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Gleanings From The Word

Tag: theology

  • Patron Saints, Luck, and Guardian Angels

    Patron Saints, Luck, and Guardian Angels: What Are You Worshiping?

    A lottery ticket in a hand with patron saint medallion and "lucky" angel"

    Without ever knowing it, she managed to push several of my hot buttons at once. I stood behind her at the convenience store checkout. As her purchases were being rung in, she kissed her patron saint medal and rubbed her guardian angel pin. She said to the cashier, “For luck!” Then she ordered her lottery ticket.

    I’m not a fan of lotteries and regard them as a tax on the greedy and poor. I’ve seen many families and lives ruined by gambling, including by “harmless” lottery playing. However, there is no biblical prohibition on gambling, so I recognize that as being my issue.

    I don’t believe in “luck”. I believe in a sovereign God who is ultimately in control of all things. There is such a thing as divine providence and blessing, but not luck. Again, my issue.

    Patron Saints! Now that’s a problem. It’s a man-made system of idolatry. The saints are all who believe in Jesus Christ, not a select class voted on by denominational elite. Every reference in the Bible to saints (68 of them) refers to the body of believers.  In every instance but one, the word is plural, not singular, referring to more than one person. Praying to patron saints is a direct affront to God.

     “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
    Exodus 20:3-6 ESV

    Guardian angels? The jury is still out on the whole concept of guardian angels. You can’t prove or disprove their existence from Scripture. In any event, God is sovereign over everything, so he doesn’t need an angel to intercede for us. If they exist, their role isn’t to be worshipped or to tend to our whims. Angels are under the sovereign command of God. Certainly, their role isn’t to make us “lucky”.

    Over the past number of years, the public at large has developed a huge and unhealthy fascination with angels. There are people who track “angel sightings”. You can buy prosperity angels, good luck angels, fertility angels and more. You can go to see New Age practitioners who will give you angel readings and special messages for you from your personal angel.

    Most of it is promoted by people just out to make a buck and the odd fraud artist. I don’t doubt that some of those things are from angels. Fallen angels. Evil spirits and demons.

    The fascination with angels has become a form of worship. 

    For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Romans 1:21-25 ESV

    What are you worshipping? God alone is worthy of our worship.

    Until next time, praise God for His love and His patience with us.

    May God pour out His abundant blessings on you,

    Kevin

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    SUMMARY

    A woman ahead of me at checkout kissed her patron saint medal, rubbed her guardian angel pin, and bought a lottery ticket “for luck.” It sent me back to Scripture on luck, patron saints, and guardian angels, and to the real question underneath it all: what are we worshiping?

    TAKEAWAY

    Luck and gambling aren’t biblically prohibited, but Scripture points to a sovereign God who governs through providence, not chance

    “Saints” appears 68 times in Scripture, almost always plural, always describing the whole body of believers, never a select class chosen by denominational vote — making patron saint devotion a man-made system

    Guardian angels can’t be confirmed or denied from Scripture, but if they exist, they serve under God’s command, not ours; today’s cultural fascination with angels has drifted into a form of idolatry

    YOU MIGHT CHECK THESE OUT

    Bible Gateway – a free online bible, easily searchable in many translations

    Got Questions – a great source for quick answers on a wide range of Christian/Bible questions

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    How do you know what the Bible says? You read the Word

    Who is a saint?

  • Down to the River

    Down to the River

    the river - an invitation

    I caught an old spiritual on YouTube last night, “Down to the River to Pray.” The version I listened to was far too slow for my personal taste, but it got me thinking. It’s been around since the late 1800s, but got a revival of sorts with the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

    This is Alison Krause’s version . In case you aren’t familiar with the song, the lyrics are:

    As I went down in the river to pray
    Studyin’ about that good ol’ way
    And who shall wear the starry crown?
    Good Lord, show me the way

    [Verse 1]
    O, sisters, let’s go down
    Let’s go down, come on down
    O, sisters, let’s go down
    Down in the river to pray

    It then repeats with sisters being replaced by brothers, fathers, mothers and sinners.

    “As I went down to the river to pray…” is a call to repentance and prayer.

    The river is a place of seeking God. Throughout Scripture, rivers are associated with cleansing, renewal, and God’s saving work. The emphasis is not merely on water but on approaching God in humility and prayer. 

    The imagery naturally evokes baptism, especially the outdoor river baptisms common in the American South. Baptism symbolizes repentance, identification with Christ, cleansing from sin, and entrance into the covenant community (Matthew 3; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3–4). The song itself does not claim that baptism saves; it uses baptismal imagery as part of a broader call to seek God. 

    “Studyin’ about that good old way.” The phrase is an invitation to faithful discipleship. It refers to learning and walking in God’s ways. It echoes passages such as:

    •          Jeremiah 6:16 (“Ask for the ancient paths…”)

    •          John 14:6 (“I am the way…”)

    •          Acts, where Christianity is repeatedly called “the Way.”

    “Who shall wear the robe and crown?” This points to the believer’s future inheritance. The imagery comes from Revelation:

    •          White robes symbolize those cleansed by Christ (Revelation 7:13–14).

    •          Crowns symbolize the reward of faithful perseverance (Revelation 2:10; 2 Timothy 4:8; James 1:12). 

    Some older versions sing “starry crown” rather than “robe and crown”. While the precise meaning is uncertain, most Christian interpreters understand it as another image of heavenly glory.

    The verse addresses a different group each time: sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers and sinners. This reflects the inclusive call of the gospel: everyone is invited to come to God in repentance and faith.

    Its weakness, if one were looking for doctrinal precision, is simply that it is a spiritual rather than a systematic theological statement. It never explicitly mentions Christ’s atoning death or justification by faith. 

    Instead, it functions as a communal invitation to seek God and walk “the good old way,” using biblical imagery familiar to Christian worshipers.

    In that spirit, allow me to extend an invitation.

    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 ESV

    Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 ESV

    The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. Revelation 22:17

    … if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:9-10

    My brothers and sisters, if you have not already done so, I invite you, and Jesus calls you to come down to the river.

    Be blessed today,

    Kevin

    You might also like: The Gospel, the best news you will ever hear.

    SUMMARY

    I caught an old spiritual on YouTube last night, “Down to the River to Pray,” and it got me thinking well past the melody. Behind its simple imagery of sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, and sinners going down to the water lies a real call to repentance and discipleship, and I wanted to trace that call back to Scripture and extend it to you.

    TAKEAWAY

    The river imagery in the old spiritual echoes baptism throughout Scripture: cleansing, repentance, and entrance into the covenant community.

    “Studying that good old way” points to walking in God’s truth, from Jeremiah’s ancient paths to Jesus as the Way in John 14:6.

    The song’s inclusive call to sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, and sinners mirrors the gospel invitation extended to everyone, which the post carries forward with a direct call to salvation.

    CHECK THESE POSTS OUT AS WELL

    Why everyone knows the truth

    Read the Word

    Crowns of glory

    Flood waters