The Work of Angels

Psalm 91:10-12 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Here are some notes I took from a sermon study on Angels by Erwin Lutzer. May you be encouraged as you read.

We can do nothing unless God gives us the ability to do it.

God's Word is powerful , God has adequate resources to meet your needs.

We are nothing unless it is given to us from above.

In the story of Elisha, God opened the eyes of his servant so he was able to see the angels protecting them. Prayer did not bring the angels , they were already there, prayer opened the eyes of the servant so that he was able to see.

Open your eyes and see what God has done.

Satan has been defeated -- thank God for it!!

We often pray asking God to bless us when in reality---- He has already blessed us, our prayer needs to include asking God to help us to know and recognize His care and His blessings.

Only God can open people's eyes.
Pray for your eyes to be opened to see spiritual truth.

Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,


Pray for the eyes of your heart be enlightened - pray to see the eyes to be opened.

Do you get it? A practical test if people get it - Is your prayer a begging prayer - simply asking God or are you thanking God for stressful situations and thanking Him for battles that are being won.

It is not necessary for us to see angels to appreciate them - they are there anyway.
Angels are on call in case of need --they love to serve
God sometimes doesn't allow angels to protect us, He may or may not use them.
Angels rejoice when we repent.

Angels protect us in our lifetime.

Angels welcome us into heaven.
Angels carried the poor man Lazarus into Abrahams bosom. - When we die we will see Jesus but the angels carry us to him in time of death.

We are joint heirs with Jesus.
The unseen world is eternal--- everything we see here (our temporary things) will be burned up.

Jesus is the only way to be saved.

Depending on God ( from Psalm 91 )

Do you want to live in a place of safety and security? If the answer is yes, then Psalm 91 has a message for you. I wrote this Bible Study for my Live By Faith Bible Studies blog -link to blog here Live By Faith Bible Studies 

 This is a beautiful and rich Psalm filled with assurances of God's protection and provision. God's provisions are available to each one of us who diligently seek Him. Please join me in the study of Psalm 91 as we go through the entire Psalm verse by verse.

Verse 1 - 

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Here we learn that it is possible for us to actually enter the secret place of God Almighty Himself - not only can we enter but we are to "dwell" here in the shadow of Almighty God. The word dwell means to live or to abide, it is our home. How infinitely humbling to hear these words - You and I can live with God our Heavenly Father safely in His shadow. His shadow is a place of protection, safety and comfort. It is home - our eternal home in heaven but it is also ours here and now while we live here on earth.

Verse 2 - 

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

We must put our hope and trust in the Lord - not in ourselves or in money, our jobs or possessions, friends, family or even in doctors. The Lord alone is our refuge and strength. We must put our full trust and confidence in Him. Lay down our burdens at His feet and allow Him to work through our situations.

Verse 3 -
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

Who will help me? The answer is the Lord God Almighty - He will help me, He will deliver me from the traps of the devil and from the troubles that surround me. A simple explanation for the snare of the fowler and noisome pestilences are our ordinary troubles and diseases that come to us. We trust in God to help us. He sees us in our situation and He is available to come to our aid at all times. We need to come to Him humbly in repentance and faith and not doubt Him even if things do not play out the way we would like them to.

Verse 4 -
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
This verse reminds me of how a mother hen will cover her baby chicks with her wings and feathers. A mother hen will shield her little ones while they sleep and rest and also from any form of danger. Just as a mother hen watches out for her chicks and calls them to the safety of the shelter of her wings so also and even more our Heavenly Father will shield us. We are safe under His wings. He calls us out of danger and as we come to Him, He will "cover" us. Our Heavenly Father cares for us with such incredible love and mercy. God is 100% truth, He only tells the truth, and the Word of God which we find in the Bible is 100% truth.

Verse 5 - 
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
We are not to be afraid of any evil in the night nor in the daytime. God is watching over us because we are His children.

Verse 6 -  
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

We are not to be afraid of the troubles that come to our lives. This could be sickness, loss of a job or relationship, death of a loved one, barrenness, crop failure, or weather related destruction. God is there with us and He will go with us through our hardships. He never leaves us - He is always there. We need to seek Him in our good times and in our hardships.

