Anchor in the Storm

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." - Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV).
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Several years ago a submarine was being tested and had to remain submerged for many hours. When it returned to the harbor, the captain was asked, "How did the terrible storm last night affect you?" The officer looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, "Storm? We didn't even know there was one!" The sub had been so far beneath the surface that it had reached the area known to sailors as "the cushion of the sea." Although the ocean may be whipped into huge waves by high winds, the waters below are never stirred.
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Being a Christian doesn't deliver us from the trials and troubles of life
because we live in a broken world where it rains on the just as well as the
unjust. - See Matthew 5:45. However, our faith in Christ gives us an anchor in
the storm and a hiding place in the shadow of his wings. As David the Psalmist prayed, "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until this violent storm is past". - Psalm 57:1-2 (NLT).

There Is No Mercy In Hell

Faith is basically believing that God still loves us. He does not love our sin. He does not want us to continue in our sin. He is like a father who sees his child’s diseases and hates those diseases, but loves his child. Think of a mother who sees her child full of leprosy or tuberculosis. That mother loves her child so much, but hates those diseases with all her heart.

God loves sinners but He hates their sin.  We see God’s love for sinners and His hatred of sin on Calvary’s cross. His love for sinners is seen in that He allowed Jesus to die on the cross for us. His hatred of sin is seen in His turning His face away from Jesus when Jesus bore the sin of the world on the cross.

People sometimes ask how a God of love can send people to Hell. What is Hell like? Hell is a place that God has forsaken completely – a place where God cannot be found. This earth has not been forsaken by God. That’s why there’s still so much of goodness and beauty on this earth.

Look at the beauty of creation, for example. Look at the decency and goodness there is in many human beings. Demons would like to possess ALL human beings, but they are unable to, because God has put a restraining wall around people, so that demons cannot do what they like. It is God’s mercy also that gives man health, prosperity and many other comforts. All these blessings are bestowed by God on both good and evil people. All this proves that God has not forsaken this world. But Hell is not like that. In Hell there is no mercy at all – because Hell is a truly God-forsaken place.

There is goodness in many unconverted people in this world, because the influences of God are still over them. But once they go to Hell, those very same people will become as evil as the devil himself – because the mercy of God will no longer be over their lives.

In Hell, people will experience for the first time what it is like to be totally forsaken by God. That was what Jesus experienced on the cross. Jesus experienced Hell on the cross for those three hours of darkness, when God actually forsook Him. There we see how much God hates sin.

So what is the answer? Can a God of love send people to Hell? The answer to that lies in the answer to this other question: Could a God of love allow His own Son to face Hell on the cross, when the sin of the world was upon Him? If He could do that, He can send people to Hell too. A God of love will turn His face away from those who continue in sin, who say to God, "I am not going to listen to you. I have chosen my own way and I will continue along it forever."

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:1 (paraphrased) "A man who is corrected many times and refuses to accept correction will one day suddenly be destroyed and he will not have another chance". If a man keeps on refusing God’s loving invitations, he is in real danger. Now I don’t want any of you over-sensitive brothers and sisters to feel condemned hearing that – because that verse was not written for those who fall into sin, but to warn those who love to sin and who want to continue in it. It was not written for those who try to live in purity but keep falling. It was written for rebels, who defy God and want to keep on sinning. How can you know whether you are a rebel? That’s very easy to find out. Just ask yourself whether you have a desire to repent and to turn back to God? If there’s even the slightest desire within you to turn to God and to love Him, then that proves that the Holy Spirit is still working in your life and that God is seeking to draw you to Himself. You may be a failure, but you are not a rebel. There is a vast difference between one who is failing and one who is rebelling.

