Natszal: (Test) The Christian's Crowns

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The Christian's Crowns

There are five crowns mentioned in Scripture which are promised to God's children upon certain conditions. They may be won or they may be lost (Revelation 3:11). They are spoken of as prizes (I Corinthians 9:24; Philippians 3:13,14). They are described as crowns of gold (Revelation 4:4).

l.   THE INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN (I Corinthians 9:25). This crown is given to those who are temperate in all things and who are not indulging the appetites of the body, in order that they may faithfully preach the gospel to all men, whether Jew or Gentile, whereby at least some shall be saved (vv. 16-27).

2.   THE CROWN OF REJOICING (I Thessalonians 2:19). This crown is given to those who win souls for Christ, whether by personal work, by preaching the gospel, or by distributing the gospel in print. Solomon declared, "He that winneth souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30), and Daniel said that "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3). Every soul saved through the prayers and efforts of the servant of Christ will be a part of his crown of rejoicing when he stands before the Judgment Seat of Christ and is rewarded according to his labors.

3.   THE CROWN OF GLORY (I Peter 5:4). This is the crown which is given to faithful pastors who hve willingly cared for the flock of God as overseers, not as lords and not for the sake of financial gain, but as a shepherd who cares for his sheep. Such pastors practice what they preach and are examples to others. They feed the flock with the Word of God, "rightly dividing the word of truth," so that they will grow in grace and become fruitful in their lives and labors. They warn the flock against false teachers and the prevalent errors of the day, encouraging them to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 3,4). All such pastors and teachers will receive a crown of glory which will not tarnish or fade away.

4.   THE CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (II Timothy 4:8). This crown is given to all those who love the appearing of Christ. They not only are trusting Christ for salvation and loving Him because He loved them, but they are also looking forward to the personal coming of Christ in glory and power, when they will be caught up with other Christians in the clouds to meet Him in the air (I Thessalonians 4:14-17). Because of this blessed hope, they endure afflictions, fight the good fight of faith, and speak the truth in love. They are loyal and faithful to Christ at all times, for they know not when He may appear for His own. All such are to receive a special crown.

5.   THE CROWN OF LIFE (Jas. 1:12; Rev. 2:10). This crown is given to all who endure trials and temptations even unto death for Jesus' sake. "They loved not their lives unto the death" (Revelation 12:11). Many of those who receive this crown, such as Stephen, James, John, Peter, Paul, Huss, Tyndale, Latimer, Cranmer, and many others, are martyrs for the sake of Christ. (Read Foxe's Book of Martyrs.)

The crown of life is to be distinguished from the gift of life, which is mentioned in John 4:10, John 5:24, Romans 6:23, and Ephesians 2:8. Eternal life is a free gift from God to all who believe on His Son. "He that hath the Son hath life" (I John 5:11,12). But those who receive eternal life through faith in Christ may also receive the crown of life in addition, if so be that they suffer for Him even unto death.

Michael James Stone

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LastCall: Why Are Believers Afraid Of The Rapture? -Jack Kelley

Why Are Believers Afraid Of The Rapture?

Q. I look forward to your site every day. It’s good to get a gifted answer. Too often, we get nothing but fluff from the pulpits. I’ve always discussed the Last Days events with family and friends, but lately, as the pieces of the prophetic puzzle fall into place with alarming speed and intensity, family members, whom I’ve always believed to be mature Christians are becoming afraid of the Lord’s return. I’ve asked why, and they won’t give me a substantial answer.

I said that they should be excited, but all I get is, “uh…yeah…uh…great…uh…are you sure? We’re not supposed to know the time.” And I referred to Mark 13, that we are supposed to be watchful. I got no response. I’m concerned for them. I don’t understand why professing Christians would fear the Lord’s return. The thought had occurred to me that they might not be secure in their faith, but they’ve been devout Christians since I was a child. What would you advise?

A. I would advise empathy. I’ve found that when push comes to shove relatively few people are excited to give up all they’ve accumulated here for something they’ve never seen and don’t know very much about. There’s never been a rapture before so no one knows from experience how it will work.

And don’t forget, from their point of view, we’re only guessing that it will happen soon. If we’re wrong and they get all excited it could be embarrassing for them. All we have to go on is faith, believing that we’re right about the timing. Also it’s so final.

If people are left behind it means they were never really saved, even though they thought they were. A person has to be pretty secure in their beliefs to be excited about something with so many uncertainties.

It’s a test of how real our faith is.

Tags: Rapture

o   OSAS And 2 Peter 2:21-22
o   Messianic Jews And The Rapture
o   Afraid Of The Rapture
o   America In The Crosshairs?
o   Ezekiel’s Battle Soon?

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Michael James Stone

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LastCall: That Amazing Grace -Dr Michael Youseff

That Amazing Grace

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 12:00 AM PST

While God’s grace opens doors for us to experience freedom like we have never known, it is also the foundation for us to develop a deeper relationship with God. As we invite God into every portion of our lives, we begin to see how He wants to change us. We view those once-proud areas of our hearts in shambles, waiting to be rebuilt by the great Redeemer.

