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Anchor

A critical tool
To keep afloat
You are a fool
If not on your boat

Drift into sand bars
Run aground
Not like a car
Earthly bound

There are tides
And current
Waves on all sides
So do not get burnt

Buy the correct ground tackle
Many different types and traits
Correct anchoring is the battle
To avoid mistakes

There is sand
Which is the best
An anchor will stand
When your boat is pressed

Grass is the hardest to set
An anchor will slip
Which is a threat
To your ship

You need pointy flukes
To dig into the ground
There will be no rebukes
Your boat will be sound

Two anchors can be better than one
To keep your boat stable
Increasing your comfort and fun
Do not forget your cable

Plenty of chain
As far as you can
Use your brain
Keep to the plan

At least a length of five
To the depth of the water
You want to stay alive
And not rely on a spotter
Spend the money
Chain is expense
Or you will be on one knee
Begging God when it is tense

An anchor is fundamental
A way to stay grounded
Your life will be more gentle
When circumstances compounded

But what is your anchor in life
What keeps you secure
To avoid unnecessary strife
An anxiety cure

God
God is the fix
He is no fraud
Remember the crucifix

Jesus is our foundation
He is our security
Keeping us on station
He is our surety

He guarantees
Life after death
Drop to your knees
And take a deep breath

Ask for mercy
Seek repentance
Resolving your controversy
In one simple sentence

If you declare with your mouth
Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead
you will be saved

Jesus is our salvation
And like an anchor is our buffer
From ultimate damnation
You do not have to suffer

Marriage

Marriage


You must believe
To care for the truth
And perceive
God from our youth


The Bible is true
The Bible is correct
The Bible is glue
The Bible is perfect


If you do not believe in God
Or in the truth of the Bible
This poem is a wad
Of foolish trifle


So stop here
Do not read another verse
You will not hear
The truth of the universe


To be unyoked
To ugly darkness
You will be provoked
By its starkness


But not by Gods light
Which shines on us all
Bright as Gods image
We do get the call


To share in Gods plan
Told in the Bibles first book
Genesis is where it began
Let us take a look


Man should not be alone
No helper found fit
God made women almost a clone
One flesh closely knit


God made an equal member
Two is better than one
Let us remember
Ecclesiastes is how it is spun


Gods plan is guy and gal
And he did not want us by ourselves
And they say we shall
Put all emotions on the shelf


On the shelf of love
On the shelf of encouragement
On the shelf of self sacrifice
On the shelf of commitment


God knew the world was fallen
And the world was hard
Most would fall in
You need to stand guard


Horrible things occur
To Gods creation
We must concur
It does not fit Gods narration


A narration of obedience
A narration of contentment
A narration of joy
A narration of peace


Why can we not stand up
To the evil in the world
The devils evil cup
As the devils world whirls


Whirls around us
Challenging our loyalties
Creating lots of fuss
Stealing our royalties


Royalties of forgiveness
Royalties of life
Royalties of heaven
Royalties of God


To challenge the evil miscarriages
God gave us each other
Man and female in marriages
Christians as a sister and a brother


A sister and brother
A brother and brother
A sister and sister
A brother and sister


To protect one another
To encourage one another
To carry one another
To help one another


In this fallen place
It is a mighty wonder
There is Gods grace
We can fall under


We sin immensely
In many ways
Most intensely
Setting God ablaze


Same sex marriage, divorce
Lies, gossip, small talk
Which ones to enforce
It is all a crock


They are all sin
Hated by God
We cannot win
We are all frauds


God knew
God gave us a rope
God came through
God gave us hope


We are not done
God sent Jesus to die
He sent his son
To ransom and buy


Our sinful mouths
Our sinful eyes
Our sinful trespasses
Our sinful lives


Just believe
Jesus is Lord
God rose Jesus
From the dead


It is not tough
Just repent
Call the devils bluff
A life changing event


A new journey
A new body
A new understanding
A new standing


Not easy
Never is
Can get sleazy
Do not fizz


You have made it
To Gods mysteries
You do not need your wit
Just Holy Spirit victories


Victories in choices
Victories in prayer
Victories in service
Victories in churches


Celebrate today
A new life view
This is the way
For me and you


Notes:


Belief
Acts:22-31 English Standard Version (ESV)
Paul Addresses the Areopagus 22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,[a] 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’;[b] as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’[c] 29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”


2 Peter 1:20-21 English Standard Version (ESV)
20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.


Unyoked
2 Corinthians 6:14 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Temple of the Living God 14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?


