"A Crown Awaits You" - Inspirational Weekend

The above Hawaiian Black-Crowned Night Heron has expensive tastes !  He is fishing for koi, but the one he is eyeing in my photograph is longer than he is and more than he could handle.  He is looking to obtain a prize....edible smaller koi.

True believers should be trying to gain a prize... a crown, no less.  My intention was to write only about the crown of righteousness, as that is the one the Bible says is reserved for those who love the Lord and wait for His soon return.  However, in my research I discovered there are five crowns for believers that are mentioned in God's Holy Word.  Since Jesus will return at any moment during these present last days, I will concentrate on the crown of righteousness primarily but will also discuss the other crowns briefly.

1 Timothy 4:7-8 tells us  (7) "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:  (8)  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing."

Notice that the apostle Paul said he had fought a good fight and had kept the faith.   If you claim to be a Christian but still live like the world and are friends of the world and sin like the world and with possibly no remorse or no repentance, then you may not even make it to heaven to receive any crown.  You are probably not born again.   A true believer will want to be holy and will live a godly life, endeavoring to obey and please the Lord in his actions, speech, mind, and heart.

Back to the crown of righteousness.  The apostle Paul spent his life, after his miraculous conversion, in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and traveling extensively to spread the Word.  He suffered much persecution, beatings, one stoning, and several times he was imprisoned.   Yet his faith and obedience to the Lord remained strong and zealous.   He struggled hard to win "the prize", the crown of righteousness.   May true believers today be able to follow Paul's example.  Ultimately, however, it is Jesus we should imitate and follow.

We are to believe in Jesus' soon return -  and truly desire His return.  But, even if there were no crown, no reward, just being in heaven with Him for all eternity is reward enough in itself.    

         

"Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.  Even so, Amen."  -  Revelation 1:7

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.  Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."   --  Revelation 22:20

Jesus at John 14:2-3 informs us,  (2) In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you.  (3)  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself: that where I am, there ye may be also."

Besides the crown of righteousness, there are 4 other crowns that believers will be rewarded with:

(1)  The crown of rejoicing:  

1 Thessalonians 2:19 says,  "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?  Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?"

"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice."    -  Philippians 4:4

(2)  The crown of glory:

"And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."  -  1 Peter 5:4

This crown is primarily for pastors and elders.

(3)  The crown of life:

Revelation 2:10 tells us,  "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer:  behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried;  and ye shall have the tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."   

Although this crown is for all believers, it is especially applicable to to those who endure persecutions and sufferings for Jesus.

(4) The imperishable crown:

1 Corinthians 9:24-25 tells us,  (24)  "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain.  (25)  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible."

Faithful endurance wins a heavenly reward:  "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you."  -    1 Peter 1:4

According to which website or source you encounter, some believe these crowns are figurative, and some believe they are literal.  The point is, we should live for the Lord, totally surrendered to Him, and love Him with all of our strength, mind, heart and soul  (Mark 12:30).  If you do that you will obey His commandments and live a life that is pleasing to Him, whereby you may eventually enter heaven.  Of course, first you must be born again in order to obey God and to endeavor to live a life that befits a true believer. You must believe in Jesus as the Savior whose shed blood at Calvary washes away your sins; you must repent in all sincerity of your sins and pray to the Lord for forgiveness, and believe in Jesus' resurrection.   Then you will be forgiven by the Lord, and you will be a child of God !  Remember, He loves you and wants to lead you home to be with Him.

Romans 10:9,10,13 says :  (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13)  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."   

 Whether or not the crowns in heaven are figurative or literal, real crowns,  we should so love and serve the Lord that we only want to live forever in heaven with Him, crowns or no crowns.  What a blissful eternity it will be, to be with Jesus forever !


"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."  -  Titus 2:13


Have a Christ centered weekend.....and life !

"What We Should Wrestle Against" (With Video) - Inspirational Weekend

The above photograph of the beautiful red blossom of the cannonball tree was taken last month at Foster Botanical Gardens here in Honolulu. The "fruit" produced by this tree is large, round, a cannon-type ball and rather ugly to behold.  I have posted photos of their fruit in the past.  When the fruit falls from the tree and hits the ground (or you) it bursts open and emits a foul smell.  So this tree has its own "weapons".  

We need weapons to fight and wrestle against the schemes of the devil and his demons.  Let me quote Ephesians 6:10-12:

(10)  "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.  (11) Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  (12)  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

It would be a good idea to read all of Ephesians 6, or especially verses 10-20.  The verses quoted above tell us (1) to be strong in the Lord; you can do that by much prayer and Bible study and thereby developing a strong, close, intimate love relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  (2) To put on the whole armor of God so we may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  (Read from verses 13 to 20 to discover what the armor of God is that we need.  Most Christians are familiar with what they are). Verse 12 is what we will deal with primarily in this post, as even many believers are not aware of the meaning of the terms found there.  