Verse 7 & 8 -
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
These two verses are hard to comprehend. We know that these verses cannot mean that we will never experience hardships because every one of us does. Christians do experience crises and bad things do happen. So we have to take an eternal perspective on this. Many people will say that the worst thing that can happen is death. Well for those of us who know Christ as our Savior, we know that death is actually only a door - a door that leads us out of this temporary state to our eternal destination. We leave this earth and we enter eternity through the door of death. If we are still alive here when Jesus comes back to earth, then of course we will not need to die. We will be changed and receive our eternal bodies so who knows - depending on when Jesus returns some of us will not need to die. When the non-Christian dies, their eternal destination is separation from our Heavenly Father. This is a place called hell. None of us needs to end up in hell because through faith in Jesus we can be saved to eternal heaven. Jesus died in my place and in your place on the cross. He took our sin upon himself and paid for it all there on the cross. He died and rose again and ascended up to Heaven. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

Verse 9 -
  Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
Our dwelling place is with the Lord. He is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. We look forward to our eternal home with the Lord Jesus in Heaven.

Verse 10-
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
We are secure in the Lord. No evil or harm will ever come to us without the Lord knowing about it and having His hand on the controls. What ever He allows into our lives He is also able and willing to help us with. He will never leave us alone in our situations. He loves us dearly. We are His children if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior.

Verse 11 & 12 -  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

These two verses are so very precious. God our Heavenly Father has assigned some angels to take care of us. The angel carries me in his hand. I have a guardian angel whose duty it is to protect me and to keep me as I go about my day. Wow! that is really good news!

Verse 13 - 
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Here the lion, the adder, the dragon represent evil that we encounter in our lives. We encounter evil almost daily as we go about our daily lives. Godless people all around us are doing godless things and though we do not want any part of what they are doing, we live in the same world and therefore see and hear things that are very upsetting to the Christian heart. But we are encouraged here in this verse to "trample it under our feet". We must be careful to put evil away from us. Abstain from every form of evil. With the Lord as our Protector, He guards our hearts that the evil all around us does not cause us to stumble and fall into sin.

Verse 14 -
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
The Lord sees and knows those who are His own and those who truly love Him. The Lord says that those who are His own, He will set on high. What does it mean to know His Name? - It means to have an intimate relationship with the Lord, we live in His Presence while we are here on earth.

Verse 15 -
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
We are to call on the Lord. Pray, pray and pray some more. The Lord promises to answer us when we call on Him. He promises to be with us in our troubles and to deliver us. Those are sweet words to ponder for me today! He also promises to honour us as we call on Him. I believe this means that He will stay true to His Word and His promises and will not let us down. We can put our full trust in the Lord. He will make things right and those of us who do put our trust in Him will be rewarded in eternity.

Verse 16 -
With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
As we live in obedience to the Lord, He will bless us. In Him is life abundant. We live with hope in our hearts. We rest assured that this life is not all there is - we are on a journey to that heavenly kingdom where there is perfect peace and happiness for all eternity.

God Bless.

In Lent the Lord is my Shepherd....

Christ Jesus our Lord is the Good Shepherd. He laid down His life for us.
( picture .monroecountyflowers.com )

During this Lent season you have probably been asked this question "what are you giving up for Lent?" Many people give up chocolate, coffee or some other favorite food. Some give up computer time etc. In the church I attend we have been discussing grief, suffering, depression and sickness during our Sunday morning sessions. I think the 23rd Psalm is a good fit for Lent. Let me explain why.

 Jesus says in John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 
And this is exactly why we are preparing to celebrate Easter. Jesus our good Shepherd gave his life for us - He died on the cross to pay for our sin. We are his sheep. Jesus had no sin but He took our sin upon Himself and went to the cross in our place.

So in Psalm 23 we read these words: 
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

In this season of Lent we are reminded of God's provisions for us.

