In God’s word there are many instances where God sent an angel to bring a message of hope, to protect, comfort, serve, carry out His judgement, and to give Him praise. Hebrews 13:2, reads: “Be sure to welcome strangers into your home. By doing this, some people have welcomed angels as guest without even knowing it.” I have had encounters with angels, you do not ever worship them, for they are sent by God, we are to worship only Him. I am sure there have been many encounters with angels that I have had that I did not realize, I was talking to an angel; as indicated in this scripture. Colossians 1:16 reads: “Everything was created by Him, everything in heaven and on earth, everything seen and unseen, including all forces and powers, all rulers and authorities. All things were created by God’s Son and everything was made for Him.” It is clear here that there are seen and unseen things in this world. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 reads “We live in this world, but we don’t act like its people or fight our battles with the weapons of this world. Instead, we use God’s power that can destroy fortresses. We destroy arguments and every bit of pride that keeps anyone from knowing God. We capture people’s thoughts and make them obey Christ. “So our battle is with the unseen in spiritual warfare. And many times in the Bible God sent His angels to assist the people of God. Here are some examples when God sent angels to assist people in the Bible: Genesis 18-God sent messengers to Abraham and Sarah to tell them that in her old age, Sarah would soon bear a son. Genesis 16: God sent an angel to Hagar, in the desert, the angels brought her a message that she was not forgotten. Judges 6: God sent an angel to encourage Gideon as he was down on himself, the angel told him that he was a mighty warrior. God sent and angel, Gabriel, to Mary in Luke 1 to tell her that she would give birth to the very Son of God. Matthew 28 an angel appeared at the empty tomb of Christ to announce that Jesus was alive, He is risen. Psalms 91 it reads that God would give His angels charge concerning us to guard us in all our ways. 2 Kings 6:17, Elisha prayed that his servant would see the armies of angels surrounding the city -God gave him spiritual sight, he opened his eyes and realized these mighty, invisible beings. I have heard of accounts where God has done the same things for missionaries in the field or even in war zones in special circumstances. God is the all powerful is who sends them, we do not have that ability, we can pray and ask God to send His angels , He is in charge whether He does or not.

When my baby was killed, and I was almost killed, I remember calling out to God. I asked Him to help me, to save me. I had lost a lot of blood, and had no eyesight, and was ready to pass out. As we hear sometimes, I saw my life pass before me, as if it was the end of it, this happened to me. As I was pinned against the wall, by the assailant, I heard a voice say, “Forgive him”, so I said to the assailant. “Look at what you have done to me, (I was unrecognizable), I want you to know that I forgive you for what you have done to me.” After these words were spoken, I felt the weight of the assailant lift off of me, no longer was I pinned. Then I heard a loud sound as if this man was thrown on the floor, I saw a brilliant light in the room (I had no eyesight), then I heard a voice say, “You can go.” To this day, I believe that was an angel that God sent to free me from this man who attacked me.

The unseen world is very real, with today’s threats, and many dark things that we see happening, people say, “How can this be happening?” Our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the unseen. If you are saved do not take for granted the need to put on your whole armor of God. Ephesians 6: 14-17 reads: “Be ready! Let the truth be like a belt around your waist, and let God’s justice protect you like armor, your desire to tell the good news about peace should be like shoes on your feet. Let your faith be like a shield, and you will be able to stop all flaming arrows of the evil one. Let God’s saving power be like a helmet, and for a sword use God’s message that comes from the Spirit.” Read God’s word daily, and we talked today about God’s messengers that He sends to be a service to His people.

However, there are corrupted angels, who were thrown out of heaven when Lucifer fell like lightning out of heaven, he took with him one third of the angels who are now corrupt. It’s a battle in the spirit realm that many people do not understand. Know that God’s word is clear, God is above all things, all powers, authorities etc. Important, to know God. To know His Son, to know and listen to the Holy Spirit, to remain safe in this hour.

If you have never asked Jesus to be Lord of your life, ask Him to forgive you of all sin, cleanse you of all unrighteousness. Jesus died for your sins to be forgiven, He rose again so that your life could be made new, and He sent His Holy Spirit to be your comforter and strength every single day. If you believe. He will make your life new. In Jesus’ name AMEN

“You belong to the light and live in the day. We don’t live in the night or belong to the dark. Others may sleep, but we should stay awake and be alert. People sleep during the night, and some even get drunk. But we belong to the day. So we must stay sober and let our faith and love be like a suit of armor. Our firm hope that we will be saved is our helmet. God doesn’t intend to punish us but wants us to be saved by our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ died for us, so we could live with Him, whether we are alive or dead when He comes. This is why you must encourage and help each other, just as you are already doing.”

