Saturday, January 30, 2016

I WILL TRUST GOD

I Will Trust God.
    >Faith trusts God when things go wrong.<
    The OT is valuable as it shows God’s people exercising their faith.  Compare Hebrews 11.  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.  By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”  Heb 11:1-3
    1. Job had his faith tested.
    We are being given a glimpse of what is taking place in our world.  God permitted Satan to severely test Job’s faith.  Job and the others did not know what was happening.  God finally told Job: “Look to Me and My Glory.”  So should we do.
    “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15
    “With the Lord there is neither beginning of days, nor end of life, nor change of time. His name is holy, and all must know him as a holy God. He will have tender regard to those who bring their mind to their condition, and dread his wrath. He will make his abode with those whose hearts he has thus humbled, in order to revive and comfort them. When troubles last long, even good men are tempted to entertain hard thoughts of God. Therefore He will not contend for ever, for he will not forsake the work of his own hands, nor defeat the purchase of his Son's blood.”—Matthew Henry Concise
    a) Job’s hopes destroyed.
    “And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”  Job 1:12
    “...reach out... test him... Do whatever you want: Satan was God's agent; the hand he put forth was the Lord's as well as Satan's, for here they acted against everything Job possessed and later against Job himself (2:5-6). •Job later cursed the day of his birth (3:1, 8), but he did not curse God (31:30), even when his distraught wife urged him to do so (2:9). • God allowed Satan to test Job to prove that Satan's cynicism was incorrect (1 Cor 10:11; see Jas 1:13; cp. Luke 22:31-32; John 19:11).—NLT Study Bible
    “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.   And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.”  Job 1:20-22
    b) Job’s faith remains strong.
    “Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!"  But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”  Job 2:9-10
    “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.  He also shall be my salvation, For a hypocrite could not come before Him.”  Job 13:15-17
    It is right to tell God of our unhappiness.  “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.   Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.   And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  2 Cor 12:7-9
    c) Habakkuk has his faith tested.
    “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls-- Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”  Habakkuk 3:17-18
    “Habakkuk 3:17-19 After recounting God's mighty acts of redemption (3:2-15), and pausing to consider them (3:16), Habakkuk now reaffirms his trust in God as he closes his prayer. • Even though... yet I will rejoice: Even if God never pours out material blessing on his people again, he is still worthy of all the trust and praise they can give. Come what may, the prophet could rejoice, knowing that the Lord is not only Israel's Redeemer, but also the source of his own salvation.  3:19 Habakkuk owed whatever strength he had to the Sovereign Lord, his Savior (3:18). Habakkuk compared his spiritual climb to a deer swiftly ascending to the mountaintops and gracefully gliding over them (cp. Ps 18:32-33). • He makes me as surefooted as a deer: Or He gives me the speed of a deer.”  —NLT Study Bible


