ARE YOU READY

FOR YOUR CROWN?

As I continue on my journey home, there are many struggles and difficulties in my path. Each day has its own challenges, some are big and some are very small. But I see God’s hand in every area of my life, guiding, directing and sometimes He gives those little surprises, or extra blessings from His hand, as He crowns each day with new blessings, “Great is His Faithfulness.”

I have been thinking of crowns, not earthly crowns which are temporary, but of the crowns we shall wear when we get home.  There are many “crowns” that we encounter here.  There are crowns or rewards of achievement, or as I have encountered lately, dental crowns.  As I ponder on “crowns,” I think of a beloved loved one who has gone on ahead, finished his journey and received his heavenly crown.

The Bible talks about the crowns we will be awarded in heaven, but I am not sure if we will be wearing multiple crowns on our heads, but am sure of the rewards we will be given for our service here and for our walk with the Lord.  The Bible calls them “Crowns.”  Are you anxiously awaiting your crown?  If you have walked with the Lord and served Him, there are crowns awaiting you over there, to be awarded us by our Lord Himself.

I was reminded of the chorus of an old hymn that we used to sing, and it goes like this:

 WHEN THE BATTLE’S OVER

"And when the battle’s over we shall wear a crown! Yes, we shall wear a crown! Yes, we shall wear a crown! And when the battle’s over we shall wear a crown in the new Jerusalem. Wear a crown (wear a crown), wear a crown (wear a crown), wear a bright and shining crown; and when the battle’s over we shall wear a crown in the new Jerusalem." (Isaac Watts)

There are five crowns which will be given to believers, as found in God’s Word.

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may obtain it.  And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, we for an imperishable crown”  II Corinthians 9:24-25.

What Paul is saying there is that in a race, all may run, but only one receives the reward.  That reward that is won is perishable, but we believers run to receive the “Imperishable Crown.”  This first crown is given to believers who faithfully run the race, being obedient to the call He has given each of us.  Basically this says to run whatever race God has set out for you, and be the best you can be for God, and faithful in all He has called you to do, even if it means a sacrifice of our time or energy, to faithfully complete the race.

“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?  Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?  For you are our glory and joy” I Thessalonians 2:19-20.

This second crown is called the “Crown of Rejoicing” or the “Soul Winner’s Crown.”  This crown will be given to those who have been faithful witnessing in leading souls to Jesus.  It seems to indicate here that God will be giving a crown to those who have been witnessing to others and leading people to Christ.

“Blessed is the man who endures temptation’; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” James 1:12.

This third crown is for those believers who endure great trials, tribulations, and severe suffering even unto death.  (See Revelation 2:8-11).  This crown is also referred to as “The Martyr’s Crown.  Jesus says that He will give this crown to those who undergo severe hardship, testing, tribulation and/or physical death on His behalf.  Being willing to die for your faith in Christ would be the ultimate sacrifice. And we know that down through history there have been many martyr’s for Christ, and many are giving their lives in this time, even as we speak.

“Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” 2 Timothy 4:8.

This fourth crown is called the “Crown of Righteousness.”  It is given to all who are looking for and love His appearing, and are anxiously awaiting His return.  If you are a believer, you have been made righteous before God the Father as a result of Jesus dying on the cross for all our sins.  This means that the righteousness of Jesus has now been imputed to you. To live a righteous life for God will be worth it all as you will be given this crown by God Himself once you enter into heaven.

“The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away”

I Peter 5:1-4.

This fifth and final crown is called “The Pastor’s Crown.”  This crown will be given to the ministers who faithfully feed the flock of God.  This would also include faithful preachers, teachers, Sunday School teachers, missionaries and all those who teach the Word of God in their various ministries. God can use you to teach and shepherd others.  God wants to show the extreme importance that He places on those to teach and preach the Word, and the education and training of those who have come to Jesus under various ministries He has established.

So there are your crowns or rewards that the Lord will be rewarding to His faithful ones at the end of our journey to our heavenly home.  As we run this race, we indeed run to win the prize, even though the way is sometimes difficult and challenging, the prize is just ahead.  So be blessed and keep on running the race to reach the goal just ahead, maybe just around the next bend in the road.

