angels – Page 2 – Be Still…

Hebrews 12:14-29 – Unshakable Faith

Read Hebrews 12:14-29

What a wake-up call! The Preacher doesn’t want these new believers (or us) to miss out on God’s promises. He uses the example of Esau as our wake-up call. “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” Can you imagine not seeing God face to face someday?

Beyond our eternal home, the message to be at peace with others is pretty timely. It seems we can’t even scroll through social media these days without seeing all sorts of outlandish comments and hurtful communication. Who does that? We can all fall prey to one of the biggest sins in my book, gossip. We need to be focusing on living a “holy” life instead.

Hebrews 2:5-9 – Why the Cross?

Read Hebrews 2:5-9

The Preacher shifts our thinking here about Jesus. While Jesus is still all the wonderful things he was lauded for in the first chapter, we see how Jesus’ humanity stripped him of the full expression of that momentarily. Some people will ask, if Jesus was God, why did he let himself be killed? Others may say, how can God die?

Why the cross? That seems like the next question. Such a brutal way to die.“[B]ecause he suffered death for us, he is now ‘crowned with glory and honor.’ Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone.” Jesus has gone before us. He not only experienced what it was like to live as a human, but also to die as one. Yet when Jesus died, he conquered death!

Hebrews 1:5-14 – What About the Angels?

Read Hebrews 1:5-14

Have you ever seen an angel? I used to love the show, “Touched by an Angel.” “Highway to Heaven” was another favorite back in the day. Those are just cheesy television, but the message was always uplifting, a “feel good” kind of show. But my picture of angels has been influenced by those kinds of examples. We uncover a lot more of the mystery surrounding angels in this reading.

Here, the writer is quick to distinguish a hierarchy between angels and God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The focus on Christ’s superiority continues. Words like throne and justice are powerful and signify importance. Jesus is Lord, creator, and God. God himself calls Jesus out as God, “Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you,” There is nobody greater than Jesus. Angels may have an audience with God, but their authority and power is not equal to Jesus.

Luke 2:1-20 – Our King is Born

Read Luke 2:1-20

The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born today with a manger and straw

I hope you didn’t rush through this text today. Because it’s a familiar text, we can sometimes go into “auto pilot” mode when reading. It’s a story that never gets old, even when you hear it several times the same day. What spoke to you from this birth announcement as you read it this time?

There is so much packed into these few verses. God stripped himself of the majesty of heaven and came to earth as a helpless babe! There was no palace waiting for our king. Only a manger bed. That silent night was all orchestrated by God, which makes it even more precious.

Day 6 Hark the Herald Angels Sing

animated and colorful portrayal of angels flying in the sky with glory and shepherds and sheep below

In every Christmas pageant I’ve been part of, this song always seems to appear. Try explaining to children what some of these lyrics mean! It’s easy to point to the angels, because after all they are the ones proclaiming the message of the song.

Kids understand angels it seems. We adults may have a harder time wrapping our minds around them. At least for me, being visited by an angel would be a huge honor and definite high point in my life. That is, once I got past the “fear and trembling,” which seems to be a common reaction! Read Luke 2:8-14.