What We Need In Times Like These

So a few weeks ago, my son, our son Santosh was speaking to the NCCF family in the park. I think you may remember that. And when he was speaking, some thoughts came to my heart and God gave me a burden to meditate more on what he had spoken. If you remember, he was speaking about our lives like being like a ship in the stormy seas and we need an anchor. And he was emphasizing the aspects of the anchor and he was speaking about how the anchor must be fixed on something strong. So I went back and I was reading the scripture portions that's in Hebrews 6, 16 to 20. We can look up later. And also I went through the book, through the Bible and read up about it, about the passage Hebrews 6. And I was really blessed. Then I thought of this song, you know, these are perilous days, like what Jesus said in Matthew 24 verses 3 to 14. He said the last days will be perilous days, there'll be tribulations, there'll be all kinds of dangers, all kinds of sicknesses. And it's been true like that in our lives now. Almost every day we have been hearing of somebody who's sick, someone who's very close to us or well known to us and some who have passed away suddenly. And those news come so one after the other. And I keep wondering, Lord, are these the days that you've been talking about, the last days? And I said, Lord, help me to be ready. And then I thought of this song. This song was written by a lady called Ruth Keyes in the Second World War time. She was a pastor's wife. And she was so disturbed with the news of the Second World War. And the Lord gave her these words. And she took out the pencil from her apron when she was doing her housework. And she wrote down these words. And being a pianist, she put the tune to those words. And the song was sung often. And years later, when she had a surgery, and she was recovering, she heard the very same song sung at the Billy Graham crusade. In times like this, you need a savior. And that blessed her and brought tears to her eyes. Now, I was thinking of this anchor and the hope that we have. And the Lord really blessed me when I was meditating on that. You know, we all in our lives are like the ship floating in that restless sea tossed about here and there. And if we don't have an anchor, our ship will be drifting, and maybe even shipwrecked. And our lives will end tragically without knowing the Lord or without doing anything for him or having any purpose in our lives. So, thank God for the anchor and the hope that he gives. And by reading those verses, I understood that the anchor is the hope that the Lord has given us. It's a twin anchor, like it's got two strands to it almost, so strong it is. And that anchor is given by the Lord, God himself, who gave an oath and a promise. Now, when God says something he doesn't like, that itself is enough for us. But when he gives a promise and an oath, that means it's going to be a strong anchor. It's not going to fail. And the Lord told me that anchor needs to be strong. I'll tell you a little bit later more about that anchor. Now, that anchor is fixed on to something strong. You know, when the anchor is put down into the bottom of the sea, it has to grip on something. If it's on some loose muddy soil, it just keeps moving and drifting again. But thank God that our anchor is fixed on someone who's really strong, steadfast and sure. And that rock is Jesus. He's dependable. That's what I found when I read Hebrews 6, 16 to 20. That rock of Jesus will never be shaken. We can depend on him. And he's our strength. He'll hold on to us. And more about it, I read more about it and I understood that he's also a forerunner. He's taken this anchor through his flesh, by crucifying his flesh, he's taken this anchor right into the presence of God, into the most holy place. And he says, he, our forerunner, tells us, follow me. This is the way I went. And if you follow me, your anchor will be strong. You'll be safe. You won't drift. Now, when I was thinking of the hope, what is that hope that we have? That we know that that hope is in 1 Timothy 3, we read of the hope that we have. The hope is that the Lord is going to come soon. Yes, we know. When we see these troublesome days and all that's happening in these days, we know. Yes, Lord, come quickly, as it says in Revelation last chapter. Yes, Lord Jesus, come soon. That's the hope we have. And all our Christian life, we've heard about that wonderful hope that Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming. But the second part of that hope, I have missed somehow. And the Lord gripped me with that second part of that hope. The second part is purify yourself as he is pure. How I missed that hope. I thought I got one strand of that anchor and I'm holding on to it. Jesus is coming. Our troubles will be over. But I didn't get the full, hold on to the full, both the strands of that anchor. Purify yourself. Yes, wonderful day when Jesus comes. But am I ready to meet the Lord? That really spoke to me. Lord, I want to purify myself. You've given me days, time is running out so fast. Will there be enough time to finish the work which you have given me to do? Like we heard the parable of the 10 winners. Lord, am I bearing my life, not taking the opportunities that you're giving me to purify myself and be ready. And Jesus our forerunner has shown us this is the way. Your anchor is safe and strong, but cling on to me. You follow me. If you want to be my disciple, take up the cause as I have taken up. Deny yourself, do the Father's will. Then I'll have a grip on both the strands of that anchor and I'll be ready for the Lord's coming. Praise and thank God for this wonderful hope that we have. Praise and thank God for the rock, the steadfast rock, our Lord Jesus who never gave in. And he's now in the presence of the Father in the most holy place interceding for us. There we read in the same place in Hebrews that he's a high priest interceding for us. And he's holding on to that anchor and he's saying, you can make it. You can come through. Just follow me. I praise and thank God for the rock we have. I praise and thank God for the anchor that we have. And we can go to the end of our life holding on to that wonderful hope. So, these words of this song is very simple. In times like these, you need a savior. That's our Lord Jesus Christ. In times like these, you need an anchor. Be very sure, be very sure your anchor holds and grips the solid rock. And the second verse is, in times like these, we need a Bible. Yes, we find everything in the Bible. In times like these, oh, be not idle. Read God's word, meditate on it. And the last verse is, in times like these, and the chorus is, in this rock, in times like these, I have a savior. That's my testimony and that can be yours, each one of us. Be very sure that, I'm very sure that my anchor holds. And the chorus is, this rock is Jesus. Yes, he's the one. This rock is Jesus.