the midst of our darkest thoughts, God is with us. Though times of deep discouragement come when hope seems like a distant impossibility, God promises to give us the strength that we need to weather the storm. When we lack the fortitude to stand on our own, God upholds us through the power of His hand and His Word. God’s promises are true and give us a record that He is a loving Creator who always honours that which He has committed to do. Though we struggle, our pain does not last forever. We have the hope of a loving God who stands beside us and gives us the strength we need to face each day with the knowledge that our sorrows have an expiration date. What we are enduring today will not last forever.

Perhaps one of the most powerful promises for those who have lost all hope is found in Psalm 34:18-19:

“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”

When we are at our lowest point, God is with us to provide the comfort and help that we need. Though affliction comes, God has promised to deliver us from our woes. When we are most broken, God is the most near. We do not cry or suffer alone. Our Saviour stands beside us as a constant to remind us that though today may seem insurmountable; a better day is coming.

Psalm 55:22 tells us to “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

 We don’t have to carry our burdens alone. God intends for us to share our hearts with Him, so that He can shoulder the load and give us that which we need for daily sustenance. The devil wants us to feel that God has forsaken us and will not fulfill His promises. God wants to remind us that He is always with us and that our struggles our only temporary. Our Heavenly Father can and will provide deliverance and healing.

Though the troubles of this life threaten to overwhelm us, God stands beside us in the midst of the storm to provide the stability we need and the hope of a better tomorrow.

If you are struggling with feeling there is no hope for your life, contact Anchor of Hope Ministries to learn more about how you can have the blessed hope through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The fall of man in the Garden of Eden brought with it many consequences. Prior to Adam and Eve’s choices in the Garden, they had the privilege of communing with God daily and the deep enjoyment of His company. In those early days, they knew nothing but contentment and peace, a self-assuredness that they loved and were loved by a Holy God. Yet when sin entered the equation, things changed. Man who once applied his focus to enjoying the riches of the Garden, fellowshipping with God, and loving the mate God had provided for him, suddenly became self-aware. With that self-awareness came many things, but three traits bore a lasting impact: feelings of insecurity, guilt, and shame brought on by the realization of sin.

After the fall, man saw himself in the cold hard light of reality. This new revelation unveiled a man with flaws and human frailties, bringing with it doubts and uncertainty. Yet in spite of man’s failings and penchant towards sin, God remained consistent in His love.

The Bible teaches in Romans 8:38-39 this powerful truth regarding God and those who have accepted His free gift of salvation:

“ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Though we sin and our sin causes God pain, He remains steadfast in His love for us. We cannot deny that our sinful nature brings a rift in the depth of the relationship a Holy Saviour wants to enjoy with His children, but we also have forgiveness in Him and the assurance that His love for us is not dependent on the things we do or choose not to. God makes the choice to love us in spite of our sinful state, and He continues to encourage us towards the higher calling of a right relationship with Him.

It is a precious truth that nothing in this world has the power to separate a believer from the love of God. Even though our sin grieves His heart, it does not possess the strength to cause Him to turn His back on His beloved children. The most potent forces of separation this world has to offer have no foothold over God’s love and His willingness to bestow it freely.

When the devil tries to persuade us that our lives are too marred by sin for God to forgive, it is only a ploy to get us to willingly limit God’s ability to use us. The devil wants to remind us of the things we feel make us unworthy. If he can succeed in this way, he gains an advantage when Christians voluntarily sideline themselves from God’s work, feeling they are too sinful to be of use for our Lord. But God does not view us in this way. When He looks at a believer, God sees only the blood of His Son which has washed us and made us clean. Though He longs for us to make better choices and to be freed from the bondage of sin, His love for us is given without any conditions on our behaviour.

In Ephesians 1:6, Paul encourages us with these words:

“ To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

For those who have received Christ as their Saviour, they now bear the mark of heavenly approval through the blood of God’s Son. This simple choice makes us “accepted in the beloved.” Satan wants to remind us of our past decisions that took us away from God’s path; Jesus wants to remind us of our future with Him.

