The Crown of Life

Believers in Jesus Christ receive the crown of life. Let’s remember that before Jesus came, God had made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Jesus came so that the Gentiles might also be saved, and that atonement might be made for the sins of all of mankind. Jesus is the Lamb of God, and he was the perfect sacrifice for all of mankind. (see John 1:29, 36)

Believers are not promised an easy life in the Bible. We are warned in 2 Timothy 3:12 that those who desire to live godly in Jesus will suffer persecution. We must stop and realize that the enemy would not be attacking Christians so desperately if we did not possess something of great value.

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (Jas 1:12 NIV, emphasis added)

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer for ten days. But be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life. (Rev 2:10 NCV, emphasis added)

Trials of various types test a Christian’s faith, develop endurance in their lives, and help develop spiritual maturity in them. We can all read in 1 Peter how Jesus responded to persecution:

Although he was abused, he never tried to get even. And when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he had faith in God, who judges fairly. (1 Pet 2:23 CEV)

The Lord will give every believer the sustaining grace that they need to go through such trials victoriously. We just need to hold onto our faith in God and in His ability to uphold and sustain us spiritually, mentally, and emotionally through persecution.

Let’s consider how we can stand firm in our resolve to continue speaking the Word of Life boldly, even under the threat of persecution.

Before persecution begins, we must prepare for it by cultivating the Word of God in our hearts. This means that we memorize various passages from the Bible and review them regularly to make sure we retain them.

Scripture teaches that we carry the Word of God in two places: in our mouths, and in our hearts (see Romans 10:8, and Deuteronomy 30:14). Remember this vital truth: Whenever persecution attempts to silence the Word that is in our mouths, it is the Word that is in our hearts which will sustain us.

We carry the incorruptible Seed of the Word of God in our mouths and in our hearts, and we cannot begin to fathom the fruit that will come from that Seed. Hold fast to the Seed that has been sown in your hearts, brothers and sisters! It will uphold and sustain you, along with the very real presence of the Prince of Peace who never leaves us. Glory to God!

Our Work Pleases God

Does it surprise you to realize that our work pleases God? I am making this claim based upon a number of Bible passages. Please join me in my study.

So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. (Neh 4:6 NKJV)

Notice in the above verse that the ‘people had a mind to WORK.’ God blesses the work of our hands! He doesn’t bless laziness or inactivity.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. (Ps 1:3 NKJV, emphasis added)

In the verse above from the first Psalm, notice that whatever a person DOES shall prosper! Observe that the Lord is talking about action or movement here—about a person at work—not someone sitting around and dreaming.

Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. (Ps 104:23 NKJV)

God created a way for every living thing to have sustenance and a way to be blessed. Work is a blessing to mankind.

The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them. His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonderful works to be remembered. (Ps 111:2-4 NKJV)

God, our Creator, also worked and that work is described as honorable and glorious. Furthermore, the Lord created His works to be remembered. Glory to God!

. . . comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. (2 Thes 2:17 NKJV)

“Establish” means to support or sustain. The prayer in 2 Thessalonians (above) is that God will uphold us in our good words and work. God bless you!

God Speaks to Us

The Word of God gives us multiple instances of how God has spoken to His people over the centuries. The written Word of God, the Bible, is one way that the Lord communicates with His people. In His Word, He gives us instructions and promises which will lead us, guide us, and encourage us.

. . . and said to Moses, “If you speak to us, we will listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we will die!” ²⁰“Don’t be afraid!” Moses replied. “God has come only to test you, so that by obeying him you won’t sin.” ²¹But when Moses went near the thick cloud where God was, the people stayed a long way off. (Ex 20:19-22 CEV) The Jewish people who followed Moses didn’t want to hear God’s voice! They wanted Moses to speak with the Lord and to be their intermediary. They wanted to receive their instructions from a man rather than directly from the Lord.

From heaven he spoke to you in order to teach you, and on earth he showed you his great fire from which you also heard his words. (Deu 4:36 NET) God speaks to us in order to teach us, to encourage us, and to bless us.

Then you and your son and your grandson will fear the Lord your God. You will obey all His Laws that I tell you, all the days of your life. And then you will have a longer life. (Deu 6:2 NLV) One of the Bible’s promises concerning obeying God’s instructions is that we will have a long life.

