Walk-on Wednesday - Entertaining Angels - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Hebrews 13:2 NLT

The promise was an old one.

He’d prayed that his wife would be able to conceive and give him a child—hopefully, a male child. In his spirit, he thought he had heard God tell him it would happen in time. Years went by. Nothing. Now he and his wife were long past the age of having and rearing children.

Then one day unexpectedly—as he lounged in his tent under a cool shade tree, three men appeared. He hadn’t had company to entertain in quite some time, so he welcomed them and instructed his servants to prepare some food.

One of the strangers asked where his wife was. She was resting in the tent. Then came the startling announcement: “About this time next year, I will return, and your wife will have a son.” His wife heard the announcement and laughed silently—or so she thought. The stranger heard her and cautioned her not to doubt God. The following year, she and her husband held a son.

Abraham and Sarah weren’t the only ones in history to entertain angels and not know it. Old Testament Gideon and Manoah did as well. Not until the angel left did they understand what had happened. Angels often show up as strangers.

Except for the first three months of my existence, I’ve lived in the South my entire life. One characteristic of the South that so many appreciate is our friendliness. Being spoken to, waved at, or smiled at by strangers is typical. Strangers aren’t afraid to make eye contact with other strangers. In fact, if you walk around without doing those things, you’ll be considered the odd one out.

I admit my hesitancy to help strangers. Our world is dangerous—and many people are untrustworthy, but it doesn’t unwind my responsibility to help those God places in my path. If he puts them there, I must trust him to protect me as I serve them. Are you open to entertaining strangers . . . or angels?

Prayer: Father, open our eyes to helping those You place in our paths. 

Tweetable: Are you entertaining angels and don't know it? 

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Angels All Around - Solace from the Psalms - Martin Wiles

For thousands of years, people have found comfort in the Psalms. No matter what emotion you are experiencing or fight you're facing, the psalms have something important to say. For the next little while, Love Lines from God will feature, "Solace from the Psalms." We hope you enjoy. And please share them with a friend. 

For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. Psalm 91:11 NLT

She came when we least expected it, and only a few bags of items and a quiet knock revealed her presence.

My wife and I were enjoying a leisurely evening when a thump caught our attention. Thinking a picture had fallen or the cat had knocked something over, I reluctantly relinquished my comfortable chair to search for the culprit, but found nothing out of order.

A few moments later, a knock at the door once again sent me from my evening repose. One of my students was selling coupon books. As I made small talk with him, I suddenly noticed what our angel left—several bags of items lay on the ground in front of our car. Things we needed but had no money for: body wash, toilet paper, paper towels, sodas, and shampoo.

My wife eventually discovered our angel’s identity. It didn’t matter that she had earlier in the day mentioned to her that our funds were low and we’d soon have to resort to corn cobs and bar soap. Or that our friend couldn’t really fly. 

God has a way of sending angels just when we need them. And, in fact, they surround His children continuously.

But angels aren’t always winged or supernatural. God promises to supply His children’s needs—and He can use angels to do it. But often those angels come clothed in the garb of human flesh and bones. God will use me as an angel as often as I’ll let Him, but it requires a keen sense of spiritual perception on my part not to let those opportunities flutter by.

Think of one way God can use you as one of His angels.

Join the conversation: When have you experienced angels?

Tweetable: Do you feel God's angels surrounding you?

Prayer: Thank You Father for sending angels—supernatural and human—to meet our needs.

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Throwback Tuesday - Angels All Around - Martin Wiles

Angels All Around

She came when we least expected it, and only a few bags of items and a quiet knock revealed her presence.

My wife and I were enjoying a leisurely evening when a thump caught our attention. Thinking a picture had fallen or the cat had knocked something over, I reluctantly relinquished my comfortable chair to search for the culprit but found nothing out of order.

A few moments later, a knock at the door once again sent me from my evening repose. Read more...

Tweetable: Have you had an angel visit?

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Angels of Mercy - Martin Wiles

And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. Hebrews 13:16 NLT

We sat on the porch and watched the angels of mercy come, one after the other.

My wife and I were visiting a shut-in couple from our church when the angels of mercy arrived. As we enjoyed the cool Fall weather, I watched the front door of the house across the road open. A lady with a covered tray walked out and made her way across the street. She strolled up the couples’ front steps and told them she had made them supper. As she named off the southern meats and vegetables under the foil, the husband’s mouth watered. She took the meal inside, placed it on their table, made a few minutes of small talk, and then left.

A few more minutes of conversation passed when a neighbor on the left walked over with a plastic bag and said, “Thank you Papa for watching my kids.”

“You’re welcome, honey,” he said.

