My cousin’s older daughter has competed in some pageants in the past few years. She is a beautiful young lady and she has been fairly successful in the pageant scene. She won the opportunity to walk the runway during fashion week in New York City and has done some magazine photo shoots in New York and Nashville. I think that should be considered pretty successful. She has a number of beautiful tiaras, or crowns as we called them in the olden days of the county fair’s Fairest of the Fair pageants.
The crowns that pageants present to these young ladies these days are so intricate and elaborate. A lot of them are crafted with clear stones that sparkle and shine. You can just imagine the celebration as they are placed on their heads. Some crowns have many small stones, while others are a mix of different size stones. Then others have various colors and cuts of stones, depending on the theme of the pageant that is presenting the crown. My cousin’s daughter has an exquisite crown that is a combination of silver and blue, from a “Back the Blue” law enforcement themed pageant.
As a young girl, for me, beautiful crowns were the things of dreams—dreams of princes and princesses and fairy tale celebration endings mostly. As I have gotten older and have been blessed to walk close with my Lord, I think more about heavenly celebrations and the crowns I desire to lay at the feet of my Jesus.
In the Book of Zachariah, we see Zachariah reassuring the southern kingdom of Judah, through prophesies from the Lord, that if they would just follow the commands of the Lord faithfully, He would bless them, and some of those blessings would include celebrations.
Zachariah told them that the Lord of hosts would defend them and allow them to completely defeat their foes. The stones that their enemies were slinging at them would end up being pathways for them to tread in their victories. They would celebrate noisily as if they were drunk on wine, and in their victory they would be filled to overflowing.
He assured them that their God would come through for them in that day and save them just as a shepherd saves his sheep. They would be shining high on their land just as the radiance of the precious jewels of a majestic crown.
Zachariah reminded them of the greatness and the magnificence of God’s goodness. He signified that the abundance of grain and wine would once again nourish the men and women and they would flourish. It is my belief that the full completion of fulfillment for these prophecies is in the future as Jesus Christ comes back to rule and reign on this earth, surrounded by His people.
The challenge for those that are followers of Jesus Christ, that are not of the Jewish bloodline, could be to remember and hold in our hearts that we are now, also, God’s people, even though these particular prophecies were written for the nation of Israel at that time for the things they would continue to experience. The challenge for us could be to mark on our hearts that we have been brought into the family of Israel, into the promise, through his descendant, Jesus Christ. God will defend us, come through for us and celebrate over us.
How can we apply this to our lives? We could live our lives with joy and celebration, with the knowledge that God will come through for us and lead us straight to the fold of Heaven as our eternal Shepherd. We can trust Him enough to have joy in our hearts as we look forward to our final destination.
My faith is strengthened through reading the stories of the many times that God has kept His promises to His people, and knowing that I am one of His people. I love the imagery of jewels in a crown…the crown that I will gladly lay at the feet of Jesus.
Lord, thank You for the assurance that You will see us through this life’s journey. I look forward to the day when I celebrate with excessive joy! I look forward to laying any crown or any treasure I may make it home with at Your beautiful feet and to hopefully be a jewel that would be worthy for You to possess.
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“15 The Lord of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. 16 And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. 17 For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids” Zechariah 9:15-17 (KJV)
“Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.” Isaiah 62:3 (KJV)
“3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 60:3,14 (KJV)
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I feel that since God has given me the gift of this platform, I must always tell you about my Jesus.
What is your relationship to the all-knowing God of the universe? Do you know Jesus? Do you know the peace that can come only from an intimate relationship with Him? You can know Him. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, born into human flesh, sinless, crucified and giving His life freely, buried, arisen on the third day, will come into your life and change the outcome of your eternity. You just have to be willing to believe and accept His truth.
Here is an excellent website that can give you additional information about making your decision for Jesus Christ! PeaceWithGod.net
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Restricted Vision, Unburdened Sight 