Author: hillturnfs

Many unbelievers think Christians are not all that bright and believe in God only through blind faith when nothing could be further from the truth. We have used our reasoning skills and intelligence to evaluate the facts to come to the conclusion there is one God (Jehovah) and salvation unto eternal life is through belief in His Son Jesus Christ and no other. Know what you believe and why so you can respond adequately when your faith is challenged.  There are numerous verses in the Bible that confirm you cannot miss God if you earnestly seek Him and my personal experience verifies it. God will meet you and touch you if you meet Him half way. God will rekindle your spiritual fire through the power of the gospel. You will know when this happens because you’ll experience an unquenchable thirst for God and His Word. In previous blogs I’ve mentioned my thirst for God which is my personal testimony.

Proverbs 8:17 – I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently will find Me.

Proverb 30:5 – Every word of God is pure, He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

Psalm 119:89 – Forever, O Lord, your Word is settled in heaven.

As a believer you’re a marked man and this fallen world will oppose you at every turn so prepare yourself by studying Christian apologetics thoroughly. This blog site will help. When you witness to unbelievers always remember you have something they desperately need whether they know it or not.  Unbelievers should know it because God made us to receive His message if we’re paying attention. Know this, unbelievers won’t find real peace until they find God. All the wealth, power and fame in the world will still leave them empty inside. Only God can fill that empty place in their soul and provide real happiness.

Deuteronomy 4:29 – But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

The proof for God is insurmountable. The Bible has a name for those who refuse to believe in God or His Word. God calls them fools because He has clearly shown Himself to us by what He has created, by His Word and by the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God sent to us that we might be saved unto eternal life by faith in Him. A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.

Romans 10:17 – So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

Faith is awakened by the message, the words of Jesus, because the Holy Spirit is present to commune with our spirit to verify the truth of the gospel message that Jesus is the only way to salvation and also to the fact that we are the children of God. Through the Holy Spirit the hearer of the Word can see the Father and believe in Him.

2 Timothy 3:15 – And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

While it’s okay for me to say you can’t read the Bible without coming to faith some people want more proof. With that in mind, I reviewed the Bible to see what God’s Word has to say about it. The Bible’s wisdom is the supernatural truth of God and the Father is always present to fulfill His Word to anyone who says it, reads it, believes it or claims it by faith.

Isaiah 40:8 – The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

1 Chronicles 22:19 – Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God.

Hebrews 10:36 – You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.

What do you have to lose by reading the Bible? What do you have to gain by reading the Bible? The answer to both questions is the same; everything.

Psalm 9:10 – For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

James 4:8 – Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Matthew 7:7-8 – Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Several times in earlier blogs I’ve repeated one of my firmest convictions, which is this: You cannot, with an open mind, read the Bible twice in its entirety without believing in God and accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  I know this from my personal experience so I know it’ll work for you too. It’s important to keep repeating this truth to all unbelievers and challenge them to prove you wrong. Most people will come to God with one reading of the Bible but for those few who don’t start with an open mind.  I’m one of the lucky people who have always instinctively believed in God because there is no other logical explanation in my mind for our existence. Studying God’s Word later verified what I already knew in my spirit.

But what about those unbelievers who do not instinctively believe in God and who have little faith? How do we reach the unbeliever who will not accept the personal testimony of others? How do we get through to the unsaved who have the gospel of Christ snatched from their heart by the god of this world (Satan) as soon as they hear it?  The answer lies in repeatedly prompting the unbeliever to find the truth of God’s Word themselves by simply reading the Bible with an open mind. I won’t argue with unbelievers about my faith. Those with a closed mind must find God themselves so I simply challenge them with this question, “Have you read the Holy Bible all the way through?”

When they say no, as they invariably do,  I tell them to go read the Bible and then let’s talk.  Unbelievers go by what they’ve heard others say and not by their own experiences.  Mind you, there are some unbelievers who will reject God even when they know the truth of God’s Word.  But for the most part unbelievers do not believe in God because they have not read the Bible to see what’s in it.  Our job as Christians is to witness for Christ if an unbeliever is receptive.  If we determine an unbeliever’s heart is not ready for the gospel we can at least challenge them to read the Bible and discover God themselves.