In Jesus’ Name,

Pastor Sharon 

LET’S TURN OUR EYES UPON

JESUS

Today in my town, it is dark, dreary and cold, with rain.  And as I ponder upon this dreary day, I want to just turn my eyes toward Jesus and let Him take all my burdens and cares.  He knows the small pain I have and He knows those days when my pain is intense.  He knows all my cares and concerns, and He only wants me to look up to Him.

And my friends out there, how is it with you today?  We are living in very troubled times, when the world economy is about to collapse, there are wars, rumors of wars, strange weather patterns and great unexplained tragedies.  There are friends and family suffering with cancer and great struggles in their lives, and sometimes the struggles go on and on without an answer in site.  Where do we turn in those dark times?  Just turn your eyes upon your Savior.

We just celebrated the Easter Season and our minds turned to the cross and the suffering of Jesus, His torment, His agony there.  We continue to look to the cross, where our Savior died, as He took all our sins and sorrows, and shed His precious blood for you, for me.

My mind cannot comprehend the suffering, even though I have read about it, seen it portrayed in movies and videos, still my mind cannot fathom that my God would love me so, and go through all that pain and agony, so I and all those who will give their hearts to Him could have their sins forgiven and spend eternity with Him. 

When He arose from the dead on that third day, death was conquered!  Yes, unless Jesus comes in the clouds, we will all die physically, that is certain, but so we can go to live with Him where there will be no more death, sorrow or crying or pain.  That is our blessed hope in this hour of great turmoil on this earth and in our lives individually.

 love the great hymns of the faith, and I love the stories behind the writing of those hymns.  Here is one of the favorites of the church, and I remember singing this song as a child.  Here is the story of that hymn.

TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS

“Helen Lemmel was already a noted Christian singer and voice teacher when a missionary friend of hers handed her a gospel tract titled “Focus.”  Helen wondered why someone was handing her a tract.

The tract said that if you focus on Jesus, if you look full into His face, “you will find that the things of earth will acquire a strange new dimness.”

Those words had an impact on Helen Lemmel.  “Suddenly,” she said later, “as if commanded to stop and listen, I stood still, and singing in my soul and spirit was the chorus, with not one conscious moment of putting word to word to make rhyme, or note to note to make melody.”  Later the same year the song was published, and soon it became a favorite of Christians in America, in England, an around the rest of the world.

It’s so easy to lose focus.  Focus on Jesus, and the tawdry things of this world will lose their glamour “in the “light of His glory and grace.”

"O soul, are you weary and troubled?  No light in the darkness you see?  There’s light for a look at the Savior, and life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting He passed, and we follow Him there; over us sin no more hath dominion, for more than conquerors we are!

His word shall not fail you – He promised; believe Him, and all will be well:  than go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell.   (Helen Howarth Lemmel (1864-1961)

Yes, my friends are you weary and troubled this day?  Is your life full of darkness and clouds obscuring your vision, tears are dimming your eyes?  Just look up to Him, He is a light in the darkness, and He will give you an abundant life with His peace.  We don’t need to worry about our tomorrows, because Jesus will be there.   He asks only that you seek Him first and let tomorrow take care of itself. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” Matthew 6:33-34.

As I ponder about the cross and His death, I realize that He has passed that way before us into eternal life, and if we give our lives to Him, death will have no more dominion over us, because we will have gained the victory, Praise the Lord!

And He promises  in His Word to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), and then calls each one of us to share the love He has given us to others in this dying world, there are so many out there who are lost without Jesus, and need to hear about the Savior who loves them and died for them. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” Hebrews 12:2.

So, when the storm clouds roll in, storms of sorrow, pain, and unending struggles, we look to Jesus, and look into His wonderful face, and there is peace and joy there, and He calms the storms in our lives, just by a Word.  This Jesus, our Lord, endured the cross, because He knew that on the other side of the cross there would be joy and peace and eternal life for His people, those who love Him, and He finished the work on the cross, sat down beside the Father and is interceding for you, my friend.

So, on this day, look up into His Wonderful face, and let Him bring peace into your life, just ask Him today, if you don’t know Him as your Savior.  Please don’t wait, because one never knows what tomorrow will bring, and you would not want to miss eternity with Jesus, and life eternal. 

