Hebrews 6:13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
:20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
We have come to the end of another year. Twenty twenty five has been another busy year. At the beginning of the year Mr. Trump was sworn in as the forty seventh president of the U.S. He had been president once before but was “cheated” out of a second term by a corrupt electoral system. Actually God did not allow him to run two consecutive terms, however He did allow him to become president four years later. During the interval, Mr. Biden and his team were able to bring an unprecedented number of illegal immigrants into the U.S. Those immigrants would create a real mess in the U.S. During those four years the Muslims in Minnesota were able to steal billions of dollars from a corrupt state without anyone noticing it. It was not until recently that this fraud is being exposed. Will anyone be deported or sent to prison over this massive fraud?
In Canada our leadership changed hands. The same party is still in power with the same corrupt policies and most of the same politicians. Our country is continuing to go down the sewer. Who knows how long it will survive. A segment of Alberta is threatening a vote on leaving the country of Canada. Who knows if they will succeed. Either way, we are in trouble.
On a personal level, my year started out in a usual manner. By May things changed, and have never gone back to what I once thought was a relatively healthy life. There is more to come yet with my health journey. I do not know what is in my immediate future. I know the long term. I will be in heaven one day, but what happens before that, I do not know. I am grateful for the prayers of God’s people.
As we live in these interesting times, as nations and as individuals, it is important to have an anchor that holds.
In 2026 we are planning to add an addition to our website. We are planning to do a daily audio Bible reading to get those who join it to be able to read through the entire Bible in one year. There is no more important book to read than the Bible. It does not matter what age you are, the Bible is the most important book you could ever read.
Some years ago I was attending a Bible conference and the speaker challenged us in our reading of God’s Word. He stated that he believed we should read the Bible through at least once for every year we have been saved. At that time, I did not believe that I could say I had read my Bible through each year for the number of years I had been saved. I made up my mind then that I would do some catch up work to get to the place where I had read my Bible through at least once for every year I have been saved.
For me it was not a status symbol. I already had in my heart that I wanted to know my God and Saviour better. It just never clicked with me that one of the best ways to know Him better is to become more familiar with His Word. Experience will not do it. God’s Word tells us Who He is and how we can know Him. Thus we are encouraging others to read through their Bible at least once in a year.
From that time on, I determined to read through my Bible twice each year because I needed to do some catch up work. I did not keep the date as to when I made that decision, so I cannot say how often I have read through my Bible. That is not the point. For me, it is not bragging rights. There are people that are more knowledgeable of the Word of God than I am. I am not in competition with anyone. I want to know my God and Saviour better so that I can be a better help to others.
There are people who do not want to hear what I have to say. That is part of life. I am not always right. However, God’s Word is always right. When I need to make a correction I will do that. I will do that on the basis of the Word of God, not on someone’s opinion.
Of course as we read the Bible, unless a person is willing to get saved, not much of the Bible will make sense to them.
I Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
God’s Word is simple enough for the lost person to know their need to be saved. The Holy Spirit is at work in every lost person’s life, showing each one of their need to be saved. Many people have chosen to avoid God’s Word because hearing It makes them uncomfortable. They do not want to change and rather than change, they avoid the truth. That is a very foolish choice to make, but many people are making that choice.
In verse 19 of our opening text, we find the word “anchor”. That is the only place in the King James Bible that we find the word “anchor”. The Greek word translated as “anchor” in our text is found four times in the New Testament. Three times it is translated as “anchors” and is in reference to a ship’s anchor. In our text it is translated as singular — “anchor”, and it is in reference to that anchor that saints have in Christ. The meaning of the word is “stay, or safeguard”. Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and for life is a safeguard in the storms of life.
As I mentioned, since May of this year, my life has taken a turn I never expected. It could have been a turn that would cause emotional instability for my wife and I. However, because our faith is in God, He has kept us and strengthened us in our faith.
There is a greater awareness of the uncertainty of life that we did not face before that. The Bible tells us that our breath is in God’s hands. He can take the life of any individual at any time. However, when we are healthy we do not think that much about that.
God has His purpose for taking my wife and I on our journey through life. We know we are in His hands. He obviously has some things to teach us as we walk along with Him. It is important to be willing to listen to Him and learn.
If we have that proper anchor, we can face the storms of life without wavering. Some years ago a man named Kent Hovind was arrested for fraud. He was a well known defender of Creation. However, he had an unbiblical view of finances and the government’s role in personal finances. He had managed to get away with his scheme for a number of years, but eventually the U.S. government caught up with him. He was found guilty and spent several years in prison for his crime. During that time, he did some soul searching, but he enlisted the help of bad counsellors in his search. He came out of that prison sentence worse off than he went in. His wife eventually divorced him and his son supported her move.
Mr. Hovind has since gone through several “wives” in an attempt to get on with his life. He still has a large number of followers and he has established a new Creation organization. There is nothing that man says that is worth believing. He has proved that his life is not anchored in Truth. It is sad to see what he has done to himself as well as to his wife and family and also to the women that he deceived into joining him in short lived relationships.
We need to have the right anchor. If we have the right anchor we can not only remain safe in our relationship with the Lord, but we will grow in our relationship with the Lord. That is what God wants us to do. He wants us to grow stronger in Him for the short time we have on this earth.
On this last day of this year, I would like to encourage every reader to ask God to examine your heart to be sure you have the only True Anchor there is. Be sure that you are building on the truth, not some fictitious story that may feel good but does not satisfy. The right Anchor provides the hope we need in this life and will lead us safely to that Heavenly Home that God promises for His children.
Pastor Bartel