In conclusion, we all need our own heavenly rewards plan that suits our personality. Know going in any plan will evolve over time and be mostly wrong but having a structured plan gives us clarity and some sense of direction. For starters, we should focus on achieving the five crowns the Bible mentions:

1. Crown of life – resisting temptation
2. Incorruptible crown – controlling the old nature
3. Crown of righteousness – loving the rapture
4. Crown of rejoicing – witnessing for Christ
5. Crown of glory – spreading God’s Word

First steps:
Know your Bible inside and out through daily reading and personal study. Learn how to pray effectively, what to pray for and then pray continually. Love God with all your heart; give praise and worship to God always.

Crown of life – Learn how to use the armor of God to combat Satan. I think this crown is specifically for tribulation saints martyred for their faith in God.

Incorruptible crown – Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help to keep you from sinning. If God can do it in heaven He can do it on earth so ask Him.

Crown of righteousness – Loving the rapture. Study prophecy and cultivate this blessed hope. Watch for signs of the end times and tell others.

Crown of rejoicing – Witnessing for Christ. Be a sower and reaper of the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Be ready to witness actively when asked. Find ways to witness passively, if possible. My Christian blog is passive witnessing for me by providing the tools for witnessing and exhorting others to witness.

Crown of glory – Share God’s salvation plan for man contained in the Holy Bible. Usually reserved for preachers, this crown is also for Sunday school teachers, Bible study group leaders Christian bloggers and people who hand out Christian tracts to name a few.

11. How much the doctrine of the rapture means to us.

I’ve always been enthralled by the doctrine of the rapture. When I study Bible prophecy I love it the most. I’m waiting on it and if I’m suddenly 1500 feet in the air in the twinkling of an eye I won’t be scared. I’m an old ex-paratrooper and I’ve experienced the pop of a T-10 parachute opening, with my shut eyes suddenly flying wide open, and then seeing the ground 1200 feet below and feeling the wind on my face.  I imagine that’s the closest thing to the rapture anyone can experience before it actually occurs.  The difference is you’ll be among millions of other believers in the air and you’ll be seeing Jesus in the center of it all, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, with the trumpet of angels blaring loudly all around. The Bible says there is a special Crown of Righteousness for those who love the rapture and look for it’s coming.  

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

12. How faithful we are to the Word of God and the flock of God.

We cannot be faithful to something we don’t know so this is an indirect command from God to know the Word of God through personal Bible study and to obey God’s commands. Those who preach the Word of God receive the crown of glory.  Not all of us are called to preach. There are other ways Christians can minister to both believers and unbelievers. Being a Sunday school teacher is one way. Being a Bible study group leader is another. Even doing a Christian blog like I am qualifies me for this crown.  Remember, God is generous and doesn’t look at quantity so much as quality and the condition of the heart. Billy Graham will receive this crown in heaven, and I believe I will too.  Don’t forget the parable about the vineyard workers. It applies here too.

1 Peter 5:2-4 – 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.

9. How many souls we witness to and win for Christ.

Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

1 Thes 2:19-20 – 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?

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.

The ultimate goal of reading the Bible is to gain the wisdom of God. The above Scripture tells you he who is wise (has wisdom) can do no better for God than to win souls for the kingdom; to witness for Christ.  This may be number nine on our works list but it’s number one in God’s heart. Everyone in heaven will get some kind of crown (i.e. privileges) but those who win souls will also receive the crown of rejoicing.

10. How we react to temptation.

Rev 2:10 – Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.

You know, I don’t think the universal crown for all believers is named in the Bible. Maybe there isn’t one. If there is we’ll discover the name of that crown when we get to heaven. I think the crown of life mentioned above will be limited to those brave Christians who, during the tribulation, will be beheaded for refusing to take the mark of the beast.  I believe Christians will be sent to jail for ten days to give them an opportunity to change their mind and reject their faith in God before their sentence is carried out. This crown will be God’s Medal of Honor for bravery. Millions of saints will face this death bravely because the Holy Spirit will increase their faith.