Blessings,

Pastor Sharon

BEHOLD…

THE CROSS

As I wrote this it was Good Friday, a cold, chilly morning. And as I awoke that morning my thoughts were on my Lord and the sacrifice He made on that Friday before His glorious Resurrection.  The Easter Season is past, and all the Easter trimmings are put away for another year, but let’s us not forget that the Cross is the Center of our very lives, every day of the year.  He calls us to look to the Cross, for there is our salvation in this troubled world, and we can say all year long, everyday:  HE IS RISEN!  HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Many are rushing to do whatever they need to do this day, but how many will stop to consider the greatest event in history!  Yes, I call it the greatest event in history, because the sinless Lamb of God went to the cross to die for you, for me and all those out there in this world rushing to and fro this day, unmindful of what happened on that dark day.

Oh,  Good Friday is not about Easter bunnies, colored eggs and the like, it is about the cross, and the new life we experience in Jesus because of that cross.  Yes, Spring is a time of new life, but let us get our focus on the cross of Calvary.

Oh, that cross was not beautiful, as we have made it down through the centuries.  We have plated it with gold and silver, encrusted it with diamonds and precious stones.  We have big crosses and little crosses we wear around our necks or even in our ears as earrings.

My heart is heavy this day, as I think of my Savior day dying the most cruel death that could be inflicted on Him.  He was tortured, beaten and mocked and forced to carry that cross up to the place of the skull, the place of execution.  Upon that cross nails were driven into his wrists and into His feet, the Precious Lamb of God, the final Lamb slain at the evening sacrifice. Oh, yes, I am sure the lambs continued to be sacrificed in that temple, before the destruction of the temple, but the “Lamb” had been slain, and the new covenant was now established!

And on that Friday, as my Lord suffered and died, the sky grew dark, the thunder rolled, the earth shook, as the very Son of God took on the sins of the world, and His Father turned His back on Him, as He could not look on Him.  Oh, the darkness of that day!  Oh, the horror of that day!

And as that “Lamb” was sacrificed the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom, showing that the way was now open to enter into the Presence of God, a new covenant in His blood had been established.  His blood was shed to take away my sins and your sins. John the Baptist, himself, proclaimed that “Lamb.”

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

The lamb had to be spotless, as we look back into the Old Testament and recall the lambs that were slain on the altar.  Those innocent little lambs had to give their lives and shed their blood just to cover the people’s sins.  That suffering “Lamb” on the cross was slain from the foundation of the world, and His shed blood does not just cover our sins, they are washed away, Praise the Lord! (See Hebrews 9:23-28).

So, I am calling you to look to the cross today, stop what you are doing and look up there upon that hill and behold the suffering Savior of all mankind.  We used to have Good Friday Services where we could stop at noon on Good Friday and remember, as a body of believers, our suffering Lord. 

I know that many of you are going through great trials today, the dark clouds cover your sky, and the storm is intense. And there is Jesus taking your pain, your sorrow upon His wounded body.  Who of us can comprehend that! Because of that cross and the shedding of His blood, there is forgiveness of sins and healing for our bodies, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness –by whose stripes we are healed” 1 Peter 2:2

It was Friday when Jesus died on the cross, to his mother, His disciples and those who loved Him, it looked like all was lost as He died upon that cross.  Oh, the horror of standing beneath the cross and watch Him die, see the sky grow dark and the earth shake, but let me tell you something:  “It was Friday and Sunday was coming.”  On that Sunday morning, the tomb burst open, and our Lord Jesus Christ arose from that tomb triumphant over death, and gave us new life and a promise of Resurrection and new life with Him in heaven forever!

But my precious friends, I am happy to tell you that it might be Friday for you, but Sunday is coming  Yes, you may be going through a tough time today, you may be facing terminal illness and other events in your life that bring you great fear. But a great day is coming, when all sorrow, pain and tears will be over forever, and all because of the Cross and the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Praise the Lord!   

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your own personal Lord and Savior and asked Him to forgive you of your sins, you have a glorious future ahead, we call a “Blessed Hope.” And it all starts at the cross, “Behold the Cross” today.  Stand beneath the cross, cast your gaze upon that One dying there for you.

 Beneath the Cross of Jesus

Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand, the shadow of a mighty Rock within a weary land; a home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way, from the burning of the noontime heat, and the burden of the day.

Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see the very dying form of One who suffered there for me; and from my smitten heart with tears, two wonders I confess, the wonders of His glorious love and my own worthlessness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place; I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face; content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss, my sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross! (Elizabeth C. Clephane)

Blessings, in the Name of Jesus

Pastor Sharon

YES, MY REDEEMER LIVES!

We live in a time of great trials on earth, and in our lives individually.  There are failing health problems among elderly family members, and we can hardly fathom what life would be without them.  But life will go on and God, Almighty God, will give us strength for every trial.  And we can know that our Redeemer does indeed live, seated at the right hand of His Father, interceding for His people.

And can we as mere humans fathom the depths of our Great God, the Creator of the universe?  The One who formed the clouds up there in the sky?

“And will God indeed dwell on the earth?  Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You.  How much less this temple which I have built!  1 Kings 8:27.  King Solomon had just dedicated the Temple and God’s presence so filled the house of the Lord that the priests could not continue ministering.  And this was his prayer of dedication of the Temple.  And he was awed by God’s presence and wondered how this Great God, who the heavens cannot contain, could ever dwell on earth.  

“He removes the mountains, and they do not know when He overturns them in His anger; He shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; He commands the sun, and it does not rise; He seals off the stars; He alone spreads out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea; He made The Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades and the chambers of the south; He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number”  Job 9:5-10.  This is the God who’s ways are past finding out.  He spreads out the stars in the sky and creates this beautiful world around us.  And “treads on the waves of the sea.”

Are you going through a great trial in your family right now, great storms are blowing in your life?  Yes, your Redeemer lives and He treads on the waves of the sea.  And when He speaks, the waves become calm and He speaks, “Peace Be Still.”  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.  But He was in the stern asleep on a pillow.  And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”  Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, Be Still.”

This same God, who Solomon said that the heaven of heavens could not contain Him, was asleep on a pillow in the stern of a sinking ship, while His disciples were fearful of drowning.  This same God created the wind and the waves, and the very sea that they were on, and He had perfect peace and totally in control of the elements that He created.  And all He had to do was speak the Word and it was done.  That is our Almighty God, in the person of Jesus Christ.  Yes, your Redeemer lives!  He lives in the midst of the storms of your life, bringing you peace and calmness in the midst of all your circumstances.

“Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat!  I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments.  I would know the words which He would answer me, and understand what He would say to me.  Would He contend with me in His great power?  No!  But He would take note of me.  There the upright could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my Judge” Job 23:6-7.  Job, in the midst of his great suffering in body and in his grief wondered where he could go to find this Great God and present His case before Him.  He lived in the ancient days, in the times of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  And yet, he had great questions, and his questions foretold of our coming Redeemer.

And we, as believers are so blessed because in the midst of our questions and struggles can indeed come right into His very presence because of the sacrifice on Calvary and our Lord’s death and resurrection.  I believe that Job somehow foresaw a day when it would be possible to come right into the throne room of Almighty God.  “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” Hebrews 4:16.

In the days before Christ came, only the Priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year and not without blood to enter God’s Presence and the Ark of the Covenant.  And there was a veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and the Temple.  When Jesus died on the cross, that veil was rent in two from top to bottom, signifying that the way was now open to come right into God’s Presence with all our problems, and He hears and understands.

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.  How my heart yearns within me!”  Job 19:25-27

Job, in the midst of great suffering, knew that His Redeemer did indeed live and someday He would stand upon the earth.  And Jesus did come and did stand upon this earth, to bear the sins of mankind on that cruel cross, but then be resurrected and ascend back to His Father, to accomplish God’s eternal plan from the beginning of time.

And He foresaw the day of His own resurrection from the grave, and He would see His God face to face!  Oh, what a foretelling of that great day coming, when we too, will behold our God face to face.  And, like Job, we long for that great day to come, and look for His Great Appearing, and what a day that will be!  I can hardly wait, how about you?

Are you ready for that day?  As we look around us, it could be even at the doors right now.  Jesus could come and you would be left out.  Make sure your sins are washed away by the blood of the Lamb, and that you have made peace with your God.  And you too can say, “I know that my Redeemer Lives!!  Have a blessed Resurrection Sunday!

In the Name of Jesus,

Pastor Sharon