Judges 13: 2-3, 6, 8-9, 11-21

Judges 13: 2-3, 6, 8-9, 12-21...2A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. 3The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son.

6Then the woman went to her husband and told him, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. 8Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: "O Lord, I beg of you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.

9God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 11Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?" "I am," he said. 12So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?" 13The angel of the LORD answered, "Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her. 15Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you." 16The angel of the LORD replied, "Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD." (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.) 17Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?" 18He replied, "Why do ask my name? It is beyond understanding." 19Then Manoah took a young goat, together with a grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. 21When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD.

Judges 6:11, 12, 20, 21, 22

Judges 6:11, 12, 20-22...11The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threashing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." 20The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so. 21With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. 22When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.

Judges 5:23-26

Judges 5:23-26...23'Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the LORD. 'Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help the LORD, to help the LORD against the mighty.'
24"Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women. 25He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk. 26Her hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman's hammer. She struck Sisera, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple.

Judges 2:1-5

Judges 2:1-5...1The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, 2and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?
3Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you." 4When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, 5and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the LORD.

Numbers 22:21-35

Numbers 22:21-35...21Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. 22But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

23When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road. 24Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it. So he beat her again. 26Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. 28Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" 29Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now." 30The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?" "No," he said. 31Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. 32The angel of the LORD asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. 33The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her." 34Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back. 35The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you." So Balaam went with the princes to Balak.

Numbers 20:15-16

Numbers 20:15-16...15Our forefathers went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers, 16but when we cried out to the LORD, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.

Exodus 33:1-3

Exodus 33:1-3...1Then the LORD said to Moses, "Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.' 2I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 3Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way."

Exodus 32:31-35

Exodus 31-35...31So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32But now, please forgive their sin-but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written." 33The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."
35And the LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

Exodus 23:20-23

Exodus 23:20-23...20See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him. 22If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. 23My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.

Prayer by the Reverend Joe Wright of Kansas

An angel doing God's work...On January 23rd, 1996, the Reverend Joe Wright was invited to offer the opening prayer at a session of the Kansas House of Representatives...This is what they heard:

“Heavenly Father, we come before You to ask Your forgiveness...We seek Your direction and guidance…We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good."...But that's what we've done.… We've lost our spiritual equilibrium...We have inverted our values…We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word in the name of moral pluralism...We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism...We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle...We have exploited the poor and called it a lottery…We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation...We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare…In the name of choice, we have killed our unborn…In the name of right to life, we have killed abortionists…We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem…We have abused power and called it political savvy…We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it taxes…We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression…We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment…Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today...Try us...Show us any wickedness within us...Cleanse us from every sin and set us free…Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of the State of Kansas, and that they have been ordained by You to govern this great state...Grant them Your wisdom to rule...May their decisions direct us to the center of Your will...And, as we continue our prayer and as we come in out of the fog, give us clear minds to accomplish our goals as we begin this Legislature...For we pray in Jesus' name, Amen!”

The response was immediate…A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest…In 6 short weeks, the Central Christian Church, where Reverend Wright was pastor (now retired), logged more than 6,500 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively…The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we can once again be called 'One nation Under God.'

No, this is not a false situation...Check out the link below.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/wright.asp

Exodus 14:19-20

Exodus 14:19-20...19Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behing them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

Exodus 3:2

There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.

Genesis 48:14-16

Genesis 48:14-16...14But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim's head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh's head, even though Manesseh was the firstborn. 15Then he blessed Joseph and said, "May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, 16the angel who has delivered me from all harm-may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly upon the earth."

Genesis 32:1

[Jacob prepares to meet Esau] Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

Genesis 31:11

Genesis 31:11...The angel of God said to me in a dream, "Jacob." I answered, 'Here I am.'

Genesis 28:12

Genesis 28:12...He had a dream in which he saw a stairway [or ladder] resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Genesis 24:7; Genesis 24: 40-46

Genesis 24:7..."The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring [or seed] I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.

Genesis 24: 40-46...40"He replied, 'The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father's family. 41Then, when you go to my clan, you will be released from my oath even if they refuse to give her to you-you will be released from my oath.' 42"When I came to the spring today, I said, 'O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. 43See, I am standing beside this spring; if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar," 44and if she says to me, "Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels too," let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master's son.' 45"Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.' 46"She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also.

Genesis 22:11-12; Genesis 22:15-18

Genesis 22:11-12...11But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 12"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said." Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."






Genesis 22:15-18...15The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

Genesis 21:17

Genesis 21:17...God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there."

Genesis 19:1; Genesis 19:15

Genesis 19:1...[Sodom and Gomorrah] The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

Genesis 19:15...With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished."

Genesis 16:7; Genesis 16:9-11

Genesis 16:7...The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.

Genesis 16:9-11...9Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." 10The angel added, "I will so increase your decendents that they will be too numerous to count." 11The angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ismael, [Ishmael means God hears.] for the LORD has heard of your misery.

Angels Among Us...Entry #1...My Ministry Begins.

According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, there are 201 references to the word "Angel" and there are an additional 96 references to the word "Angels"...In total, that makes 297 references to the word "Angel" or "Angels"...Please keep in mind that Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible is compiled from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Also, please keep in mind that I am a Lutheran in the Missouri Synod and we use the New International Version (NIV) of the Holy Bible...In the NIV, there are 195 references to the word "Angel" and there are an additional 99 references to the word "Angels"...In total, that makes 294 references to the word "Angel" or "Angels".

In comparison, that is 297 references in the King James Version and 294 references in the New International Version (NIV)...That's only a difference of 3 references...That's pretty close, right?

You should also keep in mind that I am not a Pastor, Priest, or Preacher...I am only a man who believes that "Angels" walk among us...It's important for everyone to realize that they can be called upon at anytime to be someone's "Angel"...The only thing you have to do is to just slow down, watch and listen...You'll know when God is talking to you.

When I was a small child, I learned that God created everything; including man and woman...And, over a period of time, I developed an understanding about the Triune God; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit...After reading the Bible several times, I learned how disobedient mankind can be and about the never ending love of God...Time and time again, man has proven his unworthiness of going to Heaven and being with God for all eternity...And, seeing our weak nature and because God loves us so very much, God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for all of our sins so that Jesus would provide the way for us to be with God the Father for all eternity.

As I see it, in Heaven, our future home, there is God the Father and God the Son...That leaves God the Holy Spirit here on Earth to help guide us...It is my belief that all of us have been touched by God the Holy Spirit...The Holy Spirit is in our thoughts, our conscience, our words, and what we do...The Holy spirit is all around us every single minute of the day and throughout the night...The only thing we have to do is to recognize and act upon His presence...The Holy Spirit is That Presence that quietly whispers in your ear; that Vision before your eyes; the Softness in your words; the Mercy and the Generosity in your heart; and the Sharing of your time.

My goal throughout my "Blog Ministry" is to share scripture references from the New International Version (NIV) of the Holy Bible about "Angels" being God's Messengers and to help you realize that there are always many opportunities for you to be an "Angel" to someone near you.