Directions – January-February 2025
Our Heavenly Father has given us an enchanted universe. More entities and activities than meet the eye are operating around and among us. All sorts of unseen forces—and even invisible beings—occupy the spaces we inhabit. The Lord our God’s presence and power accompany us far more abundantly than our minds can behold!
The holy angels number among these gifts. The Almighty Maker has designed and dispatched these creatures specifically to deliver His love, comfort, assistance and security to our kind. The very existence of an entire species of living things devoted to our benefit demonstrates the high regard He has for human lives.
“Angel” simply means “messenger.” It comes from the Greek word angelos—which itself constitutes the primary part of the word for “Gospel”: euangelos or “good news.” Angels carry (and carry out) God’s directives to His people. The Scriptures describe angels as typically hidden from sight, but when they do appear, they often have human-like features (faces, voices, hands, feet). This probably indicates that our dear Father doesn’t want to frighten us any more than necessary and that He likes to deal with us on our level. (After all, He became human Himself to get nearer to us!) Perhaps most interestingly, though, angels in the Bible have a close connection to the sanctity of life.
- If you could give your guardian angel a name, what would you choose?
- Which angelic quality best suits you: (a) invisibility, (b) immortality, (c) flight, (d) brightness, or (e) combat?
- What are some honors or privileges the Lord God gives humankind that He does not extend to angels (Genesis 1:26-28; Hebrews 1:4-14; 1 Corinthians 6:3; 1 Peter 1:12)?
- What activities do angels engage in (Exodus 23:20; Numbers 22:22; Luke 1:19; Revelation 7:11; Revelation 12:7)? What has God appointed as their primary purpose (Hebrews 1:14)?
- Why do you think the sight of angels makes Scripture’s characters so frequently frightened (Luke 2:9; Matthew 28:2-4)?
- How do angels enact the sanctity of life for little children from the moment of fertilization (Luke 1:35; Matthew 2:13; Genesis 22:11-12; Matthew 18:10)?
- What other kinds of endangered human lives does our Lord commission angels to safeguard and support (1 Kings 19:1-5; Genesis 16:7; Judges 13:3; Acts 5:19; Daniel 3:28; John 5:2-4 KJV)?
- When do angels perhaps approach closest to humankind (Luke 16:22; Matthew 24:31)? Why do you think this is? How does this affirm the Father’s authority over life and death (2 Kings 19:35; Revelation 9:15; Psalm 103:20)?
- How has the devil aspired to acquire this authority for himself (Isaiah 14:12-14; Revelation 12:7)? What effect has it had on the angel host (Revelation 12:9)? How does Satan entice humankind to imitate him (Job 1:6; 2 Corinthians 11:14)? What is he really after (Matthew 4:9)?
- How do angels reinforce divine grace and forgiveness that affirms the worth of those who have aborted their own children (Isaiah 6:6-7; Luke 15:10)?
- How might we carry out receiving neighbors as angels (Galatians 4:14; Hebrews 13:2)? How might this bring us delight?