First of course being Jesus sacrifice on the cross to redeem us back to God and someday we "will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."  But we can also be fully confident of His love and care for us in the here and now. The path in which the Lord is leading us along has good times as well as rough times. In the midst of our life's circumstances, He is with us! He  leadeth me beside the still waters, restoreth my soul,  leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, and even through the valley of the shadow of death He promises to go with us.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

So as this Lent season is drawing to a close, let us be filled with renewed hope and assurance of the presence of the Lord. He is here with us, He will never abandon us. He continue to lead us though the path is dark and dangerous, He is there holding us with His powerful right Hand. We can depend on our Lord. We can count on Him. He will never disappoint us.

Psalm 20:6 Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.

Psalm 63:8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

Psalm 73: 23-24 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

Getting to know my Father....

Psalm 101:6  Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.
I have titled this post "Getting to know my Father" which of course refers to my Heavenly Father. I have written some posts here on my blog about my earthly father and I would encourage you to read them in the archives.
Our Heavenly Father is the perfect Father. Some of us have had earthly fathers who reflect some of the character traits of our Heavenly Father while others who read this may never have known a father who loves. Our Heavenly Father loves and cares for you and all that is true of His love for me in my life is available to you also.
The love of our Heavenly Father is a love that allows circumstances into our lives that are going to build our character and give us the opportunity to become more like Jesus. This kind of love is not always pleasant and includes the love of discipline.
God is my Father. He is my Father because I have become His child through salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. As my Father, He is my Protector. His watchful eye is upon me to guard me against the evil intentions of those who would hurt me. His watching eyes see what is happening to me.
Proverbs 5: 21  For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings.
My Father loves me and will not give me unheathly or useless things when I beg for them - simply because Father knows best. He has a goal in mind for me and since I do want that which He has planned for me, I choose to line up my desires and wishes with that which He decides is best for me.
I trust my Father. He wants only what is best for me. When He says "Don't do that" - it is for my own good and to keep me from getting hurt.
He disciplines me. I want that discipline because even though I may not like it, I do want to be in right relationship with my Father so I want to learn to live to please Him. He disciplines those who mistreat me - just because I am His child. When and if I am mistreated by other people, my Father sees it, He knows what is happening at all times because He has His eye on me.
He comforts me. My cares are His cares. When something bothers or troubles me, I can tell my Father. He is always available to me, listening to me when I talk with Him and responds to my questions.
1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  
He provides for me. He is my Father. I can depend on Him to supply every need in my life. He sees my needs and provides for me.
My Father is always with me. He has promised to never ever leave me so I am never alone and not afraid.
Hebrews 13 - for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
It's not about me - It's about bringing glory to His Name.  I am available to my Father - I want to be useful to Him - work in His kingdom and bring glory to Him. I hope and pray that through my life, my Father will further His plans for others in this world.
In His Will, For His Glory, To be used by Him is my prayer. Nothing happens by chance. The Lord God Almightly is my Heavenly Father.

You ask - How can I have this Heavenly Father in my own life? There is only just one way and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus died on the cross to save us and to bring us into relationship with God the Father. While we are living in sin, we cannot be in relationship with the Heavenly Father simply because He is Holy and cannot tolerate sin in His presence. But He provided the way for us  when He sent His only begotten Son - the Lord Jesus Christ to earth. Jesus came as a baby born in Bethlehem, showed us how to live and then died on the cross for our redemption. He  died on the cross. was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day. He ascended into Heaven to the right Hand of the Father but the Holy Spirit is available to us to live within us.  Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved today.
John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Why I am NorthernSparrow...

Those of you who read my blog regularly may have wondered why I go by the name NorthernSparrow here on my blog and Sister Sparrow on Twitter. I would like to share a bit about why I chose the name Sparrow.


First of all, NorthernSparrow - northern just refers to me being from the North, I live in Canada. SisterSparrow - Sister of course refers to me being a gal. But why Sparrow??
When I read my Bible, I find that God is very concerned about each and every thing that He has created which of course includes the human family as well as animals, birds, flowers etc. I find it such a blessing to read that He has the hair counted on each of our heads. For some of us the counting of our hair would take a while but for others maybe not as long. The Lord goes to such huge lengths to take care of us in detail. But what does he say about sparrows? Matthew10: 29-32 says :
²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
³⁰ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
³¹ Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
³² Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

 Jesus uses the sparrow to teach us how very much He cares about us. He knows who we are, He knows where we are, He knows what we need, He knows what is happening to us, and He is available to meet with us and become real and active in our daily life -even in the very small stuff. I can testify this to be true in my own life.

