Friday, August 3, 2012

Dont Let Go

I love what Jacob tells the angel in the famous story that describes them wrestling together on a riverbank: "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

What courage and determination that statement showed in Jacob! Not only was he willing to actually wrestle an angel (and an angel who may have been God himself, appearing in angelic form!), but Jacob was also committed to holding on until he finally got the blessing for which he was searching.

I think the physical wrestling that went on that day is wonderful metaphor for the spiritual wrestling that we often do in prayer with God and his angels. We want to be blessed -- and if we don't let go, that's likely to be exactly what will happen.

Immediately after Jacob makes this incredible statement to the angel, the angel gives him a new name that reflects a blessing, and says he is doing so "because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome."

Whatever you're wrestling with God and the angels in prayer about, be persistent, and trust that you'll ultimately be blessed for your faith. Don't let go!

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A Ladder to Heaven

We know by faith that angels are constantly traveling between the universe's dimensions, hard at work answering prayers and fulfilling other missions. Usually, angels go from heaven to Earth and back again without us seeing them in transit. But the prophet Jacob had an amazing dream about angels who are busy ascending and descending a ladder between Earth and heaven.

I've often wished that I could visit heaven temporarily, or even just peek inside to satisfy some of my curiosity about it. But if I had access to a heavenly ladder -- or even a heavenly window -- I suspect that what I would see would leave me with more questions than answers. And just one glimpse of something so wonderful would also leave me with a longing to stay in heaven permanently, without returning to Earth to finish out my life here. That's a dilemma many people who have gone through near death experiences report struggling with when they visit heaven and discover that they must return to Earth for a while.

Honestly, as much as I'd like to visit heaven, I'm not really ready to ascend a ladder there. But what fun it is to learn from Jacob's dream about the awesome travels that angels are constantly making between heaven and Earth!

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The Greatest Angel

When is an angel not really an angel? When he's God appearing in angelic form.

That's called a a "theophany," which means God appearing to and communicating with people directly. Both the Bible and the Torah describe that happening when an angel called the "Angel of the Lord" appears.

The new profile "Meet the Angel of the Lord" describes this greatest angel of all.

This month, I'll be featuring lots of new articles about the Angel of the Lord, and I've just posted them on the site. I'll be blogging about them individually but wanted to let you know that the series is up for you to check out now. Hope you enjoy!

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Energy All Around

The concept of matching different kinds of crystal rocks (which can store and amplify electromagnetic energy) to certain types of angels (whose energy vibrates at the same frequencies) is a fascinating idea.

At first, it's hard to imagine that energy really goes back and forth between angels and crystals in precise and powerful ways, because we can't actually see it happening. But neither can we see many other kinds of energy that moves through the air around us: from cell phone and TV broadcasting signals, to sound waves and microwaves.

Energy is all around us, constantly at work -- and most of the time we don't see it with our physical eyes. When we consider that, it's not so unreasonable to explore the connection between angels and crystals. You can learn about that connection in the article "What is an Angel Prayer Crystal?".

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