Pick 3 my Lord

Dirty words, swearing, potty mouth, cussing, sailor talk, foul language, profanity—whatever you want to call it, it seems to be more and more acceptable in society today. Some say "Oh, I don't really mean it, it just slips out." Does it really matter what we say? Let's take a look… The 3rd commandment (Exodus 20:7) "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." It is obvious to many that this covers specific use of Lord, God and Jesus Christ in conversation. Something that we must understand is that Jesus died not only for those who accept Him, but also the entire world that does not believe. Now for me, whenever I hear some one speak so harshly, I cringe and it is like sticking a knife in my back. What's worse is that when ever I don't kindly tell someone the ramifications of their language usage, its like me sticking a knife in my saviors back. The second application of the 3rd commandment is in being obedient to God. Some would say that God is so loving and kind that He would never punish those who do not keep His commandments. John 14:15 " If you love me, you will keep My commandments." The point is not to be legalistic, but rather trusting. When you become a Christian, you leave behind the things of this world knowing that God will show you a better way to live. After all, there is only one way to salvation, but many ways to lose it. Here are some other texts to ponder Ephesians 4:29 "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." 1 Peter 3:10 "For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:" James 3:9 "With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way." I pray the holy spirit will guide you in your speech and the way you communicate to others. God Bless!

Who is Michael?

Rev 12:7 "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels"

The archangel Michael that appears in the Bible has a very high position because he is called an archangel, arch meaning highest. In hebrew, Michael means "He who is like God". Angel means messenger in greek. Michael's position is very high indeed and seems very similar to some of the offices that Christ claims. Christ has many other names (The Bread, The Lamb, The Door,The Light, The Preist, The Water to name a few) and it is quite possible that Michael may indeed be another name for Christ. Now before someone accuses me of being in a cult that thinks Christ is only an angel, lets take a look at some scripture.

Judges 13:18 "And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?"

The scene here is right before the birth of Sampson. An angel has come to Manoah and his wife. The angel here says his name is wonderful (pil'iy in hebrew). Who else do we call wonderful?

Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

This is talking about Jesus, whom we call wonderful. (pele' in hebrew)

Judges 13:20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.

Judges 13:22 "And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God."

In these passages Manoah and his wife are worshiping the angel which seems odd, because we are only to worship God. Now we know that Manoah and his wife were righteous people in God's eyes because they did up having a child by miracle. Let's compare the angel in Judges with the angel Gabriel in Rev 19:10.

Rev 19:10"And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

We also see Christ being portrayed with other characteristics of an angel in other parts of the Bible.

Thes. 4:16"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:"

Paul knows that a multitude of angels will accompany Christ on his return, but he makes no mention of them, so it is safe to assume that Christ is the one doing the shouting. There is only one archangel and only Christ is mentioned in this passage.

Daniel 12:1 "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."

Michael is called the great prince. Either he is claiming to be the rightful prince of the world falsely (making him Satan), or he is doing so righteously because he is actually Christ.

My conclusion is that Christ holds the high office of archangel, being the chief messenger of the Lord. This in no way degrades the holiness or divinity of Christ. He still retains all of his other qualities. Knowing this actually increases my faith because I know that Christ is the captain of heavens armies.

Rev. 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His headare many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Passages are from the KJV