I wondered how he had watched her kids since he can hardly care for himself or his wife. His eyes lit up as he looked inside and discovered six packs of bologna—one of his favorite meats to fry and make a sandwich from.

“Thank you, Lord,” he whispered as tears dotted his eyes while his neighbor walked away.

Both of the angels were from different races and cultures—one an African American and the other Hispanic. But it mattered not to this couple living in a neighborhood that had changed drastically since they purchased their home 50 years before. God has sent His angels, and they were thankful.

Like most people, I sometimes focus more on my needs than the needs of others. I want God to send His angels in the form of others to help me, but I forget He wants to send me as an angel of mercy as well. Putting my eyes and hands on others relieves the emotional intensity of the hardships I might be facing and reminds me I don’t have to look far to find people who are in more dire straits than I am.

Opportunities to be used as God’s angel of mercy abound. Being one requires living with intentionality, desire, love, and openness to the opportunities God places all around us.

Ask God to send angelic opportunities your way.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the privilege of serving as Your hands and feet in this world. 

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Spirit Clouds - Martin Wiles

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. John 3:8 NLT

A much needed vacation took me to the mountains of Tennessee.

Along with my wife and another couple, I found myself nestled in a cabin high in the Great Smokey Mountains. Each morning witnessed me sitting on the porch, admiring the handiwork of my Creator, listening to the birds and turkeys, feeling the gentle breezes, and watching the sun rise above the distant peaks. 

One morning was different. The sounds were the same, but the sun didn’t immediately appear. Rather, dark storm clouds marched through the valleys and hopped over the mountain tops. After dropping their cargo in the form of light rain showers, they gave way to wisps of white dainty clouds that flittered west to east and south to north. As I watched, I thought of God’s Spirit.

In the Greek, the same word is used for spirit and wind. Though I can see the effects of the wind, I cannot see the wind itself. Nor can I view God’s Spirit—only His workings in the lives of people, myself, and in the world. 

Like the clouds, God’s Spirit is often silent. 

I hear no audible voice—just a small but effective nudge within my Spirit guiding me in the right direction or to the correct decision. 

At other times, God’s Spirit is loud. 

I don’t have to wonder if it is Him speaking to my spirit. His voice comes through loudly and clearly—as clouds that bring vociferous claps of thunder and downpours of rain. 

The work of God’s Spirit can be obvious. 

Such as when He brings a change in my life that is evident to others. Or His work can be not so obvious. As when He slowly changes me from the inside out. Changes that take months—or even years, to ripen to maturity. 

As witnessing the spirit clouds comforted me on that early morning, so my spirit is calmed by knowing that God is always present with me in the form of His Spirit—giving me wisdom and guidance for every decision in life. The clouds went where God sent them, and He never sends them in the wrong 
direction. 

Learn to listen for God’s still small Spirit voice. Then act on what He guides you to do. 

Prayer: Father, thank You for guiding our steps through the still small voice of Your Spirit. 

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Entertaining Angels - Martin Wiles

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Hebrews 13:2 NLT

When death may be just around the corner, even encouragement from a stranger is appreciated. 

Sam’s heart was barely functioning, and many of his vital organs were being affected. He’d been on the transplant list for quite some time, but so far no luck. The doctors were now telling him an artificial heart was his only hope. If the heart doctor didn’t agree to perform the surgery, a bag giving him a steady supply of morphine to keep him comfortable was the only option. 

Ten minutes before the pharmacy closed, Sam suddenly realized one of his heart medications had run out. He made a quick call, and the pharmacist assured him he would stay there after hours to fill it. As Sam walked toward the pharmacist, a bearded gentleman entered from the side and said, “Hey, I need to talk to you. I need to tell you everything is going to be okay.” 

After a quick U-turn, the man exited the drug store. The pharmacist, curious as well, immediately left his station to find this peculiar stranger. But no one was around, and no cars, except Sam’s, were in the parking lot. Sam was sure he’d just seen an angel. 
I doubt angels look as I’ve often imagined—with white robes and wings. And while they don’t share all of God’s supernatural traits, they do possess powers that surpass mine. 

God has angels who guard His people as they did Lot and his family when God was about to rain down fire and brimstone on their place of residence. They operate under God’s direction to carry out His plan for me. 

God can also use angels to inform me of His plan as He did when Mary was told she would give birth to the Messiah. I doubt they will come dressed in white so I will entertain them without knowing it—meaning they will look like a regular person…perhaps a bearded gentleman.

Testing my faith is another reason God uses angels. 

He puts them in my path and dresses them as people I might ordinarily avoid just to see if I’ll overlook my prejudices or trust Him enough to act in their best behalf. 

Be on the lookout. You never know when God will ask you to entertain angels.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the protective force of angels that You place around us each day.

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