Hang on, it’s always too soon to quit!

“I am coming soon! Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make a pillar in the temple of my God…” (Revelation 3:11-12).

As the days in which we live grow more difficult, divisive, and secular, moving further away from the Biblical foundation upon which our country was founded, we must be careful not to give up. As Christian women living in the last days, may we not go along with these worldly attitudes and pursuits. When Jesus said, “Hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown,” He was not referring to losing our salvation. In the Bible, the concept of a crown is something that is given to a believer for his or her faithfulness. Various crowns are promised to believers depending upon how they lived.

Paul said, “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8). If you look forward with great anticipation to the return of Christ, then you will have a crown of righteousness waiting for you! The crown spoken of by Jesus in Revelation 3 represents the opportunities God has given to us. There is a reward promised to every believer who faithfully serves the Lord, by His grace, of course!  Don’t lose that opportunity. Don’t squander it. Don’t be lazy or get distracted, but rather serve Him wholeheartedly until the end. After all, we will be throwing our crowns at His feet in absolute adoration and worship!

May we not lose heart or grow discouraged, but let us redeem the time as the days are evil. John said in chapter 8, “Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for but that you may be fully rewarded.”  Paul said in Acts 20:24 that “none of these things move me, neither do I count my life dear to myself, that I may finish my race with joy.” There was not a person in the Bible, other than Jesus, who had more obstacles thrown at him than Paul.

Lastly, one of my favorite verses and a good warning for us is found in 2 Corinthians 11:2, “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ!” Let us stay simply devoted to Jesus!  A bride going to the altar doesn’t let anything get in her way; that’s how we should be living as we see the Day of Christ’s return approaching!

We would see Jesus,

Karen Pulley