1 Thessalonians 5:5-11

“God did this because He wanted you Gentiles to understand His wonderful and glorious mystery. And the mystery is that Christ lives in you, and He is your hope of sharing in God’s glory.”

Colossians 1:27

He is our hope of salvation and our hope of sharing in God’s glory! Our salvation and knowing that God lives in us, comes when we ask Jesus to come into our lives and to be savior of our lives. It does seem like a mystery to most of us, but His scripture clearly says -Jesus forgives us of all our sin, He willingly laid down His life, rose again so that you may have a new life in Him. All you need to do is ask Him!

Soon it will be time for His return to earth, we need to be ready-we need to tell others and get them ready!

Before His crucifixion, at Gethsemane, Jesus asked His disciples to watch and pray (Matthew 26:36-46). He was feeling deeply sorrowful, it’s unthinkable how heavy the weight of the world’s sin must have been on a mortal body. Although He is God, He was here in the flesh. He felt all the things that we feel. When He descended from the garden, Jesus found His disciples sleeping.

We need to stay sober, awake, vigilant. We need to pray diligently during these serious times that we are in. Do not be surprised if God wakes you up in the middle of the night to pray, and don’t forget to put on the whole armor of God, for the battle we are in is not against flesh and blood! Ephesians 6.

If you have never asked Jesus to be your savior, now is the time, do not let another day go by!

Become a person of the day!

Many people pray but few are prevailing and returning with their testimonies. (Christian Life-True Love Fostering Fellowship, peace, victory and success in life-Steps with God-Ngozi Nwoke). It is said, it takes prevailing in prayer to conquer the challenges in your lives. Knowing how to travail in prayer empowers you to prevail at all times. I found these steps to prevailing prayer by Ngozi Nwoke I thought it to be worth sharing here. She used the examples of Isaiah 66:7-8-Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16-17(KJV).

This reminded us that Elias prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it rained not on the earth for the space of three years and six months. Why travail? Because it engages your heart. It pours your soul to the Lord. Engaging your heart results in explosive answered prayers. Matthew 25:3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them. Matthew 25-26-the Lord tells us to keep watch -for we do not know the day or the time of His coming. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” Matthew 26:41

“Watch” was often associated with guidance, direction by the light, and by the Spirit. Though it may be symbolic, if our lamps have no oil, we cannot see where we are going. There is a whole sermon here, but by watching and praying we are putting a guard around us to keep us from falling into temptation, and from missing the coming of our King. Matthew 25-26

A personal story about travailing: I worked for the state and our head nurse, wonderful lady-was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. At the end of shift, it was announced that she had weeks or days to live. My heart was moved with compassion, and I sensed that a travail was stirring in me so thinking it may pass quickly -I went to the lady’s room. There I began to travail as quietly as possible, when it did not lift quickly, I just left and drove home. At home I travailed praying in the Spirit- 3 hours total. I felt it lift. I decided to go on with my evening. The next day I was told that her prognosis had changed, things were not as grave, she was still in the hospital. I decided after work to go to the hospital to see her. I walked in her room and she was so happy to see me. She said, “Thank you for coming to see me yesterday and praying for me.” She said, “I was so sick and you walked into the room and put your hands on me and prayed, and it seemed like things turned around right away.” I said -“Yesterday? “She said, “Yes, thank you so much for praying!” Well, I was about to say I was never there yesterday, and instead I just said, “You are welcome”, not knowing what to make of this myself, and certainly not wanting to dishearten my sick friend. After all -who was encouraged about feeling so much better! I was just a vessel who engaged my heart to provoke divine intervention on behalf of my friend. All Glory to God!

Maybe you have not made a decision to ask Jesus into your heart and life yet, perhaps this message went over your head, I just want to tell you that you can just talk to the Lord and He will listen to what you are asking Him. Jeremiah 33:3 “Ask me, and I will tell you things that you don’t know and can’t find out.”(CEV)

Just say Jesus, I do believe that You are real, You died for my sins, to give me a fresh start, You rose again, to give me a new life eternally, forgive me of all the sin I have been stuck in, give me Your Holy Spirit, set my life anew, change me forevermore. Thank you, Jesus!!!In Your name Amen!

