SIGNS OF LIFE & VICTORY

John 12:13 “They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!’ ”

The Scene: Crossed date palm branches–looking like crossed swords; signs of life and victory and symbolic of righteousness.*

*Referenced from The Bible Almanac, Thomas Nelson Publisher 1980.

Revelation 7: 9-10 “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ ”

NOTE: The date palm tree is very tall, upright.  It bears fruit which can be used in cooking, baking, or eating plain.

Copyright: Larry Helms & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com 2018; Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors and/or owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full clear credit is given to Larry & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com, with appropriate and specific direction to original content.

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted are NIV

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5-67 HONOR TO THE LAMB

SHELTERS*

Mark 9:5-6 ” Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.”

The Scene: trees leaning toward each other to provide shade, shelter from the elements of the weather.

Peter was thinking, maybe, about creature comforts or about enjoying an eternal stay/visit with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. However, that was not to be. For Jesus and Father God had a different plan.  Jesus took His disciples back down the Mount of Transfiguration to live according to His will a little longer.

Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.”

At the time Peter spoke, Jesus was thinking of holiness of the moment—God, the Almighty, Father God, would be there, in a cloud, to speak to the group. We are called to use Godly wisdom in all we do and to pray for God’s blessings on our activities–to get God’s help in all our doings.

*SHELTERS: Different translations of this Scripture say:  tabernacles, booths, shelters or tents

Copyright: Larry Helms & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com 2018; Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors and/or owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full clear credit is given to Larry & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com, with appropriate and specific direction to original content.

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted are NIV

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5-65 GET WISDOM

Micah 6:8 “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. ”

The Scene: The signs: 1) Act justly 2)Love mercy 3) Walk humbly answers the Christian’s questions about our lives. What does God expect from us, His children? The signs stretch out along a straight and narrow path–the path of righteousness.

When one is filled with God’s Holy Spirit then he/she will desire to walk the walk and talk the talk that only God can show us. When things aren’t going quite right, we can cry out to our God saying, “What is expected of me?”

• JUSTICE: Proverbs 29:26-27  Comes from the Lord
• MERCY : Luke 6:36 Be merciful, receive mercy
• HUMBLE: Matthew 18:4 A humble spirit gains one’s entrance into the kingdom of heaven
• PATH: Psalm 23:3 Path of righteousness

Count the cost for following our Lord and Savior, Jesus, who gave His all for us. Jesus told us we’d have trouble in this world, but He paid the ultimate price for our salvation.

Revelation 21:6-7 “He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.’ ”

Copyright: Larry Helms & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com 2018; Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors and/or owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full clear credit is given to Larry & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com, with appropriate and specific direction to original content.

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted are NIV

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5-64 RIGHTEOUSNESS

WAY OF THE LORD

Micah 6:8 ” He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

The Scene: Three signs–answers the Christian’s questions in life…..what does God expect from us, His children? The signs stretch out along the narrow way- -the way of righteousness.

When one is filled with God’s Holy Spirit  then he/she will desire to “walk the walk and talk the talk” that only the Holy Spirit is able to provide.

When our lives aren’t going the way we think they should go, we cry out, sometimes, to God, asking Him, “What do you expect of us, Father God?”

Read the following:

• Justice: Proverbs 29:26-27
• ercy: Luke 6:36
• Humility: Matthew 18:4
• Pathway: Psalm 23:3
• Righteousness: Matthew 5:6,10

Count the cost of following our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Revelation 21:6-7 :” He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.’ ”

Jesus told us we’d have trouble in this world, but he has already paid the ultimate price for our entrance into heaven and eternal life with the Father and the Son.

Copyright: Larry Helms & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com 2018; Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors and/or owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full clear credit is given to Larry & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com, with appropriate and specific direction to original content.

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted are NIV

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5-64  CHRISTIAN REQUIREMENTS

CHANGE INSIDE

Matthew 9:14, 16 “Then John’s disciples came and asked him,’ How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ v.16 ‘No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.’ ”

The Scene: A patch, like the one mentioned in verse 16 above, representing the hiding of the darkness of man’s soul/mind; the patch may cover the sinful places (of the heart) but they’re still there.

