Tag: jesus

Wisdom

Is It Possible to Seek God Diligently and Not Find Him?

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by Jean van der Meulen on Pexels.com

Happy Friday!! We made it to the end of the week. It’s almost the weekend!!! First, I just want to say this blog post today is inspired by the Bible Cafe on Instagram hosted by Pastor Dave Therrien @therrien6034, New Hope Christian Church. He has been taking us through Proverbs 1 this week talking about wisdom. Whilst Pastor Dave has been talking about wisdom in verses 32 and 33 (I encourage you to listen to the past week, they are five short videos). Pastor Dave goes on to say we need to be intentional about doing what God says to “be at ease from the dread of evil.” It’s a promise if we are intentional about doing what God says? (which made me think, “am I setting out each day to intentionally do what God says?”, that’s a discussion for another day)

After reading verses 32 and 33, verse 28 caught my eye;

28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 They would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.
31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil.” (NKJV).

(seriously, listen today’s video and what Pastor Dave says the Bible says about complacency)

So this reminded me of last week’s post and the one before that about seeking God wholeheartedly, diligently. The Bible says we will find Him when we seek Him with all our heart (Jeremiah 29:13). But, verse 28 – “… They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. That just smacked me between the eyes. Proverbs 9:10 came to mind – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” We need to have fear, a reverent fear of God, THAT is the beginning of wisdom. We must CHOOSE to fear God. My fear of God isn’t one that makes me run from Him. It’s not a fear if I mess up He’s gonna be mad me and punish me. He’ll correct me and get me back on track with love, grace and mercy. My fear is fear one that is in awe of Him. He is in control, He died for me, for us, God rose Jesus from the dead for me, for us, so that we could have eternity with Him. God is sovereign, there is no other like Him, He has NO equal! Choosing to fear the Lord, the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 2:4-6

4 “If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;”

We can be diligent and intentional in our search but with out fear of the Lord, we ain’t gonna find Him. We ain’t gonna find wisdom and understanding without a reverent fear of the Lord. It comes down to choosing. Choosing to fear the Lord. Choosing to be intentional about seeking Him and doing what He says. There are only good things that come from choosing to fear the Lord. Diligent, intentional, wholeheartedly, seek, choose, we will gain wisdom and understanding.

Obedience

Seek and You Shall Find

The Kedge Anchor

“If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” Jeremiah 29:13

Have you ever lost something and tore up the house looking for something, perhaps for days? That was me today. I had misplaced, and emphasize misplaced a few objects, four to be exact. I looked for at least week for these objects and over the course of the week I found them one by one. Now, you can’t tell me that God isn’t in the details of our lives. He helped me, He guided me to my missing objects. And no, it’s not luck, it’s not coincidence, it’s is all God. Why, do I believe this?

I searched for days looking for a Valentine my mom made me, a bookmark my aunt made, a battery charger for my phone (y’know the ones you carry with you to charge your phone on the go?) and a trinket box I needed for a craft project for an event at church. All these were very valuable to me, but the trinket box with scripture stones inside is what I really needed for a meeting this coming weekend. I prayed each time to find these things and one by one, I found them over the course of the week. Believe what you want but it’s no coincidence. I believe God taught me somethings through this.

  1. He hears our prayers. There are numerous verses from Old Testament to New about God hearing our prayers and answering our requests. Check them out here.
  2. Matthew 6:26 – “2 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” God cares about what I care about and some of my lost items are treasures and some I really needed to find.

It was nagging me, killing me not to able to find these items. And each time I found one, it was in a place I didn’t expect to find and when I was looking for one in particular, I found one of the other ones. The trinket box was the last one I found and I totally forgot I used it to elevate and small lamp that was sitting low in a box on my armoire. I was freaking because I didn’t want to make this again. So I prayed again, in desperation. I began to comb all the places I had looked one more time, maybe it was in plain sight I was overlooking it. Then for the third time I looked on top of the armoire and saw the lamp on something, and there it was. Thank you Jesus!

One more verse popped in my head, about the woman and the lost coin, Luke 15:8-10 – “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (NIV) Funny thing was I wanted to tell my friend I found the trinket box then I couldn’t find my phone. **smacks head**( I did find it buried under my Bible. And I know the rejoicing here is about sinners repenting, but it does refer to something lost and found and rejoicing).

