Angels are a very popular subject these days. They are often talked about in most of the media, as well as at the water cooler at work. Angels truly play important and beneficial role in our lives. I have read many books and articles on angels and found that there are many conflicting beliefs about them. Personally, I prefer to go by what the Christian Bible states that they are.

The Christian Bible portrays angels to as servants of God and the messengers between mankind and our Father in heaven, and well as being guardians for us. Throughout the Bible we read that angels they have always played an important role between God and mankind.

It was the Archangel Gabriel that came as the messenger from God to the Virgin Mary to deliver to her the message that she had been chosen by God to bear His son the Christ, and to name him Jesus. It was also an angel that came to Joseph in a dream as a messenger of God to impart to him that Mary was chosen by God to give this immaculate birth.

So why do we need a messenger or a guardian angel? Because our Father in heaven loves us so much that He wants to help us through our struggles in life, and also warn us about our sometimes misguided choices that we make. Many times angels are also sent to us as messengers to guide or help us in a particular situation. Guardian angels are also sent to warn us or protect us from harm, and sometimes to rescue us in a tragedy.

The Bible tells us that those who have had direct contact with "The Living God" could not look upon him. So perhaps the angels serve in a way that we can see God through their eyes. Our Father in heaven so loves us that He not only answers our prayers, but also gives us His blessings, grace and mercy through angels.

We are now in a time in our history with many rapid changes happening on this planet. Some suggest that we are possibly in the end times. The news reports of many natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, floods happening in many parts of the world, and drought in other parts. Statistically they are happening at a more than normal rate of occurrence than anytime from our past history. Reports of the appearances of angels seem to be on the rise as well.

Perhaps out of the love that God has for us He is sending us His messengers more often to serve as a warning of the end times. Perhaps people are just praying to our Father in heaven more often because our needs being so great these days, and that could explain the rise in reports of so many angels being seen.

Many people think that when they feel the most helpless and start deeply praying, God will sometimes answer their prayers through His angels. Since angels are thought of as an asset in our lives, we display angels in our home. Angels are portrayed in many forms and are given to our family and friends in angel pictures, angel figurines, angel statues, angel water fountains, etc.

Since angels are thought of as a true expression of God's unwavering love for us, we buy various kinds of angel gifts to show our love for others as well. They make a wonderful gift as well as and an attractive addition to any home, and also serve as a reminder of our beliefs.


By Steven E Coffman Family-eStore.com

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Christian Christmas verses Secular Christmas

As a young kid in the 1960's I remember watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with enthusiasm. I enjoyed seeing the wonderful floats, celebrities, giant balloons, and the marching bands, but I knew at the end of the parade would be Santa Claus! This signified the end of the Thanksgiving Day holiday, and the beginning of the Christmas holiday.

Even though I went to Sunday school at our church and learned about the birth of the Christ child, as a kid, I seemed to pay more attention towards the Santa Claus version. This was because I was always anxious for Christmas morning to arrive so that I could see what Santa had brought me this year!

Being immature, as all kids are, I focused more on what I was getting that day, and not what this day was truly meant to celebrate for. Probably as young Christians, most of us start out on a similar path, and then grow up, never changing our focus for what the day was meant to truly be about. The greed and selfishness of what we was getting or giving became the emphasis for this day.

Business owners are keen to this weakness of ours, and do their best to monopolize on it. The greed and selfishness of their business missing out on a nickel of sales, or the store across the street getting your nickel has become their driving force. With this said, and as the years passed, the start of the Christmas season campaigns started earlier and earlier almost every year. The secular holiday had a firm grip on most of us, and wasn’t about to let go.

I noticed that in the 1970's the Christmas season began rolling out at the beginning of November. Then in the 1980's the commercial blitz was on and the'store displays began showing up right after Halloween at the end of October. The 1990’s kept pushing the start of the commercial Christmas season even earlier, and some displays were starting to appear before Halloween.

At the turn of this century was also the turn of the secular Christmas holiday rush to start yet even earlier. The end September is now the launch for many business Christmas campaigns. Business owners and CEO's are driven to show their stockholders and board members a red arrow that is constantly pointing up on a PowerPoint chart to demonstrate to these people that they are doing their job well.

