The Rapture is My Precious Hope

IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER... 
 

• Featured Article: The Rapture is My Precious Hope 
• 22 Observations About The New World War Which Just Started In Ukraine 
• Everything you see going on in the world right now is pushing toward implementation of global digital ID and global digital money system: The Fourth Reich is rising 
• Nearing Midnight: Righteousness and the Crowns 
• Daily Jot: The Farm Chronicles: The Trail Ride 
• Daily Devotion: Waiting for a Miracle 

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The Rapture is My Precious Hope – Jonathan Brentner - https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/https/jonathan-brentner-g8fgsquarespacecom/config/2022/2/21/the-rapture-is-my-precious-hope
 
Why do I spend so much time writing about and defending the biblical foundation of the pretribulation Rapture? It’s because Jesus’ imminent appearing is so much more than just sound theology to me, it’s my precious hope.
 
My purpose here is not to defend the doctrine of the pretribulation Rapture as I have done in numerous blog posts as well as in my latest book, The Triumph of the Redeemed. Instead, I chose to explain why my hope in Jesus’ appearing is so dear to my heart.
 
THE RAPTURE IS A BIBLICAL EVENT
 
Jesus is my salvation and my righteousness; I know this is true because God’s Word tells me so. My faith rests on what Scripture assures me concerning my salvation, which includes Jesus’ death on the cross in my place, His resurrection, and His promise of eternal life for all those who believe.
 
“What does this have to do with the Rapture?” you ask. The Bible also tells me about Jesus’ appearing to take me home to the place He’s preparing for me.
 
Notice the close connection that Paul makes with things that happen during the Rapture with our Gospel hope:
 
“And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.” Romans 8:23-24a
 
I cherish my hope in Jesus’ appearing because of my love for the words of Scripture that the Lord has cultivated inside me since an early age, but that’s a story for another time. My love of God’s Word certainly extends to what it teaches me about Jesus’ return to take me home to glory (Colossians 3:4).
 
THE RAPTURE IS WHEN I WILL SEE JESUS
 
In 1 Corinthians 13:12 Paul wrote these words:
 
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
 
The Rapture is the time when the Lord will clear away the fog of this life and I will see Jesus face to face.
 
In the meantime, I press forward with my calling, writing, and service for Jesus. However, there’s a sense in which I feel the “fog of war” that those engaged in active combat often experience. I have an enemy that messes with my feelings and thoughts and brings fierce opposition to my doorstep, even from those once close to me.
 
At Jesus’ appearing, I will see my beloved Savior and appear before Him to receive rewards for faithful service in this life. I long both to see Him face to face and hear His true appraisal of my life and service for Him. For now, I “see in a mirror dimly” in anticipation of the day when my faith will be sight and I will revel in His presence.
 
THE RAPTURE IS WHEN I WILL RECEIVE MY NEW BODY
 
The Rapture will also be the time when I will receive my incorruptible and immortal body (Philippians 3:20-21, 1 Corinthians 15:51-55). Perhaps the saddest aspect of pastors ignoring the Rapture is the absence of any teaching about the imperishable bodies we will receive at the time of the Rapture. I don’t recall any sermon in the past twenty-five years where a pastor has preached about this glorious aspect of our “blessed hope” beyond a fleeting mention that everyone soon forgot.
 
I realize that with age, this promise becomes increasingly precious. I also know how quickly this life passes and if you have not yet felt the impact of aging, you will soon.
 
Yet regardless of age, most of us endure illnesses and physical ailments from which we never fully recover; this is also true for me. Why wouldn’t I long for my glorified body, the one that the Lord promises to give to me at His appearing? But this is just one aspect of the glorious future that lies ahead for me and for all who know Jesus as their Savoir.
 
THE RAPTURE WILL SIGNIFY FREEDOM FROM THE PRESENCE OF SIN
 
The Rapture will signify the start of an eternal existence where I will be free from the presence of sin. We all have weaknesses as I know I surely do; some of which I might even be unaware. But a glorious day is coming when those things will all be part of my past and I will no longer sin, but fully experience the righteousness of Christ that God has already ben imputed to me. I can hardly wait for that day!
 
Revelation 21:4 explains what this freedom from sin will mean for all eternity:
 
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
 
I can scarcely imagine the blessedness of the time when all the promises of this verse come true for me. The Rapture just marks the beginning of a joyous adventure in which all things listed in Revelation 21:4 will come true for me along with all those who know the Savior.
 
