Skip to main content

Hebrews 13:1-2: Entertaining Angels

When our children were just little, we sold our home and our businesses and moved into North America’s poorest postal code - Vancouver’s downtown eastside - as full-time urban missionaries with The Salvation Army.

We saw many miracles in that setting but our time there, as you can well imagine, wasn’t always rosy though. I remember one day – one morning, I was mugged. I knew better but I wasn’t paying attention. It was early in the morning and I was right on Main and Hastings – the most infamous intersection in this most infamous neighbourhood and I was on the pay phone with Susan who was out of town at the time.

Someone came running up behind me, grabbed my briefcase and tore down Main Street. In the briefcase was my laptop and all the information for the summer school program I was running for the kids in the area; so, like anyone mugged in the depths of skid row, I’m sure, I…well, I chased the mugger.

I followed him down Main Street through Chinatown across busy streets and around the myriad of mazes that are Vancouver’s back alleys. Scaring rats, jumping over sleeping street folk, I pursued my assailant. When I was within reach of him… I fell right in front of a bus and though I escaped from in front of the bus with my life, the mugger escaped with my briefcase, my laptop, and the program files for the kids.

It was when I was walking back, completely distraught and despondent from this incident, that I experienced the miracle that happened: I encountered an angel, a messenger of God, in the back alleys of Vancouver’s storied downtown eastside. I can still remember vividly; he looked like a ‘dumpster diver;’ he prayed with me and he offered me these words of encouragement from Romans 5:3,4 “...but let us also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Inside I sighed. I knew he was right. God gave me these words to encourage me because my life was about to get turned upside down in ways we haven’t got time to address here today. God gave me these words to encourage me.

Today, how many times does God come to us through angels, messengers, and or people in our communities? How many times do we run into the same people struggling with the same problems but today something is different, today they have a message from God for us but maybe we don’t see it; maybe we write it off and ignore it. There is a schizophrenic gentleman who comes into my office not as often as he used to but I now try to pay special attention to what he says because often hidden somewhere in the midst of his ramblings is a message from God. When I first came to a Salvation Army I was stand-offish with a few of the people who frequented there. It was only after the Officer/Pastor pointed out one such gentleman to me and said, "I think that guy might be an angel" that the scales fell from my eyes as I realized that he may be right. Many times we have helped people our in the courts or in the food banks or other ministries and only really noticed after the encounter that God was really there.

Today, I invite us to be aware of those who come before us; pay attention to what they are saying; for indeed as the author of the letter to the Hebrews says, we may be even be entertaining angels without even being aware of it.
More daily blogs at
More articles, sermons, and papers at

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Beware: Christian Junk Food

THIS IS AN INTERESTING ARTICLE WE STUMBLED ACROSS BY ANNE GRAHAM LOTZ Why the average believer is starving for something more. By Anne Graham Lotz I love junk food—McDonald's french fries, Auntie Anne's pretzels, and almost any kind of pizza! If I'm not careful, though, I will gain unwanted pounds while getting zero nutrition. Many Christians seem to eat spiritually the way I am tempted to eat physically. They fill up on "junk food"—Christian books, CDs, TV programs, seminars, and all sorts of church activities—none of these are bad, really, but they lead to a sickly spiritual state if consumed apart from the true Bread of Life. We need the real nutritional "food" that will be served one day at the Wedding Supper referred to in Revelation 19:9, food that we can partake of right now as we dig into God's Living Word. For the past 17 years, as I have crisscrossed America, speaking at various conferences and churches, I have become convinced of ...

2 Timothy 1:12: Learn to Suffer

2 Timothy 1:12: That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. Today’s thought on 2 Timothy 1:12 is entitled ‘Learn to Suffer’. ‘Learn to Suffer’ is motto of a Scottish Clan. Anyone know which clan? Clan Duncan. The Clan motto is ‘Learn to Suffer.’ Did you know that 2 of the early kings of Scotland were Duncans: One was Duncan I and do you know who was the other? Duncan II. Duncan I obtained the throne through murder and Duncan II lost it the same way. The Duncans would learn to suffer. The Duncans historically weren’t so good at choosing the winning side in important battles. They supported the victorious Robert the Bruce in his wars and received benefits from that. But later they supported Charles I, who was defeated, murdered and his country conquered by Cromwell’s Puritans. In supporting the losing side in this war, the Duncans would learn to suff...

Thoughts on a Trip to Ontario Part 5: Conclusion: Be Prepared (2 Timothy 4:2)

2 Timothy 4:2: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.   We went to Ontario couple of days before the Celebration of Life. We spent our first two nights in a community called Woodstock because it was within driving distance of Stratford. You know what Stratford is famous for? It’s Shakespeare Festival! That is quite interesting. Do you know the history of the festival? Stratford Ontario, as we know, is named after Stratford, UK. And Stratford UK has a strong connection with William Shakespeare. So the Tom Patterson a few years after returning from World War II started the festival to help revive his home town. It is really worked and the town and the festival are still going and bigger than ever.   Now, we were one week early to actually catch the festival itself but we did get to see one play: Romeo and Juliet . This was especially good because Sarah-Grace was with us and sh...