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For those of you who were saved at a young age and then drifted away from your faith as you grew older you may see yourself in this blog. I was saved at age twelve and drifted away from God for the next forty years before I returned to God. It’s important you understand this truth. Once you are in God’s hands you belong to Him and He will never ever let you go.  God will pursue you to the ends of the earth for the rest of your life trying to restore the broken fellowship between you and God. God won’t get tired; God won’t get angry; God won’t stop loving you.

Once you are a marked man God will hunt you down and stalk you to the point you begin to notice it. You can feel it on the back of your neck. You know it to be true in your soul because the Holy Spirit within you makes your spirit aware the Father searches for His lost child.  How do I know this? My personal testimony is that it happened to me just as I’ve described. The only difference is I thought God was pursuing me to save me and I realized later I was already saved and God was chasing me to restore my fellowship with Him.  It wasn’t until I immersed myself in God’s Word that I knew the truth.

Romans 11:29 – For the gift and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Hebrews 13:5 – I will never leave you nor forsake you.

John 6:37 – All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

Many men throughout history have claimed to be God and that will never change. But only one man, Jesus Christ, has satisfied the tests of “reason and history”. Only Jesus was pre-announced. Only Jesus had his birth, life and death prophesied. Only Jesus fulfilled every prophecy made about him. I’ve previously listed 36 prophecies Jesus fulfilled during his life but there are many more.  Only Jesus Christ came into the world and made such an impact that history was divided into two periods: one before his coming (BC), and the other after it (AD). Only Jesus came into the world to specifically die in our place on the cross and thus save mankind. Only Jesus came into the world to teach us and establish his church (Christianity).  All the other people in history who started world religions died and were buried somewhere. Only Jesus died, was buried and rose from the dead. Only the grave of Jesus is empty, because He sits at the right hand of God. Only Jesus was God in the flesh.

John 1:14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 8:32 – And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Fake religions have things in common. Their gods are invisible, impersonal and cannot be known. Their gods do not love you or speak to you. Their gods require you to earn your way into heaven and you never know if you’ve done enough to get there. Only Jehovah God does just the opposite of all these things so that you will know He is the one true God and there is no other.

Isaiah 45:5 – I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from Me there is no God.

Isaiah 43:11 – I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Savior.

Isaiah 43:13 – From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do.

Isaiah 45:22 – Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

Everyone reading the Bible has the, “aha moment,”  when it suddenly dawns on them they’re holding in their hands a written communication from the God of the universe meant for them. No power on earth can stand against God’s Word.  It’s the sword of the Spirit and it’s at our disposal. It changes you forever to realize you are an immortal being and your destiny is to live in heaven forever with your Father. Oh, what a revelation! Praise God!  Once you know this it changes your perspective on everything. Everything else in life become insignificant, small potatoes, when compared with our relationship with God. Normal life events become a series of things that interrupt my walk with God which I find myself resenting.

While our citizenship is in heaven, God is leaving us here for a purpose. We have one foot in heaven and one foot on the earth and we must all learn how to balance the two in our walk with God.  Find your spiritual gift from God and it will lead you to the plan God has for your life.  There are many ways an unbeliever can find God. They can be convicted of their sin by the Holy Spirit listening to a preacher at church or on television. Unbelievers can find God through a personal witness or in a Bible study group. The best way for an unbeliever to find God is by reading the Holy Bible, God’s revelation to man, so that he may know God.  Read the entire Bible, stating with the book of John, then the other gospels. Read the rest of the New Testament before reading the Old Testament. Then repeat. Read your Bible every day to keep your faith strong and encourage others to do the same.  I suggest reading the entire Bible once a year to keep it fresh in your mind.

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.