And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.
Genesis 3:15

 Recommended Reading: Genesis 3:8-19

Theologians and Bible interpreters have long referred to Genesis 3:15 as the protoevangelium—Latin for “first [proto] Gospel [evangelium].” The famous English preacher Charles Simeon called Genesis 3:15 “the sum and summary of the whole Bible.” Why? Because it contains the Good News that Christ, the Seed of the woman, will defeat God’s enemy, Satan.

The entire Bible is the story of Christ, who would come into the world to pay the price for the sin of Adam and all mankind—to redeem all who would put their trust in Him. When the Jews challenged Jesus and His teachings, He told them, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39). Over and over, the early Christian leaders testified that the Old Testament foretold the coming of Christ (Acts 3:18, 21, 24; 7:52; 10:43; 28:23).

From ages past, God put in place a plan to forgive and save you. Thank Him today for His Savior and the Book that reveals His plan.

The New [Testament] is in the Old [Testament] concealed; the Old is by the New revealed.
Augustine

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But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9

 Recommended Reading: 1 Peter 2:9-12

Finland has been ranked the happiest nation in the world for six years in a row by the World Happiness Report.¹ But is it really? What about those whom the Bible calls “a chosen generation…a holy nation, His own special people”?

Our happiness and joy come from our relationship with God through Christ. He has provided for all of our needs, reassured us in all our fears, and guided us in all our ways. He has solved the problem of death, and He has told us about our eternal home. He has reserved eternity for us!

Jesus always loves you. He loved you so much He gave His life for you and is now preparing a place for you to live with Him forever. You’re part of the holiest and happiest nation on earth! Let’s proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

[God] loves us all with a mighty love that has no beginning and can have no end.
A.W. Tozer

1. “Happiest Countries Prove Resilient Despite Overlapping Crises,” World Happiness Report, March 20, 2023.

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I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book.
Revelation 22:9

 Recommended Reading: Revelation 22:1-9

Charles Lightoller was just drifting off to sleep on April 14, 1912, when he felt the collision of the Titanic with an iceberg. Rousing himself, he helped as many women and children as possible into lifeboats before he was swept into the icy sea. At that moment, a verse of Scripture came clearly to his mind—Psalm 91:11: “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (NIV).

Just then, a blast of hot air exploded from the belly of the ship, propelling Lightoller like a missile to the surface, where he managed to pull himself onto an overturned lifeboat. He had no doubt an angel had helped him.

Angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14), but they are also fellow servants with us. The angel told the apostle John, “I am your fellow servant” (Revelation 19:10). How incredible! Alongside angels, we are serving the Lord of hosts. There could be no higher calling!

Learning what the Bible says about angels ultimately is tied to thinking well about how God thinks about us. What God wants us to know about angels contributes to our eternal perspective.
MIchael Heiser

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Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts!
Psalm 148:2

 Recommended Reading: Luke 2:13-14

In Romans 1, the apostle Paul identifies one of the characteristics of fallen mankind: We worship and serve “the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever” (verse 25). The proper role of creation—everything that has been created—is to bring praise and honor to the Creator. That includes animate and inanimate parts of creation as well.

In Psalm 148, the psalmist expresses the theme that all of creation should bring glory to the Creator: sun, moon, stars, rain clouds, sea creatures, oceans, lightning, hail, snow, winds, mountains, hills, fruit trees, cedars, wild animals, cattle, small creatures, birds, kings, princes, rulers, young men and maidens, old men, children…and all the rest of creation. At the head of his list is “all His angels…all His hosts!” (verse 2) We certainly find angels fulfilling their purpose throughout Scripture—like at the birth of Christ when they glorified God (Luke 2:13-14).

You are part of creation. Follow the example of the angels, God’s heavenly hosts, and live a life of praise and honor to God.

