Category Archives: Winds

Angel of the Lord defeating Assyrian army
Bible, Scripture, Angels, Winds, Messenger, Hebrews, Lightning

ANGEL’S JOBS

HEBREWS 1:7

“And regarding the angels He says, ‘HE MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.’”

My late father-in-law worked many years in the drycleaning business. He and my mother-in-law ran their own business on their own. There is no telling how many garments he pressed or ironed. He used to jokingly say when he got to heaven, he was sure his job would be to iron the angels’ robes. Lol. Hey, I am betting on wrinkle-free robes myself.

The writer of Hebrews continues his comparison between Jesus as God’s only Son and the angels. Really, there is no comparison. The quotation comes from Psalm 104:4. There is some confusion about what this verse actually means, but I love what Barnes says about it. “The passage ‘might’ be translated, ‘Who maketh his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire;’ that is, ‘who makes his angels like the winds, or as swift as the winds, and his ministers as rapid, as terrible, and as resistless as the lightning.’”

ASK QUESTIONS (Command to Obey, Promise to claim, Sin to avoid, Application to make, Something new about God)

Do you see the Command to Obey in our verse? The angels had their commands from the Father. They were God’s messengers sent to mankind. They were to respond swiftly and immediately. We have the same directives. When we are given a command (and there are plenty of them in Scripture), we are not to question why. We are just to obey. I have to admit that I have not always done that. There have been plenty of times I questioned the logic of a certain command from God. Most of those times, however, I did finally submit to the Lord and do as commanded.

I see a Promise to claim to claim as well. What is that? That God will send His angels to help us in our struggles. He did that all through Scripture. That would be a great study, wouldn’t it? We could go through and find every occurrence when God sent an angel or angels to assist someone or a nation. One of my favorites is found in 2 Kings 19:35 where it says, “Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of the 185,000 were dead.” Wow! I am sure that angel moved like the wind and lightning!

God’s angels are His army to use when and how He sees fit. Rest assured, He knows when to send them on your behalf. Never question His use of His messengers. They may not be as mighty as Jesus, but they are given power from above to accomplish God’s will.

Lord, I praise You for Your wisdom in sending forth Your angels as needed. I trust You.

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Battles, Bible, Established, Foundation, Scripture, Storms, Winds

ROOTED AND GROUNDED

EPHESIANS 3:17

“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,”

When we lived in Florida, we had the distinct pleasure of living through several hurricanes. The power of those storms is amazing. But what is even more amazing is the strength of some types of trees to withstand the 150+mph winds. We had three large oak trees in our yard that had roots that were deep and wide. When the winds came, they lost a lot of leaves and some smaller limbs, but the trees themselves withstood the torrential rain and wind that lasted for hours.

In verse 17 today, Paul continues his prayer for the Ephesians (and us). He is praying “that Christ may dwell in” our hearts. He also prayed for us to be “rooted and grounded in love.” Just like those huge oaks trees in our Florida yard, we need to be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ so that nothing can shake us. Come what may, we are solid. We can withstand the onslaught of evil because Christ is our foundation.

APPLICATION

The Greek word translated as “rooted” is rhizoó, which literally means to fix firmly. We get our word “rhizome” from it. A rhizome is “a rootlike, often thickened, and usually horizontal underground plant stem that produces shoots above and roots below.” You can just picture that, can’t you? A strong network of roots running deep and wide.

It is used by Paul over in Colossians 2:6-7. “6 Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”

The word Paul uses for “grounded” is themelioó. This word is used in Matthew 7:25 when Jesus is talking about the house built on sand and the house built on stone. The house built on stone was themelioó, grounded on the stone. The word is also used over in 1 Peter 5:10. “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” Go deep with Jesus. Let Him be your foundation.

Father, we praise You for helping us be rooted and grounded in You.

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