It is only our works done in the flesh that God will judge by fire; our souls are secure. Scripture is explicit in putting our works into one of six categories. The works worthy of God are not destroyed by fire and they are listed as gold, silver and precious stones. Works considered worthless will be consumed by fire and are noted as wood, hay and stubble.  My great fear is having no works that survive the fire. What works qualify for each category? Theologians have come up with a list of works God should reward, although Scripture isn’t specific. Works considered to be positive and worthy of reward include the following:

1. How we treat other believers
2. How we exercise our authority over others
3. How we employ our God-given abilities
4. How we use our money
5. How much we suffer for Jesus
6. How we spend our time.
7. How we run the race God gives us.                                                                                                                  8. How effectively we control the old nature:

1 Cor 9:25-27 – And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

I interpret the above Scripture to mean we must control ourselves so we don’t sin to excess and we must ask for forgiveness immediately when we do sin. We must be single minded of purpose in obeying God’s commands.  We must have a plan for our walk with God; how we will emulate Jesus and how we will share our witness for Christ. We need a personal heavenly rewards plan if we want to maximize our rewards in heaven.

Because of Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden all men have inherited the sin nature of Adam. Our carnal nature causes us all to sin against God and that included Moses, Paul, David and the prophets; everyone.  Jesus is the only man who ever lived who was sinless, which was why Jesus, and only Jesus, could redeem us from our sins. The justice of God required a human blood sacrifice for the redemption of man and only Jesus was spotless before God.  I make a conscious effort every day not to sin but it’s a losing battle. Lust is my great sin and even if I only lust in my heart it’s still a sin to God. If I have evil thoughts or use hateful speech I sin against God. God knows we are helpless against sin because of our sin nature which is one of the reasons why God promises to forgive us if we ask Him.

Pray every night before bedtime asking God to forgive you of any sins you have committed that day. Never go to sleep with unforgiven sin. Ask God to cover your transgressions with the blood of Jesus Christ, which He has promised to do.  That way you have a clean slate with God before your eyes close. Every man’s eternal destiny is determined when he leaves this life based whether or not he has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Accumulated sin won’t keep a saved Christian out of heaven but why carry that burden when God will forgive your sins if you ask Him?  God loves to be  merciful and gracious to those He loves!

All believers who die will not go to the Great White Throne judgement reserved for those going to hell forever for rejecting Jesus. Instead, believers will go straight to heaven when they die and into the presence of Jesus.  Believers will have to appear before the bema judgement seat of Christ at some point. As believers we have already been gifted eternal life in heaven by a loving God. This judgement is for believers to give an account of their works done in the body and receive from Jesus our reward.  We will be held accountable for our actions on earth from the moment of our salvation until our death. All of our sins committed before our conversion were forgiven when we were saved and God remembers them no more. We are now in God’s family.

Because Jesus died in our place on the cross we have off-loaded our sin and have instead been given the righteousness of Christ. We stand before God spotless in His eyes, adopted sons and co-heirs with Jesus to God’s kingdom. The angels don’t have that privilege. The Bible tells us we will judge angels in heaven. We will be royalty in heaven and therefore when we pray we have God’s ear.

1 Peter 3:12 – For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers.

Isaiah 59:1 – Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.

Psalm 94:9 – He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see?

God tells us to be persistent in what we pray for and to wait upon the Lord for an answer which will, in most cases, be much slower than we would like. God always answers if we know what to look for and how to listen for His voice. God has perfect knowledge so His answer to our prayers is never wrong. Remember, God loves us dearly and if God says no He’s looking out for our best interest.  We can talk to the Creator of the universe anytime we want. I suggest we pray at least five times a day, every morning, every night and before each meal. In a perfect world we should be talking to God all day long about everything. God is always interested in anything we have to say. We only use 10% of our brains and I’ll bet we only pray 10% as much as we should, if that much. We have a lot to learn about our awesome God!