If you belong to God, nothing can separate you from His love. Whether in life or in death, in this world or the world to come, those who have called upon the name of the Lord are loved freely; without any conditions.

Have you experienced the acceptance of the beloved? Are you ready for a love that will not let you go? To learn more about how you can know the unconditional love of Christ, contact our ministry at (306) 940-9554 today.

Brother Andrew, a missionary commonly referred to as God’s Smuggler, served our Lord by putting his life at risk to smuggle Bibles into forbidden territory during the Cold War. His mission often took him across enemy lines for the sole purpose of placing the gospel in the hands of those who needed it most. Many of his border crossings placed his life in dire peril, yet he continued on in service to His king, trusting the Lord would protect and enable him to continue in His service.

Over the years, Brother Andrew’s Bible delivery mission took him through many different locations throughout the world. He developed a prayer which became a staple of each endeavour he undertook which reads:

“Lord, in my luggage I have Scripture I want to take to your children. When you were on earth, You made blind eyes see. Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind.  Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see.”

Due to the immense danger of Brother Andrew’s global Bible delivery mission, he earned himself the affectionate nickname of “God’s Smuggler,” a moniker which later became the title of a book detailing his life and ministry. A bestseller, this book sold over 10 million print copies and was later translated into a total of thirty-five languages.

Brother Andrew’s life affected other believers deeply through the powerful reality that he was an ordinary man used in an extraordinary way by a loving and holy God. This truth gives hope to all that God still works through the humblest of people to accomplish His greatest tasks.

In the words of Brother Andrew, “The Bible is full of ordinary people who went to impossible places and did wondrous things simply because they decided to follow Jesus.”

“The real calling,” he has said, “is not a certain place or career but to everyday obedience. And that call is extended to every Christian, not just a select few.”

Brother Andrew was not only a faithful servant in fulfilling His God-given calling but also in serving as a source of inspiration for other believers. His testimony and life’s work was an encouragement to many to seek their own ways to provide tangible help and support to Christians suffering persecution worldwide.

The ministry Brother Andrew started, Open Doors, now has operations all throughout the world which provide assistance to persecuted believers in more than 60 different countries.  These workers continue Brother Andrew’s mission, risking their own lives to bring Bibles into countries where the Word of God is strictly forbidden.  

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 1: 27, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” God takes His greatest pleasure in using ordinary men to do extraordinary things for His glory. What extraordinary job does God have in store for you?
 

Worry is a useless emotion we are all prone to. The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:34, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.  Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” We know that God has promised to meet all of our needs, yet instead of leaving all of our cares with Him, we worry and fret about whether or not He will supply.

The truth is our worry is pointless. God tells us not to worry about tomorrow. Our Lord has all of tomorrow’s cares already under control and worked out in the best possible way: the way which will draw us closer to Him. Yet we find it very difficult to refrain from giving in to the temptation to worry.

What is it we think we are accomplishing when we continue to mull over problems in our minds? Do we think that if we fret upon a problem long enough that it will magically disappear? That in times of financial need, our worry will cause God to send a windfall of money from the sky? Logically, we understand that both of these thoughts are ludicrous, but we fail to recognize that so is our penchant to worry. Worry accomplishes nothing. In fact, it is a sign that we do not take God at His word when He promised to take care of the things that we need.

Worry is not a new problem. The disciples also experienced it. In Luke 5:3-9, the Bible says:

3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

This passage provides us with a powerful example of doubt. We must remember that the Lord sees beyond the immediate. As humans, we have the ability to see the past and the present, but we cannot see the future. When Jesus told the disciples to let down their nets, He knew what was going to happen, but the disciples thought they knew better based only on their faulty experience as human beings living in an imperfect world. When we worry and doubt in our circumstances, we are communicating a lack of faith in the One who has promised to provide for our every need. It becomes all too easy for us to think we understand the nuances of our troubles better than God does, and therefore, He may need our assistance sorting out our issues. God doesn’t need our help to resolve pressing matters in our lives. While we were still deep in worry, God was already bringing about the resolution to our problem.

