Poker Day 544: Independent Thinking

"Is this a difficult day for you?" we asked a man who sat down to our right today at Jack Casino. The man had a noticeable British accent - and it's the anniversary of when the U.S. declared independence from Britain.

"No," he replied. "That was 17-something."

So he didn't show up with an old grudge. But he undoubtedly wanted to make money at the poker table on a holiday. We tried to do the same, by entering Jack's daily 11:15 a.m. tournament....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: 7 of hearts-6 of clubs

Three full tables of players showed up for this holiday tournament. It's one of the first few hands, and we have plenty of chips to throw. So we try to get in small with connecting cards, and are rewarded when no one raises. About five players are in.

ON THE FLOP: 5c-7d-8c

Our hunch pays off in one way, and potentially more. We have middle pair and an open-ended straight draw, A player down the table bets 250. A 23-year-old "kid" to our right (as another player calls him) raises to 750.

"Wellll," we say as we ponder, "it's a holiday." So in a generous mood, we call. "What could possibly go wrong?" we add with a smile.

"I've said that," responds the young raiser. Famous last words, those. The original bettor folds, and we go heads-up.

ON THE TURN: 2c

Straight shot missed - but now we've picked up a flush draw. Our opponent bets 700.

"He bet the Big One," we say - thinking of a famous Cincinnati radio station at 700 on the dial. Since we still have second pair to the board and a bunch of draws, we dare to call again.

ON THE RIVER: 4h

Bingo! The straight is made. Our opponent now checks. We shake our head no.

"One-thousand," we bet.

"Obnoxious!" the young man responds. He's apparently figured out what we did.

"Potentially obnoxious," we say in a bid to offer him a little hope (and entice a call). But no - he folds. We take a nice pot, and note this incredibly rare use of the word "obnoxious" in a poker room.

The first half-hour was very good for us, as several pots and one tie brought our stack from a starting 15,000 to almost 20,000. But then we lost on some chances, and watched rising turbo-blinds erode our stack to 4,875 after two hours at the first break.

Pocket Kings at the start of the second term helped us make a nice comeback. A push with pocket 10's kept us going as well. But when we reached the semifinal table with rising blinds, we faced a tough decision with pocket 5's. We went for it all, received a call by a man with K-J - but a King on the flop did us in. We finished in 17th place out of 47 entries.

MINISTRY MOMENT: The "kid" had a nice verbal personality. But when one hand didn't go his way, he said, "Good Lord!"

"He's good all the time," we answered.

We're not sure if the young man heard it; he didn't acknowledge it. But we'll ask you - do you consider God good? For believers, this question might sound silly. Yet the world is filled with skeptics, so let's consider the words of a famous king:

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. - Psalm 34:8

The heading to this chapter in our Bible says King David wrote this not after a victory, but a serious trial. He was on the run for his life, and "pretended to be insane" before a different king (I Samuel 21:10-15). David continues....

The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. - Psalm 34:10

There's a key point to consider - seeking the Lord. Other poker players probably won't cut you any slack if you're "obnoxious" (see above) at the table. So why should God be any different?

Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured on us, because we have sinned against you. - Daniel 9:12

We've reviewed Daniel's contrite prayer over the last few days, after a minister recommended it. It's not a happy prayer - but it could be something our country needs as we mark Independence Day. One lesson from it is to follow God's example of goodness in our own lives....

Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days.... Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. - Psalm 34:12, 14

Some scoffers might consider you a wimp - but there's really nothing bad about doing good. After all, that's what God does for you - in both large and small ways.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 200 final tables in 544 games (36.8%) - 41 cashes.

Poker Deep After Dark

The flop was a dream come true for us - 9-Q-9. That's because we held pocket Queens.

So to borrow the lead of what other people around the table had done, we got out of our seat, stomped around a bit in celebration - then went all-in.

The "cards" were unusual, too. They were really torn-up slips, as someone apparently wrote all 52 cards in a deck on sheets of paper.