Wednesday, January 20, 2016

JESUS BAPTIZED BY JOHN

JESUS BAPTIZED BY JOHN
    “The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ--He is Lord of all--that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”  Acts 10:36-38 (NKJV)
    “The anointing Jesus received in Jordan was Trinitarian in nature, since all three divine Persons concurred in it: “In the name of Christ is implied He that anoints, He that is anointed, and the unction itself (Himself) with which He is anointed.  And it is the Father who anoints, but the Son who is anointed by the Spirit, who is the unction.”  Ireneaus
    Testimony of John.
    “And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." John 1:32-34 (NKJV)
    “It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.   And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.  Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:9-15 (NKJV)
    John had been preaching and baptizing for some six months, when we see Jesus come to be baptized also.  Mark shows us Jesus apparently waiting in line like everybody else, and with everybody else.  A strange way for the Messiah to enter the stage of history!  The Sinless One shows He is willing to be a part of sinful humanity (compare  Heb. 2:14-18).  The visible form of the Spirit was probably for the benefit of the people there (compare John 12:30).       The key to what took place at the baptism of Jesus is found in these words by Robert Brinsmead.  “A thing cannot be a new covenant sign or seal if Christ as God did not give it.  Neither can it be God’s sign or seal if Christ as man did not also accept it from God and give God thanks for it.  The baptism of Jesus set the pattern for Him to be the first among many brothers and sisters (Rom. 8:29).”  We learn that this event was to be the mark of identification to show the one who was the Messiah (see John
1:29-34).   In the same way, Christian baptism can be viewed as a mark of identification in which the Holy Spirit seals us to God (Eph. 1:13-14; Titus 3:4-7).  God voiced His approval of Christ Jesus in a way which all those present could hear (Mark 1:11; compare 9:7; John 12:28).  So it was Jesus the Christ, the Human One who came both with the water of His baptism and the blood of His death (1 John 5:6).
    At once following His baptism, the Spirit made Jesus go into the desert to spend forty days being tempted by Satan.  This was not make-believe, but a severe time of testing!  The wild animals and the angels imply complete isolation from human contact during this period, yet under the eyes of a watchful Father.  Even though Jesus did not sin, He experienced every kind of temptation which a human being may face (see Heb. 4:15).  Some may argue that Jesus could not have faced such temptations as we have today, but this is incorrect.  A little thought will show that there are no new temptations, but only the same old ones that the Devil has been using through the centuries.  Jesus experienced to the fullest the entire human existence, but without sin.  Further, He is our Pioneer who has already undergone both death and the resurrection from the dead!
    Even though Mark does not directly state that Jesus defeated the Devil, it is obvious that He did (compare Mark 3:27).  The way Mark mentions the temptation implies that this event was a preparation or probation for the work of public ministry.  Jesus battled the prince of evil personally, before beginning His war with sin, evil, and sickness in the world.  (Of course, Satan continued to tempt Jesus up to the point of actual death.  Compare Mark 8:11; 10:2; 12:15; etc.  All of this is part of God’s act in Christ to set us free, as Paul describes it in Rom. 8:1-4.)

    “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”  Romans 8:1-4 (NKJV)

Friday, January 1, 2016

NEW YEAR 2016

Happy New Year 2016!

2016 - A YEAR OF HOPE!                                   R. D. Ice
      Christians are people of hope!  2015 was a year of severe change in many things.  Loved ones went home to stand before the Throne of God.  Terrorists struck.  We are a nation at war.  Things will never be the same.

      God is still on His Throne!  Jesus is the same - yesterday, today, and forever!

Lord, I need Your eyes to see,
give me a living faith.
I need Your heart of love,
 a love to withstand any test.
I need Your Holy Spirit, breathing life,
giving to me and to all Your church
hope and joy and Christian love,
that all the world may know
we are Christians as they see Christ in us.
May we the redeemed show that we are redeemed
by a warm and generous heart and
unfailing optimism that rises from
that everlasting spring of joyful hope
that is Your Holy Spirit, the Breath
Who blows where He will, in gusts
and sudden winds or that light touch
with which You call us to follow You.


BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST               R.D.Ice
      Ron Clayton writes about the Churches of Christ in India where he and Karen have worked as missionaries.  He makes an important point.  “But there is a false perception on the part of many American Christians - that our brethren in other countries are ignorant of the Scriptures, and because of this somehow are ‘2nd class citizens’ in the Kingdom of God.  The truth is, most of our Indian brethren are serious students of the Bible, eager to learn and loyal to the Truth. . . Even those who are illiterate know the Scriptures better than you might imagine.  One such group of women quoted the entire book of Galatians to Sister Ann Scott - and each could do it!  Christianity is a worldwide religion; the church is stronger numerically in India than in any nation on earth, and growing in the knowledge of God’s Word, spiritually and commitment to Christ.  Praise God for these brethren.”