-Zac Ponnen

கூப்பிடுதலை கேட்கும் கர்த்தர்

ஆபத்து அவன்மேல் வரும்போது தேவன் அவன் கூப்பிடுதலைக் கேட்பாரோ? (யோபு 27:9) ஒரு தகப்பனும் மகனும் கடற்கரை ஓரமாக நடந்து கொண்டிருந்தனர். மகன் தகப்பனின் கரத்தை பிடித்தபடி நடந்து கொண்டிருந்தான். திடீரென்று அவனுக்கு விளையாட வேண்டும் என்று தோன்றியது. உடனே 'அப்பா நான் தண்ணீரில் விளையாட வேண்டும் போலிருக்கிறது' என்று கூறினான். தகப்பன், 'சரி நீ விளையாடு, ஆனால் என் கையை பிடித்து கொள்ள வேண்டும்' என்று கூறினார். அவன் சிறிது நேரம் அவருடைய கையை பிடித்து கொண்டு நடந்தான். பின்னர் கொஞ்சம் கையை விட்டால் அவருக்கு தெரியாது என்று நினைத்து, அவருடைய கையை விட்டு அலைகளை நோக்கி ஒரு அடி எடுத்து வைத்தான். அவனுடைய தகப்பனார், 'என் கையை விட்டு வி;ட்டாய், தூர போகாதே' என்றார். அவன் கால்களை அலைகளில் நனைய விட்டு, 'எனக்கு இப்போது நீர் வேண்டாம், நான் பத்திரமாகத்தான் இருக்கிறேன்' என்று கூறினான். தகப்பனார் ஏதோ சொல்ல வாயெடுத்தார். ஆனால் அமைதியானார், மகன் கற்று கொள்ள வேண்டியது இன்னும் உண்டு என்பதை உணர்ந்தவராக அமைதியானார். . கொஞ்ச நேரம் ஆனதும், இன்னும் கொஞ்சம் உள்ளே போனான். அலைகள் அதிகமாய் இருந்தபடியால், அவனது இடுப்பு வரை அலைகள் வந்தது. மகனை அழைத்தார், 'மகனே இருட்டி கொண்டு வருகிறது, வந்து விடு' என்று அவசரமாய் அழைத்தார். அவனோ, 'இப்போதுதான் ஜாலியாக இருக்கிறது, நான் சந்தோஷமாக இருக்கிறேன்' என்று கூறி இன்னும் உள்ளே போக ஆரம்பித்தான். ஒரு அலை வேகமாய் அவன் மேல் மோதினது. கீழே விழ ஆரம்பித்த போது, 'அப்பா எனக்கு இப்போது நீங்கள் வேண்டும்' என்று கத்தினான். ஆனால் கரையிலிருந்து அவன் வெகு தூரத்தில் இருந்தபடியால் தகப்பனுக்கு காது கேட்குமோ என்று நினைத்து அவன் கண்களில் கண்ணீர் வழிந்தபடி அப்பா தன் கையை பிடித்து கொள்ள சொன்னாரே நான் கேட்கவில்லையே என்று நினைத்து, 'அப்பா எனக்கு நீங்கள் வேண்டும்' என்று கதறினான். அடுத்த நிமிடம் அவன் தகப்பன் அவன் அருகில் இருந்தார். அவன் அவரை கட்டி பிடித்து, 'அப்பா நீங்கள் என்னை விட்டு விட்டீர்கள் என்று நினைத்தேன், ஆனால் நீங்கள் என்னை விடவில்லை' என்று கண்ணீருடன் கைகளை திரும்ப பிடித்து நடக்க ஆரம்பித்தான். தகப்பன், 'நான் உன்னை கைவிடவில்லை, நீ என்னை விட்டு விட்டு போனபோதும் நான் எப்போதும் போல் உன்னை நேசித்தேன். நீ என்னை கூப்பிடுவதற்காக காத்திருந்தேன்' என்று கூறினார். . பிரியமானவர்களே, நாம் கர்த்தரோடு நடக்கும்போது, அவருடைய வழிநடத்துதலையும், அவருடைய அரவணைப்பையும் உணருவதில்லை. அவரை விட்டு போகும்போது எல்லாமே சந்தோஷமாகத்தான் தோன்றும். ஆனால் ஒரு நாள் வரும், நாம் நம்பின யாவரும் நம்மை கைவிட்டு விடும்போது, யாரும் நமக்கு இல்லையே என்று தோன்றும். தனிமையான நேரத்தில்,கர்த்தரை விட்டு விட்டு தூர வந்து விட்டோமே என்று அங்கலாய்த்து, ஆபத்து நேரத்தில் ஆண்டவரே எனக்கு இரங்கும் என்று கூப்பிடும்போது, கதறும் போது, நாம் எவ்வளவு தூரம் அவரை விட்டு போயிருந்தாலும், அவர் நம்மேல் வைத்த அதே நேசத்தோடு நம்மை வந்து மீட்கும் தேவனாயிருக்கிறார். யோபுவின் ாலத்தில் மாயக்காரனை குறித்து, அவர் 'ஆபத்து அவன்மேல் வரும்போது தேவன் அவன் கூப்பிடுதலைக் கேட்பாரோ?' என்று கேட்டார். யோபுவின் காலத்தில் மனிதனுக்காக பிதாவினிடத்தில் பரிந்து பேச இயேசுகிறிஸ்து இல்லை. ஆனால் நம்முடைய நாட்களில், நமக்காக தம் சொந்த இரத்தம் சிந்தி மரித்து, உயிரோடு எழுந்து, நமக்காக பிதாவினிடத்தில் பரிந்து பேசி கொண்டிருக்கும் இயேசுகிறிஸ்து உண்டு.