Why wouldn’t I be excited about Jesus’ return to take me home in light of what lies ahead for me in eternity?
 
THE RAPTURE WILL BRING INNER WHOLENESS
 
Along with the freedom from sin will come an inner wholeness such as I have never experienced in my lifetime. I long for this with all my heart.
 
In his book All Things New, author and counselor John Eldredge wrote this:
 
We are all traumatized and fragmented; no one passes through this vale of tears without it. And our Healer will make us whole again…. Think of it—to be wholehearted. To be filled with goodness from head to toe. To have an inner glory that matches the glory of your new body…”[i]
 
The Lord has healed so many of the searing wounds from my past. However, I still yearn for the total inner wholeness about which John Eldredge writes. I continue to feel “traumatized and fragmented” in some ways, which causes me to yearn all the more for the time of Jesus’ upward call and the time of inner wholeness that will envelope my entire being as I experience the promises of Revelation 21:4.
 
My scars, both emotional and physical, remind me that a much better day lies just ahead!
 
JESUS IS PREPARING A PLACE FOR ME
 
I treasure the Lord’s promise in John 14:2-3:
 
In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
 
What will it be like to see the place that Jesus has prepared for His bride? This promise is for all true New Testament saints, but there’s also a personal element to it as well. Jesus is preparing a special place for me and for you.
 
I often wonder about what my “place” will look like. I know it will be much more wonderful than I can imagine as will everything else be in heaven.
 
THE RAPTURE MARKS THE TIME OF SEEING DEAR FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS WHO ARE ALREADY WITH JESUS
 
There’s also my hope I will see dear family members, my parents, and my friends already with Jesus in heaven. My dad died when I was ten and it was then that I first experienced the hope that I possess in the future meeting in the air that Paul describes in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. I also look forward to seeing family members and friends who are still alive in glory with their imperishable bodies.
 
I recognize that this aspect of our hope comes with sorrow for many, as it does to me, because of offspring or family members who reject Jesus and His saving message. I live with this sadness every day and pray that once the Rapture happens, if not before, my children will turn to the true Jesus of the Bible.
 
THE RAPTURE MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE LORD JUDGING THE WICKEDNESS THAT HAS BECOME SO PREVALENT
 
Like many of you, the evil, injustice, and violence of our time troubles me at times. There’s coming a time, however, when the Lord will judge all these things in perfect righteousness. Psalm 37:1-20 brings me back to reality and calms my heart amid the turmoil and sickness of this world. Justice will someday prevail through the earth!
 
The Rapture marks the beginning of the day of the Lord, which includes all of the Tribulation, when Jesus will justly deal with the wickedness and wild deception of our world. It only appears as though many are getting away with their vile schemes; the Lord will hold them accountable some day.
 
The Rapture is my precious hope because it’s the beginning of an exciting and joyous adventure that will never end. I long for the day I see Jesus and as long as I have breath, I will continue to defend what Scripture teaches about this glorious hope.
 
The above reasons reveal why my hope is so dear to me; it’s so much more than just sound theology, although it’s all that as well.
 
Maranatha!!!
 
Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/ . It will greatly help me in reaching more people. Thanks!
 
My new book, The Triumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, is now available on Amazon.
 
Jonathan C. Brentner
 
Website: Our Journey Home
 
[i] John Eldredge, All Things New, pp. 93–94.

 


 
22 Observations About The New World War Which Just Started In Ukraine - by Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/22-observations-about-the-new-world-war-which-just-started-in-ukraine/
 
Like many of you, I have been spending a great deal of time keeping up with coverage of Russia’s horrifying invasion of Ukraine. I am very upset with the Russians for choosing to invade the whole country, because now a line has been crossed that will never, ever be able to be uncrossed. From here on out, there will be endless wars and rumors of wars, and countless numbers of people are going to die. In the future, some historians may look back and determine that the coming Chinese invasion of Taiwan was the start of World War III, and others may point to the coming conflict between Israel and Iran. But to me, February 23rd, 2022 was the start of World War III, and nothing will ever be the same again.
 
Since most of you have been closely following news coverage of the war, I am not going to rehash the basic facts here. The Russians are winning victory after victory, and it appears that the battle for Ukraine could be over in a matter of days.
 