Peter and the disciples learned a valuable lesson that day. Jesus told them to let down their nets, but Peter’s faith was small. As a result, he only let down one net. Peter didn’t really believe that God was going to do what He said He would. Many times, we present this same view of God ourselves through our actions. God has promised to meet our daily needs. Yet often, we pray that the Lord would take care of specific things in our lives yet continue to try to devise a “backup plan” in case God doesn’t follow through with what He said He would. Our lack of faith limits what the Lord wants to do for us and robs us of the enjoyment of His richest blessings.

James 1:6 tells us, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” We must come to God believing that He can and He will supply our needs according to His perfect will. God is faithful to keep His Word; all He asks is that we ask in faith, believing that He will supply.

Are you plagued by worry? Let Anchor of Hope Ministry help you to learn the joy of trusting in the Lord. Contact us now at (306) 940-9554. We welcome the opportunity to help you!

Many people think they are free from sin if they make a sincere faith effort to keep from doing things they know are displeasing to the Lord. The problem with this type of thinking is it turns the Christian life into a “to do list,” whereby we spend our days trying to avoid the pitfalls that present themselves in life. However, there is more to a right relationship with God than simply refraining from known sin.

Though God has given us clear guidelines as to the best way to conduct ourselves to live a fruitful, blessed life that honours Him, God has given us the free will to choose the things we will allow into our hearts and lives as well as those that we want to avoid. Free will can feel like both a blessing and a curse as sometimes it becomes difficult to determine the best path for us to take. The devil makes sin look very attractive, and often pretties up the path to destruction in an attempt to make it look less dangerous, making us doubt God’s commands for us and question if that road really leads to our peril.

The Bible adds another layer of responsibility through this verse found in James 4:17:

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

We spend much time focusing on things that we shouldn’t be doing. Yet the Bible clearly teaches that there are things that we SHOULD actively be seeking, and failure to fulfill these roles in our lives is also sin. The dilemma we often encounter is the fact that many of the things we are commanded to do are hard for us, so we prefer to relegate them to a distant corner of our minds, rationalizing that if we devote ourselves to obeying the “Thou shalt not’s” that somehow God will overlook our unwillingness to comply with the “Thou shalt’s.” Yet some of the most important commands in Scripture are not things we should not do, they are things that we know in our hearts that are right, and that deserve our attention and commitment.

It is not easy to love our neighbour as ourselves; to place his good and needs above our own. But the Bible tells us this is our God-given role. We are to die to self and to deliberately seek opportunities to serve others. Failure to follow this important commandment is sin.  

We cannot claim ignorance as a reason for not following through on clear Bible teachings. If we have been made aware of something, we then have a responsibility to act on it. Anything less than that is sin. It is not enough to choose not to lie because we are commanded to not bear false witness. To please God, we must also be committed to speaking the truth. It is not enough to refrain from doing things that would blemish the name of Christ; we must also seek opportunities to share what He has done for us and to live a life that brings honour to His holy name and draws people to Him. God has clearly outlined the good things we are to be doing; a decision not to do them is sin.

In Ephesians 5:18-21, Paul asserts the following truths:

 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

When our hearts are filled with the Spirit of God, we have the strength that we need to resist the temptation to yield to that which is displeasing to God and to reach towards those things that bring glory to His name. In our own flesh, we lack the power to make good choices, but with the Holy Spirit empowering and guiding us, we are then able to focus on living a life that is well-pleasing to our Lord. The key to knowing what is good and doing it lies in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

Are you struggling to “do good”? Anchor of Hope Ministry can help. Contact us now at (306) 940-9554 to learn more about how Jesus can empower you to live for Him.

Statistics Canada reports that in 2017, 4,157 people ended their lives by suicide. As heartbreaking as this number may be, even more devastating is the knowledge that for those who succumbed to death at their own hand, there are many more who attempted suicide and were unsuccessful in their efforts. Today, suicide is the 9th leading cause of death in Canada, standing in line behind Alzheimer’s and marginally ahead of liver disease.

