Psalms 65:11
“You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance.”
INSIGHT
-crown in Hebrew is written as atarah which means a metallic diadem that is decorated with jewels & worn by a person in authority. The word crown has been used innumerable times in the Bible including:- a holy crown was worn on top of a turban by priests (Exo 29:6; 39:30; Lev 8:9), an Amalekite killed king Saul & took his crown to king David (2 Sam 1:10), Joash was crowned king of Judah (2 Kin 11:12), a good wife is a crown to her husband (Pro 12:4), grandchildren are crowns to their grandparents (Pro 17:6 ), old age is a crown (Pro 16:31), riches are crowns to the wise (Pro 14:24), goodness of God is a crown to us (Ps 65:11), Gods lovingkindness & mercy is a crown to His people (Ps 103:4 ), the Lord will be a crown of glory to His remnants (Isa 28:5 ) etc.
-As we begin this year, the Lord reminds us that He has crowned the year with His goodness & abundance. He calls us to shed off all fear & anxiety; & be hopeful & at peace for He is in control. God has prepared many marvelous things for us who love Him & are called according to His purpose. God is giving us abundance in every aspect that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, & no human mind has conceived these things & calls us only to believe in Him & partake of His deep things through the help of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:9-10).
PRAYER
Praise the Lord oh my soul & do not forget all His benefits. Forgive us all our sins Jesus & remember them no more; we humbly implore You. Heal all our diseases & anxieties; & redeem our lives, families, churches & nation from the pit. You have crowned this year with Your goodness & given us abundant grace, health, wealth, deep wisdom, faith, peace, love & many other gifts & fruit; we exult Your holy name Lord. Renew our strength & our youth like an eagle, we humbly ask You Father. You have crowned us with Your love & compassion, & have satisfied the desires of our hearts with good things, be magnified in all the heavens & all the earth; King of all glory. Amen
2 Kings 11:12
“And he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the Testimony; they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”
INSIGHT
-As a sign of authority; kings, some queens, princes & princesses wore physical crowns in the biblical times & other monarchy’s have maintained this culture up-to date. Joash was made king in Judah during a time characterized by hostilities & deaths of kings heirs. Athaliah mother of Ahaziah saw that all her children were dead & she inherited the kingdom of Judah. She did not have the slightest idea that Jehosheba had rescued Joash from the edge of her sword. Prior to these events, Jehu had cleared off the seventy sons of king Ahab as prophesied by prophet Elijah. Despite all these odious events; God revealed Himself faithful to Joash & crowned him king in Judah by Jehoiada the priest at a tender age. Similarly; during the birth of our great Shepherd Jesus Christ; such authoritarian rulership orchestrated by one; king Herod was evidenced & he massacred many Jewish children in Bethlehem as prophesied by prophet Jeremiah. Gods’ divine salvation plan was not hindered by such human interference for Christ ultimately accomplished His mission on earth. It is through this honorable cause that we have received victory through Jesus’ works on the cross. Christ Has qualified us as His sons, clothed us with righteousness & crowned us with His loving kindness & tender mercies so that as kings & priests to God; we may reign on the earth (Rev 5:10).
PRAYER
We thank You Father for the gift of life & for this far that You have brought us; be glorified forever. You have revealed Yourself faithful to us always despite the challenges that we face; receive all our praise. Remember Jesus our president, deputy president, all the governors, senators, women reps, Mca’s, Ps’es, Cs’es, executive heads & all other leaders, that You may shepherd them all Father according to Your divine will. Fill us all Holy Spirit with Your wisdom, knowledge, power & understanding that we may take charge of our areas of domain for Your merciful love is everlasting. Amen
Revelation 3:11-12
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.”
INSIGHT
-The church of Philadelphia; the faithful church was dedicated to God & Jesus implored them to hold fast righteousness through faith so that no one would take their crowns. As the body of Christ; the church is designed for spiritual growth & moral authority; bringing us closer to God as we keep His word & proclaim His name. Since as the church we are the body of Christ; our personal relationships with God should motivate us individually to obtain Christs’ new name. Jesus tells us that He is coming quickly & the ones who overcomes will obtain the crown of life. As sheep follow their shepherd diligently without looking to the left or to the right; we are called to follow Jesus faithfully like the church of Philadelphia with our eyes cast on Him Who is the author & finisher of our faith. The Lord has promised to reward those who love Him with the crown of life; those who endure temptations for they have been approved (Jam 1:12). Further, those who overcome will be established pillars in the temple of the Lord & they shall not be moved.
