Tag Archives: Christian

THE LAMB OF GOD

LAMB OF GOD

John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ “

The Scene: A lamb lying down.

We need to understand that Jesus the Christ of Nazareth was the sacrificial Lamb; that through His substitutionary death on the cross, His atoning death took away the sin of the world by satisfying God’s requirement for a sin offering. John 14:6 “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ “

2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Jesus took on the sin of the whole world, that we might have eternal life with Him and Father God in heaven through accepting Jesus into our hearts as our personal Savior.

1 Peter 2:24-25 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have been returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

8-124 LAMB OF GOD

DISTORTED VIEW

DISTORTED VIEW

Matthew 6:27 “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

The Scene: View of a weed, maybe a dandelion, as seen through the fisheye lens of a camera. Though really a small weed, not yet grown, it appears to be very large.

Much of the Church looks at their problems as though they were looking through a fisheye lens, making their problems seem larger than reality. Jesus tells us to call on His name for help with our problems, big or small.

1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Philippines 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 138:7-8 “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever–do not abandon the works of your hands.”

8-122 PROTECTION

POWER OF THE ROCK

POWER OF THE ROCK

PSALM 62:2 “He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”

The Scene: Three views of the same rock, viewing right to left: A rock was thrown. The first rock represents Jesus Christ as the Rock of Salvation who goes out to everyone willing to receive Him. Some accept His Word and His perfect offer of forgiveness of sin following repentance. They fear, obey the Lord and His (God’s) Word. The second view (middle) symbolizes a hot burning coal/rock. Some people do not accept God’s Word nor His offer of salvation. The Word burns their ears. They feel condemned by the Word of God, yet they do not believe.

Hebrew 3:18-19 “And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.”

The Third View: The rock falls to the ground and explodes–representing those who reject God’s offer of salvation, who are rebellious and explode in anger because of their unbelief.

Psalm 14:1-2 “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.”

1 Peter 2:7-10 “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,’ and, ‘A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message–which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

8-120 SALVATION

LIFE CYCLE FOR CHRISTIANS

LIFE CYCLE FOR CHRISTIANS

Genesis 2:7 “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

The Scene: The Lord filled the balloon with his breath and tied off the end of the balloon–symbolic of the Christians beginning their life in the Holy Spirit. The balloon soared.

2Corinthians 5:1 “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

All human beings are made by God and, like God, are triune beings. So when someone dies the spirit and soul are separated from body. The spirit and soul live on–the body begins to decay.

Genesis 3:19 “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

For Christians who are born-again the spirit and soul go to heaven to be with God the Father and Jesus the Son our Savior.

John 5:24 ” I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her,”I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? “

Matthew 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Only non-believers ought to fear death!

8-119 ETERNAL LIFE

ONE LAST CHANCE

ONE LAST CHANCE

Revelation 22:17 “The Spirit and the bride says, ‘Come! ‘ And let him hears says, ‘Come! ‘ Whoever is thirsty let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” The Scene: People sitting in an all- white room, sitting side by side. Water has entered the room at their feet.

The Lord said, ‘All over the world people are being given “one last chance to accept Me“as their Savior and Lord– A chance at salvation by the unsaved. Salvation will come to some, based on the presence of the Holy Spirit, who brings no pressure, but asks each person to make a decision, ‘yes or no’. They were told this would be their last chance to know God in a personal way. The fullness of time, the end is very near.’

The crystal -clear water represents “living water”, God’s Word continued to rise until the people were totally emersed in God’s living Word, that only Jesus can offer.

The Holy Spirit said, ‘Pray for the unsaved. Pray for everybody in your family and anyone else that the Holy Spirit brings to mind. Bind the spirit, the strongman, of bondage away from each person in Jesus’ name and loose the Holy Spirit of adoption to take its place, in Jesus’ name, so that they too can cry, ‘Abba Father.’

1 Timothy 2:1, 3-6 “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone.This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.Who gave himself as a ransom for all men–“

8-128 SALVATION

LIFE’S JOURNEY II

LIFE’S JOURNEY II

PROVERBS 4:10-11 “Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.”

The Scene: A passenger train going through the mountain tunnel. The train represents life’s journey of born-again Christians. The sequence: The train approaches the tunnel where the Christian’s life began from the womb, progressing into the tunnel symbolic of the dark world we live in and must go through. The train proceeds out of the tunnel into the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, and becomes born-again through asking Jesus to forgive their sins, and to dwell within the heart. The Christian’s name is written into the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Phillipians 2:12-13 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence–continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

The train continues along the track upward bound on the narrow path God has laid out for His people.

Ephesians 1:9-12 “And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment–to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”

Psalm 119:35 “Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.”

8-118 RIGHT PATH

TRUE WISDOM

TRUE WISDOM

Proverbs 24:3-4 “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.”

The Scene: A house filled with love, looking similar to a painting by a famous artist–the warm, inviting light is shining out the windows as though inviting those on the outside to come in: those who have not yet committed their lives unto Jesus the Christ–unsaved.

Those who have only worldly wisdom lack Godly wisdom. The red door represents the blood of Jesus–all who want to come in must pass through the doorway of Jesus (find salvation/confession of faith in His name). Some come inside but many just pass by, who will spend eternity in hell separated from the God of love.

Job 28:28 “And he said to man, ‘The fear of the Lord–that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.’ “

Psalm 119:104 “I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.”

2 Peter 1:5;8 “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. v.8 “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This leads us to all truth, by His Word, which gives us Godly wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

John 7:17 “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”

John 8:12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ “

8-113 WISDOM

IN JESUS’ NAME

IN JESUS’ NAME

John 14:13 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.”

The Scene: Representation of one of Jesus’ children in prayer, his voice booming out, as though he were using a megaphone.

When Christians pray “IN JESUS’ NAME” to God it is as if we were praying using a megaphone. Speaking “IN JESUS’ NAME” gets the attention of our Lord (and of the enemy, Satan, if the enemy is the problem).

John 16:24 “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

John 20:31 “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”

8-108 IN JESUS’ NAME

COME UP HIGHER

COME UP HIGHER

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

The Scene: A Saturn V rocket, lifting off from the launch pad; pulling against gravity–representing a Christian’s efforts to overcome the flesh (worldliness & the sin nature).

The Holy Spirit said, “The rocket has to overcome gravity to lift off its pad and begin its journey into the heavens.” Our flesh acts like gravity. It (the flesh) pulls, tugs at us as we Christians try to mature spiritually and come up higher, closer to God.

Like the Saturn V rocket we can overcome the flesh when we exert the energy to learn God’s way and try to follow His commands. Read His Word daily and do what it says. The more we mature spiritually the less inertia the flesh will have on us, as we follow after righteousness as overcomers.

2 Timothy 3:2-5 “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

1 Thessalonians 5:8-9 “But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

8-106 SPIRITUAL MATURITY

DEPTH OF THE WORD

DEPTH OF THE WORD

Hebrews 5:7-14 “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

The Scene: An ocean beach scene, looking down from a high cliff. The far end of the bay (top of picture) has calm waves coming ashore, representing shallow water (immature Christians). The nearer end of the bay (bottom of picture) darker blue waters, with higher waves breaking against the shore, representing mature Christians. The water is deep near the shore (symbolic of the depth of the Word).

Ephesians 4:14-15 “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

Small waves; shallow learning (spiritual) and large waves; large changes in one’s spiritual life, maturity. Whether shallow or deep seas they both represent, symbolically, each person’s commitment to reading, studying, heeding God’s Word daily—the washing with water, the reading of the Word (the living Word).

8-105 SPIRITUAL MATURITY