THE ANGELIC PRESENCE
MIKE CUNNINGHAM
AUGUST 4, 2013

Was it luck, chance, or God? Bible believing men and women together with likeminded girls and boy’s are unanimous. As far as they’re concerned, it’s a no-brainer. Of course, God delivered a certain poem to some people, a poem that I had chosen to use as my next Wednesday devotional. In this morning’s message we’ll be looking at how God delivered it.

I’ll start by quoting excerpts from the obituary of a wonderful 17 year-old Christian boy. From all the media coverage most of you folks are aware of the fact that “Elijah Todd Davis, 17, unexpectedly went home to be with his Lord and Savior early Sunday morning, July 28, 2013.”

“Born on September 2, 1995, Elijah was a strong and loving young man. He had just graduated from Mount Mansfield Union High School in June.”

“God gifted Elijah with a great musical ability. He was an amazing drummer and loved to play in church. He adored and tormented his high school band director, Mary Bauer and still received the Mount Mansfield Union High School’s Music Department award at his honors night.”

“Elijah was an active leader in his church Youth Group at Jericho Congregational Church spending many hours singing, worshiping and playing his beloved drums. He was a gifted speaker and this was evident during his senior testimony at church.”

I hope that the following excerpts from the insightful book, “Lifted by Angels,” by Joel Miller will help us to understand that God delivered the poem by way of angels. Speaking of some of the roles of these invisible supernatural beings, Miller says that, “The angels protective role is seen in the Gospels, when Jesus pulls a child to him to settle a dispute among the disciples about who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, he says, “for I tell you that in heaven their angel’s always behold the face of my Father.” Matthew 18:10 The implication is clear enough. Each of these children has an angel who watches over him or her and has the ear of God. The promise of Scripture-and therefor the expectation of believers-is that God sends his angels to guide, deliver and protect.“

“The lives of the apostles evidence this over and over again. If angels ascended and descended upon the Son of Man, if Christ drew heaven and earth together, if he empowered his disciples to further his ministry, then we should expect to encounter many angels in their stories. And we do.”

“After spending time in Samaria, for instance, Philip the Evangelist was led by the verbal command of an angel to a place where he would meet a court official from Ethiopia, a man who-after being baptized by Philip’s hand-in turn evangelized his own country.”

“The book of Acts is barely under way before the apostles are arrested and thrown in jail for preaching the gospel. “But,” wrote Luke, “at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, ‘Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.’” Matthew 18:10 “Though it doesn’t say, Peter was undoubtedly part of this group, and he would soon find himself in straits more dire than these.”

“Asleep in his cell, Peter at first did not wake when the angel arrived with a glow. The angel, said Luke, “struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’” Just then Peter’s chains fell from his hands. The angel commanded him to wrap his cloak around himself and follow. He did and walked right out of the jail, unobstructed. The pair passed one guard and then another with a locked door springing on its own. The whole episode was so surreal Peter thought he was dreaming. Finally back in the city, the angel vanished, and Peter realized it was no dream. “Now, he said, “I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me.” Acts 8:26-38

“The story, interestingly enough, doesn’t end with the angelic jailbreak. It includes an almost comic conclusion. Peter sneaked back to the house of Mary, the mother of Mark, who later wrote the gospel that bears his name. The house was crowded with people praying for Peter and about the persecution. Peter knocked at the door. A young woman named Rhoda came to answer and recognized his voice through the door. But the overexcited girl didn’t open it. She instead ran to tell the others-who didn’t believe her. They were convinced Peter was probably dead, just like James. So there was Peter, a fugitive standing outside pounding on the door, and inside the house the disbelievers were telling Rhoda, “you are mad.” She kept after it, but they only responded, “It is his angel!” What about that frantic knocking? They finally checked, “and when they saw Peter they were amazed.” Acts 12:12-16 “Better than just a humorous moment, the passage also demonstrates the belief that people had particular angels assigned to them, angels that possibly resemble their charges.” Note Acts 12:15

“Paul had the assistance of angels as well. When Paul sailed for Rome, the voyage met with rough storms and tempestuous seas. At one point the passage was imperiled by winds so severe and waves so high, the voyagers feared for their lives. But not Paul! His guardian angel appeared to him and told him not to fear. “You must stand before Caesar, he said, and lo, God has granted you all those who sail with you.” Acts 27:24 “Whatever the worry, however dire the circumstances, Paul was not going to go down in that ship. God had other plans.’

“On this same point, compare the imprisonments of Peter and Paul. An angel sprang Peter but Paul’s angel-who would later comfort him in a storm-left him in his cell. Why? Chrysostom answered that, “God disposes all things in divers ways” and notes that in Paul’s case “the jailor was to be converted.” (1) Had Paul escaped, the jailor would have killed himself and never heard the gospel. In both cases the outcome served those who were to obtain salvation.”

“In all of these stories, it’s clear that without angelic intervention the gospel would not have gone forward; either someone would have failed to hear it (Cornelius or the Ethiopian), or the evangelists themselves would have been killed (Peter and Paul.)”

“The early Christians universally believed that our angels are present in our lives and attend to our needs, encouraging us, praying for us, protecting us, even implanting godly thoughts in our hearts and minds.”

“Beyond seeing us through our life’s journey, angels are used by God to orchestrate certain events along that journey. We experience nothing by chance, and Isaac the Syrian said in his Ascetical Homilies that our guardian angels actually take part in managing the so-called “accidental occurrences” of our lives. God intends trials and testing as tools for teaching and training, and angels participate in his plans for us. “There is a guardian angel with each one of us, whose notice nothing escapes and who never weakens. But all occurrences are very carefully managed by this

appointed guardian. (2) If we take our trials as training, then our guardian angels assume the place of coaches, helping us get through the moment, urging us on, praying for us, even arranging the circumstances for our victory if we respond as God desires. If we seek to fulfill God’s will, said Isaac elsewhere, “we will have the angels of heaven as [our] guide.” (3)

Last Monday when my granddaughter Sarah told me how sad she was for the mother of young Elijah Davis, I started praying for his mom-and Sarah too. It just so happened that a few days before his death, I was inclined to pick up one of the several books of poems I have on my shelf. Then I was also inclined to select a particular one for Sarah to post on my blog as my next Wednesday devotional.

I immediately emailed it to Sarah, suggesting that she might find it to be helpful if she read it right away instead of waiting for Wednesday. I didn’t mention the fact that I thought that the boy’s mom would also be comforted by it. Sarah was at work on Monday and couldn’t read the poem. She told me she intended to do so when she knocked off work, adding that if she thought it was appropriate, she would send it to the mom. And that was the last I heard from Sarah about the poem.

Meanwhile, shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning, the scheduled day of the boy’s funeral, I saw that the poem was posted and I started praying fervently for young Elijah’s mom and dad and his siblings. Later that morning I received the first of a few posts on my blog such as the following one from:

Cathie Andreyko
July 31, 2013 at 8:07 amLove it! I will pass the devotional on to others. So many are hurting and this devotional will really make them think of how God is working! God bless…

Shortly before 10am I walked down to the Activity Center to meet with Kristi the nurse from the Support And Services at Home (SASH) Program. I was praying for Elijah’s loved ones all the way. When I arrived, it just so happened that Peter, a fellow resident who takes care of the building was there. He appeared to be troubled and when I asked him how he was doing he said that he and his wife were grieving because of the sudden death of a young boy who was a member of the church he was also a member of. It was Elijah! The media had been giving a lot of attention to the account of that tragedy. I told him that I had been praying for that family ever since I had learned of what had happened.

While listening to what he was saying I started to hear the voices of men singing, “Just A Closer Walk With Thee,” and I knew that some of God’s Holy Angels were in the building. Just as I have been for several years, I had sensed the angelic presence. I told him that I had a devotional which I believed would be used by God to comfort him and his wife and that I would ask Cathie our Property Manager to print a copy that I could give to him. About 15 minutes later Cathie quietly slipped in to the room in which I was meeting with the nurse and placed the devotional on an end table. I thanked her and then I told the nurse what was going on and she asked me for a copy.

As soon as the appointment was over, I looked for Peter and gave him the poem. He quickly skimmed through it and gave it back to me. He explained that Cathie had already given him a copy and that he had passed it on to his son. It just so happened that his son also goes to the church that Elijah attended. I silently prayed that Peter’s son would pass it on to the family. Before I left I asked Cathie if she had received any feedback from the folks she had given the poem to. She indicated that she had and agreed to post their thoughts on my blog. Then I left for home accompanied by the angels who were singing “Just a Closer Walk With Thee” and other hymns softly into my ears. Later that afternoon I received the following post on my blog from Kathie.

Cathie Andreyko

August 1, 2013 at 2:56 pm

I put the devotional on Facebook. Over 20 people responded that they thought the poem was so beautiful! I also gave it to some of my friends and they also loved it! Thanks Mike!

That post lifted my spirits greatly, especially since I still hadn’t heard anything from Sarah. I couldn’t help wondering if she liked it. I continued hoping and praying that somehow it got into the hands of the grieving mother. I found out later that Sarah was very busy the day before because it was her day off. She sent an email to me after accomplishing everything she had planned. Sarah also said that she had sent the link to the devotional to the mother of the boy. So-in more ways than one, I have reason to hope that the boy’s mom received the poem.

My daughter Susan and her two boys were at our home for dinner that evening and in the course of conversation she told my wife and I that the boys parents were the folks that she chose to provide the music at her wedding. The mom played the organ and the father sang and played the guitar. The two of them had been dating at the time. I encourage you to make the time to meditate on the poem.

THERE IS A REASON FOR EVERYTHING

Our Father knows what’s best for us,

So why should we complain-

We always want the sunshine,

But He knows there must be rain-

We love the sound of laughter

And the merriment of cheer,

But our hearts would loose their tenderness

If we never shed a tear…

Our Father tests us often

With suffering and with sorrow,

He tests us, not to punish us,

But to help us meet tomorrow…

For growing trees are strengthened

When they withstand the storm,

And the sharp cut of the chisel

Gives the marble grace and form…

God never hurts us needlessly,

And He never wastes our pain,

For every loss He sends to us

Is followed by rich gain…

And when we count the blessings

That God so freely sent,

We will find no cause for murmuring

And no time to lament

For Our Father loves His children,

And to Him all things are plain,

So He never sends us pleasures,

When the soul’s deep need is pain…

So whenever we are troubled,

And when everything goes wrong,

It is just God working in us

To make our spirit strong.

Helen Steiner Rice

Comforting Poems

From the Salesian collection

It’s been my prayerful hope that you folks and those who read it later will be blessed by this message. It’s also been my heart’s desire that the Lord would add His blessing to my efforts to give the poem to Elijah’s mom and dad and his siblings and the other folks who love him dearly. I pray that each of them will be comforted, inspired and encouraged by it just as I continue to be. Time will tell.

Lord willing, next week….

Please check out the Davis farm blog, which is by Tammy, Elijah’s mother as she copes through this difficult time in a very Godly way.

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[1]John Chrysostom
[2]Isaac the Syrian