As brought out in the video below, people can sometimes be cruel, hateful, and cold.  We need to look beyond imperfect humans, and to realize that the real enemy is not "flesh and blood", but the unseen evil spirits prompting that cruel behavior.  The "principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places;"  it is obvious that this is referring to evil spirits as well as the devil himself, all of whom are seeking to destroy us.  They are the source and origin of all spiritual conflicts.  These malignant spirits are rulers over the darkness of this world; their kingdom is the kingdom of darkness, full of misery and pain and troubles of the mind and of the spirit, and sometimes behind health issues.    You need to be strong in the Lord to be able to wrestle against them.   Pray without ceasing and be in the Holy Word constantly.   Ask the good Lord to give you an extra portion of His Holy Spirit for strength in combating these evil influences.   

It is no secret that the world is becoming more and more corrupt and evil in these last days we find ourselves living in now.   It is no doubt because the devil knows his time is short and he is full of wrath in his insane battle to rule instead of God.  

"Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.  Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."  -  Revelation 12:12

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world."   -   1 Peter 5:8-9 

Satan works extra hard on believers, to bring them down and cause them to stray and to make them ineffective, because he already has the world under his power.

Always remember that God has your back.  He will protect you and watch over you.  You cannot fight evil forces all by yourself.  By saying previously that we need to pray for the Holy Spirit  to help us wrestle against the devil and his demons, I am also saying that it is God who will help you fight the devil and his minions.  The good Lord loves us and will strengthen us.  The victory is ours by the  Lord's assistance.  Remember also that "greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world."  (1 John 4:4b).  This verse is referring primarily to the false prophets inspired by the antichrist  spirit and the antichrist spirit itself, but in my opinion it is applicable to how God will help us with the demonic world as well.

The devil definitely has the spirit of being against Christ.

One commentator tells us,  "Wherever we come in contact with evil - whether in our own hearts or elsewhere - there we are to make war."

What if you are not a believer?  Don't feel as if God cannot forgive your sins, however gross they may be.  Remember, King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband murdered. The Lord forgave him when he showed genuine  repentance. (2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12). Don't let the evil powers control you any longer.  Turn to God in true repentance, pray to Him for forgiveness, and believe with all your being that Jesus is the Savior whose shed blood at Calvary can wash your sins away.  

Romans 10:9,10,13 tells us "(9)  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Jesus will welcome you with open arms of love and forgiveness.  He is waiting to hear from you.

Prophecy in the News has a new host, Lyn Leahz, and following is a 9 minute video on the subject of spiritual warfare, in which she also uses Ephesians 6 as the basis for her talk.   She stresses to fight the enemy with the Word of God.

Have a Christ centered weekend.....and life !

"Fear To Fear" (With Sermon Clips by Charles Spurgeon) - Inspirational Weekend

Big cats are magnificent and quite handsome.   I admire their beauty and regal bearing, but I do not want to be near one in the wild; I do not even want to be alone with them at the zoo except when I am protected by glass and walls and barriers.   Yes, I have a healthy fear where big cats are concerned; a self-preserving fear.  A healthy fear can be a blessing and can show wisdom on our part.

But there is another kind of fear we need to be alert about.  Thus the title of this post, "Fear to Fear".  Charles Spurgeon says it best in this short 2 minute sermon clip:

In other words, "Be afraid to be afraid".   Do not be a coward.  

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone,  which is the second death."    -    Revelation 21:8

The above verse shows us clearly just how God views the fearful....He lumps them together with murderers and the unbelieving and all liars (etc.), and tells us that they will be tormented forever in hell.

Being fearful shows a lack of faith and trust in God.  If it is a constant fear, perhaps you are not truly born again.  You need to get down on your knees and pray for deliverance and forgiveness.  Read your Bible daily and pray without ceasing.   When you develop a close, intimate, personal love relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you will learn to put all of your hope and faith and trust in Him, and any morbid fear will disappear.  

When you are a genuine believer and have truly been born again, the Holy Spirit within you will remove all fear.  Also, to have all fear removed, we must love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength  (Mark 12:30).  

"A perfect faith would lift us absolutely above fear."  -   George Macdonald

"Faith, which is trust, and fear are opposite poles.  If a man has the one, he can scarcely have the other in vigorous operation.  He that has his trust set upon God does not need to dread anything except the weakening or the paralyzing of that trust."    -   Alexander MacLaren.

"The only known antidote to fear is faith."   -  Woodrow Kroll

So trust and faith in the good Lord will cast out fear.  

