The Host of Heaven vs The Heavenly Host

-



Photos from the first snow.


Last week it was another sleepless night for me. At 4AM the snow was blowing with a flurry. My husband had turned on the floodlights so we could watch this magical event.  Looking through a wall of windows in our bedroom made it look like we were in a snow globe.

Knowing I needed to get some sleep, the only way that would come was to stop thinking about worldly things.  So, after lifting up a boat load of prayer requests I simply said, "Lord, I want to know You more."  In that light (in the dark) I turned to going through the alphabet saying names of Jesus.

"You are Almighty and Before all things which You have Created. Being Omniscient You knew we would need a Deliverer who would eventually usher us into Eternity with You, as our Heavenly Host."  Stopping right there, my mind turned to our friend who is actively dying from pancreatic cancer and the thought that Jesus is the host who will soon welcome him with open arms into heaven.

With the purpose of wanting to know God more, I opened his Word to see what it said about the Host of Heaven.  What God wanted to teach me was about his heavenly hosts.

Host was referencing a multitude, an army and in Biblical terms that was usually a great number of angels.  (It also can refer to the sun, moon, and stars.)

Hanging out in Luke chapter 2 a lot lately, I realized the heavenly host was around when Jesus was born.  

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!" Luke 2:13-14

Then lyrics to "The Doxology"  which I sang as a child every Sunday in church to crossed my mind. 

Praise him above, ye heavenly host.

The heavenly host, God's celestial army, both serves and praises him.  I look forward to being in the presence of the heavenly host someday. Oh what a day of rejoicing that will be. While we are different from the angels, we too were created for service and praise to our Creator.

The Song 
(If you know of someone this Christmas who is longing for someone who has gone into the presence of the Lord, share this song.)





Popular posts from this blog

She Fought the Good Fight

-
Image
February 27 Bible Gateway's verse yesterday was: This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him . 1 John 4:9 A fitting verse for the day my everyday friend, soul sister, monster of the faith and mischievous partner in crime, Kaye, left this world behind and headed to her heavenly home. My husband was able to be by her bedside and said he knew she heard the words of our faith that he shared. Her sweet daughter held the phone up to her ear so I could say good-bye and the brightest single star you have ever seen shown through my bedroom window as she exited this earth! Yesterday, my heart literally ached so badly that I told the Lord, "Take me too!" Wouldn't she have been surprised if I had snuck up on her in heaven and said, "Thought you were going somewhere without me, did ya." When we received the call she was ready to go, I called out to the Lord for comfort and He led me to the Bible Gat...
Read more

Toe Sucking

-
Image
June 13 If I keep my eyes on God, I won't trip over my own feet. Psalm 25:12 …or allow them to be sucked off by carp!  For as long as I've been on this lake (49 years) we've gone to feed the carp at various marinas.   I have a bag of old bread waiting to be tossed to the carp tomorrow by our grandchildren!   There's a new adventure at a couple of the marinas.  Toe sucking!   For 25 cents you can buy a small scoop of peanut butter to go on your toes. Then the carp suck it off!   I just got a pedicure, so I have an excuse not to participate! What we do need to participate in is keeping our feet on the paths the Lord sets before us. Give careful though to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Proverbs 4:26 
Read more

Mercy and Grace

-
Image
  These three grands got wheels  for Christmas! Praying for mercy and grace! 2025 finds me launching off into a new Bible reading plan. Twenty five years ago when our daughter was living in Nashville, she had an amazing group of musician friends who would travel here for long weekends at the lake.  One of those young women is Tara Leigh Cobble, who now hosts a podcast called "The BibleRecap."   https://www.thebiblerecap.com/about On Day 5, while in Job, Tara Leigh addresses the difference in mercy and grace   this way. " Mercy  is when you don't get what you deserve. For fallen humanity, we all deserve hell.  We've sinned against a holy God and tried to elevated ourselves to His rank.  We deserve nothing but punishment.  The fact that we're breathing right now is God's mercy toward us.  Just like He showed mercy toward Adam and Even when they sinned in the garden, He hasn't given us the immediate death we deserve for our rebell...
Read more