Dwight L. Moody

Dwight L. Moody



1. I do not know anything that would wake up Chicago better than for every man and woman here who loves Him to begin to talk about Him to their friends, and just to tell them what He has done for you. You have got a circle of friends. Go and tell them of Him.

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2. I wish we had a few more women like the woman of Samaria, willing to confess what the Lord Jesus Christ had done for their souls.

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3. All should work and ask God's guidance.

Popular Quotes by Dwight L. Moody

1. If Christ comes into our hearts we are not ashamed.

2. Some people go back into the past and rake up all the troubles they ever had, and then they look into the future and anticipate that they will have still more trouble, and then they go reeling and staggering all through life.

3. I have never yet known the Spirit of God to work where the Lord's people were divided.

4. Take your stand on the Rock of Ages. Let death, let the judgment come: the victory is Christ's and yours through Him.

5. Joy is love exalted; peace is love in repose; long-suffering is love enduring; gentleness is love in society; goodness is love in action; faith is love on the battlefield; meekness is love in school; and temperance is love in training.

The Eagle That Cackled

"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:31 (NIV).
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The following illustration has been around the email circuit for quite a while but it is a good reminder. Also, there are different versions of this story, but
they all make an excellent point.
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A man found an eagle's egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.
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All his life, the eagle, thinking he was a prairie chicken, did whatever the other prairie chickens did. He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. He clucked and cackled. And he flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all, that's how
prairie chickens were supposed to fly.
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Years passed. The eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird far above him in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong wooden wings.
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"What a beautiful bird!" said the eagle to his neighbor. "What is it?"
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"That's an eagle--the chief of the birds," the neighbor clucked. "But don't give it a second thought. You could never be like him."
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And so the eagle, thinking he was just a prairie chicken and not able to soar into the heights, lived his life groveling and picking at the ground, never
experiencing the exhilaration of flight and the majesty which was his by birthright.
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Tragically, this is the picture of many Christians today. With the God-given ability to "soar on wings like eagles," as Isaiah wrote, they fail to take
advantage of the abilities and blessings that God has prepared for all who truly hope and trust in him.
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Let each of us determine that, with God's help, this will not be our fate, but rather that we will be like eagles and become and do all that God has planned and envisioned for us to become and do, and therein reach our God-given potential--and reap the rewards for all eternity.

- AnudhinaManna

Popular Quotes by Dwight L. Moody

1. Look at Him at Gethsemane, sweating as it were great drops of blood; look at Him on the cross, crucified between two thieves; hear that piercing cry, "Father, Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." And as you look into that face, as you look into those wounds on His feet or His hands, will you say He has not the power to save you? Will you say He has not the power so redeem you?

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2. I find that many Christians are in trouble about the future; they think they will not have grace enough to die by. It is much more important that we should have grace enough to live by. It seems to me that death is of very little importance in the meantime. When the dying hour comes, there will be dying grace; but you do not require dying grace to live by.

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3. The most solemn truth in the gospel is that the only thing Christ left down here is His blood.

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4. "Lord, you don't really mean that we shall preach the Gospel to those men that murdered you, to those men that took your life?" "Yes," says the Lord, "go and preach the Gospel to those Jerusalem sinners." I can imagine Him saying: "Go and hunt up that man that put the cruel crown of thorns upon My brow, and preach the Gospel to him. Tell him he shall have a crown in My kingdom without a thorn in it"

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5. I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God's law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled.