I’m sorry to say, but there will be another delay of perhaps a week before a new Gem is published. I am having back surgery tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov. 29). The recovery time will be quick, and a week should be enough. Please keep me in prayer.
Chip Norton
Luke 9:22-26
(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)
A few months before Jesus was crucified, He focused His attention to preparing His disciples for their ministry after His return to heaven and the sending of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. It was not to be an easy task for His followers to follow in the Master’s footsteps! As the Jews rejected the ministry of the Lord Jesus, so they would not accept those who would come in His name! Jesus warned them of the cost in Luke 9:22 through 26:
“The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by
the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and
be raised the third day.” Then He said to them all, “If any-
one desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he
gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For
whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man
will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His
Father's, and of the holy angels.”
Yes, following Jesus Christ entails obeying a Deadly Command – That one is to “…take up his cross daily, and follow…” the Lord!
This may be a burden a person has to bear, but it is not the cross they are called to carry as a Christian! By the way, Jesus does give us the solution for such burdens that can weigh us down – Matthew 11:28 through 30 (I will quote these three verses from the New International Version):
“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with
burdens, and I will give you rest. Place My yoke on you and
learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble, and you will
find rest for your souls, because My yoke is pleasant, and
My burden is light.”
The Lord is inviting us to share His yoke, not His cross! And if you can picture a pair of oxen under a yoke, that yoke is a wooden device that fits across the oxen’s shoulders with another bent piece of wood going under each oxen’s neck, so they can equally pull the load assigned to them. But Jesus’ yoke is very lop-sided! His side is large and our’s is small! In other words, He carries by far the heavier part of our burden!
The Lord is saying, “If you are going to be My disciple and follow Me, you must follow Me all the way to Calvary – even dying to yourself so you can live for the glory of God!”
You see, we all have a common problem…….and that problem is sin!
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree
of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the
day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
Adam ate, and Adam died! Oh, he did not die physically for many more years, but his spirit – that which vitally connected him to his Creator – died immediately! This was evidenced in Genesis 3:8:
And they [Adam and Eve] heard the sound of the LORD God walk-
ing in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his
wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among
the trees of the garden.
Their sin, now vitally a part of their nature, made them shun the presence of God in His purity and holiness! So how does this affect us? Romans 5:12 (Lexham English Bible) tells us, “…just as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death spread to all people because all sinned.” Again, it is not just physical death that affects mankind, it is spiritual death – separation from our holy God! And if that separation is not repaired in a person’s lifetime upon earth, it will become permanent upon physical death – eternal death, separated from God forever in hell! As it says in Revelation 21:8 (shortened from God’s Word to the nations): “…sinners…will find themselves in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
But Jesus came to fix this deadly situation!
...this is the testimony that God has given us eternal
life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son
has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not
have life. These things I have written to you who be-
lieve in the name of the Son of God, that you may know
that you have eternal life....
The problem is that we still have that old sinful nature! Paul calls it the flesh several times in Galatians 5. He writes in verses 16, 17, 24, and 25:
Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of
the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one
another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
...And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with
its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us
also walk in the Spirit.
Crucify the flesh! That is why we, if we are going to follow Jesus Christ, are commanded to “…take up…[your] cross daily, and follow Me.” Count your old sinful nature, moment by moment, to be crucified and dead so your godly nature can shine through! Earlier in Galatians 2:20, Paul wrote of this concerning himself:
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who
live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave Himself for me.
So again, what does it mean to “…believe in the name of the Son of God…”?
One more thing. Jesus showed us the best way to die to self.
But as He prayed so intensely in the Garden of Gethsemane that He sweat blood, Jesus spoke these words to His Father: “Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42).
“…nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done.”
That, whether repeated aloud
or having this prayer as a constant state of mind……
It is the best way to
“…take up…[your] cross daily, and follow…” Jesus!
Malachi 3:10 (Good News Bible)
(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)
Here is how Malachi 3:10 is translated in the Good News Bible :
Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple, so that
there will be plenty of food there. Put me to the test and
you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour
out on you in abundance all kinds of good things.
You may be wondering…
Here is the story, but with some necessary background:
As far as I can tell by genealogical research, I was the first Christian in my family in generations! My two older brothers and I were regularly dropped off for Sunday school at The first Congregational Church in Sharon, Connecticut. Neither of my parents were church-goers, so that weekly one hour of Sunday school was my only Christian training. I really don’t remember much being said about “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved….” (Acts 16:31). Perhaps I wasn’t a good listener, or maybe personal salvation was not emphasized.