How to prevail in prayers:

1. Engage your heart to provoke divine intervention.1 Samuel 2:13-19
2. It takes groaning in the Spirit to travail in prayers. Romans 8:26-28, I John 5:14-15
3. Engage in a cry of faith. Mark10:47-52
4. Engage effectual fervency in prayer. James 5: 16-18

“I asked the Lord for help, and He saved me from all my fears. “Psalms 34:4

Some of us have been bound up with fear from childhood. Ensnared by fear all of our lives. It is said that “Fear Not” is seen 57 times in the Old Testament and 14 times in the New Testament, further depicting the significance of embracing courage each day of the year, or 365 times in the Bible. (Believers Portal.com-lists all 365 scriptures).

Today people can be bombarded with information -some traumatic and some family friendly- from every country all over the world through the large variety of social media platforms. This definitely does not help anyone who may be already ensnared by fear. Information that years ago was never heard about by most people can be read about within a moment of the event, today. What has compounded things for people who may suffer from anxiety, there are multiple posts about fictitious events auto generated. Those who purposefully intend to fear monger to cause people to act impulsively out of fear.

As a counselor, I advise people suffering from anxiety to cut themselves to a limit of daily news or feeds filled with traumatic announcements that make matters much worse.

I wondered, with all those warnings that God gave us in the Bible to take courage, He created us- and knew what we all would have to endure.

Some of God’s chosen characters met up with extreme fear and were challenged. The story of Moses, he did not believe that he could do what God was asking him to do, he still chose to trust Him and obey and deliver God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. Mary was asked to believe in the supernatural before anyone knew such a thing could happen, a virgin birth; she was facing being stoned and challenged daily, she also chose to obey; Paul was a persecutor of Christians, yet a supernatural deliverance made him turn his life around, he also chose to obey a God whom he used to mock, I can only imagine the pressure that he experienced from believers and non-believers, yet he chose to obey; David, pursued by Saul who wanted him dead, as Saul saw David as a threat to his position as king, David did become king but sought the Lord for direction, forgiveness and strength throughout all his stress. This list of characters goes on-documented in the Bible-those who faced intense fear yet, chose to obey God and do His will.

Of course, the greatest example is Jesus. In Gethsemane, Jesus sweat blood due to the stress and anxiety of being separated from His Father and suffer the ultimate sacrifice so that the gap between God and man would be bridged, though He had thoughts “If this cup could pass from Me… nevertheless not My will, but Your will be done.” What all of these chosen characters had in common was they all surrendered to the will of God, they all prayed and took action as the Father told them what to do to fulfill God’s will. Though Jesus made the greatest sacrifice to come to earth fully as a man, to suffer and die for mankind, then He rose again so that we might be set free from sin and death, eternally free!

All you must do, is believe that He died for you, believe that He is your Lord who has done all of this for your salvation and deliverance! Oh- how He must love you, thank you Lord for salvation! Thank you- Lord for deliverance!

Help us to daily surrender fear, daily pray to you for forgiveness, and listen to your voice and obey what you are asking us to do.

Even though coral is not mentioned a lot in the Bible, there are key points that can be made of the importance of coral in ancient times as a symbol of beauty and wealth. The Bible, however, encourages believers to seek wisdom and Spiritual riches above. Earthly treasures are only temporary. (Smith’s Bible Dictionary)

Job 28:18 This passage (Job 28) is referencing the value of wisdom, it names every precious gemstone, or metal, none of which can compare to the value of wisdom. This specific verse reads: “Coral or jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.” Ezekiel 27:16 reads: “Aram was your customer because of the abundance of your goods; they paid for your wares emeralds, purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies.” Lamentations 4:7 “Her consecrated ones were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; They were ruddier in body than corals, their polishing was like lapis lazuli.”(New American Standard)

The scriptures referred to how the affluent were seen to be viewed using adornment as an important thing to acquire. Material wealth was put in high regards. God sees material wealth as a stumbling block if that is where you put your hope and high regards; it can be a distraction or an idol.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 3:13-18 NIV “Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.” Wisdom is referred to as more eternal, more prudent, of much greater value than any material thing on this earth. God warns about being a fool who despises wisdom.

Jesus gave His life, to allow us a new chance to let go of those material things, to invest in those things that are eternal. We only live one time on this earth, my prayer for everyone is that you have a wonderful life filled with Christ, fearing Him, getting to know Him as your personal savior; Jesus died for our sins and rose again so that our lives would be filled with Him, instead of material things. He is only a prayer away. Forgive me, of all sin, and anything that has separated me from you, Lord. I let go of all those things, in Jesus’ name. Please come into my life and rearrange what is important in my life. I believe you died and rose again to give me that second chance, thank you, Lord. I Love you, in Jesus’ mighty name, I need You, not coral or any other riches, only you!