And then, before other players replied.... we woke up. That's because the dream hand was in fact a dream. It happened as we slept, at around 3:45 this morning.

Have you ever had a dream involving poker? They're rare during sleep time for us. But if you have one, how should you react to it? Is it a message from God? From the devil? Or, as some ministers have put it.... did you simply eat the wrong things at dinner last night?

There are times when God has spoken to people through dreams. They happened at dramatic Biblical moments, such as Joseph warning Egypt's Pharaoh about an upcoming famine (Genesis 41:25-27) or Daniel explaining a vision to save many lives....

Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries...." - Daniel 2:27-28

The same thing is supposed to happen in our "New Testament" age.... but not necessarily to everyone:

"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." - Acts 2:17

In some church groups, testifying about dreams is a big deal. In others, it's downplayed as something which only happened in the early years of the church. We take Acts 2 to mean God will give significant dreams and visions to people who have His Holy Spirit - and you can receive that Spirit today.

Peter replied, "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." - Acts 2:38

We should note Joseph and Daniel were able to interpret what they had dreamed, with God's help - and the interpretation turned out to be accurate. If you have poker-related dreams, a trusted friend (preferably someone wise in spiritual matters) can help you interpret it properly.

There's a second aspect to having a "poker dream." An upcoming post will get into that. But in the meantime, we welcome your comments. Have you had sleep-time dreams about poker? What's the most unusual one you've ever had? (Keep them clean, please.)

Perfectly Timed

The more we ponder our last poker tournament, the more we think about the hand we saw, but couldn't play - the "bad beat" shown on ESPN. We mentioned how Vanessa Selbst had pocket Aces, and developed a full house with Aces over 7's.

But Gaelle Baumann (pictured) had pocket 7's which turned into quads by the turn. One bet led to a raise, and Selbst was put all-in and eliminated. Selbst was wise enough to ask Baumann if she had quads after calling.

The timing of the cards was terrible for Selbst. But it was perfect for more than Baumann. It was perfect for ESPN, which had the two ladies at a feature table playing "live" on a Sunday afternoon (tournament rules require a 30-minute delay). A lot of poker hands can be mundane, but that was great TV drama.

We can think of Someone else who has a tremendous sense of timing....

...A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at his appointed season he brought his word to light.... - Titus 1:2-3

God lives beyond time and space. He had no "beginning" in eternity past, as hard as that is for humans to understand. Yet God timed out a "season" for bringing meaning to Old Testament scriptures - especially the prophecies of a messiah.

...This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus.... - II Timothy 1:9-10

When the time was right, Jesus came. In fact, some Bible scholars say Jesus's ministry began in exact timing to fulfill prophetic times of Daniel 9 - a topic too complex for us to explain here.

But there's one remaining time mystery in the Bible. It's one many have tried to figure out, sometimes to their own embarrassment....

"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." - Acts 1:11

When will Jesus Christ return? Lots of believers want to know. While we don't know for sure, it's a good idea to be ready for Him now....

So you must also be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. - Matthew 24:44

The Boy Scouts would say, "be prepared" - even for the return of Jesus. To miss out on that could be the worst play of all.

Poker Day 489: A Day at the Races

The Kansas Star Arena is attached to Kansas Star Casino - and this weekend hosted a steer roping championship. But on Friday, a different sport came to our mind. And no, it wasn't bull riding....

BLINDS: 75/150

IN THE POCKET: A-J offsuit

In more than one hour of play. we've won one pot. Not many quality cards have come our way. We start this hand with 2,700 chips, but here we have some hope. When someone across the full table raises to 300, we know we need to try. We call, with three players in the hand.

ON THE FLOP: J-10-6

In most cases, that's not a thrilling flop. But we have top pair and top kicker, so we're more hopeful. A young man across the table bets 500. A man next to him calls, putting himself all-in. If they have overpairs, we're in trouble - but we call, anyway.

