Jan 24 2026
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A Challenging Love

By Sodwana Bay

A CHALLENGING LOVE”‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ he said.” (Matthew 14:28-29) On the heels of the largest catered seafood picnic ever recorded, Jesus stepped back from busy ministry life for solitude and prayer. And He was at it a good long while. During the “fourth watch of the night” (v. 25), Jesus went out to them, walking on the water. The Jews of the time had adopted the Roman division of night watches into four segments, the final watch lasting from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. The disciples were probably as spooked as they were groggy when they strained their eyes to comprehend this figure strolling through the waves in the wee hours of the morning. As one of C.S. Lewis’s characters says of Aslan the great lion, “Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” Jesus isn’t “safe.” Sometimes His call involves risk. He tests the faith of those He loves, and this time it was Peter’s turn. “Come,” Jesus replies. I envision Jesus like the father of a one-year-old, encouraging the little one to test his legs and walk, “Come on, son. You can do it!” These are the words He lovingly challenges us with today….COME! Source: Anchor Devotional – A Challenging Love Originally posted 2015-07-21 08:28:34.

Jan 23 2026
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A GRACIOUS LOVE

By Sodwana Bay

A GRACIOUS LOVE “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20b) This parable of Jesus tells us much about the heart of our heavenly Father. The father in the story shows gracious love for his son in the face of grave insult (by asking for his inheritance, the son was in essence saying, “I can’t wait for you to die to get what’s mine.”) and complies with his request. He also responds with grace upon his wayward son’s return. Verse 20 would suggest the father had been constantly scanning the horizon with long-suffering hope when he runs to him at the first glimpse of his silhouette.This parable is the third in a series about lost things: a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. But what is unique about this third story is that what has been lost is patiently waited upon to return. The lost sheep is sought out, scooped up, and carried home. The lost coin is reclaimed after searching and sweeping the whole house until it is found. We see different aspects of lost things being found, but it is the gracious, pursuing love of the Lord that is made obvious to us in this parable. Source: Anchor Devotional Originally posted 2015-07-16 22:51:53.

Jan 22 2026
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A Submissive Love

By Sodwana Bay

A SUBMISSIVE LOVE “He went away a second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.’” (Matthew 26:42)   Dread. Do you know what complete dread feels like? Ever been in circumstances that filled your soul with such anxiety that it felt like you’d collapse under the weight of it? Our Savior knows this feeling all too well. Here is another assurance that Jesus experienced the full depth of human emotion and can fully relate to us in our deepest suffering. He says to His disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” These are the words of a man seized by dread. Yet in the face of inescapable, pressing trouble, Jesus exercises a submissive love toward His Father in heaven. Matthew’s account records that Jesus returns to pray at least three times to passionately plead for the same thing: some other way, an alternate plan. All the while He recognizes that the Father’s will is paramount and unshakably trustworthy. There is no submission without trust. Jesus submitted to the Father’s will out of the depths of His love, and now we have received His gift of salvation. We’ve nothing to dread! Source: Anchor Devotional – A Submissive Love Originally posted 2015-07-13 09:47:11.

Jan 20 2026
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An Unabashed Love

By Sodwana Bay

ANCHOR DEVOTIONAL – AN UNABASHED LOVE”When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.’” (Luke 7:39)   In this beautiful story we have Jesus accepting an invitation (which is almost certainly a trap) to dine with Simon the Pharisee. That’s one display of Jesus’ unabashed love: He goes where He’s invited regardless of the sketchy motivations behind the invitation. Enter… the woman “who had lived a sinful life” and who begins weeping on His feet, wiping them with her hair, kissing them, and pouring perfume on them. She’s making quite a scene! Can you imagine something similar in today’s context? It’s easy to paint Simon as the “bad guy,” and yet I’m convicted thinking how I would respond if Jesus were my guest for Thanksgiving when a prostitute right off the street crashed the party.Jesus handles her with deep grace and no shame. He doesn’t seem the least bit thrown off by the production she is making. He does not treat her as a distraction to the party. Instead, He shows that perhaps she’s the very reason He is there. “Your faith has saved you; go in peace,” He tells her, and another soul is restored and set free. Source: Anchor Devotional – An Unabashed Love Originally posted 2015-07-12 18:55:54.

Jan 19 2026
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Anchor Devotional – An Accountable Love

By Sodwana Bay

ANCHOR DEVOTIONAL – AN ACCOUNTABLE LOVE”He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.’” (Luke 19:26) The Parable of the Ten Minas has often left me scratching my head, feeling perhaps a bit like the disciples who frequently found Jesus’ stories puzzling. There is apparently a very real accounting coming for how we have stewarded the gifts God has given us. Those who have stewarded well will be given even more. Those who have stewarded poorly will be stripped of what little they have. It’s a sobering thought as we consider our own lives. What did the third servant do wrong? Doesn’t it seem that keeping the mina safe and sound, returning it exactly as it was given, is at the very least a conservative move? He even wrapped it in a cloth to keep it clean! This parable seems to convey that God not only takes very seriously the stewardship of what was given, but that He also has no place for the gift being “tucked away” rather than invested. Jesus repeatedly chides those of “little faith,” instructing them and us centuries later to not hide away our greatest gift: the good news of salvation. Proclaim it wherever you go! Source: Anchor Devotional – An Accountable Love Originally posted 2015-07-09 07:52:32.

Jan 18 2026
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Anchor Devotional – An Empathetic Love

By Sodwana Bay

ANCHOR DEVOTIONAL – AN EMPATHETIC LOVE “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” (John 11:33)   Jesus and Lazarus were good friends. Jesus must have been very sad at the thought of Lazarus’ death. But it does not appear to be the death of His friend that moved Jesus to tears. It was witnessing the sorrow of Lazarus’ sisters and friends. He could have snapped His fingers and raised Lazarus, instantly turning all of that sorrow into amazement and celebration. But He didn’t. Instead, He entered their pain, felt it along with them. One of the most famous verses in the Bible appears here. Verse 35, “Jesus wept”, is notable not only because of its brevity, but it also is enormously powerful because of what it conveys in just two words. Jesus empathetically feels what we feel. God sent Jesus to earth to reveal to mankind who He is. He is not a cold, uncaring, distant God. He is intimately knowledgeable of all our ways and feels our pain even more deeply than we do ourselves. Out of the agony of His heart over sin which separates us from Him, He laid down His life that we – His friends – might be raised again with Him! Source: Anchor Devotional – An Empathetic Love Originally posted 2015-07-07 17:11:30.