I was 18 years old when I joined the Air Force. I became close friends with Jerry, who had converted to Roman Catholicism from some Protestant faith. His family objected, and Jerry received quite a bit of static from them concerning his decision. As we talked, I admired his courage, and since I did not have close ties to a certain denomination, I decided I also would become a Roman Catholic! I started attending Mass with Jerry, studied the doctrines and practices of the Church, and although I never actually converted, I was, for about three years, a sincere practitioner of the Roman Catholic faith!
But I also began reading my New Testament that was issued to incoming Airmen. I didn’t understand a whole lot about the Christian life, and I couldn’t describe my faith the way I can now, but I discovered three things back then:
…and I fell head over heels in love with Him!
It wasn’t until I met and married my Baptist wife Hope, and we became active in a conservative Baptist Church in Torrington, Connecticut, that in my mind God’s plan of salvation began to come together (as so beautifully put in Titus 3:4 through 7):
...the kindness and the love of God our Savior appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but ac-
cording to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He
poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Sav-
ior, that having been justified by His grace we should
become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
It was also then that I began to pray for my family members – my mother (then in her sixties) and my two brothers – to put their faith in Jesus and be saved.
God began to lead me into the pastoral ministry, and I enrolled at Baptist Bible Seminary in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. One day, Hope and I determined to make the three-hour trip to Connecticut to visit my mother – and not just to visit her, but to share with her the good news of Jesus Christ suffering, dying, and living again to give us eternal life!
We drove to Sharon, Connecticut in our 1946 GMC panel truck for a weekend visit. That Saturday evening we sat with Mom and shared from the Bible:
We explained it to Mom as best we could and asked her if she wanted to put her faith in Jesus as her Savior. But she told us, “I have to think about it.” So we let it drop.
Sunday we were getting ready to leave to drive back to Pennsylvania. My brother Neil had come an hour or so earlier to cut up a tree that had fallen in the yard – a promise he had made our mother some time before. Hope and I packed up our old truck, and were about to say our ‘goodbyes’, when Mom called us into the kitchen where she was sitting.
“I’ve decided to do it,” she said.
I wasn’t sure what she meant, so I asked, “What did you decide to do?”
Her answer, “I’ve decided to ask Jesus to be my Savior.”
We prayed right there, and as my brother was making a racket outside with his chainsaw, Mom opened her heart and life to the Lord!
I didn’t find out until later, but my mother had challenged God to a test!
You know that Neil has been promising to cut up that tree
for a long time, and he hasn’t done it! If he will come
here and cut it up today, then I will know You want me to
do what Chip and Hope says I should do.Neil wasn’t all that reliable in fulfilling his promises…
…but that Sunday, he didn’t have a choice!
God gave him a shove,
and brought my mother into His kingdom!
I know in Malachi 3:10, our featured Scripture, we are challenged to test God concerning His faithfulness if we tithe! But I couldn’t find another Scripture where the LORD invites us to challenge Him! But even if Mom’s challenge was not about giving a tithe (10% of our income)…
…God honored my mother’s test!
Hebrews 1:13, 13:2
(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)
This will be perhaps the shortest Gem of all that I have written! But what happened seems like a true encounter with an angel – at least there is no other reasonable explanation!
Brown is a member of the church I attend, Macedonia Baptist Church in Newnan, Georgia. He is also a friend. A man in his sixties, he is physically fit and a hard worker on his horse farm. Often he rides his bicycle at a quick pace on a several-mile circuit. One day as he negotiated a turn, he failed to notice loose gravel and tar on a newly paved road. The back wheel skidded out and the bike and rider went down – hard! Brown scraped flesh off his arm, his shoulder, and his face, and he cut his forehead above his eye. But he didn’t know the extent of his injuries until he put his hand to his face, and then looked with shock at the blood covering his hand! He was bleeding profusely from the gash above his eyebrow!
All this happened in an area where there were no houses close by. But Brown heard someone say, “Do you need some help?” He looked up and saw a man he did not recognize standing nearby with a bunch of paper towels in his hand. He offered the towels to Brown who used them to mop the blood off his face. When he looked up, the man was gone! Looking around, Brown saw no car, nobody walking away, no sign anywhere of this man who had offered him the paper towels!