With this trend, by 2010 we will probably see Santa and his sleigh rolling out at the beginning of the first game in football season, just behind the player name announcements that are at the start of every game.

Whether we are business owners, CEO's, or consumers, we are also Christians, and need to readjust our focus on the true reason for the Christmas celebration. Our emphasis should be on the birth of Jesus Christ.

For business owners, the greed in making more money than we did this time last year seems to be the distracting factor. One passage in the Bible that states it best is Luke 18:24-25 (NCV), "It is very hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle tan for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God". For the individual, the greed and personal selfishness of what we are giving or getting is the distracting factor. Luke 12:15 (NCV) Jesus tells us: "Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns."

Please don't take the statements above the wrong way. It is ok for us to get gifts, or give gifts to people that we care about during this celebration, as demonstrated by the Magi visiting the Christ child in Matthew 2:11 (NCV), "They came to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. They opened their gifts and gave Him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

We also should try performing the best we can at our jobs. We just need to reinstate the true reason for this celebration and de-emphasize the secular version, and also remove our personal greed and selfishness. Romans 2:6 (NCV) tells us: "God will reward or punish every person for what that person has done. Some people, by always continuing to do good, live for God's glory, for honor, and for life that has no end. God will give them life forever. But other people are selfish. They refuse to follow truth and, instead, follow evil. God will give them his punishment and anger."

The Christmas season statistically shows a high depression and suicide rate, why? This is mainly because of our greed and selfishness. The business person that falls short of their business expectations and goals; The person who gets depressed because the cannot buy the wonderful gifts that they had in mind for their loved ones, all attribute to these rates being very high.

I have personally experienced these feelings of depression and suicide in some of the past Christmas holidays. One year I was unemployed at Christmastime and could not afford to get my family and friends even small presents. Being in such a bad financial position was bound to be a disastrous holiday season for me, with my secular holiday poster firmly in place. This was also the year that I personally changed my viewpoint, and put Christ at the center of celebration into my Christmas.

That also was the year I experienced for myself the best Christmas holiday that I ever had enjoyed in my life!

By: Steven E Coffman Family-eStore.com

A Christian Gift to Our Father in Heaven on Father's Day

As a Christian I have noticed that many people seem to forget our Father in Heaven on Father’s Day. To me, he is our ultimate, supreme and first father. He sets the example that all other father’s should follow. He is the truest example of how a father should feel for, be, and teach his children. If on a daily basis, we can keep in mind the perfect love that our Father in Heaven has for us, and shows us on a daily basis; and then as a Father transfer that example to our children, we then can consider our responsibility and job well done as a Father ourselves.

As the Son, Jesus knew well our Father in Heaven’s love that he has for Him and for us all, and look at the example of the Son that Jesus set that is portrayed in the New Testament. As sinners we cannot measure up to these standards. That is why Jesus bridged this gap between us and the Father, through His death and resurrection. The Bible guides us with many examples and commandments as a parent who loves their child does. Since we are not perfect, as parents we are bound to make mistakes in guidance and example, but the real key is to reflect on these mistakes when made, and then correct them. This is how we can best show our love for our children as parents.

A child being inexperienced and naive to society, culturally, socially, spiritually is bound to make many mistakes, and test the limits of their boundaries and our patience. This especially is when as parents; our true love for them has to reinforce our patience with them, so that we will guide and correct them appropriately, and in a positive manner as a good loving parent should want to do for them. This obviously at times easier said than done! That is why as Christians, we continually need to read the Bible, as a reminder of what the commandments that were set for us by our Father in Heaven in the Old Testament, and the examples shown by Jesus in the New Testament. On an on-going basis we need to continually grow our relationship with our children, and hopefully most of the time they will listen to our guidance that we have to give them, as on an on-going basis we also grow our relationship with our Father in Heaven.

I hope these words above are read as encouragement as a parent. I can only pray that on Father’s Day you will remember our First Father, and acknowledge Him with praise for all that He does, has done, and will do for you and me as His children. It will be the best Father’s Day card that you can send Him.

By: Steven E Coffman Family-eStore.com

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