But once the battle for Ukraine is over, the real war will begin.
 
The following are 22 observations about the new world war which just started in Ukraine…
 
#1 Now that Russia has invaded Ukraine, any hope for peace between the United States and Russia is gone forever.
 
#2 The conflict between our two nations will continue until one side or the other is totally defeated.
 
#3 Both sides are armed with nuclear weapons, and it is just a matter of time before somebody decides to use them.
 
#4 As he launched the invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin actually warned other countries that he could use nuclear weapons against them if they attempted to intervene.
 
#5 The Biden administration, the Ukrainians and the Russians all lied to us over and over again.
 
#6 We should all be very angry at Vladimir Putin. He completely destroyed the last hope that the world had for peace when he launched a full invasion of Ukraine. If he would have kept his forces in just Donetsk and Luhansk there still would have been the possibility of a diplomatic solution.
 
#7 Joe Biden says that he is considering hitting Russia with the biggest cyberattack in history. That would be an act of war.
 
#8 If we launch a cyberattack against Russia, they will retaliate with a cyberattack of their own, and we are extremely vulnerable.
 
#9 The Russians have more than 1,000 different ways of making us feel pain, and they are not afraid to play dirty.
 
#10 I think that Volodymyr Zelensky is perhaps the stupidest head of state that I have ever seen.
 
#11 Zelensky pushed all of his chips into the middle of the table when the Russians knew full well that he wasn’t holding any cards. Now he is going to lose his entire country.
 
#12 It appears that Zelensky actually believed that the United States and other western powers would come to his aid if the Russians invaded. After what we have witnessed over the past year, that was an incredibly foolish thing to believe.
 
#13 Biden and his minions had a plan for what they wanted to accomplish in Ukraine, and that plan failed dramatically.
 
#14 At this stage, I think that the Biden administration will try to turn the rest of the world against the Russians and will try to suffocate the life out of them economically. But that isn’t going to work, because Russia is very self-sufficient when it comes to food, energy and other essentials, and Putin has also signed very extensive trade agreements with China.
 
#15 I don’t think Putin would have made this move if he didn’t have an understanding with China behind the scenes. The Chinese are allowing the Russians to invade Ukraine, but in return I believe that there is an agreement for the Russians to support China when the Chinese finally invade Taiwan.
 
#16 Now that the Chinese have seen how weakly the western powers have responded to the invasion of Ukraine, I that that makes an invasion of Taiwan much more likely.
 
#17 If the Chinese decide to pull the trigger, they will almost certainly do it while there is still plenty of time left in Biden’s term in office.
 
#18 Putin is not as smart as I thought he was. He is going to win the battle for Ukraine, but now his country can never have positive relations with western nations ever again.
 
#19 The global energy crisis is going to get a whole lot worse. Russia exports a tremendous amount of energy, and European nations gobble it up like addicts. This conflict threatens to dislocate the flow of global energy to a degree that we haven’t seen since World War II.
 
#20 Many warned that our disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan would embolden the Russians to move against Ukraine. Those that issued such warnings have been proven right.
 
#21 The U.S. military is in the worst condition that I have ever seen in my entire lifetime. At this point, the U.S. military is not at all prepared to fight the Russians or anyone else for that matter.
 
#22 Many people out there love to criticize President Trump, but even he understood that you don’t mess with the Russians. Unless they are messing with you, the best thing to do with the Russians is to just leave them alone. All throughout history, those that have chosen to pick a fight with Russia have ended up regretting it. The Russians will do whatever it takes to win, and they are absolutely ruthless.
 
This is truly a sad day, because this didn’t have to happen.
 
As I have detailed in other articles, it would have been so easy to reach a diplomatic agreement that would have kept the Russians entirely out of Ukraine.
 
Unfortunately, there is no use talking about that any longer, because the time for diplomacy has passed.
 
Hopefully many of you are starting to grasp the gravity of what we are facing. For years, I have been relentlessly warning that war with Russia was coming, and now it is here.
 
I tried to warn everyone about what would happen if we stayed on the path that we were on, but now it is too late.
 
There is nothing more than can be done, because World War III has already started.
 
From this point forward, global events are going to escalate rapidly. I would encourage all of you to prepare accordingly.


