Shoulder To Shoulder #1327 -- 1/31/23 ---- "The War No One Wants To Fight"
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER is a weekly letter of encouragement Bob has written since 1997, covering many topics selected to
motivate people to be strong students of the Word and courageous witnesses of Jesus Christ. It is a personal letter of
encouragement to you, written solely to help "lift up hands that hang down".
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." -- Albert Einstein
“There is a common, worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have -- a cheap Christianity which offends nobody,
and requires no sacrifice, which costs nothing, -- and is worth nothing.” – J. C. Ryle
Shoulder To Shoulder #1327 -- 1/31/23
Title: "The War No One Wants To Fight"
Greetings on another cool sunny day in Yuma. Our rain earlier this week was incredibly refreshing, and now the sun is bathing life with its invigorating rays, bringing green to desolation and refreshing to the sluggish. We're still running a full ten degrees below normal in our temperatures, but, "that too shall pass" before long. It won't be many more weeks before triple digits will have reached us and those "northerners" and "midwesterners" will have fled back to cooler climates -- chiggers, mosquitoes, and all.
For the thirteenth consecutive Sunday we had first-timers in chapel services, and again we saw the highest attendance of the season thus far -- in spite of the fact that we are still running at only about 60% of what we used to run before COVID. But, the fellowship and enthusiasm has never been higher in the six years we've been at the Chapel.
Being part of Chapel de Oro again for another season is a thrilling contrast to what we see in the world around us. I think that's what makes Chapel so special these days. No matter how challenging things are around the world or in our nation -- even in our state or city -- the joyous outlook from our people always lift and encourage Jo Ann and me. They seem to go out of their way to bring us pleasure, blessing, and contentment.
The topic of today's letter, "snuck up on me", as my grandfather would have said. I didn't anticipate writing about it at all, but several factors -- the horrible war in Ukraine, the struggles of some of our members, etc. -- have brought me to this point. Two consecutive blogs by a well known author ("The Lord of Armies") seemed to cap it off. I want to write about the role of angels in our lives -- a particular type of angels. These invisible creatures are unseen heroes from the throne of God to defend us, aid us, and sustain us during both joyous and difficult times.
They are of particular significance when you and I come face to face with a "war no one wants to fight". So, I'll try to share some thoughts with you right after you take a look at . . .
THIS 'N' THAT:
+ More Archaeological Confirmations:
> An ancient cathedral in Galilee is revealing early 4th century church history, including their practice of baptism. One of the main cities of the Depacolis, Hippos churches (at least seven of them) indicate the strength of Christianity in eastern Galilee. Go to https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/early-christian-cathedral-in-hippos/ .
> Through the use of high-tech digital imaging, the long-debated reference to the kingdom of King David found on the Moabite Stone has been proven. https://www.patternsofevidence.com/2023/01/27/debated-king-david-reference-on-mesha-stele-solved/?triplesource=klaviyo&_kx=MQD2bDKvMzlz_YSnMMN_NhVFmswuxE9TakcEwSPaaIs%3D.WEfJdA
QUOTES FOR THE WEEK:
> "You have to expect spiritual warfare whenever you stand up for righteousness or call attention to basic values. It's just a matter of light battling the darkness. But the light wins every time. You can't throw enough darkness on light to put it out." -- Thomas Kincaid
> "The saddest symptom about many so-called Christians is the utter absence of anything like conflict and fight against spiritual apathy in their Christianity. They eat, they drink, they dress, they work, they amuse themselves, they get money, they spend money, they go through a brief round of formal religious services once or twice every week. But of the great spiritual warfare - its watchings and strugglings, its agonies and anxieties, its battles and contests - of all things they appear to know nothing at all." -- J. C. Ryle
> "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" -- Heb. 1:14
> "Spiritual warfare is the unseen battle God wages on your behalf." -- Jim George
> "There is a tragic and widespread ignorance even among Christians concerning the biblical teaching about these supernatural beings. As a result, the average person has a totally distorted picture of these spirit beings, and all kinds of pagan superstitions have been accepted even by Christians. One of the most comforting truths in the Bible to me as I travel from one part of the world to another is to know that God has stationed his heavenly guards to protect, guide and lead me through life's dangerous way. I cannot see these beings with my physical eyes but I sense they are present every day." -- Billy Graham, Angels
> "While I can't explain why angelic activity operates more in the unseen realm today, in today's increasingly dangerous world, we'd better be aware of the availability of these invisible protectors and make sure we activate their wonderful ministry in our lives and for those we love." -- Larry Tomczak
A WAR WE DIDN'T ASK FOR:
As you certainly know by now, Putin's war with Ukraine is something very close to our hearts -- close to home, in many ways. We have invested time, resources, and much of our lives in that country since our first visit in 1995, just over three years after the fall of the Soviet Union and Ukraine's declaration of independence. Having returned to the States in 2008 after six years living there, no nation or people group is closer to our hearts.
