RCCG Victory Temple Chantilly's Podcast

JUN. 10, 2025

The five crowns (3).

"There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness." 2Ti 4:8 NKJV

The third crown mentioned in Scripture is the crown of righteousness. Paul writes: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord...will give to me on that Day, and... also to all who have loved His appearing" (vv. 7-8 NKJV). 

A pastor amplifies this: "The book of 2 Timothy represents the last known writing of the apostle Paul, and we have reason to believe he was beheaded shortly after writing these words. 

• But rather than dreading death, he was looking forward to the Second Coming. 
• He was...content with his record of service for the Master. 
• Paul's use of the athletic metaphor here is especially descriptive of the life of the believer because it describes struggle, endurance, discipline, and final victory. 

The Crown of Righteousness is reserved for those who have a longing for the Lord Jesus and who watch for Jesus to come back." Writing to Titus, Paul speaks of "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13 NKJV). 

The pastor continues: "Psychologists tell us that anticipation...is an emotion with marvelous healing powers. 

• People who are snowbound sustain their spirits by anticipating the longer days of spring and summer. 
• Couples…separated by military deployment stay sane by anticipating their reunion…
• Brides and grooms are eager for their wedding day." 

As a Christian, your best days are ahead of you, and you can anticipate all the glories of heaven and eternity. It should motivate you to be faithful to Jesus as you wait for His return.

The five crowns The crown of righteousness

Share This Devotional

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

The five crowns (1).

"They do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown." 1Co 9:25 NKJV

In describing our heavenly rewards, the Bible speaks of crowns. Let's look at each and see what we can learn. The first is the victor's crown. "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" (vv. 25-27 NKJV). 

Paul points out that athletes who expect to win must actively train. And we, likewise, must retain self-control even in things that, although not inherently evil, can weaken our devotion to God. A pastor explains: 

• Sometimes we have to turn off the television so we can study our Bibles. 
• We have to get up earlier in the mornings to have our daily devotions. 
• We have to exercise self-control in what comes into our minds. 

We can't watch many of today's television programs or movies-much less the streaming material accessible on our phones and computers-without violating biblical standards of personal holiness. 

We can't subject our bodies to drug or alcohol abuse or allow immorality to creep into our relationships. We've got to keep our tempers [and tongues] under the control of the Holy Spirit...and we have to depend on God to strengthen us in our resolutions to live disciplined lives." 

The Bible says, "Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown"-the victor's crown.

The five crowns  The victor's crown

The five crowns (2).

"What will be our...crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you!" 1Th 2:19 NLT

The second crown mentioned in Scripture is the crown of rejoicing. It's given to those who take part in leading others to Christ. The background for this passage is written about in Acts 17, which tells the story of Paul arriving in the city of Thessalonica. He went into the synagogue, "and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining...that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ'" (vv. 2-3 NKJV). 

Some of his hearers were converted, including a great multitude of devout Greeks and a number of prominent women. As a result, a church was built there. Writing to them later, Paul said that they would be his crown when Christ returned. We should all follow Bill Bright's example; he was one of the best soul winners of the twentieth century. 

And he once disclosed his secret: "Although I have shared Christ personally with many thousands of people through the years, I am a rather reserved person and I do not always find it easy to witness. But I have made this my practice, and l urge you to do the same: Assume that whenever you are alone with another person for more than a few moments, you are there by divine appointment to explain...the love and forgiveness he [or she] can know through faith in Jesus Christ." When was the last time you shared the gospel with someone? Whenever you do, the Lord is fitting you for a crown of rejoicing.

The five crowns The crown of rejoicing

Share This Devotional

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

JUN. 5, 2025

Honor others, and God will honor you.

"...In honor giving preference to one another." Ro 12:10 NKJV

One of the real tests of character and maturity is how you react to someone else's success. That's particularly so when they succeed in an area where you failed or in which you're frustrated over not having achieved greater success. 

F. B. Meyer, a well-known author and minister in England, once shared the following experience to a few of his friends: "It was easy to pray for the success of G. Campbell Morgan when he was in America. But when he came back to England and took a church near to mine, it was something different. The old Adam in me was inclined to jealousy, but I got my heel upon his head, and whether I felt right toward my friend, I determined to act right. My church gave a reception for him, and I acknowledged that if it was not necessary for me to preach Sunday evenings, I would dearly love to go and hear him myself. Well, that made me feel right toward him. But just see how the dear Lord helped me out of my difficulty. 

There was Charles Spurgeon preaching wonderfully on one side of me, and G. Campbell Morgan on the other. Both were so popular and drew such crowds that our church caught the overflow, and we had all we could accommodate." 

No matter how well you do something, someone else will come along and do it better. So, here are your options:

• Compare yourself to them, 
• compete with them, 
• criticize them, 
• compliment, and 
• cooperate with them. 

