Anchor Friday - Resolved

Here is Joan's post for this week's Anchor Friday:

On a dark night at sea, two lights were approaching each other. As they continued to get closer, the captain of a ship sent out a message: "Recommend you change course." The immediate reply came back: "Recommend you change course!" The captain, being somewhat miffed, signaled again: "This is CAPTAIN Smith. Again, I recommend you change course!" The reply came back just as quickly: "This is SEAMAN Jones; I recommend you change course!" By this time the captain was reaching the limits of his patience. He ordered an immediate, uncompromising message: "I am on a U.S. battleship. I order you to change course!!" to which the reply came back: "I am on a lighthouse. I recommend you change course."

Resolved! I can be pretty stubborn in my sin. Sometimes so stubborn that I can't change course even when I know I'm headed for danger.A new year is a time to set your course and look back where you've been and to look forward to where you want to go. I can see the horizon ahead and it holds promise and possibility. I know that storms await me and I know that I am stronger now. I am ready to make the journey. I am resolved.I am resolved to make my goal weight this year. I am resolved to spend more time in the word, more time praying and less time obsessing about food. I am resolved to share what I learn with others and to encourage others. I am resolved to hang on to the Anchor!The new year is full of promise. A clean slate. What will you do in 2009? What changes do you want to make? Do you need to change course?

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Hebrews 10: 23-25 (New Living Translation)

Almighty God, I confess that without you I cannot make this journey. I need your guidance, strength and perseverance. Fill my sail with your Spirit and keep me in your will. Help me to discern what is danger and what is the lighthouse. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Thanks Joan for that great post. Here is Martyn Lloyd Jones from Spiritual Depression. Let's put 2008 behind us, and look forward to an awesome 2009 with Christ!

"Would you like to be rid of this spiritual depression? The first thing you have to do is to say farewell now once and forever to your past. Realize that it has been covered and blotted out in Christ. Never look back at your sins again. Say: ‘It is finished, it is covered by the Blood of Christ’. That is your first step. Take that and finish with yourself and all this talk about goodness, and look to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only then that true happiness and joy are possible for you. What you need is not to make resolutions to live a better life, to start fasting and sweating and praying. No! You just begin to say:

I rest my faith on Him alone
Who died for my transgressions to atone. (35)

Desiring God Blog

Hey, I am sending a shout-out for the DesiringGod.org Blog. It has Bible Reading plans for the new year, AND the Crazy Idea of FASTING in '09! Wow, if that wasn't written for us, I don't know what was. Check it out!! (Esp. you, Natasha!)

~Claudia

I'm in Need of Resurrection

What a song to start the New Year off with. Resurrection by Nicol Sponberg. Followed by the Robbie Seay Band and "New Day."

The Lord is so good....everyday is a new day, and every year is a new year! So please allow yourself to have a few minutes alone and quiet as you listen to these songs and read the lyrics.....I hope they minister to you the way they do to me.


I'm at a loss for words, there's nothing to say
I sit in silence wondering what led me to this place
How did my heart become so lifeless and cold
Where did the passion go?

When all my efforts seem like chasing wind
I've used up all my strength and there's nothing left to give
I've lost the feeling and I'm down to the core
I can't fake it anymore.

chorus: Here I am at the end
I'm in need of resurrection
Only You can take this empty shell and raise it from the dead
What I've lost to the world
what seems far beyond redemption
You can take the pieces in Your hand
and make me whole again, again

You speak and all creation falls to its knees
You raise Your hand and calm the waves of the raging sea
You have a way of turning winter to spring
Make something beautiful out of all this suffering

chorus 2: Here I am once again I'm in need of resurrection
Only You can take this empty shell and raise it from the dead
What I've lost to the world what seems far beyond redemption
You can take the pieces in Your hand and make me whole again, again

You have a way of turning winter to spring
Make something beautiful out of all this suffering


New Day by Robbie Seay Band

I'm gonna sing this song
To let you know that you're not alone
And if you're like me
You need hope, coffee, and melody
So sit back down
Let the world keep spinning ‘round
For yesterday's gone
and today is waiting on you to show your face

It might not be
The prettiest thing that you'll ever see
But it’s a new day, oh baby, it’s a new day
And it might not look like
A beautiful sunrise
But it's a new day, oh baby, it’s a new day

I’m a pilgrim soul
I've traveled far and come back home
This land is hard and cold
For those who long to love
And I know it might seem
That the world is crumbling
But it’s me and you dancing in the kitchen at 2 am
And we're still alive

chorus

It’s the calm of the storm that comes blowing in
It’s the springtime saying
I'm back again
The clouds that roll by
Crossing moonlight
Me and you love – everything's alright

Standing in the rain with nowhere to go
Laughing and we're spinning
and I hope that you
Remember this day
For the rest of your life
Me and you love – everything’s gonna be alright

And it just might be
The prettiest thing that you'll ever see
It’s a new day
Oh baby, it’s a new day
If you look outside
To see a beautiful sunrise
It’s a new day

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone. Yes, it is the time for resolutions, and I think it's pretty obvious what our resolution is!

I wanted to share a story and a scripture with you to help you start off your New Year with a sense of sobriety.

I heard a story recently of a man who went to a business conference--by himself. He didn't know anybody there. He had a hotel room all to himself. That evening, he got in the elevator to go up to his room, and 2 gorgeous and alluring women were in the elevator. He asked them which floor they needed to go to, and they said, "Whichever one you're going to."

He knew he could get away with this. Nobody would ever find out. And all of a sudden, he saw in his mind something like a white screen, with these words on it:

The one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption...

So he said, "Goodnight, ladies" and got off the elevator.

This may not be the kind of temptation that you or I or Natasha are dealing with, but the principle is the same. Every day, every moment, we are faced with the temptation to eat more than we should, to eat food that is bad for us, to be lazy and idle. And probably the #1 reason we are not able to fight these temptations is because we are not using God's word.

Remember, God's Word is a Sword. It is the Sword of the Spirit! It is our only offensive weapon against the enemy. And it is strong, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword. We need to be more proactive in using this powerful weapon God has given us to fight and resist temptation, and win this battle over our flesh, just like the man in the story did.

So, I have decided I am going to use this verse (and others) to the fight the temptation to overeat. Right now, my stomach feels hungry. Even though I ate a decent dinner, and had a snack, I do feel like I could eat right now. But, it's 11:30 pm and I don't need to eat anything.

So, I am going to trust the Lord right now, and believe Him when he says in Eph. 6:17, "Take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" and James 4:7, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you," and I am going to quote Gal. 6:8 outloud as I am getting into bed.

"The one who sows to his own flesh, will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

May the Lord help me not to give up! And may He be praised in my heart, my mind and my body today, and everyday during this New Year of 2009!