What is happening now is very personal to us -- not only because a branch of my maternal ancestry is Ukrainian, but because we have been there, we've walked the streets, seen the sights, immersed ourselves in its culture, ministered there, and still have many very special friends there. For us, the war there -- a totally unnecessary war -- is the same as being in a war here. And we hate it. No nation should endure such savagery.
Knowing what we know about Ukrainians, what we know about Russian military, and what we hope from western nations, Ukraine will ultimately win the war. Between Russian bluster, Ukrainian bravery, and strong support from the West, Ukraine will be victorious. But, much of that depends on how pro-actively supportive western nations are.
Putin's bluster is likely just that -- bluster. It is the intimidating threat of tyrants; and the sooner it is confronted, the more likely the tyrant will back down. The longer one waits, the stronger the tyrant thinks he is, and the weaker he thinks you are. Had the West joined hands with Ukraine sooner, the bloodshed would have been less. Today it is enormous. Best estimates are that Ukraine has seen somewhere around 20,000 to 25,000 soldiers killed plus untold numbers of civilians. Russia, on the other hand, as of the latest stats I saw this week, has lost over 129,600 troops. Had the West come to Ukraine's aid more quickly and forcefully, those losses would have been at least half for both armies.
As real as that war is -- and as vicious as it is with all the carnage of buildings and bodies -- it is not nearly so real as the spiritual battle Christians face every minute of every day. Sometimes we forget that, because we aren't sufficiently equipped to see with our spiritual eyes into the spiritual sphere. As a result, we are prone to be like Thomas -- "Seeing is believing". Rather, we should be be like Abraham -- "Believing is seeing and receiving."
The reality is that the spiritual world, unseen with human eyes, is vividly real when seen with eyes fine-tuned by the Holy Spirit. This is illustrated in a story about Elisha and his servant, Gehazi. The King of Aram was trying to capture and kill Elisha because Elisha was always tipping people off as to the whereabouts and intents of the King and his army. During the night the King's army surrounded the city where Elisha and Gehazi were staying. Gehazi went into panic mode, so Elisha asked God to let Gehazi see what he knew -- the "hosts of the Lord" surrounding Elisha. The story is detailed in II Kings chapter six, showing us the reality of the unseen spirit world. The account reads, . . .
15. Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"
16. So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
17. Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
We must learn to see beyond the physical if we are to be victorious in the spiritual realm. We may not like it, we may not want it, we may not wish to fight it, and we may not have asked for it, but the fact is real -- there is an unseen spiritual battle constantly going on around us. Simply because it is unseen doesn't mean it isn't real. You can see the evidence everywhere with carnage strewn across your world. You can sometimes even sense it or feel its immediate presence -- an inexplicable pressure, a feeling of heaviness upon you, an eerie uneasiness when you walk into a room or stand next to a person.
I still remember the day in 1995 when we landed at the airport in Kyiv. Entering the terminal was like entering a pressure cooker of despair and suspicion. I remember the day we took a dozen university students down the steps into the catacombs below the Lavra. The spiritual darkness and oppression was so severe that I could feel it on my face. Those are rare instances, but are still characteristic of the reality of an unseen spiritual warfare between truth and deception, between the spiritual and the temporal, between life -- and death. I'm sure you've had similar battles -- even if you didn't recognize it as a spiritual battle between good and evil.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, the moment you committed your life to Him, you instantaneously landed in the world of spiritual warfare. No matter where you have been in your spiritual pilgrimage since then, somewhere along the line, you entered a war you didn't ask for -- but got.
