Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all well.  I have a vision and message to share with you today.  The Lord wants us to be encouraged in our walk with him, so he gives us direction through his word, through his voice and through his visions and dreams.  Sometimes there is a sign or a signal that lets us know it is time to stop what we are doing and just talk with him.  He is our Lord, but he is also a faithful friend who cares for us and for our families.  We are truly blessed if we know him.  And it is his very heart that we all know him as a friend.

The Vision

The Red and Yellow Umbrella

I saw an umbrella lying on the ground unopened.  It was not tightly wrapped, but loose.  The alternating panels of yellow and red were easily seen.  As I thought of the umbrella, I wondered why it was neither open and sitting on the ground to dry, nor closed securely and put away for another rainy day.  The umbrella was either abandoned, or left for someone to pick up.  

An umbrella is really a lightweight collapsible shield, able to shield us from both the rain and the sun.  It is appropriate for these conditions but in a hurricane with fierce winds, the umbrella would not be able to offer any protection.  The umbrella was primarily two colors:  red and yellow.  

In the Bible the color yellow represents something valuable like gold or a precious stone like chrysolite.  Yellow can also represent frankincense which is used primarily in incense and perfumes.  It can also represents sulfur or brimstone:

Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens.  Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. Genesis 19:24-25

As the Lord protected Lot from the sulfur that rained down upon Sodom, he can also protect us. He protected Lot from the judgment of sin, because Lot was considered a righteous man, and Abraham had interceded for Sodom to be saved. 

“Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?  What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?  Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike.  Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”  Genesis 18:23-25

But God, finding fewer than ten righteous men, declared that Lot and his two daughters and wife were the only ones to be saved from the judgment. He was willing to save the two young men who were pledged to his daughters, but since they thought Lot was joking, they did not leave with them.  Lot’s wife, after having escaped the sulfur, turned into a pillar of salt, because she looked back, in spite of being told not to do so.  By her action we can see that her heart was for Sodom and not for the God who came to rescue her.

Today, as believers, we are saved from judgment because of the precious blood of Jesus.  He is our Lord and Savior, our healer, our deliverer and our shield.  

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I give thanks to Him with my song.”  Psalm 28:7

The Lord is our shield.  He is all powerful.  

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?  It is God who justifies.”  Romans 8:31-33

We can trust in God because he will not fail us.  But an umbrella is rather fragile, not capable of providing much protection when the weather is severe. So we do not place our trust in man and man made things.  We should not put our trust in our own abilities and in our money, for we know that Jesus said:

“Apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:5  

In context the scripture reads:

 “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”  John 15:4-8

So we put our trust in God and in his word. 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”  Proverbs 3:5-6

The umbrella had a second color: red, which represents the Lord’s blood, which shields us from judgment.  It is by the Lord’s sacrificial death on the cross, and his shed blood (red), our sins (red) are removed, and we are cleansed from all unrighteousness.

What God did for Lot, shielding him from the sulfur, the Lord does for us when we repent of our sins.  We see that in the book of Revelation, the Lord’s judgment will fall upon the earth for the sins of mankind.  Sulfur will again rain down from heaven as I had previously quoted:

“By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths.”   Revelation 9:21

And the final judgment will also include sulfur:

“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  This is the second death.”  Revelation 21:8

Unfortunately, people are stubborn and they would rather follow their own hearts than follow the Lord. 

The color yellow in the Bible is also used to diagnose whether a skin condition is leprous.

“When a man or woman has a disease on the head or the beard, the priest shall examine the disease. And if it appears deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean.”  Leviticus 13:29-30 

 In the Book of Revelation there will be judgments in the form of plagues, plagues that attack the body with disease, plagues that affect the earth, and plagues that come from the sky. 

“The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.”  Revelation 16:2-4

“The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire.  They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him. “ Revelation 16:8-9

“From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.”  Revelation 16:21

We may ask, “How will the Lord shield his people from these judgments?”  We read in the book of  Revelation:

“Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from (or through, or during) the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.”  Revelation 3:10

“... and to wait for his Son from heaven, who he raised from the dead– Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” 1 Thessalonians 1:10 

The Lord shielded Noah from the destruction of the worldwide flood by providing an ark, which Noah had built under God’s direction.  

The Lord also shielded the Israelites from the plagues that the Lord brought upon Egypt.

“And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail” (Exodus 9:25-26).

God did not remove the Israelites from the judgments, but kept them safe, through the judgments, Jesus wants us to know that he will keep us through the trials and the tribulation that is to come. 

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15 

So the Lord will be our shield against the plagues that attack the body and those that come from the sky.  They will only harm those who refuse to repent.  

In the vision, the umbrella was left on the ground, either abandoned or left there for someone to pick up.  

When trials come our way, will we be people who trust in the Lord, or will we be people who will abandon him to save our lives?  

“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?  For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.’”  Matthew 16:24-27

 We cannot succumb to fear.  We must stand firm in our faith and trust in him to see us through our trials, and difficulties.  Persecution will come, but Jesus said, 

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33

It is God who helps us when we are weak.  It is his Holy Spirit living in us, that gives us both strength and peace. He lifts our heads and leads us into all truth.  Now is the time to draw close to God and to know his word. 

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  Psalm 119:11

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  Psalm 119:105

So let us use the word of God which is the “sword of the Spirit,” and take up the “shield of faith.” 

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.  Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.  In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;  and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”  Ephesians 6:13-18

The Lord will be with you always.

“Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

I would like to share this wonderful psalm of encouragement and protection:

Psalm 91

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”   Psalm 91:1-16

Please share this important message with those who need to know the Lord.  God bless you and keep you under the shelter of his wing!