Sparrows were sold for not much money at all  in the days when Jesus walked this earth - two sparrows costed a farthing which is (according to my Bible's commentary)  1/16 of a rural person's daily wage. So I am thinking in today's world a sparrow would be worth about $2-3. So Jesus is saying that none of us is without significance in His eyes no matter how small we feel or others have tried to have us feel. We all matter to Him. In verse 31 He says : ye are of more value than many sparrows.  So when I call myself Sparrow - I am really saying that even though I see myself as insigificant and I feel that I am not nearly as gifted or bright as many others around me, Jesus does value me dearly. I am His child, He died for me on the cross and I have accepted Him as my Savior and Lord. I belong to Him and there isn't anything that can happen to me without my Heavenly Father taking notice. He watches over me. I am one of His Sparrows and therefore I am not afraid.

Matthew 10:28  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

I just love the song  His Eye is on the Sparrow posted below: 
(written in 1905 by Civilla D Martin and Charles H Gabriel)

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Chorus:
I sing because I'm happy,
I sing because I'm free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.


"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Chorus


Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

God is so good!

As I study my Bible, I find treasures over and over again. It is really amazing to soak in God's word into our heart and discover what it says.   Take Psalm 34: 6,7 "This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them." 
Wow! Imagine this for a moment:  God the LORD who created the world - the mountains, oceans , sun, moon, planets, stars and every person and animal and keeps everything in place - He hears me when I cry out to Him - gives me His attention and saves me out of all my troubles.  I believe God is waiting for that cry from me just as I as a mom wait for an email from my son. And He is willing and able to meet our needs. Then looking at verse 7,  I read that "the angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear Him."  That means I am not alone in my situation. The LORD has His angel standing guard for me. The angel is all around me, protecting me from any darts that satan and his helpers would try to throw at me.  And then the final words of verse 7 "and delivereth them".  With the LORD as our protector and help - we win!
It reminds me of the story of Elisha in 2Kings 6 where  Elisha and his servant were encircled by  the horses and chariots of the those trying to trap them, the servant is afraid and so Elisha says to his servant " Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them". Then Elisha prays for God to open his servants eyes that he can actually see what God's protection of them looks like. And it says in 2 Kings verse 17 " And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha". Can you imagine chariots of fire as protection? God is truly amazing! He is definitely the One in whom I choose to put my trust! Can you trust Him with your life and your situation too?

Background thoughts and Hagar

My faith story is really quite simple. I came to personal faith in Jesus as my Savior in my early teen years largely due to the preaching of Billy Graham on the Hour of Decison radio program. But it all started in  a small country church where everyone knew everyone.  I went to Sundayschool there and we would hear the Bible stories told simply. We'd learn a memory verse and sing some songs. The memory verse that has stuck with me for all my years is from Genesis 16: 13  which I learned when I was about 4 or 5 years old - "..Thou God seest me.." spoken by Hagar.
In the story of Abraham and Sarah, Hagar is their servant girl. When Sarah is unable to bear children, she decides to use Hagar to bear a child for them and therefore gives her to Abraham as a wife also. After Hagar becomes pregnant Sarah begins to treat her harshly and Hagar runs away. This is where the angel of God finds her, confronts her for running away, and so the angel comforts her in verse 11 where the angel says " the LORD hath heard thy affliction".
This is actually a very interesting story because we see that  God cares for ordinary people. Hagar is not a celebrity or popular in any way - She is a servant girl. And when life becomes difficult for her God comes to find her, I believe it shows Hagar that she does matter to God. In God's eyes she is special and loved. This experience will also help her later in her life when Abraham and Sarah send her and her young son Ishmael away.
So we also can take comfort in our own situations. To the LORD God our Heavenly Father we do matter and He does love us and care for us. It matters not who you are - God sees you, He knows your situation, He comes to you to care for you.  " Thou God seest me"
Like the song says" His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me"