Brown made it home where his wife helped clean and bandage the wounds. When I stopped by the farm a day or so later, he told me of the mystifying account of the disappearing man! I said, “It sounds like you were helped by an angel!” He replied, “It could have been!”
Here is what is written in Hebrews 1:13, our featured Scripture: “Are…not [angels] all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” Sometimes God bids His angels to hurry to minister to a believer in need……….like Brown!
Hebrews 1:13; 13:2 (Modern King James Version)
(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)
We shall use the same featured Scripture for this Gem as for the last, Hebrews 1:13; 13:2 (Modern King James Version):
Are...not [angels] all ministering spirits sent forth to
minister for those who will inherit salvation? ...Do not
be forgetful of hospitality, for by this some have enter-
tained angels without knowing it.
The thing is, I don’t know whether I interacted with an angel on my cross-country trip, or not! “What cross-country trip?” you may ask. I’m glad you did!
I finished my four-year stint at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, Connecticut in June of 1964. Yes, I graduated, but I didn’t receive my diploma that June. I failed Trigonometry because I didn’t put any effort into it. I later studied on my own, passed Trig, and received my high school diploma around the first of September!
However, I got into a little police problem earlier that year. It was a heavy snow in late winter and I dropped off a friend who needed a ride to a house about a mile from ours. In turning my 1956 Plymouth around, I backed into a 1957 Ford, loosening the headlight rim. I reasoned, “I’m not going to stomp through eight inches of snow fifty yards to the house without my boots! I know who owns the Ford, a fellow high schooler, and I will call him in the morning to settle up.” At two o’clock the later that night, I was aroused from sleep by a Connecticut State Policeman knocking on our door. I was arrested for hit-and-run, escorted to the Canaan police barracks, and thrown in their basement clink! My mother bailed me out the next morning.
We hired a lawyer who said we could beat the charge, since I had planned to call the next morning about the accident. But by police procedure, I had my driver’s license pulled……….and I kept on driving my Plymouth! …until that day a couple of weeks later when I was arrested again, this time for driving without a license! I was fined by the judge and lost my driving privileges indefinitely!
I was a country boy who lived on Sharon Mountain (I like to tell people we were high-class on the mountain, we had a two-seater outhouse! A neighbor only had a one-seater!). I found myself stranded and at the mercy of my mother to drive me somewhere I needed to go, or one of my “friends” picking me up for a night out. (I put “friends” in quotes because they seemed to disappear, forgetting me after my license had been suspended). So I enlisted in the Air Force in November – the enlistment being much out of boredom! By the way, I appeared before the judge on my first leave, in October of 1965. And because I was then in the Air Force and my record was clean, I received my driving privileges back on my first leave home, in October of 1965.
But that summer after high school ended, I decided to entertain my driverless self with a cross-country trip. My friend Billy and I had been planning to go to Europe, working our way there on a freighter, and bumming around the continent for a year. But Billy fell in love with Linda, and our European travel plans were squelched! So I set out on my own adventure.
On an early June morning I packed a duffle bag and had my mother drop me off at the crossroads of Sharon, the intersection of Route 4 and Main Street, and I hitchhiked west! That evening I ended up in Elmira, New York, 245 miles away by road! I spent $4 for a room at the YMCA and, once in my room, I realized I had no idea (other than ‘west’) where I was going! So I did the logical thing: I spread a large mid-western map on the bed, closed my eyes, turned around once or twice, and plunked my finger down on the map! When I opened my eyes I was looking at the city of Pierre, the capital of South Dakota!
The next morning, I bought a bus ticket to Pierre (pronounced “Peer” by the locals) and off I went! I can’t remember how long the bus trip took, but by the time I arrived at this flat prairie city, so unlike the rolling Connecticut Berkshire Mountains, I was tired, bus-travel weary, and homesick! I was so homesick I immediately asked at the bus station when the next bus east was available! “Not until tomorrow,” the attendant told me. So I was stuck in Pierre, at least overnight! I asked where a cheap hotel was located, and was directed downtown. I found the hotel, entered the lobby and went to the desk to sign in. As I signed the guest register, I asked the clerk if he knew of any work nearby I could do. He replied, “Sorry, no.” And that was that……….or so I thought!
