God's Angels are Real

God's Angels are Real

Unlike the elusive, beautiful painting above, angels are real, but most of the time, we don't even see them, and for a very good reason; for they are God's messengers sent to do His work and to protect us from danger including danger from ourselves. This journal is not about making pretty pictures, or sculpting images of angels, but a study of who they are, and why God has them as His "secret agents". But first, I must describe our relationship to God and the situation that we are in, here on Earth.

Who (whose) are You?

OK here is the deal; it is time for us to understand and realize who we are in Christ...that we are truly NOT our own; we are bought with a price, the Blood of Jesus, and that with that purchase, God Almighty has endowed us with the right to be called HIS; the right to go Heaven; THERE'S MORE TO IT THAN THAT! While we are here on this Earth, we have things to do, that are to Glorify God, and to further His Kingdom to come, and to lay up for ourselves treasures in Heaven; when we get saved, and give our whole hearts and lives to JESUS, we are then enlisted in God's Army.

CLAIMER/DISCLAIMER

I call this a claimer/disclaimer because in my writings, I make certains claims (this is the claimer part), namely, that God's Word says this or says that...I claim it to be true. but (here's the disclaimer part), if anyone who reads my writings, thinks that I have mis-spoken, then by all means feel free to challenge me, and I will take a second look; to see if I have (misspoken). Many times, I will not quote the chapter and verse, but I will tell you where it is located in the Bible...call me lazy if you like; it is just my style. If I am challenged to say where I got something from God's word, I will be happy to explain myself.

GOD'S ARMY

Historically speaking, when a general or even a king sends people into battle, he usually sends the warriors equipped to win the battle, for only a fool would expect victory otherwise.

By the same token, God has never sent leaders of old into battle, unless He planned for them to win...if they lost a battle, it was because they failed,miserably, to obey God's commands as to "how to" go about fighting the battle.

God sent Joshua and the people into the battle of Ai, and they were being slaughtered; Joshua asked god "Why?" God clearly explained to Joshua that there was sin in the camp...a man named Achin had stolen gold from the enemy, and hidden it in his tent; when the Lord had explicitly instructed them to take nothing; Achin confessed what he had done, and Joshua herded Achin and all of his family together, and they were all stoned to death. How do you like that for accountablility?

Who are the members of God's Army today? What is the nature of the battle? Who is the enemy?

The old hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers", pretty much answers the first question:

Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war

With the Cross of Jesus, going on before

Christ our royal master, leads against the foe,

Forward into battle, see our banners flow.

You see, when you become a Christian, you are then enlisted in the Army of God. Now to some, that is only a symbolic existence, not to be taken too seriously, but to others, it means a life that is never the same again, dedicated to bringing in more souls for Jesus, and living a victorious life that is full of the Love of God, and free from the bondage of sin, which answers the second question; the nature of the battle is clearly spoken of in the book of Ephesians.

satan's angels are DEFEATED

" Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness, in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness: And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Praying always in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perserverance and supplication for all saints." Ephesians6:10-18

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; 2Corinthians 10:4

Now, the question is "Who is our enemy?" Well, it was certainly not meant to be people, although people have made enemies of each other since man made himself an enemy of God in the garden of Eden. But God loved man in spite of this; that is why He became a man named Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sin.

Once upon a timeless in Heaven, there was a beautiful angel named Lucifer, who was actually in charge of the music in Heaven; in fact the Word says that he had a musical instrument inside of him. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, this angel decided to rebel against God. Who did he think he was, rebelling against God, the creator of everything? God could not tolerate such a thing, and He threw Lucifer and ONE THIRD of all the angels (the ones that rebelled against God) in Heaven, OUT of Heaven, and onto the Earth.

Now, I don't know how many that was, but I am sure that it was a LOT. Let's just be conservative in guessing that there were 3 million total angels in Heaven at the time; that means that at least 1 million were cast down with Lucifer(who became satan at that time) to the Earth. Well what happened to them? I don't think that they just disappeared; no, they remained here with satan, reeking havoc in the lives of mankind. They will continue to try to reek havoc in the lives of mankind until one day when God throws them all into Hellfire, where they will remain forever!

People who are living under the Blood and resurrection of Jesus Christ, make it difficult if not impossible for those demon-angels to hurt them or affect their lives. But those demon-angels have plenty of other people to work with; just look at all of the wicked things that people do, every day!