 


 
Everything you see going on in the world right now is pushing toward implementation of global digital ID and global digital money system: The Fourth Reich is rising – Leo Hohmann - https://leohohmann.com/2022/02/23/everything-you-see-going-on-in-the-world-right-now-is-pushing-toward-implementation-of-global-digital-id-and-global-digital-money-system-the-fourth-reich-is-rising/
 
Let’s not forget the big picture amid all the noise of the “news” this week about war and trucker convoys and staggering inflation.
 
Let’s stay focused on the broader issue of what’s going on and calmly prepare for the logical progression of where this is all leading. I say this because it’s beginning to look like God is allowing end-times scenarios prophesied in the Bible to come to pass.
 
 
Globalist power elites have clearly pushed the button on their long-awaited “final solution,” to use Bill Gates’ phraseology. Maybe it’s better described as their final stage or end-game scenario.
 
Whatever you wish to call it, we are witnessing the final chess moves in the globalists’ long-planned takedown of Western civilization, which they want to replace with a transformed, transhumanist, godless, wicked-to-the-core new world order under which they control everything.
 
When a group of conspirators is in the final stages of a coup d’état, when they believe they have checkmated every conceivable opposition, they are no longer afraid to reveal their true nature. They have bared their authoritarian fangs, ala Justin Trudeau, and are proud of it. They are no longer worried about elections (what a quaint thought). They also do not seem at all concerned about outbursts of peaceful protests, where citizens flood into the streets with signs and chants, or ride into town on heavy trucks.
 
They will use whatever means necessary to clinch the deal and implement their new world order, aka “Great Reset.” They will use pandemics, bioweapons, climate change hysteria, cyber attacks, false-flag attacks and even world war if that’s what it takes to finalize the destruction of Western civilization. This is all justified in their eyes so they can “build back better” on the ashes of that once-great civilization. They sense that after more than 75 years of cultural Marxist propaganda attacks, that this once-dominant civilization has grown weak and soft. In short, they smell blood in the water and are ready to pounce. It is time.
 
Much of what I’ve been reporting for the last two years has been about how the pandemic is being used as a bludgeoning tool to usher in two things, a global digital ID system and a global digital money system, both of which will be used as hammers to force people worldwide into the biblical beast system. There’s a strong argument to be made that this beast system will closely resemble Hitler’s Third Reich, only it will be much worse because today’s power elites, who think almost exactly like those Nazis of the 1930s, have so much more technology at their disposal. They have artificial intelligence to spy on us and predict our thoughts, and they have gene editing and gene therapies to create their super humans devoid of any human compassion or ability to think critically and independently. Orders are given and orders are followed. Those troublesome free wills inherent in the old humans have been largely stamped out, and they can deal harshly with the remaining troublemakers while being cheered on by the new transhumans who have joined their cult.
 
This beast system is now at our doorstep. And in light of what’s gone down in Canada it’s in much clearer view than it was even two months ago. The globalists had a well-thought out strategic plan. Scare the heck out of people through mind-numbing propaganda being put out by the corporate-owned media and the corporate-owned medical-pharma complex, using the fear to lock them down and strip away rights and freedoms, while demonizing anyone who is not afraid of the virus and wants to go on living as they always did.
 
After a year and a half of wearing people down with propaganda and taking away their freedom, then they step in and offer the solution, and here’s where the real deception kicks in, requiring people to buy back some limited freedoms by submitting to dictates that can be issued by a single man or woman, not their elected legislatures. These dictates were billed at first as temporary necessities meant to deal with a crisis, but that was a lie. They were never meant to be temporary. They were meant to reorder every facet of your life, including your freedom of movement, where you can work, what you can say, what you can eat, how you worship God, what gets injected into your body. And everything is now monitored and assessed in real time using AI-driven apps on your phone.
 
If you don’t submit to the injection and grant the elitist cabal total rights over your body and the reordering of your life, then you are basically declared a non-citizen and have no rights. You may be a citizen of your country, loyal to your Constitution and Bill of Rights, but that doesn’t matter anymore. All of that has been bypassed and rendered moot by the crisis. They are looking for global citizens willing to join the new global order. The Fourth Reich. Which is like a cult. You follow their dictates, which they call “science” but have no connection to actual science. Fauci said “I am science,” meaning whatever he says, no matter if it contradicted what he said last week, must be followed instinctively. He is your new god, or one of the new pantheon of gods. Get with the program. “Why can’t those truckers just do what they’re told?” You actually hear that kind of talk all over social media.
 
