A FOOL FOR CHRIST

2Corinthians 11:24-25 Five times I received from the Jews the 40 lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned. Three times I was shipped wrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea;and at danger from false brothers.

The scene: The numbers in Bible terms show that there is a reason and time for everything in God’s order and plan. The numbers shown in circles show Paul gained God’s favor: 1)The number 3 representing divine witness. Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 2) The number 5 representing grace ; 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.and represents the five fold ministry. (See Ephesians 4:11), 3)The number 39 representing truth; Ephesians 4:15 Instead speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up in him who is the head. (Jesus, the Christ)

Paul in 2 Corinthians 11 thru 13 explains the cost of a life lived for Christ.  He suffered greatly but continued to preach the truth of the Gospel of Christ and suffered his “Thorn in the flesh” an illness to bring humility, the price he paid to be a follower of Jesus, the Son of our Father, God.

2Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

James 4: 5-7 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says; “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Paul endured the pain, gaining God’s favor; running the good race to gain the victory, the promise of heaven.

Sometimes when we pray and our prayers seem to go unanswered we may want to look and see if we are like Paul and are being humbled, for Christ’s sake, through God’s ways of testing and rewarding.

Copyright 2015 Larry and Kathy hsvisions.wordpress.com

If you find this worthy please pass it on to others.

                                  TABLETS OF THE HEART

2 Corinthians 3:3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

The Scene: 1) The true believers’ hearts transformed from tablets of stone**, into tablets of the human heart, filled with the Holy Spirit–the fullness of the revelation of Christ. 2) The purple mist entering the heart represents the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit into the human heart.  Royal purple is representative of God the Father and His eternal royalty.

**NOTE: The stone tablets represent God carving the Ten Commandments that He gave His people Israel after the bondage in Egypt, but are shown blank. The people of Israel did not accept God’s commandments but instead chose to follow the laws of man and idol worship.

Ezekiel 11:19 “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people and I will be their God.”

Hebrews 8:10  “This is  the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

With the coming of Jesus, the New Testament apostles (Paul, Peter and others following their example and teaching) brought to the Gentiles the same same promises of salvation, grace, and mercy that God had given in the Old Testament.

Matthew 13:11 He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.” (unbelievers)

God’s people are being transformed into His likeness, day by day. People of God have been chosen to show the unsaved world God’s heart and His only-begotten Son, Jesus.

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes  from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Copyright 2015 Larry and Kathy hsvisions.wordpress.com

If you find this worthy please pass it on to others.

                                               SEVEN

Leviticus 23:39 “So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of rest, the eighth day also is a day of rest.”

This Scripture describes the Feast of Tabernacles, beginning with verse 32, which is one of the 7 feasts the Lord commanded the people of Israel to keep. Each of these feasts has an important meaning to the Christian’s walk and is related to the New Testament:

Leviticus Chapter 23 describes the seven Feasts that God commanded the Israelites to observe.

The Scene: The number 7 repeated over and over in the Holy Scriptures, representing the significance of the number 7, to God and His people. There are 37 sevens shown. The number 37 represents Jesus; exaltation (the raising up/elevating of Jesus) in the Bible number system.

The seven feasts with Christian interpretation/significance

1. Passover Feast: celebration of salvation. (John Chapter 6)
2. Unleavened Bread: stop sinning. (1 Corinthians 5:8)
3. First Fruits: Jesus was the First Fruit of the coming harvest. (James 1:18)
4. Pentecost: baptism in the Holy Spirit. (Acts Chapter 2)
5. Trumpets: fear of the Lord; (hear God for ourselves). (Mark 4:23-24)
6. Atonement(Day of) : get ready for going to God –(one with God).(Hebrews Chapter 9)
7. Tabernacles: go into God’s presence.(John Chapter 7)

The number 7 is significant in God’s Word. The number 7 appears 391 times in the NIV,  The bible number 7 represents perfection, completeness, fullness, ministry of Jesus, entire ministry team, revelation, bringing to an end.

Copyright 2015 Larry and Kathy hsvisions.wordpress.com

If you find this worthy please pass it on to others.