A sober person generally has a very strong level of bio-feedback in his or her brain, and he or she is usually in total control. A drugged or intoxicated person, on the other hand, has a very low bio-feedback level, and his or her mind is an open door for demon-angels to work. They even like to work in the minds of crazy or demented people. The "Son of Sam" was a very famous serial killer; he went through the streets shooting people with a .357 magnum. After he was eventually caught, it was known that he had a terrible drinking and drug problem; he said that voices, namely a black dog named Sam, told him to kill people. Several years ago, a woman drowned all five of her children in the bathtub; she was over medicated on anti-depressants,and also taking psychotropic drugs, and NOT following doctor's orders; she told police that voices told her to kill the children. I could go on and on. The fact is that these demon- angels still live on this Earth, and they have little or no effect on a Christian who is sold out to Jesus, especially those who wear the armor of God. In fact the Bible says that we can cast those devils out, and that they have NO power over us! When Jesus said from a cruel cross "It is Finished" it was finished, and when he arose from the dead, it was and is finished for the demon-angels in the lives of Chritian believers; we just have to reckon it so, and live like it. Satan and his angels are defeated!!

God's Angels

God's Angels are all throughout the Bible, and in part two of this series, we will talk more about them, and how REAL they can be for us, because they are real! I have a friend named Benjamin, who is possibly the most studied man in the Word of God that I have ever known; I am asking him to help me in teaching the reality of God's Angels, and how He has placed them in our lives to protect us, and how if we simply believe, that God will send them where we need them to be. Just believe it!

In closing, I want to share a true-life angel story. My friend Eddie was changing the battery in his car one weekend, and his small son was following him around "watching Daddy". Eddie had charged the battery overnight in his house, so he brought it out to re-install it in his car. He hooked it up to the terminals, and went around to the front seat to start the car. His little boy stood in front of the car about eye level with that newly charged battery, just watching. As Eddie tried to turn the key, he said that a force, much greater than his, would not allow him to turn the key. He tried really hard to turn it, but it would not budge; he then took his hands off the switch, and asked his small son to come around and stand next to Daddy, which he did. Now Eddie and his son are in the car while Eddie tried the ignition key again. This time he could turn the key. As soon as the battery was energized from the key, it EXPLODED into a thousand pieces; Eddie said that he found pieces of battery in the front and back yards of his home; his son would have been killed instantly, had something not stopped Eddie's hand. These things don't happen by accident! You will learn as you read more of my writings that I personally don't believe anything happens by accident.

Posted by Larry Wiseman at 10:48 PM No comments: 

Well,I have been waiting for God to give me the Part Two of this series, and have been wondering when it would come. My step-son David is presently in Iraq; experiencing some of the heaviest fighting ever in the region. My faith is unwavering, and we picture the REAL presence of God's angels all around David and all of his men. I KNOW that those angels are there, and that the enemies that he's fighting, are NOT a people who serve the true living God; so God's will be done; I am just praying for David's safety; I am not praying that he will kill a lot of people; although I know that they will have to in order to stay alive; I am also not happy that he is fighting for his life in a horrible war, but obviously, someone has to step up to the plate to protect our freedoms; I am convinced that God is protecting him every day, all day!

I pray that as you read this , that you will share your faith with us on this blog; especially in this case, if you have stories about angels. I have heard and read many; remember this...there are angels watching over you and all of God's believers. I read the story of a missionary in Africa who was with his wife in their meager hut one night, when the chief of the village brought his men to kill the missionary and his wife. He and his wife prayed all night for God's protection. The chief and his men came, and they quickly left. Two years later, while preaching in Johannesburg, the missionary was amazed to see that same chief come forward to accept Christ. When asked by the missionary about that night when the chief came to kill him, the chief replied, "Because you were winning souls to your God, we wanted to kill you, but when we came, there we saw many giant warriors with fire in their eyes, surrounding your hut, and we knew that they would kill us if we did not leave!" 

There are no accidents in this life, and because I believe that, I understand why HE had me begin this series when I did...I happen to be on Max Lucado's mailing list for his weekly devotionals; his staff, nor I, knew that I would be writing about angels at the same time that they would send out his excerpt about angels. Consequently, I am compelled to include it here in this entry. God only knows, but after this, I sense an "Angels...part three" coming soon. In that one, I will probably be giving Biblical accounts of angels.

