Tuesday, December 04, 2007

December 8, 2007

Gabriel, Messenger of God

Luke 1:19-20; Luke 1:26-38

Luke 1:19 (HCSB) The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and tell you this good news.

Luke 1:26-28 (HCSB) 26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And [the angel] came to her and said, “Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you.”

Angels are very popular in our culture. Some people are even prone to worshipping them. Angels are as Billy Graham called them “God’s secret agents.” Angels do the will of the One who sends them, and bring the glory back to him. We could learn a lot from angels. The angel Gabriel and the angels we meet later in the Christmas story with the Shepherds are apparently a sight to behold. (“When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and overcome with fear.” Luke 1:12, “Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.” Luke 2:9)

The Shepherds and Zechariah seemed afraid of the angel. Mary did not. However, Mary and Zechariah questioned the angel (Luke 1:18, 34) but the shepherds did not (Luke 2:15).

All of this, and we sometimes wonder why God does not just send us an angel to give us instructions. Well, God did send us a message, it’s called the Bible and it gives us plenty of instructions for life. He also sent us Jesus, the one who came to save us from our sins.

Perhaps he is looking for us to share this message with those we know. We are not half as scary as an angel.

Prayer: God help me be an angel to someone and announce the good news of great joy that the savior is born! Amen.

Sing “Angels from the Realms of Glory”

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