A COMMAND WE DARE NOT IGNORE:
As long as spiritual warfare remains vague, abstract, and distant, we'll never enter into a serious engagement with the powers of darkness. As long as we assume that this warfare is going on "out there in the evil world", we will likely leave it up to "the more spiritual" people to fight it. As long as it doesn't seem to affect us personally, we'll seldom take it seriously. As long as we aren't confronted up front with the obvious influence or presence of demonic evil, we will rarely see it as anything much more than "theological" or "theoretical" -- but almost never real.
Even though we insist that we believe in it, we won't participate ---- until we must, simply because it has now come to our front door. Warfare in the spirit world is more difficult than any human war ever fought on the surface of this globe. It is that difficult because it has eternal and not temporal consequences. It is that difficult because it deals with the affairs of God and not the affairs of man. It is that difficult because it is fought with spiritual weapons and not physical weapons. It is that difficult because it is the battle for godly righteousness and not just human success. It is that difficult because it is fought for the souls of men and not just national victories. It is that difficult because it is over the Kingdom of God and not just the empires of nations.
So, while we can easily understand why it's a battle none of us really wants to fight, we must humbly acknowledge that it is a command we dare not ignore.
One of the Church's great hymns was written by George Duffield entitled,"Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus". I cannot recall how many times I have sung it these past 84 years. I learned it as a young boy, singing it along with the rest of the congregation as my father would play it in march tempo at the piano in a rousing rendition that would often set my young feet marching to the beat.
The song was first a poem inspired by the untimely death of a young Philadelphia pastor, Dudley Tyng, who had been forced to resign from his Episcopal church pastorate n the mid 1800's for speaking out against slavery. The poem was set to music by various musicians, but the most familiar, and the one I remember best, is the tune of a secular song, “Tis Dawn, the Lark is Singing,” originally written by George Webb in 1837 for a secular musical. Webb was the founder of the Boston Academy of Music.
The poem itself was written when as a result of something Tyng said in March of 1858 during a period of great revival in Philadelphia. Most people know very little of this amazing move of God, but it is identified as, "The Work of God in Philadelphia". This move of God began within the leadership of the recently founded Philadelphia chapter of the YMCA as Tyng and other pastors began praying for revival and the salvation of the lost in the city. Soon they began preaching revival meetings during lunch.
Like most great moves of God, the meetings soon began to attract thousands of people. That March Tyng preached "a rousing sermon" to some 5,000 young men and over 1,000 made professions of faith in Christ. Tyn reportedly said during his sermon, “I would rather that this right arm were amputated at the trunk than that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God’s message.”
A few days later Tyng, who lived on his small farm, went out to his barn where a mule was harnessed to a corn sheller. When Tyng reached over to pat the mule, his sleeve caught in the cogs of the wheel and his arm was badly maimed. Tyng the following week from the injury. But before he died, someone asked him if he had a message for the other ministers at the revival and he replied, “Tell them, ‘Let us all stand up for Jesus.'”
One of his friends was fellow preacher, Dr. George Duffield. Duffield was deeply impacted by Tyng's exhortation and quickly wrote the hymn "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus". The following Sunday, as a tribute to his friend, Duffield concluded his sermon by reading the lyrics as a tribute. Duffield’s Sunday School superintendent printed copies of the poem, and the lyrics soon found their way into a Baptist newspaper and from there spread throughout the nation in a matter of weeks. You can actually download an account of that season of revival by going to https://archive.org/details/pentecostorworko00youn and selecting the download mode of your choice. I downloaded it to my Kindle and also as PDF on my laptop.
The words themselves are stirring:
Stand up, stand up for Jesus! ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss:
From vict’ry unto vict’ry, His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus! The trumpet call obey:
Forth to the mighty conflict, in this His glorious day;
Ye that are men now serve Him against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus! Stand in His strength alone,
The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own;
Put on the gospel armor, and watching unto prayer,
Where calls the voice of duty, be never wanting there.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus! the strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle, the next the victor’s song;
To him that overcometh a crown of life shall be;
He with the King of glory shall reign eternally.
