Hebrews 1:13-14
The truth about angels? ...
Do you ever feel like you need a ministering spirit, like you're not entirely there and you can't figure out how to fix it?
I read on a new age site the other day (sorry, don't remember where) that the moon cycle influences our creativity. You feel a lot of creative energy during the phase of the new moon: get new ideas, get a lot of energy to put into those ideas. During the waxing crescent phase you begin to experience hardships and have trouble carrying momentum. In the waning crescent phase, you typically begin to see results from your efforts; and in the new moon phase, you feel quiet and reflective.
If that's true, the moon's waxing me ragged...
Think about Daniel's interviews in light of this verse, though.
Check out the conversation Daniel has in 9:20ff. Gabriel tells him "As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed." Again in Daniel 10:12, a man (that is, a messenger of uncertain identity from heaven) said to him, "Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them." These two angels were serving as messengers to Daniel.
I don't know about you, but it's easy for me to think of angels as beings that serve God. I don't think about angels as beings that serve Christians, but that's what the author of Hebrews says: "ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation". (1:14) The author of Hebrews is using it in reference to Jesus' authority; he says, "Wouldn't it defeat the whole purpose of angels for God to say to one of them, 'Sit at My right hand and I'll subdue your enemies for you'? Jesus can't be an angel, because all angels were sent to serve the saints, not to sit at God's right hand."
But that means that angels are made to serve men that are saved, as men were made to worship and honor God. It's not to say that the only face of an angel's life is serving mankind, any more than the only aspect of humanity is worship--there's a lot more to it than that. That's just the underlying purpose, the core around which everything else is built.
Sometimes I pray for help, when I feel that I don't have the strength to carry on. If an angel is a spirit that ministers to the saved, then maybe it's an angel that God sends me in response to my prayer, just as He sent them to Daniel...
But if angels have the ability to impart strength as one did to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, (Lk. 22:43) then do fallen angels have the ability to weaken it? In Daniel 10, the messenger spoke of the prince of Persia that resisted him and kept him from coming to see Daniel, and that the prince Michael came to assist him.
If an angel's given purpose is to serve and minster to the saved, then would it not be the intention of a fallen angel to hinder and persecute the saved?
They persecuted men physically in the time of Jesus: taking over their bodies, driving them mad, throwing them into spasms and into fires and all kinds of danger. That seems to have stopped, but has their mission changed?
There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. (Hamlet, I.v) Be watchful, be mindful. Don't be afraid to ask help from the Lord, for He gives freely from the riches of eternity. He may allow His helpers to be detained, but He won't let them be defeated; He will save you! Bear patiently your sorrows and troubles, and He will reward you for your faithfulness.
We have more allies working for us than sometimes we think or feel; so don't become discouraged! As Elisha reassured his servant, the number of those with us are more than those who are with them. (II Kings 6:16) Or at least, the greater number--for God is the greater number, is He not?
Later in Hebrews, the author talks about the 'great cloud of witnesses' that surrounds us. (12:1) Even when I'm alone at night, I'm not really alone. Even when I'm standing alone against the wrong, I'm not alone. And even when I'm facing persecution and nobody seems to be there for me, I'm not alone.
Let God minister to you. Think of the angels He sends to protect you, to uphold you. Think of the ones that went before you, who want you to succeed in your life. Think of Jesus, who gave up being with God because He wanted a relationship with you. Think of God.
Don't let your troubles overcome you. Put your hope in God, and He will see you through.
Do you ever feel like you need a ministering spirit, like you're not entirely there and you can't figure out how to fix it?
I read on a new age site the other day (sorry, don't remember where) that the moon cycle influences our creativity. You feel a lot of creative energy during the phase of the new moon: get new ideas, get a lot of energy to put into those ideas. During the waxing crescent phase you begin to experience hardships and have trouble carrying momentum. In the waning crescent phase, you typically begin to see results from your efforts; and in the new moon phase, you feel quiet and reflective.
If that's true, the moon's waxing me ragged...
Think about Daniel's interviews in light of this verse, though.
Check out the conversation Daniel has in 9:20ff. Gabriel tells him "As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed." Again in Daniel 10:12, a man (that is, a messenger of uncertain identity from heaven) said to him, "Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them." These two angels were serving as messengers to Daniel.
I don't know about you, but it's easy for me to think of angels as beings that serve God. I don't think about angels as beings that serve Christians, but that's what the author of Hebrews says: "ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation". (1:14) The author of Hebrews is using it in reference to Jesus' authority; he says, "Wouldn't it defeat the whole purpose of angels for God to say to one of them, 'Sit at My right hand and I'll subdue your enemies for you'? Jesus can't be an angel, because all angels were sent to serve the saints, not to sit at God's right hand."
But that means that angels are made to serve men that are saved, as men were made to worship and honor God. It's not to say that the only face of an angel's life is serving mankind, any more than the only aspect of humanity is worship--there's a lot more to it than that. That's just the underlying purpose, the core around which everything else is built.
Sometimes I pray for help, when I feel that I don't have the strength to carry on. If an angel is a spirit that ministers to the saved, then maybe it's an angel that God sends me in response to my prayer, just as He sent them to Daniel...
But if angels have the ability to impart strength as one did to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, (Lk. 22:43) then do fallen angels have the ability to weaken it? In Daniel 10, the messenger spoke of the prince of Persia that resisted him and kept him from coming to see Daniel, and that the prince Michael came to assist him.
If an angel's given purpose is to serve and minster to the saved, then would it not be the intention of a fallen angel to hinder and persecute the saved?
They persecuted men physically in the time of Jesus: taking over their bodies, driving them mad, throwing them into spasms and into fires and all kinds of danger. That seems to have stopped, but has their mission changed?
There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. (Hamlet, I.v) Be watchful, be mindful. Don't be afraid to ask help from the Lord, for He gives freely from the riches of eternity. He may allow His helpers to be detained, but He won't let them be defeated; He will save you! Bear patiently your sorrows and troubles, and He will reward you for your faithfulness.
We have more allies working for us than sometimes we think or feel; so don't become discouraged! As Elisha reassured his servant, the number of those with us are more than those who are with them. (II Kings 6:16) Or at least, the greater number--for God is the greater number, is He not?
Later in Hebrews, the author talks about the 'great cloud of witnesses' that surrounds us. (12:1) Even when I'm alone at night, I'm not really alone. Even when I'm standing alone against the wrong, I'm not alone. And even when I'm facing persecution and nobody seems to be there for me, I'm not alone.
Let God minister to you. Think of the angels He sends to protect you, to uphold you. Think of the ones that went before you, who want you to succeed in your life. Think of Jesus, who gave up being with God because He wanted a relationship with you. Think of God.
Don't let your troubles overcome you. Put your hope in God, and He will see you through.
posted by ionathas78 at 10:18 AM
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