Angels Available

There are various beliefs and teachings about angels. I attended a memorial today where a cousin of the man who died shared an angel testimony. It seems his cousin was being taken to the hospital in an ambulance when the EMT said, “Hurry, we’re losing him.” The man lived, and later he said, “I heard the EMT, opened my eyes, and saw two angels sitting beside me.”

Angels are mentioned in the psalm I studied today, too. Only sixteen verses long, this psalm first impacted me when an older member of the church where we pastored stood up and said, “I’d like to share my insurance policy.” He then quoted Psalm 91. I was highly impressed.

Faith in God is good, but it must be activated to be effective. We do that when we pray, asking God to deliver us from evil and the evil one. This can include traps of various kinds, diseases, and disasters (*Psalm 91:3-4, NLT).

Psalm 91 can be divided into five sections:

1.       Have faith in God (V. 1-2)

2.       He will help you (V. 3-4)

3.       Do not fear (V. 5-8)

4.       Angels are available (v. 9-13)

5.       The Lord helps those who trust in Him (V. 14-16)

We can make the Lord our refuge when we know His promises. We can call upon Him to help us as we stand upon (believe in) His word (Psalm 91:14-15; 4). The question then is, “How well do you know God’s word?” If you take time to read it for yourself each day, you will learn His faithful promises. This psalm says they can function as your armor and protection (V. 4).

There is no reason to live in fear or dread, day or night (V. 5-6). Instead, we are urged to pray because the Lord will rescue those who call upon Him (V. 14-15). He has angels to dispense as our supporters and protectors (V. 11-12).

How wonderful to serve a God who cares about us. Let's remember this powerful God can help us and provide needed protection whenever we activate our faith to call upon Him for help.

*Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2207 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by Permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

*Pixabay: Bible, Open, Book Images; Pexel.

 

You Can Count On This

I once asked Mom, “What is your favorite Bible verse?” She immediately answered, “Great peace have they who love thy law: And nothing shall offend them” (Psalm 119:165, KJV).

As a minister’s wife for fifty years, I’m sure there were plenty of times this verse helped her. Offensive things can be odors, actions, or words. But I think words take the prize.

I tried to follow Mom’s example. God’s word was my peace, and I wanted to please Him above all others. But I also appreciate the wisdom of Solomon in that there is . . . a time to be silent and a time to speak (*Ecclesiastes 3:7b, BSB).

I was reminded of Mom’s verse this week as I studied Psalm 119. Perhaps you know that this Psalm is the longest chapter in the Bible. If we could read it in the original Hebrew, we would see that there are twenty-two sections, each one beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. I so enjoy these small nuggets of God’s word.

I stopped to consider Psalm 119:160 this week. The New Living Translation (*NLT) says: The very essence of your words is truth; all your regulations will stand forever. I don’t know about you, but I’m having a hard time knowing who’s telling the truth these days.

What a relief to know I can read God’s word and trust what it says. It’s not ever going to become obsolete since God’s word will stand truthfully forever. We are cautioned to be people of truth as well. First John 2:3-6 says if we say we love God, but don’t keep His commandments we are liars, there’s no truth in us.

Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Could it be any plainer?

You can’t count on what you don’t know. Are you reading your personal Bible daily?

Time is valuable. Consider your earthly and heavenly priorities. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8).

BSB: The Holy Bible, The Berean Standard Bible, Copyright 2022 by Bible Hub, Used by Permission, All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

KJV: The Holy Bible, King James Version, The World Publishing Company, New York, USA, Used by permission.

NLT: The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois, Copyright 2012, Used by Permission.