DEVOTION – DAY 412

Hebrews 6:19 “Jesus Christ Is Our Anchor”

Hebrews 6:19 “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.”

The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus Christ is our hope and anchor. An anchor serves an important purpose. An anchor holds a ship securely and safely in position. In the same way, our hope in Jesus Christ guarantees our safety from being judged and punished for our sins. Thus, the fate of our soul and spirit is secured and firm even though we may physically die. This is because Jesus Christ, our hope, had already atoned for our sins on the cross. Our anchor goes up into the true heavenly sanctuary, far better than any ship’s anchor that can only go down to the floor of the sea. V19 tells us that our hope in Jesus Christ allows us to enter the Most Holy Place in the Temple – a place that the High Priest alone was allowed to enter once a year. It was an image that God provided to teach people that to enter into His holy presence, their sins must be atoned for and wiped clean. Hebrews 6:19 confirms that our hope must be anchored in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in 1906 to a wealthy German family in Berlin. His father was a well -known psychiatrist and neurologist. At the age of 14, he chose to study Theology. He completed his doctoral studies in Theology in Dec 1927 when he was only 21. He began to pastor churches and wrote well received books on Theology. This was against the rising Nazism in Germany. He was a vocal critic against Nazism. There were many opportunities for him to live abroad in US and other places, and not see Germany start World War 2. He chose to return in Berlin to be a vocal opposition to anti-Semitism and the Nazis. Throughout his ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ had been his anchor. The Bible was his reference between what was good and evil, right and wrong. 

As Germany headed to war, the Nazis tried to suppress churches. This caused Bonhoeffer to start underground seminaries. He encouraged and equipped students to pastor underground churches. In 1941, Bonhoeffer was banned from public speaking, to print or publish his writings. This did not deter Bonhoeffer who continued to trust and depend upon the Lord Jesus. He was active underground until his arrest on April 1943. In prison, he worked in outreach amongst fellow prisoners and guards. His anchor was firmly in the Lord. In 1945, when Germany was losing the war, an order went out for him to be tried and hung. He was executed on 9 April 1945. He was an example of someone whose anchor was in the Lord, all his life.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace and mercy. We thank the Lord Jesus for being the anchor in our lives, and for grounding us in His Word. Please help us to always depend and trust Him in every circumstance of our lives. We pray this in the holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. Is Jesus the anchor in your life? If so, why is He your anchor? 
  2. If Jesus is not your anchor, why not? What then, is your anchor?
  3. Why is it so important for us to have Jesus Christ be the anchor in our lives? Discuss.