When one sings Duffield's song, we may be tempted to take issue with some of the wording.
For example, when we see the initial title and first phrase of every stanza, "Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus", we must come to grips with the fact that we don't stand up to defend Him; -- He needs no defense, -- rather, we stand up to obey Him. We are reporting for duty. When we are called to arms, we arm ourselves in the righteousness of Christ, the weapons He has provided us, and we answer the call. Jesus, our Great Commander of the Lord's army,
THE COMMANDER WHO NEVER LOSES:
Recently I read a blog by Francis Frangipane entitled, "The Lord of Armies", taken from his book, This Day We Fight: Breaking the Bonds of a Passive Spirit, published in 2005. Frangipane's contention is that the overwhelming majority of Christians never ever do serious battle against spiritual darkness. Instead, for a variety of reasons they maintain a passive spirit when it comes to spiritual warfare.
Though on the surface our nation seems to be culturally free and materially prosperous, the moral and spiritual condition of our nation is unquestionably corrupt, irredeemably depraved, and spiritually bankrupt -- facing an end that is destructively inevitable unless God's people rise up out of their passivity and begin taking their faith seriously, and God chooses to pour out His mercy on a repentant nation. Frangipane described the need for such an awakening in this way: . . .
"Our nation has been under spiritual and physical attack. God has called His Church to step up, grow up, take up the sword of the Spirit and fight for the future. Beloved, we can see our nation turned away from sin and aggressively turned toward Heaven. Do not Doubt! It is no secret that today America is the most influential nation in the world. Yet consider how God could use our land if Hollywood experienced a revival or if our government became a model of integrity and justice.
"You might be thinking that I'm dreaming, that it will never happen. Again I say, 'Do not doubt.' For Jesus says, 'All things are possible.' You may have been a prayer warrior at one time, but you've suffered a setback. Okay, round one is over -- now it is time for round two. God is calling us back to vision and prayer. It is time to reload! It is time to pick up the sword of the Holy Spirit and join the ranks of the overcoming Church. Resist that cloud of oppression and pray."
I fully agree with Frangipane, and believe revival is indeed possible. Will it truly happen? I don't know. I do contend that generally today Christians either 1) feel defeated and don't believe the battles can be won, 2) they put it all "under the blood" and assume that Jesus took care of it all and there is no need for action on their part, 3) they doubt the existence or influence of demonic forces, or 4) they are afraid. None of those excuses should ever be the attitude of a believer/ Neither can such positions stand the test of scripture. From beginning to end the Bible clearly defines the battle between good and evil -- the prince of darkness and the Light of the World -- the domain of the evil one and the Kingdom of God's Dear Son.
But, in order to grasp the profundity of Christ's massive victory over the powers of darkness, we need to look more closely at both Christ's finished work in God's behalf (and ours), and also the God Who rendered Satan and his minions to be powerless and unequivocally defeated. One of the ways is to look at some of the names of God Himself -- for, as part of the triune Godhead, Jesus is the embodiment and the enactment of everything that God is.
Like you and I certainly have, Frangipane has a deep and heavy burden for the welfare of our nation, and he proposes that victory can come in direct proportion to how we actually view God. His names tell us much about Who He is. I have written extensively about that before, but am contemplating doing so again. We need to be reminded.
For now, though, God's many names by which He was called and by which He identified himself can be categorized or classified into three basic types -- in Hebrew they are . . .
1) EL (such as EL-OHIM,The Powerful Creator), translated GOD,
2) ADONAI (The Lord, Master, and Ruler, and
3) YHWH = JEHOVAH or YAHWEH (Jewish pronunciation), translated LORD.
You might say that these three categories describe . . .
1) God's Position,
2) God's Power, and
3) God's promises.
I will break that down in greater detail at a later time. In the meantime, I want to point to one of the major Covenant names of God that we seem most prone to overlook. It is the one name that outnumbers all other names, and yet it is probably the most important one to be found when it comes to the issue of fighting victoriously against the powers of darkness. Frangipane went to great length to point out the significance of this one name, stating . . .