The LORD’s Church in 2016                                    R.D.Ice
      “A ‘Brotherhood’ is a group of members in the Lord’s Church who rally around a specific set of beliefs and scruples.  The Lord’s One Church contains every saved person (2 Timothy 2:19; 1 Cor. 12:13).”
      In 1974 one wrote of the future he saw for his “Brotherhood.”  “We shall have, therefore, a period of greater freedom in the life of the Church and of her individual members.  It will be a period of fewer legal obligations and fewer interior restraints.  Formal discipline will be reduced; all arbitrary intolerance and all absolutism will be abolished.  Positive law will be simplified, and the exercise of authority will be moderated.  There will be promoted the sense of that Christian freedom which pervaded the first generation of Christians.”
      He adds: “All (local) churches were once a new church... Perhaps it is time for us to realize that as long as we debate institutions and structures, and not the mystery of the Church in her depths, we are by-passing the real issue.”

      The Holy Spirit leads us through the Written Word, to:
      1. See Creation wracked with the birth pangs of the great Kingdom of God.  Romans 8:18-28.
      2. Feel the Presence of the Risen Christ.  Rev. 1:4-8.
      3. Know that the Gospel of Christ Jesus - Crucified, Risen, Coming Again - is the power of life.  1 John 4:1-21.
      4. Through the Church bear witness to God the Trinity - Father-Son-Spirit.  1 Timothy 3:16; Matt. 28:18-20; Luke 9:28-36.
      5. Our mission is a “Pentecost” as we speak the Gospel of Christ to everyman in their own languages.  Acts 2:7-12.
      6. Our worship is both a memorial of Christ-on-the-Cross and an anticipation of Christ Coming Again.

      7. We - the Church - are servants of the God Most High.  See Acts 4:24-31; Rev. 6:9-11; 7:9-17.  Note what Jesus said in Luke 22:24-30; and compare 1 Peter 5:1-11.

THOUGHTS ON THE GOSPEL

"THE COW GRAZES IN MANY PASTURES BUT THE MILK SHE GIVES IS HER OWN."  Truth is found in many places.  The world is integrated in such a way that many germs of information may be found in strange places.  I grew up with SciFi among the many things I read.  The Bible is the source.  And we sometimes find religious things filtered through the minds of others.  It is right to learn from others.  RDI

