11/ Angels
As I sorted through the many letters received from prisoners it struck me how grateful these people were for God's provision and blessing in their life. There are many "so-called" Christians out of gaol, who show very little gratitude towards Jesus for what he has done in their life.
Psalm 106
1/ Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good; his love is eternal. 2/ Who can tell all the great things he has done? Who can praise him enough? 13/ But they quickly forgot what he had done and acted without waiting for his advice. 21/ They forgot the God who had saved them ...
Sadly people very quickly forget what God has done for them.
Thanking God for his many provisions also became the topic of discussion between Sonja, her friend Sally and myself. We could all remember how God in one way or another had provided for us, in either a natural or supernatural way. A friend of Sonja's had found her two year old daughter floating face down in the pool. As the mother pulled the child from the water she feared the worst. Praise God Janice was alive and told her mother that she had, "held onto the big birdie's wings". God had sent his angels to save the child.
That story made me think of my own granddaughter, who had been miraculously saved from serious injury or even death. Unknown to Connie and myself the child had wandered from the loungeroom, down the hallway and out the front door, which had not been closed properly. The heavy thud and scream alerted us and we saw Sarah lying at the foot of the stairs. To our amazement there were no broken bones, not even a scratch. The only sign of her having fallen, was a slightly red ear. I guess the angel just managed to grab Sarah's ear as she fell. God is truly marvellous.
Sally sipped her tea slowly and said, "I could tell you a few stories about angels." Immediately I became interested for doesn't the Bible say:
Hebrews 1:14 What are the angels, then? They are spirits who serve God and are sent by him to help those who are to receive salvation.
You could tell by Sally's hesitant expression that she didn't particularly want to remember the incident; but by the same token, she wanted to give glory to God for having miraculously saved her. "You never call a drug addict a junkie. Because of that remark Danny, my boyfriend, ran around the place chopping up everything in a blind range. He chopped off every door knob in the place. The idea being to ultimately corner me and kill me. The last place of escape was the bathroom. I locked the door and cowered in a corner, six months pregnant. He finally succeeded in chopping down the bathroom door. No words can describe how I felt. All I could do was silently cry out to God. I didn't even have the strength to voice my thoughts. I saw the axe falling; yet incredibly it stopped in mid air. Had God commanded one of his angels to save me?
You know living with Danny was fulfilling, to a point. I guess my love for him made me blind to his many short comings. But then he is extremely handsome and has winning ways. It's true when people say that love is blind. Anyway, one day I came to the point where I couldn't cope anymore and I decided to commit suicide. I cried out to God and said that I knew He existed, I just didn't know who He was; but I asked if He would come into my life anyway.
After having said that, I felt myself lifted up, physically and spiritually. The joy in my heart was indescribable. After that experience I still didn't know much about God, but I started to read the Bible. Gently God convicted me about the de-facto relationship. Little did I realise that our marriage would end in divorce and I would experience terror upon terror.
After one of the many fights I had with Danny I sat in a lounge chair totally depressed. Gradually I began to sing to God. As I praised him, I felt the lounge chair being rocked back and forth and I heard the actual flutter of heavenly beings around me. This continued until I fell asleep. God had most definitely sent his ministering angels to me."
Sally's sister, a dedicated Christian had also experienced the presence of angels. During a nightmare, she saw herself surrounded by witches, ready to kill her. Desperately she called out to Jesus. As she spoke his name, the nightmare fled. On awakening she felt angels floating around her, singing heavenly songs.
Even I could think of two instances where God revealed to me something about his ministering servants. Coming home late one night from doing God's work, I just collapsed into bed. As my head hit the pillow I saw myself surrounded by a host of angels, they seemed to be 10 feet tall. The formation of the angels was exactly like that of a Roman army going into battle. As I walked along, these gigantic beings spoke to each other over my head. "Look at her go, isn't she great. She is getting on with the job." The angels were ecstatic over me. Why, I couldn't quite work out, yet for a brief moment God allowed me a glimpse into the spirit world. As the army of angels and I marched on, we finally came to the top of a hill. I sat down and the angels sat down around me. Then I fell asleep.
After Bible study, one lunchtime at school, a student came to me, all excited.
"Ms. Ms., I saw an angel in Bible study."
"Tell me about it."
"I saw this massive angel stand slightly to the side of you. He was really tall and beautiful. His arms were slightly away from his body, with palms facing upwards. He stood as if he was worshipping God. I gave him a wave and he winked back."
Karin's revelation really excited me. I now see the Biblical stories about angels in a different way.
Genesis 19:1, 13, 16 & 17 When the two angels came to Sodom that evening, Lot was sitting at the city gate. As soon as he saw them, he got up and went to meet them. He bowed down before them. (The angels said)... we are going to destroy this place. The Lord has heard the terrible accusations against these people and has sent us to destroy Sodom. Lot hesitated. The Lord however, had pity on him; so the men took, his wife, and his daughters by the hand and led them out of the city. Then one of the angels said, "Run for your lives! Don't stop in the valley. Run to the hills, so that you won't be killed."
Exodus 23:20 "I will send an angel ahead of you to protect you as you travel and to bring you to the place which I have prepared.
Daniel 10:11,12,13,16&19 The angel said to me, "Daniel, God loves you. Stand up and listen carefully to what I am going to say. I have been sent to you."
12/ Then he said, "Daniel, don't be afraid. God has heard your prayers ever since the first day you decided to humble yourself in order to gain understanding. I have come in answer to your prayer.
13/ The guardian angel of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief angels, came to help me, because I had been left there alone in Persia."
16/ Then the angel, who looked like a man, stretched out his hand and touched my lips.
19/ He said, "God loves you, so don't let anything worry you or frighten you."
Matthew 28:2&3 Suddenly there was a violent earthquake; an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and sat on it.
3/ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
Acts 12:7&8 Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shone in the cell. The angel shook Peter by the shoulder, woke him up and said, "Hurry! Get up!" At once the chains fell off Peter's hands.
8/ Then the angel said, "Fasten your belt and put on your sandals." Peter did so, and the angel said, "Put your cloak round you and come with me."
It was great to have Sonja, Sally and myself share this little discussion on angels. At random, I have selected a few references from the Old and New Testament, there are many more, which make interesting reading. More than just interesting reading. The references in the Bible to angels clearly show that God looks after his children in wondrous ways.
Psalm 91:9-11 You have made the Lord your defender, the Most High your
protector, and so no disaster will strike you, no violence will come near
your home. God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever
you go. They will hold you up with their hands to keep you from hurting
your feet on the stones.
1/ Fiji
2/ Egypt
3/ Israel
4/ Papua New Guinea
5/ Forgive or I cannot forgive you
6/ Jesus still heals today
7/ Suicide
8/ Long Bay Gaol
9/ Attempted murder
10/ Bathurst Gaol
11/ Angels
12/ How to pray
13/ Cords
14/ Counting the cost
15/ The heart condition
16/ Lorraine
17/ Dracula - fact or fiction
18/ If you love me
19/ Being gay
20/ Faith
21/ Roots
22/ Malaysia
23/ Fiji revisited - 1997
24/ What Jesus means to me
25/ My diary entries
26/ Conclusion