This is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness together with the angel who spoke to him at length on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to you. (Ac 7:38 NASB) God’s Words are living words. (See Heb 4:12)

There are multitude of ways that God communicates with mankind. He speaks to us through the beauty and majesty of His creation. Also, he speaks to us by the Holy Spirit through dreams, visions, and our inner thoughts. As we’ve already mentioned, the Lord converses with us through the Bible.

Two Bible passages remind us that we who follow Jesus, our Shepherd, hear His voice and know His voice. (Joh 10:16, 27) This should reassure us, and encourage us. Place your faith in God and in His Word, for God cannot lie! Glory to God!

God Will Never Forsake His People

This is one of God’s unshakeable promises to mankind. Let’s read some of these Bible passages:

For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever,
but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. (Ps 37:28 NKJV) God NEVER forsakes His saints. They are preserved (by God) forever.

The Lord always does right and wants justice done. Everyone who does right will see his face. (Ps 11:7 CEV) Everyone who lives a righteous life in obedience to the Bible will see God’s face.

“For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them.” (Isa 61:8 NIV) God is faithful to reward His people. He has made an everlasting covenant with us.

The Lord will not abandon his people; he will not desert those who belong to him. (Ps 94:14 GNT) Decide that you belong to the Lord, now, and recognize that He will NEVER abandon you. Hallelujah!

Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, nor will He uphold the evildoers. (Job 8:20 NKJV) God will not reject the righteous (virtuous, innocent).

For the Lord will not abandon His people, nor will He abandon His inheritance. (Ps 94:14 NASB) Again and again the Lord promises that He will never leave us, discard us, or forsake us. He cannot lie. (Tit 1:2)

God is faithful to His promises forever. (Ps 71:22 NLT; 1 Cor 1:8-9; 1 Thes 5:24) You can safely trust in Him and in His Word. Oh joy!

The Just for the Unjust

Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer, suffered ONCE for the sins of mankind even though He was completely without sin. His purpose in doing this was to reconcile us to His Father God, and Jesus completed the task that He was given. (see Joh 19:30) Praise God!

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit . . . (1 Pet 3:18, underscoring added)

Jesus was made alive by the Spirit because the Holy Spirit’s power raised Jesus from the dead. (Rom 8:11) And the same Spirit also dwells within each and every believer. Think of it! Resurrection power abides within every believer!

. . . so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (Heb 9:28)

As I mentioned above, Jesus completed His assignment when He lived a sinless life, suffered and bled and died, and was resurrected from the grave. Jesus was offered, by His Father even as Abraham offered his son, Isaac, on the altar in Genesis 22:9-13. Since Jesus dealt with the sins of mankind already, He NEVER needs to have anything more to do with sin.

God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God. (Rom 4:25 CEV)

Through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, all who accept Him as their own Savior and Lord have been justified and made acceptable to God. Glory to God! Now, since we have been born again and made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ, we may joyously look forward to seeing Jesus face-to-face in heaven when our life on earth has been fulfilled. Or a praiseworthy alternative to that will be when Jesus returns to earth to rapture His church. (Dan 12:1-2; Mt 24:30-31; Mk 13:24-27; 1 Cor 15:51-53; 1 Thes 4:16-18; Rev 3:10) Hallelujah!

One Blood

There is no room for prejudice against other people due to the simple fact that we are all ONE BLOOD (one race) that have descended from Adam and Eve. All tribes and nations are descended from the same parents. Let’s look at the Scriptures.

The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. (Gen 3:20, emphasis added)

These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated. (Gen 9:19, underscoring added)

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth . . . (Ac 17:26a, emphasis added)

Discrimination and bigotry based upon skin color, eye shape, hair types, or any other exterior trait is ridiculous and unjust. Over the centuries and decades since the Lord created the heavens and the earth, changes have occurred in humanity. However, they are just that: exterior.

Blood types are the same the world over, as are the physical attributes of males and females. Every nationality of people have the same internal organs and number of bones in their bodies. We all need teeth to chew our food, tongues to communicate with each other, and arms and legs to get around and to do our work.

