Angels & the Christian Connection

by Mac Hammond | Articles, Christian Living

The Angel on Ice

I read of an interesting account that transpired in New Jersey and was reported in a national publication.

As I recall, two construction divers were working on a bridge. It was wintertime, and they were using special cold-water wet suits and other cold-weather equipment. They had just finished their day, and one of the two divers, a man named Nelson, threw all of his gear into the back of his truck.

Nelson said later he usually didn’t do that. He normally put all of his gear into his locker at the construction site. But he said for some reason he threw it in the back of his truck that particular night.

As the two divers were driving home, they noticed a number of rescue vehicles pulled over to the side of the road. It was obvious there was some problem, and they were curious about what it was. So they pulled over to the side of the road to see.

Not far from the road was a large pond that had iced over. There was a hole in the ice near the center and, apparently, someone had fallen through. They quickly learned that it was a seven-year-old boy. He had been playing on the ice.

Rescue efforts for the boy had been hindered because a creek ran through the pond. Not only did the creek make the ice unstable, the current had swept the boy downstream and under the ice. He was no longer directly beneath the hole. The people who had gathered around the pond, including the rescue teams, were not able to find him.

Without hesitating, Nelson ran back to the truck and began to put on his wet suit and diving gear. He then ran back to the pond and dove down through the hole in the ice.

As soon as he got into the water, he realized the gravity of the situation. The water was so murky, he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. The strong current could have swept the boy’s body anywhere. Nelson would never be able to see it.

Knowing the search was hopeless, he reluctantly returned to the surface to give the bad news to those who were waiting. But when he broke through the ice and looked out across the pond, Nelson saw a man standing twenty-five to thirty yards away from the hole.

The man was some distance away from the crowd, and although everyone else wore heavy winter coats, this man was wearing a light, pastel-colored windbreaker. He was tall and had blonde hair.

Nelson looked at the man and saw him point to a spot on the ice beneath his feet. “Immediately, I thought that somebody had located the boy and this man was showing me where he was,” Nelson said.

Diving back into the water, Nelson swam to the place where the man was pointing and discovered the boy. He brought the boy back to the hole in the surface and handed him to the rescue team.

Now, when someone, particularly a child, is submerged in extremely cold water, something happens to the cardiovascular system and brain. It goes into a suspended state so that often an individual can be revived even after being submerged for long periods of time.

Consequently, the rescue workers were able to completely resuscitate the boy, and he is fine today.

After the boy had been pulled out of the water, Nelson looked around for the man who had pointed out the boy’s location. When he began to inquire about the man, he discovered that no one had seen anybody in a light, pastel-colored windbreaker. The man with the blond hair simply could not be found.

Because Nelson had a Christian background, he quickly assumed he had witnessed an angelic visitation and intervention on behalf of this young boy.

Several days later, Nelson visited the boy in the hospital. He brought the boy a small figurine of an angel as a gift because he was convinced that an angel was the reason the boy had survived.

When Nelson gave him the figurine, the boy looked up at him and matter-of-factly said, “Thank you for this gift. An angel visited me yesterday in my room here and told me that he was glad that I was alive.”

A Special Stranger
Now let me relate another account that appeared in a well-known news magazine about a woman named Mrs. Kennedy. According to the magazine report, Mrs. Kennedy had been diagnosed with a certain type of cancer and given only a year to live.

Because this type of cancer produced tremendous suffering and pain, the doctors warned Mrs. Kennedy that her remaining year of life would be terribly difficult both for her and for her loved ones.

Mrs. Kennedy was a Christian who went to a traditional, mainline church and had never been taught much about healing. After the report of her cancer, she had cried out to God in prayer, “Lord, I don’t want my husband to go through that kind of year. If I have to die, just let me die now.”

The doctors had scheduled her for exploratory surgery the next day on the off chance that they might be able to prolong her life and catch the cancer before it spread. That morning at her home, there was a knock at the door. Mrs. Kennedy opened the door and found an extremely tall man standing on her porch.

She said he had very dark skin, yet he had bright blue eyes. Her husband is six foot and five inches, and, according to Mrs. Kennedy, this man towered over him. The man introduced himself as Thomas and asked if he could come in.

Under normal circumstances, the Kennedys wouldn’t have invited a total stranger into their home. But Mrs. Kennedy related later, “There was something so special about this man’s presence that my husband and I agreed we should let him in.”

Once inside, Thomas gave them a simple message: “God said, ‘By the stripes of Jesus, you are healed.'” He then held out his hand to Mrs. Kennedy but didn’t touch her. She said she felt intense heat as his hand neared her forehead. She then became unconscious and fell to the floor.

When she woke up some time later, Thomas had departed and, of course, you can guess the rest of the story. She went to the hospital the next day for her scheduled surgery, and the doctors could find no cancer, although they spent two days looking for it.

The Christian Connnection
These types of accounts are everywhere. And in all of them, one common element becomes apparent: an angel or a group of angels will manifest and invade this realm in order to bring deliverance or administer aid to a Christian or to someone whom a Christian knows and has prayed for.

There is always a Christian link or connection in these various testimonies.

Hebrews 1:14 says, ” Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”

In other words, angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who are the heirs of salvation. As Christians, you and I are the heirs of salvation. We are the ones who have been made a little lower than God, in His image, and He has put all things under our feet.

Angels are sent forth on our behalf, and all of the accounts and testimonies I have ever read confirm this one simple truth!

Source: Angels At Your Service by Mac Hammond.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers

 

Mac and Lynne Hammond are senior pastors of Living Word in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, which they started in 1980. Many outreaches and ministries have launched from Living Word since that time, including Maranatha Christian Academy, a Pre-K through grade 12 school with nearly 900 in attendance, and Living Free Recovery Services, a licensed outpatient treatment program.

Most recently, Mac and Lynne have launched a vision to plant fifty churches across the globe in the next five years. As of August 2024, nine churches have been planted in the Dominican Republic, Ireland, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, and Guatemala with construction underway for seven more churches in El Salvador, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Prior to becoming a pastor, Mac was a pilot. He served in the Air Force, served two tours of duty in Southeast Asia, and was honorably discharged in 1970 with the rank of Captain. Between 1970 and 1980, Mac was involved in varying capacities in the general aviation industry, including ownership of a successful air cargo business serving the Midwestern United States. A business acquisition brought the Hammonds to Minneapolis, where they ultimately founded Living Word. Currently, Mac is the host of The Winner’s Way and The Winner’s Minute broadcasts and the author of several internationally distributed books. Mac is broadly acclaimed for his ability to apply the principles of the Bible to practical situations and the challenges of daily living.