ON THE TURN: A

Hope now seems like reality! The young man who bet on the flop now checks.

"Two can play at that game," we say in a reference to the third player. "I'm all-in." We push forward our last 1,900.

The young man smirks a little over this, as if we just outsmarted him. After a moment in the tank, he folds. That means we keep the 1,900. Now for that other pusher.

"Allmendingers," we say turning over our cards. We haven't referred to that NASCAR driver in a long time. When our opponent turns over 7-8. we know "A-J" has a big lead in the race.

"I need a 9," the opponent says. Will the "straightaway" come?

ON THE RIVER: A

No.... instead we make a full house, put a man out of the tournament and make a big gain of about 1,600 chips.

We hit a high for the day of 5,300 chips after the first break. But a couple of tough hands where we lost a lot instead of risking elimination hurt.

We finally went all-in for our last 800 in the Big Blind, and turned over a lowly 6-2 of clubs. The only player to take us on had a K-8 (as best we remember), so another race was on. Both of us missed the flop - but we hit a 6 on the turn! BUT then came the river. It was a King. Our hopes were dashed. But on a day with 82 players, we finished in a "top-half" 31st.

MINISTRY MOMENT: It took more than 90 minutes, but eventually the table talk turned to the inevitable subject of the U.S. presidential election. A dealer brought up a thought-provoking commentary about the vote - given, of all places, during Thursday night NBA basketball.

"I think we need to pray for him, that he'll succeed," the dealer said. He agreed with the commentary.

We had not seen it, but we agreed with the dealer. "We should pray for our leaders."

In fact, some people prayed long and hard for God's hand to be on the election - perhaps longer than they did for the current President. They may have realized something....

...Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. - Daniel 4:32

We mentioned during the campaign season that God is the one who ultimately grants power to people. The people protesting in the streets can "fight the powers that be" if they wish, but they need to remember God put those powers there in the first place. We think the better approach is this....

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior.... - I Timothy  2:1-3

You say he's "not your President"? Pray for him, anyway - that he might repent of his sins and wrong thinking.

You say he is your President? Pray for him, still - that he might make wise decisions which keep our people at peace.

As a longtime radio broadcast says every day: "God is still on the throne, and prayer changes things."

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 180 final tables in 489 games (36.8%) - 35 cashes. After making the money twice in a row at Kansas Star during the summer, we've now missed five final tables in a row there.

The Great Debate

It's an issue probably as old as the game itself.  Is poker a game of simple luck - or is there skill involved?

The U.S. Supreme Court recently had a chance to settle that issue, at least in the eyes of the law.  But it did not.  The court turned down a case where a New York man had been convicted of running a "game of chance" in his business by hosting Texas Hold 'em games.  A federal judge sided with the business owner; an appeals court did not, saying state gambling laws include poker.

After playing poker for years, online and in person, we've concluded the answer to our question is not a simple either/or.  There's a bit of luck, in terms of right cards falling at the right times -- but there's also a measure of skill, in knowing how to play hands and when to make certain key moves.

If you think about it, that also can describe our lives in general.  For instance, a big tree could fall on top of your car while you're driving toward the poker room.  But if you see the tree moving out of the corner of your eye, you might be able to skillfully drive around its fall and escape damage.

In the same way, some people say God doesn't really control anything -- that our lives are simply the result of our own decisions and unexpected events.  They might actually quote a Bible verse to support that view:

I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. - Ecclesiastes 9:11

We emphasized the last part of that verse, because that happens in poker on occasion.  Poker rooms  have "bad beat jackpots" for a reason.  It's possible for two players to hit "quads" (four of a kind) in the same hand.  Even the best-looking hands played in the best possible way sometimes can run into something better.