I began to think about Jeremiah 29:13 – “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” If we look for God WHOLEHEARTEDLY we will find Him. My search for these items was urgent, desperate, I was determined to find them. I began to think, do I search for God like this? I do read His Word daily, but am I doing it wholeheartedly, desperately, urgently? Many times I am distracted by to do lists, bills, housework … I’m sure you can relate.

How do we seek God with all our heart? What does it mean, what does that look like? Stay tuned for the second half as I explore this more. Please let me know if is this is something you struggle with and what seeking God wholeheartedly means to you.

Don’t forget to subscribe, like, share and follow me on social media. Until then Anchor in Hope!

Love Languages

What Does Valentine’s Day Mean to You?

The Kedge Anchor

Thank you to all who have followed me here and on YouTube the past week where I showed ways to wrap up the Five Languages of Love as actual tangible gifts.

Over the years growing up Valentine’s Day has had different meanings. As a kid, It was those cheap boxed die cut cards that every kid in school passed out to almost everyone. I would make cards for my mom and dad. I guess I have been making greeting cards for sometime now, lol, and my mom would always say “Roses are red violets are blue aren’t you glad God loves you.” When I moved away, even after I was married she’d cut out a read heart and write that little poem on it.

As I became an adult and being single I began to dread Valentine’s Day. I thought it was because I was unattached, no steady boyfriend at times that I would dread it. But even if I happened to have a boyfriend at the time, it was still looking back, uh, unfulfilling. I thought once I was married, it would be different, I would look forward to it. Well, I have been married 30 years this coming spring and I’ll admit it’s not as dreadful but there is always that pressure to get the perfect gift, the grand gesture, the wow factor. Even if you’re single there’s still pressure, right? The traditional, expected dozen roses that are waaaay over priced this time every year, the box of chocolates. Diamond sales go up, nothing wrong with getting engaged on Valentine’s Day. But can we be a little more imaginative, unexpected, more original?

Honestly, I don’t need a calendar to tell me when to express or celebrate my love for anyone. So with that off the table, less pressure more room for originality and creativity. Singles, no matter how old you are, you don’t need a boyfriend or a girlfriend to celebrate Valentine’s Day. You have family, friends? Gather!!!! High schoolers go to proms in groups. Gather your family, invite them to dinner, do the same with your friends. Take photos and make memories.

Husband’s, wive’s can we be more imaginative? Can we think outside the chocolates and roses? Does it have to cost an arm and a leg to express your love? Does it have to be February 14th? Why not all year long? Download the coupon book, make twelve coupons for an adventure every month. Try a new recipe and cook dinner together once a month. Consider your loved one’s love language this Valentine’s Day. Get creative, be imaginative, create memories and experiences.

The greatest gift of love was given to us by God Himself and it wasn’t on February 14th. We celebrate His birth, death and resurrection. God expressed His love for us by giving us His Son. He sacrificed His only Son for us. Jesus gave His life, His blood and rose from the dead three days later for us so that we could live in eternity forever with Him. God’s gift of salvation cost Him everything so it could cost us nothing. It’s free, all we have to do is accept it. The greatest gesture of love, the greatest example of love, His sacrifice. What an expression of love!!

Coloring Page, prayer pages

Happy New Year 2024! Introducing Prayer Pages

The Kedge Anchor

Happy new Year from The Kedge Anchor! Wow where has time gone? It’s hard to believe how quickly time passed. 2023 got a little rough toward the end but I, we survived.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you…” God has many things in store for us, good things, because His Word says, in James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above.” Uncertainty and not knowing the future can be scary. It helps me to remember our times are in God’s hands and what better place to be. God is sovereign and nothing goes unnoticed by Him. Trust Him!!

So for 2024, I think I am going to keep my goals and focus from last year (I have them written down somewhere). One of my goals is to try and keep a schedule here and not get so tripped up or behind when a migraine strikes.

There is one new goal I think I’d like to add and that is working on my prayer life. Prayer is a Christian’s life line. It’s how we communicate with God. I don’t know if this happens to you when you pray, but I some days I have a hard time focusing and the next thing I know, I’m kinda no longer praying but thinking about the million things I gotta do or my mind is racing down a track I have no idea how it got there. Sometimes I can trace my thoughts to where it started all because someone came to mind and started me thinking about something totally unrelated.