An older man approached me and began to question me: “Are you in trouble? Are you running from the police? Is there any warrant out for your arrest?” I said no to all his questions, and told him of my desire to see the country after high school and before I joined the Air Force. He introduced himself with an extended hand, and told me he was the retired chief of police of Pierre! He said, “I have a friend who might need some help on his ranch. I’ll call him for you and ask.” It was a long distance call (he paid for it) to Boots Gregg (Merrill Benjamin “Boots” Gregg) who owned “The Boots Gregg Ranch”, the largest ranch at 50,000 acres in eastern South Dakota, 40 miles east of Pierre. I can’t remember the name of this former police chief, but he was there for me when I needed a friend! Or was he the former police chief? Could he possibly have been an angel who entertained a homesick young man from Connecticut, the teen completely unaware that this man was a heavenly messenger? Who knows? What I do know is that he was kind and friendly, just at the right place at the right time – and he sure came to the aid of a homesick teenager!
Boots Gregg hired me over the phone on the recommendation of that police chief! He hadn’t met me or even talked with me, but the deal was sealed! He drove into town the next day, and I hung out with this powerful rancher all day as he conducted business, drank a beer or two, and played poker with a few friends. I spent the next month working on that huge ranch, bucking hay or tearing down a tractor engine. One Sunday, the day off, I even got to ride a gentle horse named ‘Jack’ a couple of miles down to the Missouri River and back! Boots paid me $100 for the month (more than the going rate!), enough to purchase a bus ticket home with a little bit left over. I spent an afternoon at the World’s Fair in New York City, and I made it home with three cents in my pocket……and a lot of wonderful memories – perhaps even of an angel!
Hebrews 1:13; 13:2 (Modern King James Version)
(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)
This photo of two boys was taken in Florida….and also appearing in the photo is what looks like a hazy image of an angel! (https://www.pinterest.com/sisiarnes/real-angels/). I have no way of knowing if this is an untouched photo or not. But I thought it is a good illustration of our two-verse featured Scripture for today’s Gem, “Encounters With Angels – II.” Both are from the book of Hebrews (Modern King James Version) – the first is from chapter 1 and verse 13, and the second is from chapter 13 and verse 2:
Hebrews 1:13 – “Are…not [angels] all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” This describes the purpose of angels: They are “…all ministering spirits…”!
The cherubim serve the purpose of magnifying the holiness
and power of God. This is one of their main responsibilities
throughout the Bible. In addition to praising God, they also
serve as a visible reminder of the majesty and glory of God
and His abiding presence with His people. (www.gotquestions.
org/cherubim.html).
✡ They are first mentioned in Genesis 3:24. After
Adam and Eve fell into sin, God “...placed cheru-
bim at the east of the garden..., and a flaming
sword which turned every way, to guard the way to
the tree of life.”
✡ It is generally agreed by conservative Bible scho-
lars that Ezekiel 28:12 through 19 refers to Satan,
the spiritual power behind the powerful king of
Tyre! In verse 14, the devil is described as “You
were the anointed cherub who covers....” Lucifer
(the devil’s name, according to Isaiah 14:12) was
once one of the God-glorifying cherubim!
✡ Ezekiel saw a vision of cherubim attending God in
Ezekiel chapter 1, and again in chapter 43.
Apparently, all the rest of the angels “…are…ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation…” (Hebrews 1:13). Is this not a good job description of guardian angels?
Hebrews 13:2 – “…Do not be forgetful of hospitality, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” This Scripture recalls four incidents from the Old Testament:
✡ ...two of the men were angels, sent to investigate
the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah! The sins were so
great, “...the cities of the plain...” were destroy-
ed by God with fire and brimstone! (see Luke 17:29).
✡ ...the third man was the LORD Himself! (see Genesis
18:16-22).
✡ But the ‘men’ were the same two angels to whom Abra-
ham had unknowingly offered hospitality the day be-
fore!
✡ In verse 15, the men are identified as angels! And
the angels provided protection to Lot, his wife (un-
til she disobeyed – see Genesis 19:26), and their
two daughters! (see Genesis 19:16).
✡ Genesis 19:24 and 25 – “Then the LORD rained brim-
stone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah....So He over-
threw those cities, all the plain, all the inhabi-
tants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”
✡ When the definite article is used, the Angel of
the LORD...
➔ ...this Angel is the LORD God Himself! (see
Judges 6:14 and 16).
➔ ...these manifestations are best described
as theophany appearances of the pre-incar-
nate Christ!