Yet the Bible says God "rules in the kingdoms of men" (Daniel 4:17, KJV).  Perhaps He is the one intervening in certain situations -- perhaps to bless people, or possibly to punish them:

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. - Proverbs 16:33

So what's a believer (or even a poker player) to do?  We think the answer lies in doing the best you can with what you have, based on what you know.

...The wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him. - Ecclesiastes 8:5-6

The "wise" way may not always be the winning way.  But the Bible shows in the long run, it's the way that's best -- especially when that wisdom is based on the ways of God:

For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright.... - Proverbs 2:6-7

Poker Night 360: When Kings Go to Battle

Chris Berman noted during tonight's Monday Night Countdown second place on Election Day used to reward a U.S. Presidential candidate with the title of Vice President.  These days it doesn't.  Second place in a poker tournament might gain you a nice payday.  But what if you start somewhere around 22nd?  We face that every week at The Red Barn, so we need every big-name endorsement we can find....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: K-K

A soda purchase gave us 2,000 extra chips, to start at 7,000.  But other players pay more to begin with 30,000 or more -- so careful play matters to us.  This high pocket pair in the is our best chance to make a move.  And a player ahead of us helps, by raising to 400.

"One-thousand more," we announce when our turn comes.  Three players call -- and we know from experience some of them could be speculating with iffy hands, because they can afford it.

ON THE FLOP: 3-5-9

We have the overpair, and we plan to exploit it.  When the play checks to us, we bet 1,000 again.  Two of our three opponents call.

ON THE TURN: 9

This puts a troublesome pair on the board, but we don't want to look weak.  We bet 1,000 more.  The two challengers call again.

ON THE RIVER: 8

We're now ready to hit the brakes, because we're wondering what our opponents are doing.  A man across from us checks -- and this time we check.  But a young man to our left tosses in 5,000!

"I have to call," says the man across from us.

Ooh boy.  We don't have 5,000 -- our stack is more like 3,150.

"I've got nothing, man."  Hmmm -- the young man to our left may have given us a huge clue.  He holds his cards up and out, like he'll fold any second.

"Are you going to call?"  asks the other man.

"I'm thinking about it," we answer -- and we mean it.  Our concern is that he has a 9 for a winning three of a kind.  After a moment, we decide.

"I'm going to fold."

So does the young man who acted like he would.  The pot-winner then turns over pocket Jacks!  We don't show our cards, but we guessed wrong and lost a big gain.

We tried again a few minutes later with A-K, and a man forced us all-in on the flop.  But he also had A-K, so we gained some chips back.  Then J-10 turned into top two pair on the river, and we were back above the starting level at 7,350.

But after the one-hour break, our attempts to get in small with semi-promising hands were beaten down by large pre-flop raises.  We finally went all-in again with A-7, and were happy to see an Ace on the flop.  But an 8 on the river gave a man with A-8 two pair, and turned our happiness into disappointment.  We left in a lowly 18th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "Happy Election Eve, everybody," we said when it was our turn to shuffle and deal the cards.

"Who do you want to win?" a man to our left asked.

"I'm not even registered to vote," we answered.

The man took that as a dodge of his question.  "Who do you want to win?"

"I gave my vote to a higher authority a long time ago," we explained.  "I'm letting God put the right people in office, because He's a lot wiser than I am."

Surprised?  We belong to a church association which preaches not getting involved in the politics of this world.  Even though we know a longtime member of our congregation who's told us of plans to vote, the official "party line" of our denomination is against it.  Why?

Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.  He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them.  He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning." - Daniel 2:19-21

For years we understood this to mean God decides the rulers who are in authority -- whether they be kings, queens, the U.S. President or even your boss in the workplace.  But our pastor has changed that explanation since Barack Obama became President.  He's indicated God steps aside and lets the U.S. population have what it wants and deserves.  (The pastor has left little doubt he's pro-Republican.)

The thinking behind this goes all the way back to the first king of Israel....