Here’s a video by Mike Donehey on praying.

LOl, does this happen to you too? I’m glad I’m not the only one. I like Mike’s idea of praying out loud and walking and talking with God. (It’s just too cold most days). So last summer as I was trying to stay focused, I started writing the names of people I was praying for in an old sketchbook, then I drew a flower and placed the names of everyone I was praying for. And as I was praying I was coloring in the petals and leaves. Then on the other page I wrote the things I was thankful for. I kept doing this everyday. I looked forward to getting up and drawing and praying. I was actually staying focused.

So I came up with Prayer Pages. 

Whale Prayer Page Download

I would draw and color as I was praying, here all you need to do is add names and color it in if you like. It’s also a great way to keep track of answered prayer. I would at the top write in the date somewhere. You could draw in a sun, maybe some clouds, and add the date there or write it in on the banner over the whale’s head. Then as you write in the names of whom you are praying you can color the fish or not. I found that it helped me stay more focused.

Try it, this is a free download, print a couple of copies and try it for a few days. On the back write down 3 to 5 thing for which you are thankful. Let me know how this works for you. If you are rushed for time some days, just write in what or who you are praying for and later perhaps before going bed go back and color it in. This is a good way to wind down if your thoughts are racing. 

Whale Prayer Page Colored Download

Above is the prayer pager to download if you just want to record the prayers for others.

healing

Seashells and Snowflakes – Part 2

The Kedge Anchor
Sea Shells on Sandy Snow
by Aluisius Sudiarto

In my last post, I shared shared how I feel mixed emotions when losing a loved one. How can I feel joyful and sad at the same time? How is that possible? In this post, I continue with how I process these emotions.

Routine and normalcy are something that I need to help move on, I think everyone does, but everyone is different. So I try to go back to my regularly scheduled programming. Although I must admit I feel like I am carrying a weight as go back business as usual. So to lessen that weight I find that doing something creative helps with the healing process.

Writing this post helped, a lot. Organizing my thoughts and emotions and getting them out on paper or computer screen was cathartic. Sharing my heart and allowing myself to vulnerable in a way helps. Though I must admit, doing this on social media is a bit scary.

So here’s what helps me and what I do; cleaning. Ok not so much a creative effort but I feel like at least something in my life is in order. Sometimes I get creative when organizing.

Painting, not a room, I like to watercolor and experiment with my art supplies. I like to create and make new things. Sometimes whatever I am going through will inspire a design or thought that I can communicate with an image or with my lettering. There is joy in creating..

Brush lettering, lettering in of itself is calming and relaxing for me, lettering a scripture verse helps keep God’s word in front of me. I can put scripture on just about anything, wallpaper for my phone, if you go back to November 2020 – December 2022, check out Memorize Mondays and you can download some wallpaper for your phone, free. Because how many times do you pick up your phone, right? God’s Word can be right there in your face. James 4:8 – “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you …” (kind of a little play on words 🙂 ) Put on some worship music or whatever kind of music you enjoy, maybe a podcast or a past message from your pastor and just doodle, draw, paint, knit, sew, bake, cook, take a nature walk and take pictures all you need is the camera on your phone, create something. Being creative is one way that helps me be in close proximity to God. (before you say, “I’m not creative” you are, you just need to uncover it.)

Reach out to others, if just to say “Hi” Sometimes I find when I do that that the person I’m reaching to… I made their day, that blesses me. More often than not the other person is having a bad day and needed some encouragement.

Exercise, it’s kinda cold out, not my favorite weather to go walking, but YouTube has tons of exercise videos and it helps boost the happy hormones. Jessica Valant Pilates has a great 10 minute walking video you can do indoors. Seriously it’s enough on a hard day for whatever reason and it helps motivate me to do more.

This is how I have been processing. It’s always uncomfortable and it hurts. Starting the healing process was hard because I wasn’t sure where to begin but with letting myself feel. The rest kind of fell into place when I sought God. For me that often looked like me sitting staring into space imagining Jesus sitting with me in silence because I had no words, other than recalling scripture or listening to a meditation on the Abide app.