Psalm 27:1 tells us, "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment.  He that feareth is not made perfect in love."    -  1 John 4:18

Not only does faith in the Lord cast out fear, but also love will set you free from fear as well.   As you grow and mature in faith and in a strong and intimate relationship with God,  your love for Him and for obeying Him in total surrender will increase.  You will love Him with all of your heart and will desire to please Him in everything.  As God answers your prayers and guides you, your love and faith will grow by leaps and bounds.  

Following is a beautiful hymn about not being afraid:

There is One whom we should fear however; with a healthy, reverent fear and with love.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 tells us,  "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."  -  2 Corinthians 7:1

It is evident from the Scriptures that we should have a healthy, reverent fear of the good Lord.  Fear to grieve Him, fear to disobey Him, fear to displease Him in any way.  He is our Creator, the Sovereign of the universe, the only true God; therefore we should be in awe of Him and serve Him in humility and obedience.

Following is another 2 minute sermon clip by Charles Spurgeon titled "Fear Only God".  In it Spurgeon tells us,  "He who fears God has nothing else to fear."

Have a Christ centered weekend !

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."   -  2 Timothy 1:7

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you:  not as the  world giveth,  give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."   -  Jesus at John 14:27

"Nothing Can Separate Us From The Love Of God" - (With Video On Artificial Intelligence) - Inspirational Weekend

There is an abundance of talk and action today about artificial intelligence (AI).  Some of the creators of AI have expressed fear that AI will either benefit mankind or that it is the beginning of the end.  Even a non-Christian immersed deeply in AI, Elon Musk,  has said, "We are summoning up a demon."  First watch the following 28 minute video about artificial intelligence and then we will proceed to discuss how that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  The video is by prophecyinthenews.com with Kevin Clarkson as host and his guest is Billy Crone, who discusses how some fear that artificial intelligence will cause the coming human annihilation. Pastor Crone also informs us how the antichrist with the Mark of the Beast and AI will work together to collect data on all people who buy and sell, and how AI will help to micro-manage the whole planet.  Let me assure you, this will all happen during the 7 year Tribulation period, after true believers are taken to heaven in the Rapture of the church.  So faithful followers of Jesus Christ will not experience the Mark of the Beast and all of the horrors of the Tribulation.

To begin, let us read Romans 8:38-39 :

(38)  "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

In verse 38 above, when it speaks of angels and principalities and powers, it is not referring to good angels but instead is referring to evil spirits, demons. fallen angels.  The word "angels" is also applied to evil spirits in Matthew 25:41.

It is not conceivable that good angels, who are "all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation"  (Hebrews 1:14), should seek to tear apart Christians from the Savior, or should have any such evil tendency.

In verse 39 of Romans 8, where it says "nor any other creature",  that refers to any other created thing or any other thing in the universe.   My own speculation here says that that could include any artificial intelligence, any super robotic creation.  The reason I say this is because I believe these robots and any artificial intelligence can be taken over and possessed by demons. Even some believe that the Mark of the Beast (perhaps an RFID chip) may alter a person's DNA to where they are incapable of being saved.  Of course, taking the Mark of the Beast is like pledging your support to the antichrist and you are thereby damned for all eternity. But remember, true believers will have already been  raptured to heaven.  Those left behind during the Tribulation will need to come to the Lord and NOT take the Mark of the Beast.  (Revelation 13:16-17)

It is so very important to constantly read the Bible - and Study it,

and to pray often to the good Lord.  That way you will draw closer to Him and develop a close, strong, intimate, and personal love relationship with Him.  We live in perilous times, evil times, and we need to be strong to be able to endure whatever comes our way.  That strength comes from Jesus.  

One commentator says, "The purpose of God, the work of Christ, the aid of the Holy Spirit, and the tendency of all events under the direction of his Father and Friend, conspire to secure the Christian's welfare and salvation."

Once a person believes in Jesus as their Savior and is truly born again, they are secure in Christ.  They will have eternal life.  God loves them and will guide and direct them along the right paths they must travel in their walk of faith.   Their eternity in heaven with the Lord is secure and a sure reality.  God will not forsake them.

" .... for He hath said, I will never leave thee,  nor forsake thee."  -  Hebrews 13:5b

And remember what Jesus said at John 15:10,  "If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love."

The Gospel gives us a blessed hope (Titus 2:13) which nothing else can produce, and which nothing can destroy.  Commit your way to the Lord.

Jesus tells us at John 10:28-29,  " (28) And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  (29)  My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand."

The above Scriptures reveal God's love for us, and that if we are genuine believers, truly nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Read Romans 10:9,10,13 :  (9)  "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (10)  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13)  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Time is short !

Jesus could return at any moment!

Don't be left behind to face the horrors of the Tribulation period !

"(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) - 2 Corinthians 6:2            

"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."  -  Romans 13:11

"Jesus saith unto him,  I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."   -  John 14:6