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.  They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us such as all the other nations have...." And the Lord told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king." - I Samuel 8:4-7

Believe it or not, God didn't really want a "republic" or a "democracy" government.  He wanted to rule the people through prophets He appointed.  Admittedly, changing to that method today would cause all sorts of problems -- because all sorts of people claim to be "prophets" of God, sometimes teaching different things.

If you'd like to look further into this, review the magazine article we've been using for Bible study in this election season.  In the meantime, we leave you with this U.S. election riddle -- which stumped the Tournament Director when we asked it tonight:

Q.  What is the Republican Party's favorite book of the Bible in this election?

A. Deuter-Romney!

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 124 final tables in 360 nights (34.4%) - 19 cashes.

Where's the Evidence? II

That poker table discussion last Thursday night involving a religious skeptic brought up so many issues that we're still sorting through them all.

"Skeptic?" you might be asking.  "She sounds like an atheist."  In fact, someone at the table asked the woman if she was -- and she said she wasn't.  She doesn't believe in Jesus or the Bible, but she claims she's not atheistic.  Yet our dictionary defines atheism as "disbelief in or denial of the existence of God."  That's different from agnosticism, which "does not deny God but denies the possibility of knowing Him."

Some Christian ministers would turn at this point to a blunt message in the Psalms....

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."  They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. - Psalm 53:1

But while this woman made some bold statements about not believing in Jesus and having power over her own life, we're reminded of a prayer Jesus offered to God the Father shortly before His death:

I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world.  They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. - John 17:6

While God wants everyone to be saved (I Timothy 2:4), you might be surprised to learn He's not revealing Himself to everyone right now.  We even heard one player at the poker table mention that skeptical woman will have a "second chance" to understand Jesus someday.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened... The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. - Revelation 20:12

Those demanding proof of Jesus's existence will have it then -- because the Bible refers to this as "the judgment seat of Christ" (II Corinthians 5:10).  In other words, He'll be there.

This discussion went on well after we were eliminated from the poker tournament -- and we told the young woman at one point this issue ultimately is a matter of faith.  She seems to put plenty of faith in herself.  But the years of life may well reveal to her how we even let ourselves down at times.

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. - I Corinthians 2:5 (KJV)

P.S.  We received a comment via Facebook about this discussion.  She says using Bible wisdom is not the best answer in this case....

I think a good place to start is to try and show her that the Bible truly is the Word of God by revealing its accurate prophecies etc. 

One of the most amazing prophetic proofs involves Daniel 11.  It takes some time and digging in a library using encyclopedias (and the old-fashioned hardback versions are going out of style at many libraries) -- but years ago, we verified how historical events recorded by Daniel have been fulfilled, all the way through World War I.  Some ministers maintain the "time of the end" events from verse 40 on still have yet to occur.

The End Game

Our last post mentioned we're in what many ministers call "the end time" -- the time just before Jesus's second coming. How can they be so sure of that?

We noted the phrase appears five times in the book of Daniel. Especially note this one:

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, [even] to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. -- Daniel 12:4, KJV

If you're reading this blog, you're part of the "increased knowledge" part. We read an article the other day saying the world's storehouse of knowledge is doubling every two years or so. Speaking simply about poker, the Internet has brought information to a wide audience in the last two decades -- and even made it possible for players from around the globe to get together online for tournaments.

Many preachers have warned of "the end of the age" since Jesus's disciples asked Him about it. Notice what the Lord said one of the signs would be:

And the gospel must first be published among all nations. -- Mark 13:10

To go to "all nations," knowledge again has to increase. The apostle Paul thought that had occurred during his lifetime (Romans 10:18), yet Internet access and other means make that even more possible now. This blog desires to play a small part in publishing that gospel, albeit in an untraditional way.