The Gospel According to Isaac Asimov. 
  R. D. Ice    Feb. 98
        Writers deal with ideas.  Some ideas are tawdry and dysfunctional.  Some ideas soar above the commonplace and reach heights of brilliance.  Some of this is in the eye of the beholder.
        Science Fiction at its best asks the question, “What if?”  If “X” is true, what is the logical extension to the “Nth” degree?  For example: “If the South had won the War Between The States, what would our present world be like?”  [”Man In The High Castle,” Philip K. Dick]
        Isaac Asimov stands out as the greatest of the Science Fiction writers.  His "Foundation Trilogy" began around WWII.  This series remains immensely popular.  A "second series" is being written by new authors under the Asimov umbrella.
        These comments are centered around Asimov's “Trilogy.”  In a city such as London, diverse elements are found grouped in certain areas.  Asimov expands the "city" to planet wide status on Trantor, center of the Galactic Empire.  Trantor has a population of billions, with a myriad of sectors each reflecting London's diversities: Cockney, Gypsy, etc., and even Amish (who after all are European in origin). 
        In some ways this Trilogy is an outgrowth [predecessor?] of ideas used in other stories by Asimov: "Caves of Steel," which deals with a exceptionally dense population squeezed into minimum space [sort of Hong Kong taken to extremes].  And the Robot novels: "The Naked Sun" which imagines a world very sparsely populated, with the occupants rarely seeing each other in person, except by video contact.  Things are kept humming by slaves - metallic automatons - robots.
        In Asimov's "Foundation Trilogy," the language rarely needs expurgated.  There are none of the usual "adult" situations.  Ideas are the stock in trade.  Gregory Benford, who wrote "Foundation's Fear," one of the "Second Foundation Trilogy," comments: "I had always wondered about crucial aspects of Asimov's Empire: Why were there no aliens in the galaxy?  What role did computers play?  Particularly, vs. robots?  What did the theory of psychohistory actually look like?  Finally, who was Hari Seldon - as a character, a man?"
        Judging from the "Foundation Trilogy," the Universe is inhabited only by those of the human race.  No aliens, no bug eyed monsters, and the non-human robots do not count.  Groups of humans from Earth spread out through the Galaxy.  Some are motivated by religious reasons; some for political reasons; some just want to make a buck.  But in time cultures change and develop, Traditions grow up, the past is forgotten, and old roots and relationships are no longer remembered.  "Earth" becomes only a "fairy story."  How could there be a common origin when Worlds are so different?  This mirrors the "race relations" in our current society.  Because we "look different" on the outside, how can we have anything in common???
        It must have been a Frenchman who said: "The more things change, the more they stay the same."  Warring factions on Ancient Earth are no different than the warring factions on Trantor - the center World of the Galactic Empire.  Computer networking provides instantaneous communication and incredible storage of information.  The Library of Trantor provides any information in storage, available through the computer terminal in one's house.  Incredibly advanced "browsers" search and provide.  To "want" is to have.
        Robots have all of the good qualities of humans, without anything bad.  Asimov's “Three Laws of Robotics” keep the robots on an entirely beneficial level.  The robots themselves deduce a "Zeroth Law" which increases their latitude of function.  Their positronic brains of iridium sponge give them much greater intelligence than humans, and a "godlike" quality.  Asimov posits them as a blend of "angels" and the "old gods."  They are Eternal (continuing to function forever) and work tirelessly for human good.  But at the same time, Tiktoks - elemental robots - exist, with only enough intelligence to do menial tasks.
        The Three Laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inactivity, allow a human being to come to harm, except where that would conflict with the Zeroth Law.  2) A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law, or the Zeroth Law.  3) A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law or the Zeroth LawZeroth Law) A robot may not injure humanity or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
        Hari Seldon is not a "savior," but a "Moses" who sacrifices himself to lead the humans forward.  He is guided in his mission by robot Eternals who have the uncanny ability to do the exact thing at the crucial moment.  The machinations of the opposition always seem to defeat themselves and provide the solution - while creating the next challenge which threatens to destroy civilization as the Empire knows it.    
        Asimov's "Foundation Trilogy" sees human history degrading into an interregnum, yet certain key people (and robots) act to set into motion events which will eventually reverse the decline and bring about the new Golden Age.  Psychohistory is the mathematical study which predicts the actions of masses of people (but not individuals).  Predictive elements make possible the precautionary actions which will bring the desired effect.  What seems to be a simple action may set in motion an extensive ripple effect.
        Even though Asimov was an avowed atheist, his stories mimic the action of Jehovah on the affairs of mankind down through the ages.  Coming as he did from a Jewish family, he certainly grew up under the influence of that faith and belief in Jehovah.  God was certainly in Asimov's subconscious.  His stories really mirror the continuing human condition.  Nations and cultures rise and fall.  Yet Jehovah is "behind the scenes" nudging this one and that one and raising up those who "make a difference" by their life of sacrifice.  And sometimes an unconscious act may provide the turning point for important change.  The human condition swings back to the norm.


Thoughts from SNOW CRASH   by Neal Stephenson
R. D. Ice               
        Reviewer: "To start with the third point, Snow Crash is set against a United States in which capitalism has run to its logical extreme: The government is nonexistent for the intents and purposes of most people; suburbanites have retreated to cornily-named "burbclaves" armored against the outside world; public utilities (e.g., highways, police and jails) are run by corporations, and the Mafia is one of the more respectable organizations extant. Stephenson plays this whole scenario largely for humor, and unlike, say, in Vernor Vinge's short story "Conquest by Default", it's not at all clear whether Stephenson believes that this is a plausible society."
        Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson sets a new landmark in Science Fiction.  He tells of a world in which the Government has privatized itself almost completely out of existence.  Government functions are carried out by competing private corporations which franchise jails, welfare, and an amazing variety of functions.  The remaining Feds exist in a tiny building in California, where they, in paranoia, mindlessly go through the motions of secrecy and security.
        An online alternate reality exists where people plug themselves into virtual reality and live their lives in what seems to them a real world.  The line between the two realities is blurred by the action which takes place.
        The Costra Nostra runs a massive Pizza Delivery Service.  Super-athletic youth ride high tech skateboards as they surf through the congested traffic to deliver pizzas (and drugs and other specialty items) to waiting customers.  They go with incredible speed, easily maneuvering around, over, between obstacles.