The latter is what Paul meant when he wrote, "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another" (v. 10 NKJV).

Honor others, and God will honor you How you react to someone else's success

Share This Devotional

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

Finding your life's purpose.

"I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness." Ac 26:16 NKJV

In baseball, the catcher tries to distract the batter. On one occasion when Yogi Berra was behind the plate, Hank Aaron came up to bat. Yogi started in, "Hank, you've got the writing on the bat in the wrong place. The words should be facing you." Yogi kept going, "You better check it." Hank didn't say a word. On the next pitch, Hank hit the ball over the center field fence. He rounded the bases, stepped on home plate, looked at Yogi Berra, and said, "I didn't come here to read, I came to win." It's vital to know why you are here and not to let anyone talk you out of your calling or purpose. In the world today, people say they are trying to find themselves. 

Such a search is pointless. As one pastor states: "If you don't know who you are, how do you know what to look for? And how would you know when you have found it, since you don't know what you are looking for? Toasters don't find themselves...A toaster...just [has] to do what the manufacturer had in mind." Paul had a supernatural encounter on the Damascus road when Christ said to him, "I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you" (v. 16 NKJV). 

To discover your life's purpose, you must start with God as your reference point. He made you; He redeemed you; He has a plan for your life-and He will reveal it to you.

Finding your life's purpose It's vital to know why you are here.

Share This Devotional

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

JUN. 3, 2025

Take responsibility for your life.

"Do you want to get well?" Jn 5:6 NIV

What an amazing question Jesus asked this paralyzed man: "Do you want to get well?" Who wouldn't? You might be surprised! Kay Arthur tells of passing a beggar one day on a street in the Old City of Jerusalem. As he sat begging, his trouser leg was pulled up to reveal his terrible sores. She writes: "My nurse's heart brought my feet to a halt. I wanted to bend down and shield the open wound from the dust...It should be washed, medicated, and dressed by someone who cared. My friend gently took me by my elbow and propelled me toward our destination. I was a tourist and did not know about these things. She then proceeded to tell me that this man did not wish to be made well. He made his living from his wound! As I looked back...l caught one last glimpse of someone who was less than what he could have been." The man lying helpless on a cot by the pool called Bethesda had been there for thirty-eight years. 

Question: How long does it take before a problem becomes a way of life? Jesus said to him, "Get up...and walk" (v. 8 NIV), the inference being that it's time to get up and go to work—to become a father to your children, a husband to your wife, a contributor to your community, a solution to someone else's problem-it's time to take responsibility for your life. 

Are you letting your past or present circumstances keep you stuck and stop you from moving forward? If Jesus asked you, "Do you want to get well 

• emotionally, 
• physically, 
• and spiritually?" 

what would your answer be? Today let Jesus make you whole!

Take responsibility for your life Today let Jesus make you whole!

Share This Devotional

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

JUN. 2, 2025

A word to graduates.

"Concentrate on doing your best for God." 2Ti 2:15 MSG

Graduate, here are eleven lessons to empower and inspire you: 

(1) You're here for a reason, and the most vital thing you can do is find it. 

(2) Follow your passion. You may not already know what it is, but make it your mission to discover it. 

(3) Although you might love Facebook, you might not like working for the company. And because you enjoy cooking doesn't mean you will enjoy owning a restaurant. 

(4) Don't quit because the work is hard. Quit because deep inside you know there is something different for you to do, or you're not improving yourself or the organization, or you know you're not supposed to be there anymore. 

(5) Learn from every experience. Each job gets you ready for the work you were born to do. 

(6) Your present job may not be your highest purpose, but it can assist as an agent to prepare you for it. 

(7) In whichever job you accept after graduation, serve. Serving in minor ways affords you opportunities to serve in major ways. 

(8) Your dream job probably isn't the one you dreamed about. Frequently we end up in remarkable careers outside the scope of our degrees. 

(9) The pursuit of your purpose is filled with difficulties, wins, detours, dead ends, and postponements. Remain hopeful and faithful. 

(10) You may want something to happen immediately, but if it did, would you be ready for it? 

(11) Seeds yield to the ground so they can be utilized for a greater purpose.

So, plant yourself, and let yourself be used for a harvest to benefit others.

A word to graduates Don't quit because the work is hard.

Share This Devotional

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

MAY. 29, 2025

The need for connectedness.

"Being rooted and established in love." Eph 3:17 NIV

Unfortunately, the word fellowship has come to be associated with awkward gatherings in church basements, drinking red punch, and participating in stilted conversations. No wonder people give up on it! Paul describes connectedness as "being rooted and established in love."