                                   OUR FRAME OF REFERENCE

1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

The Scene: 1) a frame: which could represent a picture frame, a frame awaiting a picture or a framed mirror, without an image. 2) background color representing the Holy Spirit directing our paths and ways, surrounding the born-again Christians, teaching us the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Each of God’s children begin the Christian walk unfinished— a work in progress. Through patience and perseverance Christians can mature and grow into the picture, or image, God has for each of His children.

James 1:22-25 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.

Copyright 2015 Larry and Kathy hsvisions.wordpress.com

If you find this worthy please pass it on to others.

                                               ANCHORED

Hebrews6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

The Scene: 1) The anchor representing the the hope we have in Jesus.  A great ship’s anchor, a reminder of the anchor we have as we hope for the return of our high priest, Jesus the Christ of Nazareth.

This anchor resembles a dove, representing the Holy Spirit sent to keep us anchored in the Word of God the Father.

Psalm 119:74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word. 2) The ocean representing the vastness of God’s love for us through his Son, Jesus, the second person of the Trinity. 3) The ships anchored in the harbor for those who are (Christian believers) anchored in the  safety of the harbor, away from the open sea. NOTE: See in the masts, a reminder of the cross of Jesus Christ.

Copyright 2015 Larry and Kathy Helms hsvisions.wordpress.com

If you find this worthy please pass it on to others.

                                   DAVID’S SONGS

2 Samuel 22:1-3 David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said, “My God is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent men you save me.”

The Scene: God’s hand, holding the rock, the symbol of Jesus Christ, with a shield emblazoned on the rock, a sign of the  Divine Protector and of refuge; the horns represent salvation; the wheat stalks represent the Bread of Life.

2 Samuel 22:47-50 “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!  He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me, who sets me free from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes;  from violent men you rescued me. Therefore I will praise you O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.”

God hears the Christian’s prayers and  praises. Our prayers gain power when we give the Lord praise  in the middle of a stormy situation. Give God praise!

Copyright 2015 Larry and Kathy Helms hsvisions.wordpress.com

If you find this worthy please pass it on to others.

                                                  LIFE’S PATHS

Isaiah 35:8-9 And a highway will be there; it will be called the the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beasts get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there,

The Scene: 1) The highway to the left depicts the Christian’s narrow, straight path/ journey through life that leads to righteousness, the eternal life in heaven. The fields are green and life abounds. 2) The highway to the right depicts the non-believer’s wide/winding path through life that leads to destruction, death and hell. The fields are dead to the right of the highway.

Proverbs 15:24 The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him going down to the grave.

We must keep our eyes on Jesus Christ, if we are to follow the right path to victory over death’s sting.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 4:27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

Spiritual maturity comes from  the discipline required as we read the Word  and hear from God, the Father, through the work of the Holy Spirit, on a daily basis.

James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Copyright 2015 Larry and Kathy hsvisions.wordpress.com

If you find this worthy please pass it on to others.

                                  WALK IN THE LIGHT

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

The Scene: The darkness pressing in around true believers in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The darkness presses in around every Christian, yet he/she may continue to walk in the light. 1 John encourages us to continue to persevere in our walk with Jesus, the Light of the World. For it is only through this walk that we get to know  God the Father and have access to Him.

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Whenever we sin we must be quick to ask for forgiveness, if we are to stay in God’s light. A continuous effort is required.

Romans 8:36-37 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” (Paul speaking) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Copyright 2015 Larry and Kathy Helms hsvisions.wordpress.com

If you find this worthy please pass it on to others.

                                        CLEAR SIGHT

Psalm 146:8 The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the  Lord loves the righteous.

The Scene: Half drawn vertical blinds; representing the blind world view. It is much easier for someone to see clearly, when looking out a window, when the blind is pulled open.

John 9:25  He replied “Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know. I was blind and now I see!”

As we walk through life trying to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead and we mature, we will have spiritual,  physical & mental clarity about the happenings around us (the Holy Spirit’s discernment).

Luke 10:23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

Copyright 2015 Larry and Kathy Helms hsvisions.wordpress.com

If you find this worthy please pass it on to others.