Dialog from Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, page 78.       
        Y.T. is a 16 year old courier who rides a high tech skateboard through the tangled traffic.  Her body-armor has many features to protect her and to maintain contact. Roadkill is her boy friend and fellow courier.  She is presently incarcerated in The Clink (a privately owned jail).  In her attempt to escape, she contacts Roadkill via cell-phone.
       
        Y.T. offhooks the phone with her free hand.  She hits the flash button, giving her a dial tone. 
        "Roadkill."  The telephone remembers and dials Roadkill's number.
        "Roadkill?" she says.
        Roaring sounds.  This is the sound of air peeling over the microphone of Roadkill's personal phone at some terrifying velocity.  Also the competing whooshes of many vehicles' tires on pavement, broken by chuck hole percussion; sounds like the crumbling Ventura [Freeway].
        "Yo, Y.T." Roadkill says, "'Sup?"
        "'Sup with you?"
        "Surfing the Tura.  'Sup with you?"
        "Maxing the Clink."
        "Whoa!  Who popped you?"
        "MetaCops. affixed me to the gate of White Columns with a loogie gun."
[A loogie gun fires an adhesive restraining fiber which secures the suspect.] 
        "Whoa, how very!  When you leaving?"
        "Soon.  Can you swing by and give me a hand?"
        "What do you mean?"
        Men!  "You know, give me a hand.  You're my boy friend," she says, speaking very simply and plainly.  "If I get popped, you're supposed to come around and help me bust out."  Isn't everyone supposed to know this stuff?  Don't parents teach their kids anything anymore?
        "Well, uh, where are you?"
        "Buy 'n' Fly number 501,762."
        "I'm on my way to Bernie with a super-ultra."
        As in San Bernardino.  As in super- ultra- high- priority delivery.  As in, you're out of luck.
        "Okay, thanks for nothing."
        "Sorry."
        "Surfing safety," Y.T. says in the traditional sarcastic sign off.
        "Keep breathing," Roadkill says.  The roaring noise snaps off.

        What a jerk.  Next date, he’s really going to have to grovel.

ANGELS

MINISTRY OF ANGELS             R. D. Ice  1977    [TEV]

    “Angel means messenger. Spiritual beings who exist to serve God and to praise the Lord.  Higher in status than humans, they are lower in status that the exalted Jesus (Hebrews 2:6-8). Among them there are different ranks or orders, including angels and archangels.  Some rebelled against God's sovereignty; their leader is known as Satan (the devil), and they became fallen or disobedient angels.  The vast majority, however, have remained as free obedient beings, and it was they who welcomed the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:13-14) and will come with Him at His Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 4:18).  In the Old Testament, the 'angel of the Lord' is in fact God Himself speaking.  Two angels are specifically named in the Old Testament, Gabriel and Raphael.  Gabriel appeared again to announce the Incarnation of Christ.  Michael, the "prince of Israel" (Daniel 10:21; 12:1) is often referred to as an angel."  Compact Bible Dictionary           