But for your knowledge to increase about something -- whether poker or the gospel -- it takes a little effort on your part. It takes study, and then practicing the things you study. So we would ask: are you studying the Bible, to see what God wants you to do? And if so, are you putting that knowledge to use in your life? Jesus would say you should:

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. -- John 13:17

The "end game" phrase in our title usually is applied to chess, not poker. But if you don't finish well, you can't win a poker tournament. And if you don't finish life well, you might be stunned and disappointed when you see Jesus in judgment. We think He'll be every bit as interested in what you did as what you knew.

Poker Night 182: Well Connected

We're heard Ali Nejad on NBC's poker shows claim "suited connectors" are overrated as a potential hand. He would have shaken his head in disbelief at what we tried at Lil Kim's Cove tonight....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: 9-10 offsuit

We haven't played many hands so far, so we have 5,950 chips. We put out the minimum -- but then a man to our immediate left raises to 500. A couple of players call, and we decide to join them. After all, we've heard players at local tournaments say this is one of the best hands to play.

ON THE FLOP: 9-9-Q

They seem to know what they're talking about! We're first up to bet, and we toss in 500. The man who raised calls -- but then a player across the table goes all in, with more than 6,000. This admittedly puzzles us, so we think a moment. Did he sneak in with pocket Queens, or perhaps a higher pair?

"All I have," we say as we count our stack, "is 5,450." We choose to call. Everyone else bails out.

"Do you have a full house right now?" we ask a couple of times -- but our opponent says nothing. Then we show our cards, with a third 9. He holds K-Q, but his two pair isn't good enough.

ON THE TURN: 4

Let's keep them nice and low, shall we?

ON THE RIVER: 5

How many times have we seen it, even from us -- two pair overconfidence? We make a massive gain, to more than 14,000.

Another nice pot came our way in the first hour, when we dared to play Q-10 and wound up with a full house. But then a couple of players scared us off potential winners with big bets, and our stack dwindled away. We finally had to push with 5-6 in the big blind, after a 5 came on the flop. But another player had a pair of 8's, to leave us out in 15th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Our card protector tonight was a folded digital wristwatch. The timepiece has lasted much longer than our watchband has, but it served our purpose well.

"I brought this to remind me," we told a woman at the one-hour break, "we're at the time of the end." That phrase occurs five times in the King James Bible -- all of them in the book of Daniel.

"Do you think we're in the time of the end?" we asked the woman. "Do you think Jesus is coming soon?"

The woman admitted she didn't know for sure. "He could come tomorrow. He could come 5,000 years from now."

Her point of view has some validity. A lot of people have set dates for the second coming of Christ (including a couple who claim it's within the next two years), but they've all been wrong to this point. So how can we say this is the time of the end? Check an upcoming post for the answer.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 76 final tables in 182 nights (41.8%) - 15 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: One-table sit-n-goes - 6-9-5-3-2. Full tournaments -64 point wins in 355 games (18.0%), 27 final tables, 1 cash.

We played three SNG's last weekend to qualify for the Sunday weekly championship, and won two of them.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Full tournaments - 0/3. Pretend cash games - $10,861, up $138.

Sunday Rewind: Angels Unawares

The final table topic turned to angels the other night. (No, not the Los Angeles baseball team.) As far as we can tell, the Bible names only two.

Gabriel was sent to Earth to tell a young woman about her firstborn -- Jesus, "the Son of the Most High.... his kingdom will never end." (Luke 1:26-33)

Michael is an archangel, who must have had an interesting conversation years ago "when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses...." (Jude 9) Some religious groups claim to know what that dispute was about, but that's not our issue here.

We found no Scripture to verify the sort of musical instruments these angels play. But we think they have more important duties than that.

Michael is also a "great prince who protects your people," according to Daniel 12:1. That angel protected heaven in some kind of dramatic war against Satan and demons -- a battle the "righteous angels" won (Rev. 12:7-9).

Hebrews 1:14 says angels are "ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation." Are they serving you? Have you assured yourself a place in the salvation inheritance list? That comes not through angels, but through Jesus as your Savior.