✡ But, in Judges 6:22, when “...Gideon perceived that
He [the man with whom he was interacting] was the
Angel of the LORD...[he cried out], ‘Alas, O Lord
God! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to
face.’”
➔ Apparently Gideon thought he was going to
die! He was most likely remembering what
God told Moses when he requested of the
LORD, “Please, show me Your glory.” (Exodus
33:18). The LORD answered Moses, “You can-
not see My face; for no man shall see Me
and live.” (Exodus 33:20).
➔ But the LORD (the Angel of the LORD) assured
Gideon, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you
shall not die.” (Judges 6:23). ✡ ...twice to the unnamed wife (see Judges 13:3-9),
and then to her husband (see Judges 13:8-11). But
although the Angel had a supernatural bearing (see
Judges 13:6), they did not know it was the LORD!
✡ Manoah offered their visitor the hospitality of a
meal (see Judges 13:15). But the Angel told him,
“Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food.
But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer
it to the LORD.” (Judges 13:16). So Manoah did
just that. And according to Judges 13:20, “...
as the flame went up toward heaven...the Angel of
the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar.”
✡ It was then that “...Manoah and his wife...fell on
their faces to the ground ....And Manoah said to
his wife, ‘We shall surely die, because we have
seen God!’” (Judges 13:20, 22).
➔ They didn’t die!
➔ They went on to birth their son Samson, who
was a great, but erratic judge of Israel!And so it is today!
We may think we are entertaining fellow human beings…
…but we just might have entertained angels without knowing it!
Psalm 91:11, 12
(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)
There is a lot of fascination concerning angels – much of it unbiblical misinformation about heavenly beings! We need a true perspective on angels, and that perspective is found in what Jehovah God has revealed in His Word, the Bible. This Gem is not a thorough study on the subject of angelic beings. But here are a few facts concerning angels:
Our featured Scripture for this Gem is from the Old Testament, Psalm 91:11 and 12: “…He [God] shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone….”
This Scripture primarily applies to Jesus, as He was being tempted by the devil. It is recorded in Luke 4:9 through 12 (see also Matthew 4:5-7):
Then he [Satan] brought Him [Jesus] to Jerusalem, set Him
on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are
the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is
written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep
you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you
dash your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus answered and
said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the
Lord your God.’”
Notice something about this temptation; Satan left out a critical part of Psalm 91:11, which says, “…He [God] shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” The devil was tempting Jesus by saying something like this:
“Yes, God will come to Your aid, but You don’t need Him in
this one little thing! Go ahead and jump, I’m sure the an-
gels will come to Your aid anyway. And besides, You can use
Your own power to manage a soft landing!”
But Psalm 9:11 and 12 have a wider meaning for God’s children! We have guardian angels whom the LORD has “…given charge over [us]…to keep [us]…in all …our ways.” Does every Christian have his or her own guardian angel? The Bible doesn’t answer that directly, but there would have to be a lot of angels for one-on-one guardianship!
✞ Matthew 18:10 – Jesus, in instructing His disciples,
said, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these
little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their
angels always see the face of My Father who is in hea-
ven.” Little ones do not necessarily imply children,
but also those immature in their faith. But this verse
does seem to be saying that each of these little ones
has a protective angel!
✞ Matthew 26:52 and 53 – When Jesus was arrested in the
Garden of Gethsemane, Peter lashed out with a sword,
cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant. The
Lord told Peter:
Put your sword in its place, for all who take
the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you
think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and
He will provide Me with more than twelve legions
of angels?
A Roman legion at full strength was six thousand soldiers! Twelve legions would be 72,000 angels! And Jesus said “…My Father…will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels…”! How many more might be millions or billions of angels!
✞ Hebrews 12:22 – “But you have come to Mount Zion and
to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
to an innumerable company of angels....” According to
the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, innumerable means,
“Too numerous to be counted; numberless.”
✞ Revelation 5:11 – John wrote, “Then I looked, and I
heard the voice of many angels around the throne...
and the number of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand, and thousands of thousands....” Taking this
at face value...
➔ “...ten thousand times ten thousand...” equals
one hundred million!
➔ “...thousands of thousands...” could be even
greater than “...ten thousand times ten thou-
sand...”!
I believe that there are at least enough angels
for one-on-one guardian angel relationships!
We will continue with this study in the next Gem.