The Father God needed to send only ONE Savior to earth to redeem all of mankind back to Himself! Jesus is the Savior of every nation, tongue, and tribe on earth.

One day, ALL of the redeemed from all over the earth will be gathered together to praise, honor, worship and to serve Him for all eternity. Glory to God!

Lord of the Living & the Dead

As Christians, we belong to Jesus Christ. Once we accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we became a member of His family. He remains our Lord from that moment on into and throughout all eternity. How blessed we are!

For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. (Rom 14:9 NIV)

But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. (1 Pet 4:5)

The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all— (Ac 10:36)

Jesus Christ is the Lord of both the living and the dead—and there is no conflict in His role. He is Lord of ALL.

Jesus created everything that exists and because of that, no one can claim any authority over creation or over mankind other than Him. (See Exodus 19:5)

When the Scriptures speak of Jesus being the Lord of both the living and the dead, it is addressing the fact that Jesus is the Lord of all people:

Those who are spiritually dead and those who are spiritually alive;
Those who are physically dead and those who are physically alive.

Jesus’ perfect sacrifice reconciled us to our Father God, and brought peace between us and the Father. Jesus has established the ministry of reconciliation. Glory to God!

How much more do we (all born-again believers) belong to Jesus since He has ransomed us from sin and from satan?

There is a prophecy in Isaiah that reminds us that we have everlasting joy bestowed upon us:

So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isa 51:11) Glory to God!

Brotherly Love

Let brotherly love continue. (Heb 13:1)

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another . . . (Rom 12:10)

But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another . . . (1 Thes 4:9)

What is “brotherly love”? It is having a love for all mankind. This is the kind of love that desires the best for other people; helps others; and prays for good things to happen to other people.

We are called by God to love all mankind because all humanity was created by God in His image, and due to that fact, can be called children of God. The Lord tells us that if we say that we love Him but we hate our brother, then we must be lying! (1 Joh 4:20) Also, it is a commandment of God that we love one another! (Joh 13:34, see also 1 Joh 3:11)

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. (1 Joh 4:7)

The Bible says that one characteristic of a true disciple of Jesus Christ is that they demonstrate love for other people. (Joh 13:35) The Word goes on to point out that brothers (and sisters) suffer together and share joy together. (1 Cor 12:26)

Brotherly/sisterly affection and love covers [overlooks, forgives] a multitude of sins. (1 Pet 4:8)

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Rom 13:10) Brotherly and sisterly love for other people is a fulfillment of the highest law that the Lord has given to us, that we love one another!

Did Jesus Truly Show His Love?

Ponder this: did Jesus truly show His love for mankind? Do you have assurance of God the Father’s love for you? Here are some Scriptures for you to consider:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

. . . nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39, underscoring added)

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

All of these Bible verses talk about the love of God for us and the love of Jesus for us. It is very easy to understand it through these passages.

Jesus, our Savior, demonstrated His great love for mankind and for His Father by offering His own life and blood in order to reconcile all of mankind to our Father God. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. (Joh 15:13) Jesus absolutely loved us—He gave His life for us!

With this understanding of Jesus’ love, which is a reflection of God the Father’s love, I believe it should seem like a reasonable service for us to put God in first place in our lives.

Creativity, Part 2

As we discussed in the last article, God has made mankind in His own image; He has made us to be creative even as He is creative.

Every human being has a unique personality—we all understand that fact. In the same way, we each have a wonderfully individual mixture of talents and abilities blended in a distinctive combination.

Whatever our talents and giftings, God has not only given them to us but He has blessed us to serve Him and His kingdom through them. Here are several passages of Scripture that demonstrate the talents that He has given to mankind, and also how those abilities are intended to bless everyone around us.

And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, ⁴to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, ⁵in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. (Ex 31:3-5)

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, ⁵so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. ⁶Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; ⁷or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; ⁸he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (Rom 12:4-8)

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. ¹¹If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Pet 4:10-11)

In our creativity we live, walk and work by faith, trusting that God has blessed the work of our hands. By faith, we also understand that the Lord uses our creative work to bless, help, and to inspire other people.

Keep on creating, friend!

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Tag: mankind