The Gospel calls all men to repentance; a call to change on the inside, a heart change, not works of the Law. Matthew 9:16  describes the Pharisees’ fleshly efforts to appear as being good and righteous by only obeying the Law. But, Jesus sees past the exterior to the sinner’s heart. God looks at peoples’ motives behind their “good deeds”. He knows the “why” about the acts people perform.  Eventually, the weakness in the sinner’s fabric (the temporary patch) will again grow beyond the patch and expose the inner darkness of someone’s heart. So, a call to Jesus’ name is a call to replace the whole fabric (heart) with a new creation. This process begins because of God’s mercy (for the guilty) and grace (for a new beginning) inside the human heart and soul when  given totally to God through repentance and renewal.

Matthew 9:17 ” Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”Luke 5:36  Jesus Christ told His disciples, “The patch from the new will not match the old.” A new dispensation had arrived in the nation of Israel, indeed the entire world, regarding the need for everyone to be born-again through faith in His birth, atoning death, and bodily resurrection.

Copyright: Larry Helms & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com 2018; Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors and/or owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full clear credit is given to Larry & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com, with appropriate and specific direction to original content.

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted are NIV

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5-62 HEART ISSUES

NEW SEASON COMING

Zechariah 2:5  ” ‘And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’ ”

The Scene: A night scene; a field of tall grass being burned off purposely so new growth will come, replacing the previous season’s  grasses.

Each year the tall grasses of the prairie are purposely set ablaze by the ranchers and farmers in the area. This may seem a harsh treatment at the time and will look ugly, for a short period. But the burning is necessary to preserve the life of the prairie plants.

The day of the Lord is coming! The Holy Spirit uses this “burning of the grasses” scene to give us hope. All people are going through a season. A new season is coming–the season of the Lord.  Before this new season can come a time of trouble (the burning process) which is painful and ugly must occur. A better time and new season will come. We have God’s promises.

2 Peter 3:10, 13 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

Revelation 21:4-5 ” He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ ”

Copyright: Larry Helms & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com 2018; Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors and/or owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full clear credit is given to Larry & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com, with appropriate and specific direction to original content.

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted are NIV

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5-59 NEW SEASON

HIS POWER

Job 42:2 “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.”

The Scene: The aftereffects of a nuclear explosion, rising high into the air, thousands of feet and spreading out looking like a very large mushroom cloud–an exhibit of a tremendous release of power. “And yet nothing can compare to my power,” said the Lord.

1 Chronicles 29:11-12 “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power * and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; You are the ruler of all things, in your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.”*

*A part of King David’s prayer, from 1 Chronicles 29:1-13

Copyright: Larry Helms & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com 2018; Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors and/or owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full clear credit is given to Larry & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com, with appropriate and specific direction to original content.

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted are NIV

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5-60 GOD’S POWER

Luke 21:8 “He replied: ‘Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am he,” and, “The time is near.” Do not follow them.’ ”

The Scene: A split picture, a vision of the moon first looking full, bright, and smooth. Next is seen a telephoto shot/picture close up showing all the craters, pockmarks, mountains, ridges, a rough surface from meteor hits, etc., the way the moon really appears.

The Holy Spirit explained: “The moon is much like the world; at first seems bright, smooth but the telescope view reveals the real true moon–dull, rough surface.” Also at first the moon seems to have a  self-generated light source.  Closer investigation reveals that the light is  reflected from the sun in our solar system.

Much of what is observed in the world is not as it appears:  seen as good by worldly people, but  seen as evil by Father God, His Son, the Holy Spirit and His children, Christian believers.

As Christians we are called to examine everything for God’s truth. When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, we will not be deceived by worldly people.

Obadiah 1:3-4 ” The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’  Though you soar like an eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord.”

When people follow their own hearts, their own flesh, they will be self-deceived. Rather, we are called to follow after the truth which only comes from God.

John 16:13 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”

So pray daily, often as necessary, for God to give you His wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and discernment in all  you do.

Copyright: Larry Helms & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com 2018; Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors and/or owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full clear credit is given to Larry & Kathy Helms; hsvisions.wordpress.com, with appropriate and specific direction to original content.

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted are NIV

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5-59 DECEIVED