Let earth and heaven combine, angels and men agree, to praise in songs divine the incarnate Deity.
Charles Wesley

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Behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Matthew 4:11

 Recommended Reading: Luke 24:1-7

Every aspect of our Lord’s life was intersected by angels. His birth was announced by angels; they ministered to Him after His temptation; and He spoke about them in His teachings. In the Garden of Gethsemane, an angel comforted Him in His distress. They rolled away the stone and announced His resurrection, and they were present when He ascended into heaven. The Bible tells us that when He returns, He will be accompanied by angelic hosts.

If Jesus so needed His angels to assist Him, how much more do we need constant angelic help! When we get to heaven, we’ll likely be surprised to learn how much angels had to do with our earthly journey. What a blessing to know how much God cares for His children, using angels. Dr. Jack Graham wrote, “The same angelic presence and protection that enveloped Jesus Christ at all points along his earthly journey remains in service to those who love God here and now.”¹

Take a moment right now to ask God to send His angels to watch over you today.

It is a whisper-thin veil that separates the natural from the supernatural, meaning divine activity is all around us.
Jack Graham

1. Jack Graham, Angels (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2016).

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You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:6, NIV

 Recommended Reading: Romans 5:1-8

Army Pfc. Garfield McConnell Langhorn, twenty, a devout Christian, was trapped by enemy soldiers in Vietnam. When an enemy grenade landed in front of him and several wounded men, Langhorn didn’t hesitate. He said, “Someone’s got to care!” and he threw himself on the explosive device, absorbing the blast and saving his follow soldiers. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor.¹

The Bible says, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7-8, NIV).

In the Old Testament, Jesus occasionally showed up as the Angel of the Lord, but the New Testament begins with Him actually becoming human, that He might die for us. Think of how you’d feel if you were one of those saved by Pfc. Langhorn’s sacrifice. We should surely feel something akin to that kind of gratitude when we remember what Christ did for us because He cares for us so much.

In love, the Son of God literally gave Himself for me. This puts in personal terms the great transaction of Calvary.
J. Oswald Sanders

1. Katie Lange, “Medal of Honor Monday: Army Pfc. Garfield Langhorn,” DOD News, January 16, 2023.

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And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.
Exodus 14:19

 Recommended Reading: Exodus 14:13-22

In the Old Testament, an angel that appears from time to time is different from all the others. He’s called, “the Angel of the Lord.” He has characteristics that seem to be divine. And, yes, they are divine, for the Old Testament Angel of the Lord is the manifestation of God before Christ came at Bethlehem. It is the second Person of the Godhead, Jesus Christ Himself. When you read about the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament, you are likely reading about God the Son Himself.

Christ is eternal without beginning or ending. But when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary, He began the process of also taking on humanity, of becoming both God and Man. After His birth, the Angel of the Lord disappears from Scripture. He is now the Son of God who lived among us and gave His life for us.

Jesus inspires our awe whenever we see Him in either the Old or New Testament. He deserves our loving worship.

What we see in the angel of the Lord is brought to a culmination in the person of Jesus, who draws near to humanity in order to draw us near to God.
Carissa Quinn

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Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet.
Luke 16:22, NLT

 Recommended Reading: Luke 16:19-23

Some people mistakenly believe we become angels after we die. The Bible nowhere teaches such a thing, but it does tell us that angels will accompany believers on their journey to heaven at the moment of death. In His story of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus said that when the beggar Lazarus died, he “was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22). In other words, the angels escorted him to be with Abraham and all the rest of God’s children in the heavenly places.

It’s normal to be apprehensive about dying but knowing Jesus as Savior turns the experience into an adventure. Death isn’t a drop into darkness. It’s a quick journey into the presence of Christ and our loved ones with angels as chauffeurs, bodyguards, and companions.

As you anticipate heaven, remember none of us will take the journey there alone. The Bible says that angels escort us to heaven. What a comforting truth!