They believe they can implement this system now because they have spent the last 50 to 75 years infiltrating all the key positions of power in our society with people who will instinctively follow orders, whether they agree with them or not, often for no other reason than to keep their paycheck coming in and their bills paid. They’ve lost the ability or the courage to think critically as individuals. It’s easier to go with groupthink.
 
None of this could have been done 20 or 30 years ago because the power centers within society were still too disparate and diffused. But after years of consolidation in all the major industries, whether it be the media, medical services, banking and financial services, transportation, and manufacturing sectors, they are all controlled at the very top by the same type of people. If you do your research you will find that all of the world’s biggest corporations are majority-owned by the same elite group of people at Blackrock, State Street, Vanguard and a few other massive money-management firms. With this level of monopoly interest, there is nothing of import that they don’t control. If they don’t outright own it, they can control it, because everyone needs to eat. Everyone needs an income. And those incomes are all dependent, ultimately, on the same upper echelon of big banks and corporations.
 
So now is the time for their end game. Don’t lose sight of their goals. Digital money. Global digital ID. Fake meat. Self-driving electric cars. Obedient churches. Obedient global citizens. Those who are disobedient and unwilling to join this new authoritarian system, those who reject the lies of the corporate-media, they will be increasingly ostracized, demonized and singled out for punishment. This is Matthew 24 time. Right will be called wrong. Deception will rule. Persecution will target and trample the believers. But it won’t last long, so keep the faith and prepare to put on your spiritual game face. We will endure till the end.
 
The short article below dovetails with the one I authored on Dec. 3, 2021, titled The real agenda behind the mad dash to get every child injected against a virus that won’t affect them, in which I quoted from a Gates-funded Gavi document that jibes with the WEF document cited by author by Tom Parker.
 
The World Economic Forum, an international organization that works to “shape global, regional and industry agendas,” recently published its latest dystopian proposal – a far-reaching digital ID system that will collect as much data as possible on individuals and then use this data to determine their level of access to various services.
 
This digital ID proposal is outlined in a report titled “Advancing Digital Agency: The Power of Data Intermediaries” and builds upon a digital ID framework that the WEF has published previously.
 
Under this framework, the WEF proposes collecting data from many aspects of people’s “everyday lives” through their devices, telecommunications networks, and third-party service providers.
 
The WEF suggests that this data collection dragnet would allow a digital ID to scoop up data on people’s online behavior, purchase history, network usage, credit history, biometrics, names, national identity numbers, medical history, travel history, social accounts, e-government accounts, bank accounts, energy usage, health stats, education, and more.
 
Once the digital ID has access to this huge, highly personal data set, the WEF proposes using it to decide whether users are allowed to “own and use devices,” “open bank accounts,” “carry out online financial transactions,” “conduct business transactions,” “access insurance, treatment,” “book trips,” “go through border control between countries or regions,” “access third-party services that rely on social media logins,” “file taxes, vote, collect benefits,” and more.
 
In this Advancing Digital Agency: The Power of Data Intermediaries report, the WEF positions this digital ID framework as the part of the solution to a “trust gap in data sharing” and notes that vaccine passports, which were mandated across the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, do “by nature serve as a form of digital identity.”
 
The WEF also praises the way vaccine passports have allowed governments to harvest data from their populations without “notice and consent”:
 
“At a collective level, vaccine data is an incredible public health asset. The United Kingdom Government in particular has acknowledged this and has suggested that anonymization, pseudonymization and data shielding techniques could be harnessed in a controlled environment to allow for the reuse of that highly sensitive data. In such cases, notice and consent is not required per se for the reuse of the data but the intermediary processes the data undergoes must be done in a controlled environment so that the findings of the data set are made available rather than the data itself.”
 
The WEF provides a specific example of how digital IDs could be used to authenticate a user (by using fingerprints, a password, or identity verification technology) and decide whether they should be granted access to a bank loan by judging their profile (which may include their biometrics, name, and national identity number) and history (which may include their credit, medical, and online purchasing history).
 