Angels Watching Over You
by Max Lucado

One of my friends recently took a heart-stopping mission trip to Vietnam. He and two companions set out to smuggle Bibles and money to Christians there. Upon landing, however, he was separated from the other two. He spoke no Vietnamese and had never traveled in Hanoi. Imagine his thoughts, then, as he stood in front of the airport, holding a bag of Bibles, wearing a belt of cash, and knowing nothing more than the name of his hotel.
Taxi driver after taxi driver offered his services, but he waited and prayed. Finally, knowing he needed to do something, he climbed into a taxi and spoke the name of the hotel. After an hour and a thousand turns, he found himself deposited at the designated place. He paid his drivers, and they went on their way.
That’s right, “they” drove off. The front seat of his taxi had been occupied by two men. Only later did the uniqueness of this fact strike him. He saw hundreds of taxis during his days in Vietnam, but not another one of them had two drivers.Angels minister to God’s people. “ has put his angels in charge of you to watch over you wherever you go” (Ps. 91:11 NCV).
Billy Graham reminds us, “If you are a believer, expect powerful angels to accompany you in your life experience.”? But what if you are not a believer? Do angels offer equal surveillance to God’s enemies? No, they don’t. The promise of angelic protection is limited to those who trust God. Refuse God at the risk of an unguarded back. But receive his lordship, and be assured that many mighty angels will guard you in all your ways.
God sends his best troops to oversee your life. Imagine the president assigning his Secret Service to protect you, telling his agents to motorcade your car through traffic and safeguard you through crowds. How would you sleep if you knew D.C.’s finest guarded your door? How will you sleep knowing heaven’s finest are doing just that? You are not alone. Receive God’s lordship over your life. Heaven’s many, mighty angels watch over you.From Come Thirsty Copyright 1995, Max Lucado

THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM

Sunday, January 22, 2006

THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM

I was walking down the street in New York City a few years ago, and came face to face with this man. I stood in amazement, watching his gaze, and wondered how this man could look SO much like Albert Einstein. Having never met Mr. Einstein, how did I really know what he looked like? After all, the photos that are published could have been doctored, but most likely, this is what he must have looked like. I took me a minute or so, but I quickly realized that the image in front of me was not a breathing person, but a wax figure; we were standing in front of The Wax Museum. After standing there for even longer, I realized that he was not real, but the features and coloration are mind boggling. On another occasion, I went to the Hall of Presidents at Disney World, and to witness each president standing there speaking and moving on the stage was also a wonder to behold, but they are, in actuality, extremely "high tech" robots.
There are many deceptions in this life, some meant for good, and most meant to satisfy some person or persons selfish desires or schemes. In the Bible, Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, and put lamb's blood on his coat, showing it to their father Jacob, convincing him that his youngest son had been slaughtered by some beast. I have met many types of people in this life, and there are some who don't trust anyone at all, while there are others who will fall for anything, the epitome of naivety. So who can we trust? Bonds of friendship are created between brother and sister, husband and wife, friend to friend, and most of the time, those bonds are trustworthy, but when trust is broken between people, it makes it harder to trust someone in the next relationship. Some feel that they can't even trust God, for through their disappointments or even terrible losses, they find that even God must have some hidden agenda. Well God DOES have an agenda, and He doesn't always share it with us in this life, and sometimes He DOES reveal His plan to us before we leave this world.
Since God created everything, and ultimately controls everything He sees all things from a perspective that we cannot. The one thing that is consistent with God is that He loves us, and He knows us better than we know ourselves(imagine that!). I compare it to when I was 16 years old...time for my first car...most of the kids that I went to high school with were getting GTO's, Corvettes, or some similar "muscle car". My father told me that he wanted to help me get a car, and asked what kind I wanted...well, I began to name some of the fast cars that I wanted, and he quickly stopped me, and explained that he knew what would happen if I had a car like that. He was right...I would have burned the tires off the thing the first week. I ended up buying 1959 Hillman Minx(an old  that we bought from my brother for $35.00; it was wrecked, and we had to drag it out of a ditch. I stripped and sanded, and rubbed and worked all summer, and my Dad worked right along with me, and really did more work than I did; he did all of the extensive body work, and even almost cut his thumb off straightening the frame. The car lasted me several years, and it made me appreciate having a car.
Our Heavenly Father is much like our earthly father, except He knows everything, even what's best for us. When things are not what they seem, He can steer us in the right direction, but how will we know? The only way to know is to be CLOSE to Him. Ask yourself how you can do that. Pray, ask Him into your life...if you have already done that, ask Him to bring you closer to Him. He has not moved or gone anywhere; WE are the ones who move away. Move back in ...closer, closer to God. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean NOT unto your own understanding; In all of your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5,6 written by the wisest man ever. Solomon.

Honor Thy Father and Mother

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Honor Thy Father and Mother

These are two people who knew what honor means, and we honor them for lives well spent...Ruth and Ned Wiseman





















Hello...most of my life, I had the Biblical concept of "honoring" my parents as that of showing respect in their presence, or not saying disrespectful things behind their backs etc. I was raised to have respect for my elders; something that kids today are sorely lacking in, and my parents were the kind of people that commanded respect, but more than that, they both were deserving of it.

I felt that it is fitting...
It is fitting then, that even though my Mom and Dad have passed on, that I pay tribute to their lives. I could not possibly write enough words about them, to adequately describe what they meant to me when they were here on Earth, much less what they still mean to me and everyone in our family. On behalf of my two wonderful sisters Audrey and Virginia, and my "Godly man" brother Ralph(and their respective families), I would like to say that we miss our parents, but oddly enough, they don't miss us, for they are safe in the arms of Jesus, and if we could really know what life is like for them now, we would not want to cheat them, by bringing them back. We were all blessed to know them as people, blessed to be their children, and blessed with the hope and assurance of seeing them again one fine day! Both of them in their own right were truly incredible people, and they knew that anything that may have appeared to be great about them was strictly a gift,"graced" upon them by God.

