Mary is visited by Gabriel, and look at all the lovely cherubs. Since we are starting with angels afresh in August, I thought this was a good picture to share today.
Of course, Mary was visited by the angel and understandably had a few questions but proclaimed herself the handmaiden of the Lord. The account of the visitation is recorded in detail in Luke chapter 2. Subsequently, Joseph will be visited and shepherds.
Please enjoy my Pinterest board with more pictures.
What a wonderful angel with the reds and greens and carrying a sword, read to do battle with the enemy of our soul. Remember how the cherub stood with a flaming sword to keep Adam and Eve from returning to the guardian. That was God’s mercy so they would not eat from tree of life and live forever in a fallen state.
For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
May the high praises of God be in their mouths, and a two-edged sword in their hands. Psalm 149:6
He made my mouth like a sharp sword; He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me like a polished arrow; He hid me in His quiver. Isaiah 49:2
And I for one am glad that angels are on duty, and are guardians at His command. The Lords can move things and people we cannot, He can straighten paths and make way where there are none.
His words make ours powerful. Rebecca Jones
Daniel had been taken prisoner and was in Babylonian captivity. Like Joseph, he managed to have a higher ranking as a slave, and could tell the king more than the magicians, with dream interpretations. Not only did he endure the lion’s den, he also one describes the plight of those in the fiery furnace.
Daniel refused to worship false gods, refused to eat their food, and became trusted. But he also would not obey the king’s command not to pray. He was a high ranking official by now and there was no way his contemporaries could ruin him, until they had the king sign the no prayer to anyone but him for thirty day decree.
Daniel prayed anyway, as He always has and was likely eighty years old. Darius liked Daniel and he tried hard to save him but those who accused Daniel insisted that he had signed a proclamation. And so he had, reluctantly, he ordered him to the pit. That was sealed with his own signet. God can break the contracts, though He will never break His.
The king told Daniel that may His God rescue him, and spent a fretful night without food or water, and tossing and turning. I pray the Lord causes the enemy that sort of confusion when he would throw us there. The next morning , he went to see if Daniel had indeed been rescued by the Lord.
I can picture them rolling back a stone, and yelling, ” Daniel, are you okay? ” Well we know he was and his was reply was that an angel shut the lions mouths. He probably saw the angel. And with that the king’s new words were decreed.
For He is the living God
and He endures forever;
His kingdom will not be destroyed,
His dominion will never end.
He rescues and He saves;
He performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions. Daniel 6:26, 27
Many paintings will show Daniel standing, asleep on a lions back or the angel holding te lions mouth closed, but this one is accurate and his words true. “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me. ” 6:22.
And all who maliciously accused Daniel, well, they and their wives and children were thrown into the lion’s den instead. God is not mocked, is He?
As we know, Matthew was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. I like how he is called, it is dramatic on film, Jesus sees him at his tax collection table and says ” Follow me. ” Just like he did to the the others who were fisherman, for the most part.
Tax collecting was not the best way to make a living, the Romans would increase taxes and many of them were a sordid bunch, like the money changers and those who sold offerings. The other tax collector we hear of is Zacchaeus, who climbed a sycamore to see Jesus and repaid those he had stolen from.
Though no mention is made of Matthew’s credibility, Jesus saw something in him or rather he in Jesus, if only two words can make you follow a man, become a disciple, and be empowered by Him. The Gospel according to Matthew gives the genealogy of Jesus and the first years of His life and also His ministry and crucifixion.
The movie, the Matthew series with Bruce Marciano, is told by Matthew as he writes his book. His performance as Jesus is one that I was take with, He made Jesus so real and personable to me. Matthew may have had an angel over his shoulder he recalled the time spent with Christ.
It was written around 70 to 80 A.D. after the temples was destroyed. Though some question Matthew as the author and even say some was copied from or mingled with Mark. I have no reason to believe it was simply not the tax collector who received a higher calling and wrote the book.
No doubt, this was an angel of provision, who along with the Holy Spirit, prompted him to remember his time with Christ.
This is a beautiful print of a guardian angel watching over a sleeping baby in a carriage or pram. The red and blue is striking but the serpent isn’t. These lithographs and postcards were popular in the Victorian Era, there was a lot of interest in spiritualism in the1800’s but really not any different to history. People have always been interested in the supernatural, the main idea being that it God and the Holy Spirit leading you and not falling into deceptive practices. Prayer is the opposite of casting spells, and we can’t force God’s love on people they have a free will.
Angels have been a popular art form for centuries, the times though and pop culture have affected the perception of good and evil, it is not uncommon to hear it reversed as the Bible states in these times. We, as believers, should expect angel assistance and protection and ask God for it. And be especially thankful for it.
