THE ANGELS NEVER SAID

THE ANGELS NEVER SAID
Copyright 2011, Paul Spite

There are so many who claim to speak for God these days. I’ve been guilty of it
myself. But so many conflicting messages can’t possibly come from one Author who
never lies. So who does speak for God?
We have some direction from God on whom to believe. In the Old Testament,
God spoke to His people directly, through divine messengers called angels. He also
communicated through prophets, even sometimes through nature. In the New Testament,
His church was given the five-fold ministry. But in the transition between the New and
the Old, at the change between Grace and Law, at the turning point of time, God sent
divine messengers again. Resounding down through countless celebrations of the birth of
a Savior are the messages from the angels.
Listen closely to what they never said.
Listen while they speak to Mary in the first chapter of Luke. The joyous news is
proclaimed of her selection to be the mother of Jesus. She has found favor and will give
birth to an eternal King. The Holy Ghost itself will overshadow and impregnate her. And
all of this will happen, though she has never known a man.
But the angels never said, having God inside her would be easy. They just said
delivering salvation, to a lost and dying world, would bring her blessings. They never
said what was inside her would be well received. They never warned her that her heart
would be bound to what she delivered. It would be broken, as what she had to give was
ultimately spit upon, trampled underfoot, and mocked. When she risked her life to bring
salvation, the angels never told her the vast majority wouldn’t care. Make no mistake, she
did risk her life.
In Mary’s time, being espoused to one man but giving birth to another’s child
was a probable death sentence. So hear what the angels say to her wronged fiancé. Listen
as they tell Joseph, in the first chapter of Matthew, that God Himself had usurped him.
He was not to fear taking Mary as his wife. She was faithful, and had always been so.
There was just one thing. Contrary to Jewish custom, the son to be born was not to bear
Joseph’s name. It was not his child.
The angels never told Joseph, that any other name would suffice. If he wanted to
speak to God, regardless of God’s age, he’d have to do so using the name of Jesus. If he
needed help, He could ask Jesus. If He wanted to know what would happen in time to
come, he would need to speak to Jesus. He never really had a right to claim the boy as his
son. But he was given the right to call him his Salvation.
To the shepherds awake in the night, came a heavenly host. Listen as they speak
to guardians of the flock in the second chapter of Luke. These were the first to hear of a
possible end to sorrow. They were told where to find God and how to identify him. To
them, it was revealed that a manger filled with hay would be the first king sized bed.
But the angels never told shepherds, they had brought them great joy. No indeed!
They came only with tidings of where and how great joy could be found. The end to
sorrow had been forever made available that night. But the shepherds had to leave their
comfortable surroundings, surrender their sleepless nights, and go find it. They had to
leave behind what gave them their identity and get themselves into the presence of God.
The great joy was not found where they normally existed.

Sin within us, always has and always will, cause us to fear what is holy. The
prophet prostrated himself before God to cry, “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean
lips.” We identify, for we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So men
of old came trembling, as we come trembling, to extend the wreckage of our lives as an
offering to a pure God. We know our lives are unfit to offer a King, but it’s all we have.
So a lonely God came to our world to reconcile us to Himself. He came to create
a cover for what offends His holiness. He offers to cover our nakedness with righteous
blood. Since He came, we can now ask. Now that He’s been here, He can now be faithful
and just to forgive us our sins. All that hope, and all that blessing, was contained in words
His messengers failed to utter long ago.
You see, the angels never told anyone, they would ever need to fear God again.
Because of that night, we can now come boldly before the throne of grace. If we listen
close, we can hear the angels’ words once more.
“Fear not!”



Read Paul's latest Publication on ebook "The Power Of A Pawn" and following his series The Game of Life on Facebook.

I'd like to thank Author Paul Spite for being our guest blogger during this time of transition to Kansas City. His insights are very thought provoking and I know you will enjoy reading his latest article.
Thank you all and Merry Christmas. See you back here on the 1st!
Love,
Kathy and the Prayer Team at A Gentle Answer Ministries.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read Luke 1 and 2 HERE

Something To Ponder

Something To Ponder
by Paul Spite


The second chapter of Luke tells us Mary pondered all the supernatural events surrounding the birth of Jesus and kept them in her heart. A once popular song asks “Mary, Did You Know?” Did she really know what miracles her child would perform? I wonder if she meant to trade her personal relationship with God for personal satisfaction.