The WEF goes on to suggest that digital IDs will “allow for the selection of preferences and the making of certain choices in advance” and ultimately pave the way for “automated decision-making” where a “trusted digital assistant” “automates permissions for people and effectively manages their data across different services” to “overcome the limitations of notice and consent.”
 
This push for an invasive digital ID system from the WEF follows it proposing other similar surveillance systems such as turning your heartbeat into a digital ID. Throughout the pandemic, the WEF has consistently advocated for vaccine passports and digital ID.
 
Beyond these specific proposals, the WEF is infamous for its globalist and transhumanist agendas such as the “Great Reset” (which proposes that people will “own nothing” and “be happy”) and the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” (which, according to WEF founder Klaus Schwab, will lead to “a fusion of our physical, our digital, and our biological identities”).
 
Governments and private corporations are increasingly embracing digital IDs. Some governments are also pushing a similar notion – social credit-style apps that monitor citizens’ behavior and reward them for engaging in state-approved actions.

 


 
Nearing Midnight: Righteousness and the Crowns – Terry James - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/
 
This past week, the going home to Heaven of my friend Bob Rogers to be with our Lord brought the impression I believe is from that eternal realm of glory.
 
Bob was both a gentleman and a gentle man, as the great Paul Harvey used to put it in describing those he greatly honored and respected. We will miss Bob, but only for a very brief time in terms of eternity. In our last conversation, he confided that he and his family loved me and my family. That memory means more to me than I can adequately express. We were—and are—indeed one family, both in terms of here on earth and of eternity.
 
His passing into glory immediately brought forth my own recollection of dying clinically those three times on Good Friday of 2011. What a magnificent sight I, a blind person, saw each time my heart discontinued its beating. I won’t go into all that again, as I have mentioned it many times. Suffice it to say it all was just…well…glorious!
 
So, the joy Bob is experiencing now, I perhaps can remember only a brief glimpse of, but to be there in God’s presence forever must be beyond anything any of us can imagine.
 
And this has me contemplating the time when we will all stand before our Lord Jesus Christ to receive eternal rewards. These we will enjoy in a timeless dimension that will grow exponentially in terms of heavenly exultation.
 
We who are in Christ and particularly look with great anticipation for the Rapture are told we will receive the crown of righteousness.
 
There are some who believe all Christians will receive this crown, because all Christians will be thrilled when Christ calls them to Himself. I don’t view this crown this way, because I’m convinced we must look forward with great anticipation now, in this life, in order to be rewarded for our belief that Christ will keep this promise of escape from the time of Tribulation (Revelation 3:10).
 
Here are the Apostle Paul’s words on this promise of that crown.
 
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. (1 Timothy 4:8)
 
Most who read these commentaries, I believe with all that is within my spirit, will be awarded this crown. Rapture Ready–and my personal blog, terryjamesprophecyline.com—are devoted to putting forth the magnificent promise that our Lord will snatch us from this fallen earth just in time to avoid the great trouble that is prophetically scheduled for this planet of rebellious people. Those who love to read these articles and study other materials must have in their spiritual hearts the love for Christ’s appearing, as Paul terms the prerequisite for receiving the crown of righteousness.
 
Here, again, are the crowns promised to believers who devote themselves to godly living while in this present life on earth.
 
The Bible mentions at least 5 crowns/rewards:
 
The incorruptible crown, given to those who master the old nature
 
1 Corinthians 9:25–27
 
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.
 
I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
 
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
 
The crown of rejoicing given to soul-winners
Proverbs 11: 30
 
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
 
Daniel 12: 3
 
And 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.
 
1 Thessalonians 2: 19–20
 
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?
 
For ye are our glory and joy.
 
The crown of life, given to those who successfully endure temptation
James 1:2–3
 
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
 
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
 
Revelation 2:10
 
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 tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
 
The crown of righteousness for those who especially love the doctrine of the Rapture
2 Timothy 4:8
 
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.
 
The crown of glory, given to faithful preachers and teachers
 
Acts 20:26–28
 
Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
 
For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
 
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
 
2 Timothy 4:1–2
 
I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
 
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
 
1 Peter 5:2–4
 
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
 
Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
 
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
 
What a glorious prospect—to see our Savior face to face and to hear Him say: “Well done, good, faithful servant.”
 
Praise God, that is what my great friend Bob Rogers is hearing at this very heavenly moment!