Whether, or not some believe there is a God, a heaven or hell, there definitely is spiritual warfare, and a lot of it is aimed at children. Believes should be treading over the enemy in Jesus name. And it takes angels to protect us from what we can’t always see. Rebecca Jones
Here’s an angel of prayer,
To remind you that you should,
Remember, to pray.
That it is really good.
For you t stop and pray,
Throughout the day.
For yourself and other.
He will make a way.
So many times,
We are asked to,
Do you pray for someone,
When you are asked to?
Or have a prayer journal or list?
For our prayers, in sincerity,
Are blessed and spirit kissed.
Let’s not forget our prayers,
Or the difference, that they make.
Much more than we know,
For the moments that they take.
Angels have many tasks to perform,
Do they hang out the stars each night,
And shine them bright?
And warm the frosty morn?
I used to wonder what all angels do,
Beside warfare and guarding too.
They must move aside clouds,
Breathe away the storm.
And tuck feet beneath the blankets,
To keep them warm.
They sing to flowers that open.
And reach for the sky.
With leaves that wave like palms,
Lifting them so high.
They tell each blade of grass to grow,
And whisper secrets, we should know.
And dance upon the moonlight,
Late at night, while babies sleep.
A dimple under their noses,
Heaven’s secrets to keep.
So, be still, keep the peace and quiet,
While the angel’s moon is bright,
And our guardian angels,
Wing their way to heaven,
Reporting to the Father,
That everything is alright.
Jewish tradition holds that an angel teaches babies all of the wisdom in the world while they are in utero. The Angel lightly taps an infant’s upper lip before birth, to silence the infant from telling all the secrets. Though there is no basis for it, I love the story and I once heard a woman tell of her five years old asking her baby sister about heaven, saying she was forgetting. The tradition is that each blade does have an angel.
There are several examples, but as an old movie fan, I have to mention, in Key Largo (1948), Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) tells a fairy tale to a child, saying that, before birth, the soul knows all the secrets of heaven, but at birth an angel presses a fingertip just above one’s lip, which seals us to silence. As opposed to the line from the Maltese Falcon, he tells the murderous Mary Astor character about the women’s prison, and in his inimitable way, says ” You’re going over, angel. “
Angel of God,
Pure as His Word, and we have heard
Words of gold, tried in the fire.
How beautiful, lovely and pristine.
A heart’s desire.
For one should desire that purity and grace.
To carry them through whatever they face.
Even if the way is hard, through darkness,
And heavy is the load in the day or night.
He that is pure love, walks beside us.
His yoke is easy and His burden light.
How pure then a love to exchange His life for me.
And I want to live life purely as can be.
And I need never worry or fear.
Because Jesus is always so very near,
He is the pure love I hold so very dear.
And a pure angel guards me here.
My life has had it share of sorrows,
But heaven will be all my tomorrows.
And I want life and love,
To be as pure as can be.
And I know it is,
Because Love gave His life for me.
Rebecca Jones
Angel at my window,
At the break of light.
You see my day, throughout,
Dawn to dusk, into the night.
You see me wake,
And while I sleep.
You are charged,
My soul to keep.
You are there for it all,
And though I have dashed a foot and fell,
You must have caught me,
For it could have been worse, as well.
You, like Jesus, held my heart,
When I cried,
And grieved over sorrows,
With eyes teary, weary and wide,
I held fast to faith, for tomorrows.
You hold me in place,
And I am calmed by His amazing grace.
Are you perhaps, a muse to me,
So God can use me?
For there in hope out my window,
The day is bright, I hold His light,
And at night out my window,
There is hope,
I see the stars and moon, and marvel,
At His love for me,
And that He is coming soon.
His love is boundless, endless,
As deep as the sea,
And that deep love,
The Father gave me.
His name is Jesus,
He lives in and holds my heart.
And nothing, separates us,
Or keeps us apart.
Not wicked winds,
Or crashing waves of the sea,
No height or depth, angel or demon,
Separates Him from me.
I know He has an angel,
At my window,
And as I sleep,
Whisper a prayer,
My soul to keep.
And there is hope out my window,
With an angel always there,
And yet, He, my blessed Lord,
Is closer than a prayer.
So I pray,
Ponder and muse.
Create the heart in me Lord,
That you can use.
Rebecca Jones
I apologize if this is copyrighted, I don’t think so, no infringement intended.
Sleeping angel, at my side.
Not to worry,
His eyes…..
Are open wide.
God never has to slumber,
Or sleep,
Is always awake,
With love so deep.
His eyes are purely on this little sparrow,
Surely, safe from storm or arrow.
His eyes, glancing to and fro.
Dancing, filled with flaming love aglow.
Sleep, angel at my side,
Though there is no need.
For God is ever watching,
Just as He promised,
And decreed.
On Angel's Wings 