Longevity is Rare...this day and Time!
In a day where divorce, infidelity, violence, and immorality run amuck, longevity in marriage is rare. Our parents were married to each other for 64 years, and divorce was never an option for dealing with life's problems. "nuff" said; I am proud of them for that! There is not enough time and space to tell the life story of Ruth and Ned Wiseman, but a few highlights should suffice to convey the wonderful life that they had, individually, and as a couple. 
Mother
Mom was a great mother and home-maker who reached out to everyone she knew, in love, and volunteered in the every community she lived in. During WWII, she worked as a nurse's asst. at Kennedy Hospital in Memphis. During the 1960' she worked as secretary for the 111th Intelligence Corps for the US Army. She was a Cub Scout den mother, a Sunday school teacher, a pink lady at the Hospital, and loved to feed people. More than anything, she loved Jesus, and always tried to point anyone she knew to the Cross. She loved to sing, and had an angelic alto voice that would make the meanest man in the world break down , and cry. She loved flowers, ceramics, and playing the piano. Behind every great man is a great woman, and Ruth was the entire cheering squad for her husband. One of the things that my Dad was lacking in was education, and she encouraged him to further his education often, and even helped him in his career at Delta Airlines; assisting him with clerical work.
Daddy
Our Dad was probably a genuis; I don't know what his IQ was, but if he set his mind to do something, he just learned how, and did it. I have not known anyone like him in this world, except for my brother Ralph, and me. We are only similar to our Dad because he was our mentor; we are still trying to be like him; it will take a little more time. Dad was not perfect; he had a bad temper, which even he seemed to shed as he grew old, and my brother and I have mellowed now, too. With all of the rough upbringing that Ned Wiseman had, he somehow, by the Grace of God, sought after and maintained character, character that meant doing the right thing at all costs. I think that the one thing that impressed me most about him was that he refused to "kiss up" to people to get ahead; he could have been much higher up in his job, but he wanted to get where he did, on his record only or nothing at all. He was a very successful man; this webpage could not tell it all; Dad taught us that if something breaks, fix it; if you don't know how, learn about it, and fix it. I came home from school one day, and found our television completely dismantled, and Dad was repairing it... it was working fine by that night. My brother Ralph has that talent; he had his own television repair service for about 20 years. Over all the years of my own "do it yourself" projects, I knew that I could call Daddy if I got into trouble. Dad gave his life to Jesus when he was in his thirties, and before he died, he told me that he could go happily to be with God now because all of his children were "saved", and in the fold; that was his greatest legacy.

Today we honor them...
I have not always honored my parents, but since I became a Christian in 1982, I have tried to. My siblings have honored my parents with their lives, also. My brother and his wife Rita put their lives on hold to stay with my aging parents in their latter years, and my sister Virginia was my mother's care taker for the last two years of Mom's life; my sister Audrey took care of all of Mom's affairs, even years after she passed away. We all, in our own ways have tried to honor our parents when they were with us, and now, I would like to honor them again, and I pray that the Father will give them a little glimpse, just to show them what their lives have meant to us, and the awesome legacy of love, that they have passed on to us, and all who knew them.

Come In God!

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Come In God!

Many are familiar with this painting, based on the scripture from Revelation 3:20, where Jesus says, "Yea, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in and sup with him, and he with me."

I think that establishing in one's mind exactly who Jesus is, according to the Bible is the first step in coming to God. Don't take it from me, don't take it from some religion, don't ask man, ask God. In His word, God makes extensive and continuous promises to us about those who seek. "Seek, and you shall find, knock, and the door will be opened"...So...if we ask Him, He promises to give the answer; it may not come exactly when or how we perceive it to be, but it WILL come. He has shown me...I believe that Jesus IS God, so many years ago, I asked Him into my heart...He came, He saved my soul...and since that time, I have been in and out of fellowship with Him. Being IN is better, so I keep re-opening the door; He is always standing there, waiting to come in. Although I do believe that initially, I was saved, and my name was written in the Lamb's book of Life. I have, from time to time lost my appreciation of whose I am, and who gave His life to save me.

When you are sitting in your home, and you hear a knock at the door, and you know who it is, and if the door is unlocked, then you say..."Come on in!"

• Do you hear the knock at the door?
• Do you know who He is?
• Is the door of your heart unlocked?
• Are you asking Him to come in?

Into my heart... into my heart...come into my heart...Lord Jesus.

Come in today

Come in to stay

Come into my heart

Lord Jesus