Bible in One Year: Friday, December 25, 2009 (Is 28 - Is 30) Memorise: "Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward" (2 Jn 8) Read: 2 John 7-9 7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. Of all the armour available to us, there is no protection for our back. God will protect you as you advance. But the moment you start to retrogress, you will suffer great losses and can easily become a prey to your enemies. About 50 young men in the communist enslave received Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour and were worshipping the Lord underground. One way or the other, the authorities discovered their hide-out, arrested them and took them to a lake in the middle of winter. It was very cold. They stripped them naked and asked them to enter the freezing water. On the shore, the soldiers built a big fire. When they came to the boys, they offered that if any of them was ready to renounce the lordship of Jesus Christ, that fellow could come out of the lake, warm himself by the fire, wear his clothes and return home a free man. But if they refused to say Jesus is no longer Lord, they would be left to freeze in the lake. After about five or 10 minutes in the freezing lake, the boys were expecting that God would come and rescue them. But when nothing happened, they began to freeze to death one after the other. At a point, one of them began to say that if God could not deliver him, then He is not as powerful as people claim. So he started moving towards the shore as he accepted the offer of the soldiers. Meanwhile, God opened the eyes of the soldiers and they saw 50 angels hovering over the boys, each bearing a glorious crown, waiting for each of them to take their last breath and then they would be crowned and taken on a majestic ride to Heaven. While that young man was heading towards the shore in disappointment, one of the soldiers saw the angel returning with the crown. So he threw away his rifle and started dashing towards the lake and shouting for the angel to wait for him that he wants the rejected crown. Revelation 3:11 says, "Behold I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown". If you do not sustain your Christian race, you may lose your crown to somebody else. If you have laboured so much for God over the years and have heaped so much reward for yourself in Heaven, then take heed lest a particular weakness in character robs you of the Heavenly promised land. If Satan fails to prevent you from acquiring crowns and rewards in Heaven, he will attempt to stop you from getting there. As you gather your Heavenly laurels, work on your flesh not to hinder your physical presence in the Heavenly planet. ACTION POINT: Ask God to keep you faithful to the end so that no one takes your crown.