Death for the Christian cuts the cord that holds us captive in this present evil world so that angels may transport believers to their heavenly inheritance.
Billy Graham

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Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.
Revelation 5:11

 Recommended Reading: Hebrews 2:14-16

Eschatology is the study of the last things, and the most eschatologically focused book of the Bible is Revelation. And guess what Revelation mentions more than any other book of the Bible: angels. Angels are mentioned in Revelation more than seventy times.

While there are many reasons to anticipate a future in heaven, one is often overlooked: the opportunity to witness the reality and presence of the innumerable angels who have served God and His people for eons. We may even encounter an angel that was sent to minister to us in a time of need! God through Jesus Christ has taken away the fear of death for all who belong to Him (Hebrews 2:14-15). Just as God has a fiery destination prepared for “the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41), so God has prepared a wondrous destination for His angels and for those who belong to Christ (Hebrews 12:22).

If you belong to God through faith in Christ, your future is with God and His angels in heaven. Thank God today for that promise!

Why shouldest thou be afraid to die, who hopest to live by dying!
William Gurnall

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Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith.
1 Peter 5:8-9

 Recommended Reading: James 4:7

While lions no longer roam the plains of the Middle East, they did in biblical days. And Peter used the lion as a picture of Satan. Lions roar to intimidate their prey and competitors, but Satan intimidates in other, more subtle ways.

The apostle Paul pointed out that spiritual warfare is not a matter of physical armaments and conflicts, but a battle over truth—the realm of thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). That’s how Satan attacked and intimidated Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He replaced God’s truth—“You shall not eat…lest you die”—with a lie: “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:3-4). He intimidated Adam and Eve into believing a lie, and they died spiritually. Jesus said that Satan is “the father of lies” (John 8:44, NIV). His primary weapon against Christians is to persuade us to believe lies about God—that He is not good, forgiving, loving, or faithful.

When you are tempted to doubt God or His truth, you are being tempted by Satan. Resist him and stand firm in the faith.

It is the oldest stratagem of Satan to disfigure the truth by misrepresentation.
Iain Murray

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All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.
Matthew 4:9

 Recommended Reading: Acts 20:19

This verse is the key to understanding the motive of Satan and the origin of evil. The devil desires to be worshiped as God. Professor D. Edmond Hiebert wrote, “In his ambition to assume the place of God, Satan is mastered by a consuming passion to receive worship as God. That master passion was revealed in Satan’s bold offer to invest Jesus with authority over the kingdoms of this world on condition Jesus would worship him.”¹

Our Lord’s response was, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Matthew 4:10).

We may never desire to be worshiped as God, but that’s at the heart of the attitude of pride that drives much of what we think and do. God desires humility. We’re to serve the Lord with all humility (Acts 20:19), putting on “tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering” (Colossians 3:12). Psalm 147:6 says, “The Lord lifts up the humble.” And Peter assures us that God gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5).

Every day resist Satan by living in humble obedience to our one, great, true God.

All the cunning of the devil is exercised in trying to tear us away from the Word.
Martin Luther

1. D. E. Hiebert, The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. 5, Merrill C. Tenney, ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010).

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NOVEMBER 10, 2023

His mighty angels.
2 Thessalonians 1:7

 Recommended Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10

While swerving to avoid another car, Pastor John Boston struck a utility pole in Columbus, Ohio. A live transformer crashed into his car, sending thousands of volts of electricity into the vehicle. Even touching the car was dangerous. The vehicle burst into flames and began melting all around the pastor. His seatbelt was stuck, and the door wouldn’t open. Suddenly, a stranger walked up, opened the door, pulled the pastor out of the car, and helped him to a safe place just before the car exploded. Then the stranger suddenly said he had to leave, and he was never seen again. Even the emergency responders wondered if the stranger was actually an angel.¹

When we’re in a dangerous situation, God may choose to use angels to protect us from harm. He has many other methods, of course. We know He loves and cares for us, and He can certainly dispatch angels whenever He pleases.

In times of fear, let’s trust God to protect us however He chooses to do so. It might involve an angel, and we might not even know about it until we get to heaven.