Other than one incident, scripture gives us no indication the life of Jesus was anything besides ordinary for his first three decades. At the wedding in Cana though, there was a pressing need for more wine. Mary became impatient. She had been pondering way too long and demanded her son to deal with the problem. Obviously not bothered by the lack of drink, Jesus told her it was not yet time for him to act thus.

Ignoring Jesus, Mary gave the servants timeless advice we could all use. “Whatsoever he (Jesus) saith unto you, do it.” He then did what only God could do to meet a need. He changed part of creation from one state to another. She finally uncovered the God she knew He surely must be and lost her son in the process. She had her needs met, but lost her relationship while doing so.
We are not told what Mary was thinking. Perhaps thirty years of suspected infidelity finally took its toll. Perhaps her personal pride at having given birth to the son of God needed to be made public. Perhaps it was just typical parental impatience at a child failing to live up to his potential.

I personally think she just failed to ponder long enough. I am sure she knew Isaiah’s prophecy that “JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.” She definitely knew Jesus had been given for the purpose of saving His people from sin. As a Jew, she surely knew life was in the blood, and without the shedding of the blood in their daily sacrifices, there was no remission of sin. I think she failed to think it through, that her son’s actual destiny required His blood be shed to remit the sins of His people.

I wonder, had she pondered longer, would she have spoken at the wedding? She received vindication and they received wine, but what a loss. We never read again of Jesus acting as her son. As God, once His power became known, there were too many other needs to be met. At one point, He declined to come out of a meeting to speak to His mother and brothers, denying their relationship. One of Mary’s last visits with her boy came when He was writhing on a tree of crucifixion.

I think we also trade our relationship with God for our satisfaction. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt, I was created to be an eternal companion to a once lonely God. There is joy, peace, and beauty in my relationship with God and in His presence. It should be enough to have God completing me spiritually, but I have other pressing needs. Sometime I just want Him to give me what I need, that only a God can supply. Because He loves me, He supplies. But what does it cost me in terms of our relationship?

I wonder if God ever whispers, “What about me? Whatever happened to the whispered talks late at night, the praises you used to bestow on me and the delight you took just being with me?” I wonder if God ever misses my first love. How I felt before my needs became the most important part of our interaction.

Sometimes, we do the same thing in our relationships with those we love. We are given earthly partners to ease our loneliness and complete us at the level of our souls. In those relationships, there is joy and peace and beauty. It should be enough. But we also need housekeepers, launderers, chauffeurs, gardeners, providers, mechanics, babysitters, and so on. Time passes. Our lives fill up with our activities in the meeting of needs, instead of one another and the meeting of our souls.

I wonder if anyone else ever whispers, “What about me? Whatever happened to the whispered talks late at night, the compliments you used to bestow on me and the delight you took just being with me?” I wonder if anyone else misses their first love. The one before daily needs and tasks became the most important part of our interaction and relationship took a back seat.

Is God really concerned about such things? In one incident, His friend Mary chose to sit and talk with Jesus while her sister Martha worked hard accomplishing tasks. Jesus responded to Martha’s rebuke of Mary by telling her what Mary had chosen to do with her time was needful. Who needed to know they were appreciated and loved? It was the physical manifestation of God on this earth.

So I wonder. If God never met another one of my needs, could I still love Him for who He is? Could I just respond to His hunger for me with my time and my attention? Could I forget my personal and unstated definition of God as a being who exists to serve me, long enough to let this lonely God know I just enjoy being with Him? And I wonder what my relationship with God would be at this point, had I remained focused on enjoying the relationship I first found with Him. I don’t know. I don’t think Mary did either or she would never have spoken.

But I ponder all these things and keep them in my heart.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We welcomed Paul Spite as our featured writer for the Teachable Moment on A Gentle Answer Ministries online magazine.
Paul is the author of a 6 novel series called The Game of Life. Paul and his wife Sally live just outside of Nashville and desire to honor the Lord with their talents and gifts. You will find Paul's writing to be thought provoking, challenging, and spiritually sound. You can visit the fan page for his series on facebook which has been optioned for an upcoming movie. We encourage you to check out some of Paul's writing by following Paul Spite or go to his facebook page at Paul Spite on Facebook.

Become a Fan on Facebook

THE GAME OF LIFE by Author Paul Spite
The first in the series "Power of A Pawn" is coming out this month available to you by ebook.
Paul and Sally Spite




Find Author Paul Spite's series The Game of Life on Facebook