PRAYER
Our Father who at in heaven; hallowed be Your name; Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread & forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from evil; for thine is the Kingdom the power & the glory; forever & ever. Amen
Proverbs 4:7-9
“Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”
INSIGHT
-After being crowned king, king Solomon realized that he was deficient in many things; even though he only asked for wisdom; which pleased the Lord. Wisdom is the application of knowledge & understanding all of which are available gifts given by the Holy Spirit according to His will. In his final remarks through the book of Ecclesiastes 12:13; king Solomon tells us that our duty on earth are to fear of the Lord & keeping His commandments; through which God drives His kingdom agenda in us, for us & by us. Wisdom, humility & the fear of the Lord find an equilibrium in Jesus’ law of love. Like in the Olympics where those who win get a reward, we are called to strive for wisdom which will reward us with promotions, honor, grace & it becomes our crown of glory through Christ Jesus. Let us always remember that wisdom is the principal thing & ask for it, & in all our getting, let us get understanding.
PRAYER
You alone are holy & true Lord; receive all the glory & praise. You have said in Your word that those who lack wisdom, let them ask from You; we humbly ask You for wisdom merciful God. Only You have the authority to reward those who diligently seek You Lord; have mercy on us. Journey with us Jesus in all things & expand our capacities so that we may be able to receive all that You have promised us & always act according to Your will. Guide us every day Father in Your wisdom & help us to always desire the imperishable crown so that we may endure with You in glory now & forever. Amen
John 19:1-3
“So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands.”
INSIGHT
-Jesus was scourged, beaten & humiliated for our sins. Clothed with a crown of thorns & a purple robe, Jesus was mocked & slaps on the face by Pilate & his troops. Through these bitter passions our redemption was birthed & our salvation came. Caiaphas the high priest planned these events probably due to competition in following; but Pilate never intended to crucify Jesus & alleged that he found no fault in Him. Amid the pressure elicited by the Jewish leaders to crucify Jesus, Pilate attempted to substitute Jesus with Barnabas who was a robber & murderer. Barnabas was guilty & deserved to die but Jesus was innocent & righteous; but this was the will of the Father. Christ thus became our substitute by replacing animal sacrifices which were temporary solutions for curing sin, so that we may have abundant life. We are sinners like Barnabas, Lord have mercy on us. Instead of us going to the cross for our sins, Jesus took our place & died on the cross for all our sins. Jesus the innocent One wore a crown of thorns so that we His children may wear the crown of glory. He wore a purple robe so that we may be clothed in robes of righteousness. We are called to rejoice for the salvation of the Lord has come to all men.
SUMMARY
A crown is a traditional symbolic form of headwear, worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, victory, triumph, honor & glory, as well as immortality, righteousness & resurrection. God plants us in different fields so that we may grow & yield good fruits according to His will. The light of the great certainty that we have obtained victory through Christ should forever draw our weary eyes & weary of false glitters to Him; Who is the light of the world so that all evil may grow strangely dim. Jesus has promised to reward all those who run the race designed for eternity with an imperishable crown so that through faith in Him we may live in His grace now & forever. Through His merciful love, He May become a crown of glory; & a diadem of beauty to all His children (Isa 28:5).
PRAYER
Jesus You Who seated at the right hand of the Father crowned with glory, we praise You & bow down before You. You suffered shame & died for all our sins, we will forever glorify Your holy name. Take away all our sins we humbly ask You Lord & cover us with Your precious blood. Heal all those who are sick, suffering, homeless, orphans, widows, widowers, aged, unmarried, unemployed, barren, all those who are struggling in business, finances, employment, marriages, relationships & school. Heal us all Jesus from our struggles for by Your stripes we are healed. Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ & the love of God & the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now & forever more. Amen