I don’t think angels come to us with wings and white robes shining lights. I think they come as help and that’s what I had that day.
John Boston

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He will send His angel before you.
Genesis 24:7

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 34:4-7

The blind songwriter, Fanny Crosby, wrote the words to “Blessed Assurance” after hearing the music her friend, Phoebe Knapp, had written. The second verse says: “Angels descending bring from above, echoes of mercy, whispers of love.” This happens in two ways.

First, the angels we read about in the Bible thrill us. Consider the Nativity angels who brought the news of Christ’s birth and who proclaimed: “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:14). Every Christmas, children around the world don angelic garb and repeat the thrilling news. Some of our favorite stories in the Bible involve these mysterious creatures called angels.

Second, angels are still active, ministering to us in ways that are usually beyond our ability to comprehend. Psalm 34:6-7 says, “In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. For the angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him” (NLT).

One of the ways God uses angels in our life is to strengthen and encourage us. Thank Him for the strength and encouragement He brings into our life every day in countless ways.

When you’re sleeping, children fair, angels keeping watch are there.
Matthias Barr

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But while [Joseph] thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 1:20

 Recommended Reading: Daniel 10:1-19

We have questions to ask and decisions to make; we pursue familiar biblical means of decision-making: prayer, biblical principles, counsel, and more. But one thing we don’t often consider is that God might use an angel to direct us.

Think of Joseph when he learned that his betrothed, Mary, was pregnant. A good man, Joseph intended to end the engagement quietly so as not to bring shame upon Mary. But an angel came to him in a dream and told him to go ahead with his marriage to Mary—because her pregnancy was of divine origin. That angelic message led Joseph to marry Mary and become the earthly father of Jesus. Or consider Daniel: For three weeks he prayed for understanding, and then an angel appeared and told him the delay was due to spiritual warfare in the heavenlies (Daniel 10).

Make allowance in your decision making for the ministry of angels. Directly or indirectly, seen or unseen, they are commissioned by God to help you.

Angels will never be kings. They will always be servants.
Andrew Bonar

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For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
Colossians 1:16

 Recommended Reading: Genesis 1:1-5

In the world of physics, entropy is a measure of disorder or randomness. For example, if we fail to apply purposeful energy in our life or to our property, disorder and decay—entropy—increases. The opposite of entropy is purpose and design, sustained by the application of energy and power.

When God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), He did so ex nihilo—“out of nothing.” From chaos and darkness (Genesis 1:2), He brought forth order by His own design—the order we observe at all levels of creation. Paul summarizes God’s approach to everything by saying, “God is not the author of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). God’s purpose is also reflected in His creation of angelic beings: angels, archangels, seraphim, cherubim, angels of the Lord, mighty ones, hosts of heaven, and more. 

Take comfort today that you serve a God of order and purpose and that includes the hierarchy of His angelic servants.

I meditate on the blessed obedience and order of angels, without which no peace could be in heaven, and oh that it might be so on earth!
Richard Hooker

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Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Luke 15:10

 Recommended Reading: Luke 15:8-10

Corrie ten Boom, the Dutch Christian, often spoke of salvation as the “decision that [makes] the angels sing.” Whenever she led someone to Christ, she was aware of rejoicing taking place in heaven.

Of the Gospel writers, Luke refers to angels most often. He relates Jesus’ parable of the woman finding her lost coin. She called her neighbors to rejoice with her. Jesus said, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (15:10, NIV).

Think of the moment you received Christ as your Savior. Perhaps you weren’t aware of it, but your decision was celebrated with joy and singing among the Lord and His angels.

Angels are intrigued by salvation and rejoice when a person accepts Christ as Savior. When anyone comes to Christ, let’s rejoice like the angels in heaven.

The angels of heaven rejoice over sinners that repent: saints of God, will not you and I do the same? I do not think the church rejoices enough. We all grumble enough and groan enough: but very few of us rejoice enough.
Charles Spurgeon

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