 


 
Daily Jot: The Farm Chronicles: The Trail Ride – Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com
 
The Wandering Riders 4-H Club was among the top two horse clubs in Portage County in the 1960s-‘70s, rivaled only by the Y-Knots. There were many other clubs, peaking with over 300 total kids enjoying horse 4-H projects during those years, but it always came down to the Wandering Riders in the Southern, less affluent, part of the county and the more affluent Y-Knots up North. Among all of us in Portage County were the very elite of riders in the entire state of Ohio. We all competed against one another. Some of us were close friends, others were mean and not so friendly, but we were all rivals once we entered the arena. The competition was fierce, and we all worked hard to win, especially us poorer kids.
 
Our parents were very involved, as are most parents with their kids competing in anything. One year, Dad and several of the parents decided that us kids needed to do something as a reminder of how it was when the folks were younger. It was kind of a “How the West was Won” lecture. You know, the “I walked a mile to school,” or “We had to hitch the horses up to go to town.” But Dad and Jack Lewis and Mel Linton and Mr. Hensley came up with the idea that the Wandering Riders should have an old-fashioned trail ride and campout under the stars. Us kids were all into it for sure. So the plans were made. We would start in Rootstown at our practice ring and ride to our farm in Paris, then have a cookout and campout. Dad mapped out the 20-mile route through the backroads and we started early on a Saturday morning.
 
At first, everybody was really excited. By about the third hour, our butts were sore—as much as we all rode every day, there was no preparing for this. It took us about six hours to reach the farm. We were all walking pretty wide as we waddled over to the corral and watered, fed, tied the horses. Then, sore as we were, we headed for the campground in the woods. Some had tents to pitch. Several of us guys set up in the bed of our 1963 International Harvester stake-bed pick-up truck with a canvas draped over the livestock racks. We played football in the field. Yes, tackle, boys and girls. Rough game with all the thorns and rocks. Then we took a break for burgers on the grill. And when it started getting dark, we divided up into teams and played capture the flag. It was pretty late when we settled into camp.
 
Sitting around, watching the fire and turning in one by one or in small groups. Us guys were sacked out under the tarp in the back of the truck. About three in the morning a thunderstorm woke us with a torrential downpour. That tarp started sagging and leaking under the weight of the rain—a wet, chilly, miserable several hours to dawn. We all were questioning why we did this. But the sun came up at daybreak. We were all soaked. Socks laying on cinder blocks next to the fire while parents were frying eggs, bacon and beans. The warmth of the fire, the morning sun, our sore bodies, and swapping tales of our adventure all added up to a 1 Peter 2:17 “Love the brotherhood” moment. I know where some of my saddle mates are. Others I’ve lost track of, but Wandering Rider, Y-Knot or any of the others, they are all welcome anytime at my campfire. Nothing better than horses, friends and trail rides.

 


 
Daily Devotion: Waiting for a Miracle - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org
 
Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.' —Matthew 11:28
 
https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/waiting-for-a-miracle/ - Listen
 
Have you ever been in a situation so bleak that it seemed as though it would never change? Maybe you had things going wonderfully in your life, and then suddenly you were hit with a severe illness or the loss of a loved one. You didn’t know how you were going to get through it.
 
That was the scenario facing two very different people in chapter 5 of Mark’s Gospel. One was a man, and the other was a woman. One was relatively famous, and the other was unknown. But they had something in common. They both needed Jesus.
 
The woman was in a helpless, hopeless situation. She had spent all of her money on doctors but to no avail. She could not get rid of the horrible sickness that plagued her. Mark tells us, “She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse” (verse 26 NLT).
 
The man, whose name was Jairus, was a leader of the local synagogue. He had power and prestige, but he needed Jesus, too, because his beloved daughter was at death’s door. This young girl had experienced 12 years of relative happiness as the apple of her father’s eye. I think he doted on her and loved her, shown by his urgency in coming to Jesus.
 
On the other hand, the sick woman had experienced 12 years of pain, rejection, and tears. Yet on the same afternoon, both their lives were dramatically changed by their encounter with Jesus Christ.
 
This reminds us that everyone needs Jesus. Every man, every woman, every old person, every young person, and every middle-aged person needs Jesus. Whoever you are, He is there for you.

 




 
FROM THE HEART
    
Let Us Make the Short Time We have Left,
Count for ALL of Eternity!

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