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DANCES WITH ANGELS.
Raybann and Soloplex, two of heaven's angels, exchanged high fives. "Yyyyyesss!" Raybann shouted. He grabbed Soloplex and started twirling him around and around in a dizzying dance of celebration in the thin air above the earth. "Did you see that?" Soloplex shouted. "Whoosh!"
They turned and peered together at the scene below them. The Israelites stood, high and dry, on the banks of the Red Sea. They had just crossed to freedom and safety as Raybann and Soloplex, under instructions from God, had rolled back the waters of the sea. The Israelites had hurried across the channel on the miraculously dry ground, while the armies of Egypt pursued them on horses and chariots. Once God's chosen people had safely reached the opposite shore, Raybann and Soloplex released the water, and the entire Egyptian army had been drowned in the returning waters of the sea, prompting the delirious celebration of the two angels.
Upon their return to heaven, however, Raybann and Soloplex were summoned into the presence of God. They were shocked to find the blinding light of his face dimmed and his expression sad.
"Is the Holy One not pleased with our success?" Raybann asked, bowing before God's throne with his face to the ground.
"You rejoice," God said. It was not a question.
"Your people are delivered, and their enemies are dashed to pieces," Soloplex reported.
God looked at his two messengers, and the sorrow in his expression turned their white robes to gray. "The work of my hands is sunk in the sea, and you rejoice!"
That story is a variation on a tale that has been told by rabbis for centuries to illustrate the love of God. Although Pharaoh and his armies sought to enslave even destroy God's chosen people, God loved them as he loves all his creation. And he makes it clear that he wants his children to display that same kind of love, even to those who are mean and hateful. He didn't say it would be easy to do those things, but he did say it is right.
REFLECT: Have you ever rejoiced at the fall of an enemy? How do you feel about that person now? Do you think Jesus' command to "love your enemies" instead of hating them means you have to feel love toward everyone? Does it mean acting in loving ways? Both? Neither?
PRAY: "God, thank you for your love and for reminding me that love is always right. Help me especially to love today... so that I may act as a true child of my Father in heaven."
Raybann and Soloplex, two of heaven's angels, exchanged high fives. "Yyyyyesss!" Raybann shouted. He grabbed Soloplex and started twirling him around and around in a dizzying dance of celebration in the thin air above the earth. "Did you see that?" Soloplex shouted. "Whoosh!"
They turned and peered together at the scene below them. The Israelites stood, high and dry, on the banks of the Red Sea. They had just crossed to freedom and safety as Raybann and Soloplex, under instructions from God, had rolled back the waters of the sea. The Israelites had hurried across the channel on the miraculously dry ground, while the armies of Egypt pursued them on horses and chariots. Once God's chosen people had safely reached the opposite shore, Raybann and Soloplex released the water, and the entire Egyptian army had been drowned in the returning waters of the sea, prompting the delirious celebration of the two angels.
Upon their return to heaven, however, Raybann and Soloplex were summoned into the presence of God. They were shocked to find the blinding light of his face dimmed and his expression sad.
"Is the Holy One not pleased with our success?" Raybann asked, bowing before God's throne with his face to the ground.
"You rejoice," God said. It was not a question.
"Your people are delivered, and their enemies are dashed to pieces," Soloplex reported.
God looked at his two messengers, and the sorrow in his expression turned their white robes to gray. "The work of my hands is sunk in the sea, and you rejoice!"
That story is a variation on a tale that has been told by rabbis for centuries to illustrate the love of God. Although Pharaoh and his armies sought to enslave even destroy God's chosen people, God loved them as he loves all his creation. And he makes it clear that he wants his children to display that same kind of love, even to those who are mean and hateful. He didn't say it would be easy to do those things, but he did say it is right.
REFLECT: Have you ever rejoiced at the fall of an enemy? How do you feel about that person now? Do you think Jesus' command to "love your enemies" instead of hating them means you have to feel love toward everyone? Does it mean acting in loving ways? Both? Neither?
PRAY: "God, thank you for your love and for reminding me that love is always right. Help me especially to love today... so that I may act as a true child of my Father in heaven."
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About this Plan
Written for teenagers to use in their daily quiet time readings, this plan will make them laugh or cry. Some are fiction, some are stranger than fiction, but each will help you discover how to make right choices in the everyday ups and downs of life. Josh McDowell's Youth Devotions is a daily adventure in making right choices.
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© 2011 Josh McDowell Ministry. All rights reserved. No part of these Materials may be changed in any way or reproduced in any form without written permission from Josh McDowell Ministry, 2001 W Plano Pkwy, Ste. 2400, Plano, TX 75075. www.josh.org. +1 972 907 1000. Used by Permission.
