Angels Appearing

In a materialistic world like ours, we are tempted to conclude that the only real things are those we experience with our five senses. Yet "there are things we cannot see: things behind our backs or far away and all things in the dark," said C. S. Lewis.

Psalm 103:19-22 ¹⁹ The Eternal has established His throne up in the heavens.
    He rules over every seen and unseen realm and creature.
²⁰ Adore Him! Give Him praise, you heavenly messengers,
    you powerful creatures who listen to and act on His every word.
²¹ Give praise to the Eternal, all armies of heaven—
    you servants who stand ready to do His will.
²² Give praise to the Eternal, all that He has made in all corners of His creation. O my soul, come, praise the Eternal! (The Voice)

There is another realm of reality, just as actual, just as factual, just as substantial as anything we see, hear, touch, taste, or smell in this world. It exists all around us—not out there "somewhere," but "here." There are legions of angels helping us, for which the world has no counter-measures (Hebrews 1:14). The psalmist David referred to them as a force of thousands of thousands of chariots (Psalm 68:17). We cannot see God nor His angels with our natural eyes. But they are there, whether we see them or not.

Faith is the means by which we are able to "see" this invisible world. Faith is to the spiritual realm what the five senses are to the natural realm. The writer of Hebrews says that faith is "the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). By faith we recognize the existence of the spiritual world and learn to depend on the Lord for His help in our daily life. Our goal, then, as George MacDonald once said, is to "grow eyes" to see the unseen.

Faith sees things that are out of sight.

There is another unseen source of help from which God's children can take courage when facing a physical or spiritual crisis—angels! Those heavenly hosts are called "ministering spirits"

(Hebrews 1:14), and they are instantly responsive to God's command.

Joshua 5:(NASB) 13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” 14 He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” 15 The captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

2 Chron 20:12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. 15 Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you. 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth forever. 22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

Daniel 10:2 In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. 3 I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed. 4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, 5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. 6 His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult. 7 Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. 8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. 9 But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground. 10 Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said to me, “O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.”  15 When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. 16 And behold, one who resembled a human being was touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, “O my lord, as a result of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength. 17 For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.” 18 Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me. 19 He said, “O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” 20 Then he said, “Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia;

Hebrews 13:2 (KJV) Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Change of Seasons Change of Wardrobe

Can changing your wardrobe really change your life? Of course, it can! Imagine how light and powerful you would feel if 100% of the clothes in your closet were the right clothes for you right now. Imagine that your wardrobe reflected both your personality and your personal style while suiting your lifestyle.

Your wardrobe needs to contain a selection of clothes suitable for all the possible situations that you may need to dress for. These situations are entirely unique for all of us and are ever-changing. Your wardrobe should be dynamic – it should adjust and change with your life. It is not a storage box to archive clothes!

By overhauling our wardrobe we give ourselves a chance to reimagine who we are, and more importantly, who we are going to be.

I had a favorite T-shirt that I liked to wear. It was well worn and soft, and it was my “go-to” shirt for wearing on a lazy day.

As followers of Christ, the changes in our behavior following conversion should be like a complete change of wardrobe. We should throw out the old clothes, and fill our closets with brand new ones. We should, “set [our] minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Vs. 2) The problem is that for a lot of us, we tend to not throw away all of the old clothes. Sure, we throw out most of them. We get rid of most of our bad habits and most of our sinful desires, but sometimes we find ourselves tempted to hang on to that one comfortable old shirt. We keep it hanging in our closets, and we keep wearing it from time to time. God, however, is not looking for a partial change in wardrobe. He is looking for us to wear only the new clothes He has provided us through His Son Jesus Christ. If you have a favorite old t-shirt lying around in your life – one or two things from your past sinful life that you are not willing to give up – save yourself a lot of time and trouble and just throw it away. The new clothes are in much better shape, and they will last for eternity.

Change of Seasons. Change of Wardrobe.  Ecclesiastes 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Hawk Sighting & Envisioning Your Path Ahead

Wow! Holy Spirit is moving today. Four hawks are circling over the area behind my house I recently cleared. I have been watching them as I am in the process of sending emails to pastors in the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the United Methodist Church. I have just finished writing to the Alaska Conference pastors. One hawk landed in a pine tree very close by and then rejoined the others in flight. They fly off but keep returning. I honestly believe this is a spiritual sign from the Lord!

When you have a hawk sighting, it’s a sign that you are ready to take on a larger, more powerful expansion and vision of your world. The hawk symbolizes a need to start looking forward, envisioning your path ahead, and perhaps even preparing for a greater role in life. You could end up finding a wider audience for your talents, gifts, and ideas. A hawk sighting is a direct message from the angels that the time has come to spread your wings, to fly higher, and to expand your vision.

In the physical world, hawks have incredible eyesight, and because of that they have an association, in a spiritual sense, with the meaning “to see.” When a hawk comes into your life, it’s telling you to trust your instincts and your intuition, and let them lead you to the next step in line with your path. Note, the hawk will not lead you on a path that is not yours to follow. They are simply here to show you that it’s time to expand your own road and make greater that which already exists within you. (LJ Innes)

Seeing a hawk means you are protected. Seeing hawks all the time means you are getting a flow of ideas like a hawk does while it is flying on the wind. I have been seeing at least one hawk flying and perching behind my house each day for the last week. I realize now that this is exactly the time I have been writing emails each day to pastors about my evangelism call to the United Methodist Church!

Metron, Stay in Your Lane

 

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Prophets Call Things That be Not as Though They Were

CALLING THINGS THAT BE NOT AS THOUGH THEY WERE! (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. (Romans 4:17) God called Abraham the father of many nations even though Abraham and Sarah were too old to have children.

God also told Ezekiel to prophesy to bones...The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, thou knowest." Again he said unto me, "Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live." (Ezekiel 37:1-5)

Rev. Colin Smith writes, "To prophesy is to be prompted by God to speak the right word at the right time in the right way." I truly believe that I am being prompted by God to prophesy words of life to the United Methodist Church at this time. It may seem to be too late but remember Ezekiel spoke to dead bones and they came back to life! With God, it is never too late to call things that be not as though they were. Instead, we have been calling things the way they are. Where are the prophets of our day? Can these bones live again? With God all things are possible! United Methodist Church come to life! John Wesley summarized his understanding of Methodism's purpose: What may we reasonably believe to be God's design in raising up the Preachers called Methodists? To reform the nation and, in particular, the Church; to spread scriptural holiness over the land. This purpose for the UMC is still valid. Let us spread scriptural holiness and our UMC and nation will experience reformation. I am calling things that be not as though they were! Who will join me?