When a tree puts roots into the ground, it takes in nutrients and water, and the tree grows and has life, but only if it's rooted. In the same way, we're rooted, and our souls are nourished in the love of God-and other people. 

We experience this physically and emotionally when we connect with somebody. When there is an exchange of genuine caring, the roots of your soul get fed. We flourish when we're connected with God and people, and we languish when we're disconnected.

• Emotionally isolated people are more prone to depression, anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, substance abuse, sexual addiction, and difficulty eating and sleeping. 
• One behavioral expert writes: "Connection not only helped make us who we are...it helps determine who we become as individuals…
• In both cases, human connections, mental health, psychological health, and emotional well-being are inextricably linked." 
• Even animals that are isolated experience more intensive arterial sclerosis. 

One author writes, "A friend of mine used to have a dog and a cat [that] fought for ten years. Then the cat died...and the dog wouldn't eat. Six weeks later he died." That's just a small illustration of the power of connection. This doesn't mean you have to force yourself to become an extrovert. Some of the shyest people have the deepest friendships because they identify life-giving relationships, plug into them, thrive, and give back. And that's what God designed you to do too.

The need for connectedness Human connections and emotional wellbeing are inextricably linked.

Share This Devotional

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

MAY. 28, 2025

When you feel blah.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Pr 29:18

The word "perish" conjures up images of deterioration and decay, like fruit rotting from within. On what specific day does passion leave a marriage or a worker lose interest in a job that once excited them? Like air leaking silently out of a tire, what was meant to carry our weight and to power us toward our destiny can now barely wobble. If that's how you're feeling now, read this promise, and let it take root within you: "He gives power to the tired and worn out, and strength to the weak. Even the youths shall be exhausted, and the young men will all give up. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint" (Isa 40:29-31 TLB).

The great apostle Paul told his admirers, "We too are only human, like you" (Ac 14:15 NIV).  We are all made of the same flawed material. That's why we need God's strength and mercy newly bestowed on us each day (See La 3:22-23). 

So, what should you do when you're feeling blah? Two things. 

First, if you're physically tired-rest. Second, think about how God's family works and stop isolating. The Bible says, "Carry each other's burdens" (Gal 6:2 NIV). The fact is, you have given to others in times past, now have the grace and humility to receive from them. 

• Reach out. Use your connections. 
• Start reading God's Word. 
• Listen to uplifting music and fill your space with praise. 

When you do these things, your focus will change, and your faith will start to rise.

When you feel blah We are all made of the same flawed material.

Share This Devotional

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

MAY. 27, 2025

Are you in a stress mess?

"What you are doing is not good...You... will only wear yourselves out." Ex 18:17-18 NIV

The Bible says: "The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, 'What is this you are doing for the people?

Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?' Moses answered him, 'Because the people come to me to seek God's will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and instructions! Moses' father-in-law replied, 'What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out'" (vv. 13-18 NIV). 

Moses was stressed to the breaking point. The Latin word for "stress" means "to be drawn tight." Doctors say it's a precursor to heart attacks and strokes. There is a reason why highways have weigh stations-to ensure that trucks aren't carrying more weight than they are constructed to haul. Moses' father-in-law told him that he was wearing himself out. The Hebrew word for "wearing out" literally means "to become old." Moses was growing old before his time. If that's happening to you,

(1) shift gears and start to share the load with others, and 

(2) spend more time in God's presence. "Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength...they shall... not faint" (Isa 40:31 NKJV).

Are you in a stress mess? Stressed to a breaking point

Share This Devotional

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

MAY. 26, 2025

When God asks you to give.

"The Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do." Eph 6:8 NIV

When God asks you to sacrifice on behalf of somebody else, do it. It's like putting money in a heavenly account. You may not need it today or tomorrow, but when you do, God will ensure it comes back to you in multiplied form. Indian Christian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh and a companion were traveling through a pass high in the Himalayas when they found a body lying in the snow. 

They checked for vital signs and discovered the man was still alive, but barely. As Sundar prepared to stop and help this unfortunate traveler, his companion objected, saying, "We shall lose our lives if we burden ourselves with him." Sundar, however, couldn't comprehend leaving the man to die in the snow without an attempt at rescue. His companion bade him farewell and walked on. Sundar lifted the traveler on his back and, with great exertion-made greater by the high altitude and snowy conditions-carried him onward. 

As he walked, the heat from his body began to warm the frozen man. He revived, and soon they were walking together side by side, holding each other up and sharing body heat. Before long, they came upon another traveler's body lying in the snow, and on closer inspection, they discovered he was dead. 

You guessed it. It was Sundar's original traveling companion! So, what's the lesson in all this? What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you! The Bible says, "Serve wholeheartedly because...the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do" (vv. 7-8 NIV).

When God asks you to give Money in a heavenly account

Share This Devotional

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!