Our devotion is in the newspaper this week:

https://www.robertsoncountyconnection.com/community/is-your-name-written-in-god-s-book-of-life/article_f6b6fcce-8b98-11e8-bfef-0746678bb390.html

Is Your Name Written in God’s Book of Life?

Are you aware that there is a Book of Life which has names recorded in it of the people that will go on to spend eternity with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father.  When we leave this earth, whether through natural death or the return of Jesus, we will be judged.  Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” At this “Great White Throne Judgement”, referenced through a vision John had in Revelation 20:11-15, several books were being opened.  Some of the books detail what we have done here on Earth.  According to verse 13, that is what we will be judged by.  Jesus said that His Word would judge us on that day in John 12:47-48.  Did our actions, which are documented in these books, line up with the Word of God?  Another book mentioned in Revelation 20 is the Book of Life.  Revelation 20:15 says, “Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”  No one wants to be thrown into the lake of fire.  We want to go to the new Heaven mentioned in Revelation 21 where there will be no death, crying, sorrow, pain, or sickness.  The streets are made of pure gold, the gates are of pearl, the walls of jasper, there is no sun or moon because the glory of God illuminates the whole place!  How marvelous this place will be!  However, only those whose names are written in the Book of Life can enter and stay in this wonderful place (Revelation 21:27). 

So, what must we do to ensure that our name is written in the Book of Life and that we will spend eternity with our God?  To answer that question, let’s look at our natural/worldly court system.  Our criminal justice system follows the logic of innocent until proven guilty.  If there is not proof beyond a reasonable doubt that you are guilty, then according to the law you should not be charged as guilty.  Our God follows a very similar principle.  Your name is already written in this Book of Life!  You see, God expects the very best from us.  This is what true love is, and God is love (1 John 4:8). Love, according to 1 Corinthians 13, believes the best.  Since God is love, He believes you will make the right decision to follow after Him!  Even if you are walking in sin, God is still believing you will repent.  He is declaring His Word over your life.  Romans 4:17b says, “God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.”  God is working to create every opportunity for you to “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”  (Acts 3:19) Even if you are in sin now, your name is still written in the Book of Life.  Jesus told His disciples in Luke 10:20b to “rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”  If Jesus is our true Savior, and He had not died yet, these disciples could not have been saved yet.  Even though they were not technically saved, their names were already written in the Book of Life.  Yours is too!  However, there is a caveat. 

Jesus said in Revelation 3:5, “He who overcomes … I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life.”  Moses mentioned God erasing or blotting people’s names out of the Book of Life if they were not forgiven.  (Exodus 32:31-32) Moses also said in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”  Heaven/God will be a witness to everything you do and say here on Earth.  You cannot continue in sin and think that God will not know what you are doing.  Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, “I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”  If you have done and said things that you should not have, there is hope.  If you truly repent, turn from your ways and submit to God, Psalm 103:3 says God will “forgive all of our iniquities” and verse 12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”  You can go east around the globe a million times and you will never be going west.  That is how far God removes our sins from us when we repent.  When you repent, not only are your sins forgiven, not only will your name not be blotted out from the Book of Life, but God said in Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.”  So, these Books that are in Heaven that have recorded our actions and spoken words that we will be judged by, will have words, lines, paragraphs, pages, chapters erased and blotted out because of what Jesus did on the cross for you and me!  Your sin is not too severe.  If you are alive, you still have time to repent and turn from your wicked ways.  Submit to God by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior.  Acts 4:12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name (Jesus) under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”  If you will accept Jesus Christ into your life, read His Word daily, and obey it, then you can rest assured that your name will not be blotted out of the Book of Life. (John 14:21)