As we watch Him begin to put things into order for the first time in our lives, we understand we are mere bystanders, helpless to finish the work He so desperately desires to do in our lives. Once we reach that point of surrender, the Holy Spirit enters the construction zone of our hearts and begins to work.

So often, we want to cling to our lives instead of yielding them to the Lord. When we are worn down to the point of surrender, we cling only to Him. We realize it is God’s grace that has provided the miraculous salvation of our hearts. And we are empowered through the Holy Spirit to see the transition of ownership of our lives transferred to God.

The apostle Paul underwent a dramatic conversion in his life. Everything he stood for was shattered in an instant. All the pious religious duties he carried out were rendered meaningless. He encountered God—and God made it clear it was Paul’s heart He was pursuing.

As the Holy Spirit began to transform Paul from a man who oversaw the murder of countless Christians to a man who preached God’s Word, Paul realized just how amazing God’s grace is.

Prayer: Lord, let me experience Your freedom in my life through the Holy Spirit.

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 (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Devotions with Emotion

Michael James Stone

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SINsational "i" zed: Exempt from Death (BPT)

In the Prophetic Perspective:

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Right? Wrong. You read Jesus, I have. But more. The post author calls out the reason for the “Court appointed by God: (according to Jesus), as lying about why no death penalty with no facts to substantiate just “speculation”.

Prophecy and God’s people are not about rumors, hearsay, or vengeance. We are about saving sinners from Hell. The crowds yelled “save us” “save us” and turned into a mob later saying Kill Him Kill Him, and Jesus saw both:

He said:

“Father forgive them for they know not what they do”

Do you know what you are doing when you say:

Kill Him Kill Him?

Or are you a Christian instead?

–The Prophetic Perspective

Muslims Exempt from Death Penalty in U.S.?

By Robert Spencer
Jihad Watch

Last October there was another in the growing number ofIslamic honor killings in the United States when a Muslim in Peoria, Arizona, Faleh Almaleki, got into his Jeep Cherokeeand ran down his twenty-year-old daughter Noor, as well as her boyfriend’s mother, Amal Khalaf.

Noor died not long thereafter, and Faleh Almaleki was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault and two counts of leaving the scene of a serious accident. But prosecutors announced this week that he will not face the death penalty – it wouldn’t be multicultural.

Faleh Almaleki’s lawyer, public defender Billy Little, requested that the death penalty not be sought in this case because County Attorney Andrew Thomas is a Christian and Almaleki is a Muslim:

“An open process provides some level of assurance that there is no appearance that a Christian is seeking to execute a Muslim for racial, political, religious or cultural beliefs.”

And indeed, the County Attorney’s office ultimately decided not to seek the death penalty, although it denied that Little’s request had anything to do with the decision:

“The defendant is charged with first degree murder and, if convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison,” said County Attorney Office spokesman Mike Scerbo. “As is in all first degreemurder cases, the decision on whether to seek the death penalty is made on a case by case basis. Cultural considerations played no part in the decision not to seek the death penalty.”

This denial, however, did not ring true in light of the calculated nature of Almaleki’s actions:

“By his own admission,” said county prosecutor Stephanie Low, “this was an intentional act, and the reason was that his daughterhad brought shame on him and his family. This was an attempt at an honor killing.”

If a cold-blooded, premeditated murder doesn’t warrant the death penalty, what murder does? If the death penalty is to be applied or contemplated at all, one would be hard-pressed to find a case more appropriate than one in which a father murders his daughter freely, not in the heat of passion, and with full intentionality, because she does not share his values.

Honor killing is the murder of a wife,daughter or sister by a husband, father or brother in order to cleanse the family’s honor after a sexual indiscretion. Noor Almaleki had enraged her father by becoming “too Westernized” and living with her boyfriend. Honor killing is broadly tolerated in many Islamic countries, and is encouraged by the fact that traditional Islamic law mandates no penalty for a parent who kills a child. Syria and Jordan, among other countries, punish honor murderers more lightly than other murderers, and in Jordan Islamicclerics led the fight against an attempt several years ago to stiffen penalties for honor killing.

This is a human rights issue that ought to merit the attention of anyone who cares for the lives lost to this barbaric practice. Yet American law enforcement officials are doing nothing to call Muslim communities in this country to teach against and work against this practice. And relativist multiculturalists like Billy Little seem to think that taking a strong stand against honor killing would be an illegitimate imposition of Christian values upon a Muslim.

There are larger implications of this decision as well. In my 2008 bookStealth Jihad, I laid out evidence that Islamic groups in the U.S. were working in the courts, businesses, and educational institutions to secure special privileges for Muslims, in accord with Sharia provisions that give them a place above non-Muslims in Islamic societies. And while they have succeeded in local efforts here and there to get special break times in workplaces for prayers, even the most dedicated Muslim Brotherhood entities in America have not yet begun pressuring for the kind of concession that Billy Little handed them.

But they will surely take the hint. For the first time, the idea that all are not equal before the law, but that some are more equal than others, has been given credence by an American court. Despite the County Attorney’s Office denials, a precedent has been set that Islamic pressure groups are certain to exploit to the hilt.

Devotions with Emotion

Michael James Stone

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Jesus is Coming Very Soon.

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Last Days of the Last Generation “Last Generation”

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