In the small community of Saint John, New Brunswick this past week, three people in the prime of their youth ended their own lives. One of these tragic deaths occurred when a young man chose to jump from an atrium at a popular area shopping mall, while stunned onlookers watched, horrified. There is no question that many people are suffering, lacking the strength and will to live. When hope is lost, where can those who are hurting turn for the fortitude to continue?

In John 10:10, the Bible teaches that, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

The devil, described in this verse as a thief, is the author of evil thoughts. His intention is to rob believers of their hope and joy and to render them ineffective for God’s service. Because he can lay no claim to those who belong to Christ, he instead applies his focus to instilling fear, discouragement, guilt, and feelings of low self-esteem and hopelessness into them. If he can get a Christian to believe that he is too great a sinner to be worthy of the love of his family, friends, and a holy God, then he has been successful in keeping that person from experiencing the true depths of the forgiveness and unconditional love that Christ freely offers.  Make no mistake, the devil is a formidable enemy, and he is on a mission: to steal, to kill, and to destroy.

Jesus came for us to enjoy a life of abundant joy. When we allow our emotions to convince us we are unworthy of God’s love or that life is not worth living, we rob ourselves of the blessings God wants to richly bestow upon us. Our focus is critical. Our troubles, though often a heavy burden, will not last forever. Suffering is only temporary, and God has promised to see us through the darkness to brighter days ahead.

Isaiah 41:14 expresses this truth:

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Even in the midst of our darkest thoughts, God is with us. Though times of deep discouragement come when hope seems like a distant impossibility, God promises to give us the strength that we need to weather the storm. When we lack the fortitude to stand on our own, God upholds us through the power of His hand and His Word. God’s promises are true and give us a record that He is a loving Creator who always honours that which He has committed to do. Though we struggle, our pain does not last forever. We have the hope of a loving God who stands beside us and gives us the strength we need to face each day with the knowledge that our sorrows have an expiration date. What we are enduring today will not last forever.

Perhaps one of the most powerful promises for those who have lost all hope is found in Psalm 34:18-19:

“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”

When we are at our lowest point, God is with us to provide the comfort and help that we need. Though affliction comes, God has promised to deliver us from our woes. When we are most broken, God is the most near. We do not cry or suffer alone. Our Saviour stands beside us as a constant to remind us that though today may seem insurmountable; a better day is coming.

Psalm 55:22 tells us to “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

 We don’t have to carry our burdens alone. God intends for us to share our hearts with Him, so that He can shoulder the load and give us that which we need for daily sustenance. The devil wants us to feel that God has forsaken us and will not fulfill His promises. God wants to remind us that He is always with us and that our struggles our only temporary. Our Heavenly Father can and will provide deliverance and healing.

Though the troubles of this life threaten to overwhelm us, God stands beside us in the midst of the storm to provide the stability we need and the hope of a better tomorrow.

If you are struggling with feeling there is no hope for your life, contact Anchor of Hope Ministries to learn more about how you can have the blessed hope through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The fall of man in the Garden of Eden brought with it many consequences. Prior to Adam and Eve’s choices in the Garden, they had the privilege of communing with God daily and the deep enjoyment of His company. In those early days, they knew nothing but contentment and peace, a self-assuredness that they loved and were loved by a Holy God. Yet when sin entered the equation, things changed. Man who once applied his focus to enjoying the riches of the Garden, fellowshipping with God, and loving the mate God had provided for him, suddenly became self-aware. With that self-awareness came many things, but three traits bore a lasting impact: feelings of insecurity, guilt, and shame brought on by the realization of sin.

After the fall, man saw himself in the cold hard light of reality. This new revelation unveiled a man with flaws and human frailties, bringing with it doubts and uncertainty. Yet in spite of man’s failings and penchant towards sin, God remained consistent in His love.