In the last post I mentioned how Jesus may have felt resurrecting Lazarus. He may have felt some mixed emotions having to call Lazarus down from Heaven and having to die again one day. But Jesus was also doing something to for Mary and Martha that would make them happy. Perhaps our Father had some mixed emotions as well. God the Father mourned the day His only Son, died on the cross for our sin. Jesus took it all, He took the sin of the WORLD, past, present, and future of ALL our sin and the Father couldn’t even look at His Son with all our sin placed on Him. He had to look away. BUT, after Jesus was buried , He rose again three days later!!!! All so He could complete the plan of Salvation!! So that we could spend eternity with Him and all we have to do is acknowledge the fact we are sinners and need someone to save us and that someone is Jesus Christ. He is The Plan for our lives – John 14:6!

“Sorrow and the scarlet leaf, sad thoughts and sunny weather…” Thomas W. Parsons

Please stay tuned. After I thought about it some more I began to wonder why we have to experience pain, why in some case Jesus doesn’t heal and why He does in others. I may not have the definitive answer but perhaps it may explain some things.

Uncategorized

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

The Kedge Anchor

©CARYNSCORNERBTQ 2022

Thank you to all who have followed me over the past two years! Wow, two years, where has time gone? 2022 is almost done! As we welcome a new year we also welcome changes. I personally don’t like change but I hope the coming changes to the Kedge Anchor will inspire others to continue to walk closer to God and continue to offer hope.

This will be the last post until 2023!! Wow 2023!! God is our only hope for the new year. That is one thing that will never change. Our God is a big God and He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We never need to worry about Him changing.

So just a few changes that you will see, the coloring pages and Memorize Mondays are going away, maybe for awhile, maybe come back looking different, I dunno, haven’t decided. I have decided to combine my art – Caryn’s Corner and The Kedge Anchor. The two are just merging and to make my life simple and hoping to make a bigger impact combing the two made sense. Weekly devotional blogs will stay.

There is some really cool content coming up so please stay tuned. And thank you again to all my followers. Stay anchored in Hope!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

salvation

“Every Good Gift and Every Perfect Gift…” James 1:17

The Kedge Anchor

Photo by Ylanite Koppens on Pexels.com

A few weeks back, we started the 30 Day Gratitude challenge in the book, The Grumbler’s Guide to Giving Thanks, where everyday we recorded five things for which we were grateful. I shocked myself that I consistent for 30 days. I still account for that which I am grateful but I’ll be honest I forget to write them down. But, that’s ok, God hears my prayers.

I am still reading this book. I am not finished. I am journaling what read and taking my time. I want this to stick. So often I read a book, and say “Oh that was a great book” and three days later I can’t remember a thing (insert eye roll). Another reason why I am still reading the book is I got hung up on a verse; James 1:17. Currently I am only studying the first half of this verse, “Every good gift and every perfect gift…” I was always taught to understand a verse, reading the surrounding verses will help.

The verse is sandwiched between verses of trials and temptations, it looks like this in my NKJV Study Bible:

Loving God Under Trials

12Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.  14But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  15Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

16Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.  17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.  18Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Qualities Needed in Trials

19[c]So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (The Bible Hub).

I began to wonder about these gifts. When I hear the word gift, I think pretty package, “brown paper packages tied up with string,” something pleasant, something that brings joy. So I investigated.
EVERY – Greek word – πᾶσα – pasa, All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole. Hmm declension made me wonder more.

Forms of declension? Trials as gifts? hmm.

GOOD – Greek – δόσις dosis -A giving, gift, donation. From the base of didomi; a giving; by implication, a gift. to give (in various senses lit. or fig.)

PERFECT – Greek – τέλειον – teleion –From telos; complete; neuter completeness. Perfect here is not defined as blemish free or without flaw. Perfect is defined as COMPLETE. Teleion, from telos, Strong’s Greek: 5046. τέλειος (teleios). There was another word that came to my mind, maybe you’re thinking the same one. Τετέλεσται -Tetelesta Strong’s 5055: (a) I end, finish, (b) I fulfill, accomplish, (c) I pay. From telos; to end, i.e. Complete, execute, conclude, discharge.

