Tag: Angels

Morning Musing: Exodus 23:20-22

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“I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Be attentive to him and listen to him. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for my name is in him. But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The idea of angels is a pretty rich and varied one in human religious history. Nearly every culture has stories of angels in some form or fashion. Angels themselves are portrayed in all sorts of ways. And indeed, the Scriptures present angels in several different forms. Each kind seems to have a different role in the administration of God’s kingdom. Here, in the concluding statement on the first block of law, we find God’s telling the people about an angel that will serve as His representative as they go from Sinai to the Promised land. Let’s talk about a couple of ideas regarding the identity of this angel and the authority God has given to him.

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Morning Musing: Amos 9:13

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“Look, the days are coming – this is the Lord’s declaration – when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the one who treads grapes, the sower of seed. The mountains will drip with sweet wine, and all the hills will flow with it.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Modern imaginings of Heaven – especially in cartoons – are generally terrible. The common caricature is that we will be sitting in the clouds with wings and harps and halos doing…nothing. That doesn’t sound like an exciting place I long to spend eternity. It sounds like a boring waste of time. I’ll take the fun of sin and whatever bit of torment Hell offers over that, thank you very much. At least, that’s how the all-too-often and totally understandable reaction to that image goes. The devil got a win when he inspired that vision. Yet this vision is nowhere found in the pages of Scripture. Let’s talk about what we do see and why it is so much better.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 1:14

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“Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We started talking about angels last week, but didn’t really talk about angels all that much. Instead, we talked about the author of Hebrews’ argument that Jesus is greater than the angels. Like I said then, though, angels are a definite fascination for many folks. Here we have a statement describing them and their ministry. Let’s take the opportunity to explore these mysterious creatures in a little bit more detail.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 1:4

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“So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Angels are an interesting topic. Perhaps the biggest reason for this is that we know so precious little about them. What we do see, though, is incredible, which only serves to fuel more speculation. Angels have appeared in various forms of media over the centuries in all kinds of different forms from cute cherubs to cynical warriors to disobedient servants to even villains. However we picture them, though, there is one fact that should be abundantly clear in all our thinking about them: Jesus is greater. Let’s talk about it.

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Songs of the Season

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“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever had one of those albums where every single song on it is your favorite song? For me, around this time of year, it is Meredith Andrews’ Christmas album, Receive Our King. Last year around this time I introduced you to the first track on the album, Andrews’ version of Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. This morning as we continue in our Advent series, I want to share with you another from the same album (and, spoiler alert, I’m going to offer you one more from it next Friday which is going to be instrumental in our Christmas Eve service). What was it like being a shepherd in the fields around Bethlehem on the night Jesus was born? What was the song of the angels really like? Let’s ponder that together.

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