The Bible teaches in Romans 8:38-39 this powerful truth regarding God and those who have accepted His free gift of salvation:

“ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Though we sin and our sin causes God pain, He remains steadfast in His love for us. We cannot deny that our sinful nature brings a rift in the depth of the relationship a Holy Saviour wants to enjoy with His children, but we also have forgiveness in Him and the assurance that His love for us is not dependent on the things we do or choose not to. God makes the choice to love us in spite of our sinful state, and He continues to encourage us towards the higher calling of a right relationship with Him.

It is a precious truth that nothing in this world has the power to separate a believer from the love of God. Even though our sin grieves His heart, it does not possess the strength to cause Him to turn His back on His beloved children. The most potent forces of separation this world has to offer have no foothold over God’s love and His willingness to bestow it freely.

When the devil tries to persuade us that our lives are too marred by sin for God to forgive, it is only a ploy to get us to willingly limit God’s ability to use us. The devil wants to remind us of the things we feel make us unworthy. If he can succeed in this way, he gains an advantage when Christians voluntarily sideline themselves from God’s work, feeling they are too sinful to be of use for our Lord. But God does not view us in this way. When He looks at a believer, God sees only the blood of His Son which has washed us and made us clean. Though He longs for us to make better choices and to be freed from the bondage of sin, His love for us is given without any conditions on our behaviour.

In Ephesians 1:6, Paul encourages us with these words:

“ To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

For those who have received Christ as their Saviour, they now bear the mark of heavenly approval through the blood of God’s Son. This simple choice makes us “accepted in the beloved.” Satan wants to remind us of our past decisions that took us away from God’s path; Jesus wants to remind us of our future with Him.

If you belong to God, nothing can separate you from His love. Whether in life or in death, in this world or the world to come, those who have called upon the name of the Lord are loved freely; without any conditions.

Have you experienced the acceptance of the beloved? Are you ready for a love that will not let you go? To learn more about how you can know the unconditional love of Christ, contact our ministry at (306) 940-9554 today.

Brother Andrew, a missionary commonly referred to as God’s Smuggler, served our Lord by putting his life at risk to smuggle Bibles into forbidden territory during the Cold War. His mission often took him across enemy lines for the sole purpose of placing the gospel in the hands of those who needed it most. Many of his border crossings placed his life in dire peril, yet he continued on in service to His king, trusting the Lord would protect and enable him to continue in His service.

Over the years, Brother Andrew’s Bible delivery mission took him through many different locations throughout the world. He developed a prayer which became a staple of each endeavour he undertook which reads:

“Lord, in my luggage I have Scripture I want to take to your children. When you were on earth, You made blind eyes see. Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind.  Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see.”

Due to the immense danger of Brother Andrew’s global Bible delivery mission, he earned himself the affectionate nickname of “God’s Smuggler,” a moniker which later became the title of a book detailing his life and ministry. A bestseller, this book sold over 10 million print copies and was later translated into a total of thirty-five languages.

Brother Andrew’s life affected other believers deeply through the powerful reality that he was an ordinary man used in an extraordinary way by a loving and holy God. This truth gives hope to all that God still works through the humblest of people to accomplish His greatest tasks.

In the words of Brother Andrew, “The Bible is full of ordinary people who went to impossible places and did wondrous things simply because they decided to follow Jesus.”

“The real calling,” he has said, “is not a certain place or career but to everyday obedience. And that call is extended to every Christian, not just a select few.”

Brother Andrew was not only a faithful servant in fulfilling His God-given calling but also in serving as a source of inspiration for other believers. His testimony and life’s work was an encouragement to many to seek their own ways to provide tangible help and support to Christians suffering persecution worldwide.

The ministry Brother Andrew started, Open Doors, now has operations all throughout the world which provide assistance to persecuted believers in more than 60 different countries.  These workers continue Brother Andrew’s mission, risking their own lives to bring Bibles into countries where the Word of God is strictly forbidden.  

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 1: 27, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” God takes His greatest pleasure in using ordinary men to do extraordinary things for His glory. What extraordinary job does God have in store for you?