"The enemy has been clever. He has been able to obscure in some fashion one of the greatest revelations of the Lord in the Bible. It is an aspect of the divine nature that is revealed in the compound names of God. Some familiar examples of these unique names are Yahweh-Nissi ('the Lord My Banner') or Yahweh-Jirah ('the Lord My Provider') or Yahweh-Rapha ('the Lord My Healer'). In revealing Himself via these names -- on about thirty different occasions in the Bible -- the Lord reveals an aspect of His eternal nature ready to meet the human need of His servants.
"Yet one name stands apart from these thirty references. It occurs approximately two hundred ninety times in the Bible -- nearly ten times the sum of all other revelations! What is that name? Let me introduce you to Yahweh-Sabaoth, 'the Lord of Hosts.' From the sheer number of references alone, we see that 'the Lord of Hosts' (or the God of Armies) is the divine revelation most frequently demonstrated to mankind in the Bible."
Just think about that for a moment: -- God is described as being the captain, ruler, or master of "hosts". And yet, mentioned ten times ore than the other covenant names combined, it is one of the most overlooked of them all. So, who are those overlooked "hosts" over whom God is Lord?
Remember that words are not wasted or used recklessly in either the Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) texts. It is certainly true in this case. The Hebrew word for "hosts" is (in the Roman alphabet) tsaw-baw', tseb-aw-aw'. It always means, "a large mass, organized as an army", "soldiers assembled and ready for war".
Interestingly, this word is used for the first time in the Bible in Psalm 24:10, one of the three "Messianic Psalms" written hundreds of years before Christ, the very subject of the Psalms. Psalm 22 reveals Jesus as The Sacrifice, Psalm 23 shows Him as The Shepherd, and Psalm 24 declares Him as The Sovereign. The psalmist declares that the "King of Glory" is none other than "The Lord of armies".
THE HOSTS OF THE COMMANDER:
In writing today, I ran across this most amazing story. Second Lieut. Andrew Spelding of the 82nd Airborne Division described a specific event during testimony of angelic intervention. While I know virtually nothing about Lt. Spelding, his account is riveting. While it may seem "beyond belief", I find it to be entirely credible, knowing what little I know about angelic beings. He wrote, . . .
"When I was on the highway in Afghanistan -- more like a dirt road near the Pakistan border -- I saw an angel flying in front of our convoy. It flew ahead of us, then stopped by a boulder near the side of the road and held up his hand. The driver of the lead vehicle stopped too, although he told me he didn't see anything or anyone. It turned out there was a tripwire right there leading to a major explosive charge. If we'd ridden through it, we'd have been blown to Kingdom Come. I thank God every night that angel stopped our convoy!"
So, this leaves us with the question as to who, then, these host or armies are, made up of specially assigned angelic beings sent to protect, guide, and fight for us? One passage that lends some light on the subject is Joshua 5 when Joshua is face to face with a military personage he doesn't recognize as he stands on the outskirts of Jericho. The Children of Israel had just crossed the Jordan River and had set up camp at Gilgal. While there for an unknown period of time, God commanded that all the men who had evidently been born in the wilderness but not yet circumcised go through that sanctifying act of separation from the world.
Sometime following that protracted ceremony, it came time for the annual observance of Passover -- probably 41 years since the first one in Egypt. Israel was now prepared to begin claiming back the land God had promised Abraham, and Joshua was apparently scoping out their first target -- Jericho. Suddenly, he was confronted by this sword-carrying warrior, and Joshua asked him whether he was for the Children of Israel or for the people of Jericho. The response took Joshua completely by surprise -- "No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD."
Almost all scholars I have ever read -- though a handful think it is Michael, the archangel -- agree that this was none other than Jesus Christ, Himself. If that is the case, this is one of those rare instances called a "theophany" when the triune Godhead revealed Himself in visible human form.