“”IT IS FINISHED! ” John 19:30

The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon

Strong’s Number: 5046 Browse Lexicon
Original WordWord Origint evleioßfrom (5056)
Transliterated Word TDNT 
Entry Teleios 8:67,1161
Phonetic SpellingParts of Speechtel’-i-osAdjective 

Definition brought to its end, finished wanting nothing necessary to completeness perfect that which is perfect consummate human integrity and virtue of men full grown, adult, of full age, mature
Bible Study Tools

Gift – Greek – δώρημα – dōrēma -A gift, bounty. From doreomai; a bestowment

I found these definitions for telos an ultimate end (Merriam Webster) and I like how Wordnick describes it the end of a goal oriented process. Wasn’t Jesus’ death on the cross a goal oriented process? He was the perfect sacrifice. Perfect in the sense He was without blemish, without sin, flawless and it was perfect in the sense His work on the cross is complete. His coming to earth born as a baby, fully human and fully God was the beginning of the Gospel. The gift of salvation was given to us when Jesus was born. Salvation for us was completed when Jesus died on the cross and rose again three days later. Jesus had one goal to complete, to pay the penalty of sin for us.

That’s probably why James nestled this verse in these verses of trials and temptations. We are going to be tempted and we at times may give (ok most likely) into temptation and sin. We will face trails and we likely fail. I know I will fail, we will fail if I, if we aren’t seeking God’s help in the midst of these trials and temptations. And there is nothing we can do to complete our salvation, there is nothing we can add to it. “nothing necessary to completeness.” What a gift!!!

And are we looking at trials as gifts? (ok I’ll save that for next week’s post because I do have some verses on that and this post is already long).

Ok so I am no Bible scholar. I may be waaay off in interpreting this. My head was spinning with all the information I was coming across and trying to organize it in my head, it was a lot to wrap my head around. I didn’t find any commentary that spoke to this, so if there are any scholars out there or if anyone has any constructive comments, please comment. I maybe missing something or not following something correctly. And right now it makes sense to me. So any insight, thoughts would be great.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Evil

What was Meant for Evil, God Means for Good.

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

A while back, I was working in South Florida during Hurricane Andrew. After the storm, a co-worker was sharing a report of a church in the area that had been flattened. Bibles and hymnals strewn all over the neighborhood. Papers, bulletins everything that was inside was now outside. Down the street was an adult store, what appeared to be untouched by the storm.

Many people were asking “why”? Why would God allow the church to be destroyed and the adult store untouched? Some would see it as evil. But what was meant for evil, God meant for good. Think about it for a second if the scenario was reversed. What if the adult store was demolished and the church was unscathed? Think about all the pornographic magazines and books strewn about the neighborhood for anyone to see. Now I don’t know if there was any internal damage, which very well may have happened, but God was protecting the neighborhood.

The church could and would rebuild. As far as the adult store, I don’t know. But the point here is God is in control. God was actually protecting the neighborhood from the pornography being exposed. One can definitely say the word of God was spread that day. God’s creation may be suffering from the effects of sin, such as enduring storms, decay, etc. but God is still in control. Like the disciples in the boat with Jesus, Matthew 8:23-27. The disciples freaked, Jesus slept, the storm raged. One thing the disciples did,(even though they were freaking out) they did seek Jesus in the storm, (isn’t that what we should do when we are freaking out?) even though He was right there, they were frightened, so they called on Him. Except now we don’t have to wake Him, He is available 24/7!!

Maybe we should be looking more for God’s work in what seems to be the work of evil. Was it bad that the church was destroyed? Jesus said the temple would be restored in three days, John 2:19. His blood was strewn all over the day He sacrificed His life for us. Evil may have been done to Him, but what He did for us was far from evil. His sacrifice ordained by His Father, Jesus’ willingness to go to the cross, was grace, mercy, and love for us all!

No matter the storm, seek Jesus, look for the good He means.

Coloring Page

June 27, 2022 – John 5:1

The Kedge Anchor

Wow, this year is half over!! Where has 2022 taken you? Where is Jesus leading you? He is the light of this world and He will guide you where He wants you, you just need to be willing to let Him lead you.

june-27-2022-2Download

scripture, Uncategorized

April 25, 2022 – John 11:25

The Kedge Anchor

Jesus made it easy for us. All we need to do is believe!! If you are reading this for the first time, if you want to know more about knowing Jesus click here, Knowing Jesus.

And you if you enjoy these posts please like and share, thank you 🙂

April 25 2022Download