God’s Image


Genesis 1:26-27 English Standard Version (ESV)
26 Then God said, “Let us make man[a] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.


God’s Plan


Genesis 2:18-24 English Standard Version (ESV)
18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for[a] him.” 19 Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed[b] every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam[c] there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made[d] into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”[e]
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.


Why two is better than one


Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 English Standard Version (ESV)
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.


Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Romans 15:1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Hebrews 13:1-2 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Romans 12:5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Corinthians 12:14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.
Corinthians 12:20-21 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”


Warnings for being alone


Proverbs 18:1 English Standard Version (ESV)
18 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;
he breaks out against all sound judgment.


Psalm 72:12 English Standard Version (ESV)
12 For he delivers the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has no helper.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Genesis 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.
Romans 7:21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.


Single is possible under the right conditions


1 Corinthians 7:8-9 English Standard Version (ESV)
8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.


Marriage
Ephesians 5:22-33 English Standard Version (ESV)
Wives and Husbands
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.[a] 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.


Why does marriages fail?


Sin and pride in this world


Are divorces what God wants?


Hebrews 13:4 English Standard Version (ESV)
4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Mark 10 English Standard Version (ESV)


Teaching About Divorce


Mark 10:1-10 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.
2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,[a] 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

My Faith

My faith is permanent. I am saved, and I will always be saved. I have my passport stamped to heaven, and I am going. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be with God forever when I die. My salvation is secure.

I grew up going to church, and I went to a Christian school until high school. I had good Christian teaching. I saw the good and bad of Christians in school, and it hurt my faith because the Christian teachers were hypocrites with favorites. It was sad.

After College, I was a banker, and then I bought and sold businesses. I quit going to church and reading my Bible. I got very, very far away from God. All I was worried about was making money. Somewhere along the way, I knew something was missing, and I needed more. I started reading the Bible in 1997. My grandmother was a strong Christian, and she died in 1998. She was 100. I was driving home from one of my businesses struggling with business issues and life issues, and I had a vision. In a group of clouds, my grandmother talked to me. She told me it was all true and it will be ok. Don’t worry. It was a fantastic experience, and I did not tell anybody about it for a while, but it changed my life immediately.

I read my Bible every day. I prayed every day. I quit reading other books except for Christian publications. I went to church on Wednesdays and Sundays. I joined a Sunday school. I was baptized or born again in 2000. I quit cursing, and I cared about other people. I stayed in my first marriage (unpleasant marriage) for another few years. I started participating in church ministries. My attitude changed from a greedy, selfish, mean spirited person to a generous, kind person. I still have my moments, but I am nothing like I was before I was born again. People noticed.

I began very evangelistic reading and studying different ways to share the gospel. I made it my duty to share the gospel. I look for opportunities. I have planted many seeds, and I have harvested a few. God used me to harvest a Muslim. What an experience.

My vision of God is straight out of Revelations when God is on the throne, and the martyrs are under the throne, begging him to finish it – to bring justice. When I think of God, that is what I imagine now. 

I have taught Sunday School, small groups, and children groups. I was so busy for Christ; I taught children at the local trailer part on Sunday, small group Sunday night, small group Tuesday, and Thursday night. The best thing they were all different people. I learned more from teaching than I ever learned from reading and studying. What a blessing.

I have never been on a mission trip because I feel I am on mission every day. I visited homes sharing the gospel, passed out tracks, visited individuals in the hospital every Wednesday for a year or two, took children to summer church camp, slept overnight with homeless in programs, gospel, teach small groups, and became a Stephen Minister. 

Stephen Minister is a layperson program where you take 40 hours of training along with continuing education weekly. As a layperson, you are assigned people from the church to help through their grief. If it is a severe issue, then you pass them on to the pastor. I did this for three years, and it was difficult. I had some interesting people, but they were hurting humans. I took on this challenge because I was not very emphatic, and I wanted to become more caring. A better listener. A great rewarding experience. I use the tools that I learned every day.

I believe Jesus is Lord, and God raised Him from the dead, and if you believe this, then you are saved. You have your salvation. Baptism is not a requirement for salvation because of the example of the thief on the cross. I think works come from your belief, and you want to help others. I believe the more works you do, and the less sin you commit, the closer you get to God. The Holy Spirit is increased in you, and it is how you get closer to God. If you do not do works and you sin, then you lose the strength of the Holy Spirit, and God’s presence in you is reduced. I have moved up and down on the Holy Spirit scale. I love God. I am saved, and I am excited about my faith.