Joshua's response of bowing and paying homage followed by the warrior's further remarks make it clear that this was no ordinary soldier. "And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, 'What has my lord to say to his servant?' The captain of the LORD'S host said to Joshua, 'Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy'." (See Josh 5:13-15)
To reach a proper conclusion in the matter, let's look at the use of the word "host" in the Bible. As Frangipane pointed out earlier, the term, "the Lord of hosts" appears some 290+ times. The word, "host" appears 37 times -- and with the exception of a mere six times, is used in direct connection to the words "heaven", "heaven's", or "heavenly" -- "the heavenly host", "the host of heaven", "heaven's host", etc. The plural of the word is identical in the Hebrew text. Obviously this is at least referring to angelic beings, and almost certainly pointing to a formation of warring or fighting angels.
Even when the term "starry host" is used, it is not referring to planets and stars, but rather angelic beings that shine with a brightness like stars. This "shining" is found throughout the Bible, most notably when the angel announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds, "and the glory (the "out-shining") of the Lord shown round about them" (See Lk 2:9). Christ Himself is referred at least three times as "the bright and morning star" (See Rev. 2:27-28; 22:1-15, II Pet. 1:19).
So, as we consider the "host" or "hosts" of the Lord -- might armies under Christ's command -- we can conclude but one thing. God has made available to Christians a fighting war machine that cannot be defeated. Frangipane described it, . . .
"Hosts, by the way, are not people who invite you to a party; hosts are armies. The Lord is Lord of armies, units that come against the gates of hell, and the gates of hell cannot withstand them. . . . the enemy has seeded in the minds of many Christians false images of the Lord and His angels. Consider the nature of angels. Angels are spirits that are sent to help those who have come to Christ. Angels are warriors, full of power and might.
". . . angels in the Bible are . . . fierce warriors of righteousness. . . . they are ageless . . . . uncompromisingly righteous. . . . their energy level and intensity is terrifying. . . . an image of strength, . . ."
Such are the host -- the angelic "battalions", brigades" and "regiments" -- under the command our our Great Commander. And they are prepared to do battle in your behalf. How many times, when you face a difficult situation, do you ask God to send angels in your defense? How long has it been since you asked God to position covering angels to protect someone you love? When was the last time you asked God to dispatch fighting angels to dismantle strongholds you could not destroy?
FINALLY:
So, here we have it ---- we're in a war -- a spiritual war -- we didn't ask for, we've been given a command we dare not ignore, our Savior is the Supreme Commander of angelic hosts, and they have been created, trained, and commissioned to protect us, minister to us, accompany us, and fight in our behalf. It seems to me that Francis Frangipane summed it up well in his blog:
"Whatever your battle, the Lord of Armies is there for you. It was He who rescued you from the powers of darkness in the first place; it is this same Lord who comes now to anoint you for war and deliver you from the hand of the enemy. Indeed, the name Jesus by which we call our Redeemer is the transliteration of the Hebrew Joshua, the great general who led the armies of God into the Promised Land. Jesus means 'Deliverer' as well as 'Savior'.
"Consider David's revelation of the Lord of Hosts and pray likewise for yourself: ---- 'He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.' (Psalm 18:17-19).
"Here is another promise: ---- 'Fear not, for you will not be put to shame; and do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced; but you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, who is called the God of all the earth' (Isaiah 54:4-5).
"In this day of great shaking and increased warfare, let us each possess the attitude of the God of Armies. Let us follow Him who always leads us in His triumph in Christ. Yes, let us be true followers of the Lord of Hosts."
And I say, "Amen! And Amen!"
Larry Tomczak said it well in a 2015 article in Charisma Magazine, "Why we need warring angels". He wrote, . . .
"While I can't explain why angelic activity operates more in the unseen realm today, in today's increasingly dangerous world, we'd better be aware of the availability of these invisible protectors and make sure we activate their wonderful ministry in our lives and for those we love."
May it be so, Lord!
Bob Tolliver -- Romans 1:11
>>> To access past "Shoulders" letters, listed by date and number, go to https://welovegod.org/guide/forums/forum/shoulders/ <<<
"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness,
examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." -- Dr. Luke (Acts 17:11)
"A fire kept burning on the hearthstone of my heart, and I took up the burden of the day with fresh courage and hope." -- Charles F. McKoy
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Copyright January, 2023
"If Jesus had preached the same message that many ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified." -- Leonard Ravenhill
"The time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the Church will have clowns entertaining the goats." -- Charles H. Spurgeon
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