    Angels are a separate order of creation.  Contrary to popular folklore, a human does not become an angel after death.  Note that angels existed before the death of any human being -(compare Genesis 3:24; Job 38:6-7.
    In the Scriptures angels sometimes appear with bodies and in human form, and with abilities similar to the resurrected Christ (compare Genesis 18:1-8; 19:1,10; Luke 24:37-43; John 20:19).  
    God gave the Old Testament Law through angels (Gal. 3:19).  In contrast the Gospel Good News came through Christ rather than angels (Hebrews 1:1-2).
    Angels are interested in the salvation of mankind (1 Peter 1:12).  Yet the Scriptures strongly warn us not to worship angels (Col. 2:18,23; Rev. 22:8-9). 
    Angels come with Christ to judge the earth and reap the harvest of both reward and punishment (Jude 14-15; Rev. 14:14-20). 
    The Devil and his angels were defeated at the Cross  (Col. 2:15).  But they are still permitted to oppose the followers of Christ (Eph. 6:12; 1 Cor. 10:13), and Christians must "resist the Devil" (James 4:7).

    "God has not placed the angels as rulers over the new world to come - the world of which we speak.  Instead, as it is said somewhere in the Scriptures (Psalm 8:4-6): 'What is man, O God, that You should think of him; mere man (the son of man), that You should care for him?  You made him for a little while lower than the angels, You crowned him with glory and honor, and made him ruler over all things.'  It says that God made man 'ruler over all things'; this clearly includes everything.  We do not, however, see man ruling over all things now.  But we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, so that through God's grace (kindness) He should die for everyone (taste death for everyone in all the world).  We see Him now crowned with glory and honor because of the death He suffered.  It was only right that God, who creates and preserves all things, should make Jesus perfect through suffering, in order to bring many sons (daughters) to share His glory.  For Jesus is the one who leads them to salvation."  [Hebrews 2:5-10]

1. Ministering Spirits
    "The angel of the LORD met Hagar at a spring in the desert on the road to Shur . . .He said, 'Go back to her and be her slave.'"  [Genesis 16:7-9]
    "The angel of God, who had been in front of the army of Israel, moved and went to the rear."  [Exodus 14:19]  This was to protect against the Egyptians.
    "God will put His angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go."  [Psalm 91:11]  The Devil quotes this during the temptation of Christ.

2. Angels announced the Birth of Christ.
    "But the angel said to them: 'Don't be afraid!  For I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people.  This night in David's town your Savior was born - Christ the Lord!"  [Luke 2:10]

3. Comforted Christ in His Temptation.
    "He was there forty days, and Satan tempted Him.  Wild animals were there also, but angels came and helped Him."  [Mark 1:13]

4. Delivered Apostles from prison.
    "But that night an angel of the Lord opened the prison gates, led the apostles out, and said to them, Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life."  [Acts 5:19]
    "Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shone in the cell.  The angel shook Peter by the shoulder, woke him up and said, Hurry!  Getup!  And at once the chains fell off his hands."  [Acts 12:7]

5. Angels execute the vengeance of God.
    “When the LORD's angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD changed His mind about punishing the people and said to the angel who was killing them, 'Stop!  That's enough!"  [2 Samuel 24:16]  Punishment was for David's taking a census against God's orders. 
    "An angel of the LORD went to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 soldiers."  [Isaiah 37:36]  The angel was defending the city of Jerusalem.

6. Rejoice over sinners who repent.
    "In the same way, I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents."  [Luke 15:10]

7. Fallen angels.
    “For God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell, where they are kept chained in darkness, waiting for the Day of Judgment."  [2 Peter 2:4] 
    "Remember the angels who did not stay within the limits of their proper authority, but abandoned their own dwelling-place: God has kept them in the darkness below, bound in eternal chains for that great Day on which they will be condemned."  [Jude 6]

8. Heavenly angels.
    “Again I looked, and I heard angels, thousands and millions of them! They stood around the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders, and sang in a loud voice: "The Lamb who was killed is worthy to receive power, wealth, wisdom, and strength, honor, glory, and praise!"  And I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, in the world below, and in the sea—all living beings in the universe—and they were singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and honor, glory and might, forever and ever!"  The four living creatures answered, "Amen!" And the elders fell down and worshiped.”  [Rev 5:11-14 (TEV)]