THE BOOK OF LIFE

 

Revelation 20:11-15

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

¹⁵ And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” 

 

 

God cherishes each one of us. The Bible says that “God our Savior…wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

 Jesus Christ told Nicodemus, a religious leader who came to Him one night,

 ^“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” ~(John 3:16-17)

 

The Lake of Fire mentioned by St. John in the book of Revelation was prepared by God as an eternal punishment for the devil and the angels that rebelled against Him. It was never intended for man whom God made in His own image.

 

Yet, the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, fell away from God when they rebelled against His command. The result was spiritual death and a loss of divine fellowship.

 

All of their children would, like them, be sinners or rebels against God. They would never be able to enjoy perfect fellowship with God because God is holy and cannot dwell with sin.

God’s word says that sin must be paid for with a sacrifice.

 

Hebrews 9:22 says: “In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”

The only One worthy to pay for our sins, to redeem our souls from eternal destruction and to bring us back into fellowship with God, was God Himself, for He alone is perfect among all His creation. He is sinless, spotless, without blemish.

God the Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth clothed in flesh so that He could become a living sacrifice and shed His holy blood to pay for our sins. He loved us that much.

God could not die unless He became human. That is why He had to be made like us. He suffered a horrible death on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven and so that we could live in Paradise with Him forever.

Not only did He want us to enjoy eternity with Him, He wanted us to be able to enjoy fellowship with Him now. 

 

Once we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts, we become God’s own children. The Father sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts to seal our salvation as a sure sign that we belong to Him.

We will never be alone again from that point because He will never leave or forsake us. His love will keep us firmly in His strong grip. He will help us weather every storm. He will meet our every need. He does not promise freedom from trials-for “many are the afflictions of the righteous,“ God’s word says, “but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

My Testimony

 

The moment I invited the Lord Jesus Christ into my heart I felt a beautiful peace envelop me and a warm glowing presence filled the room. I heard the Lord speak to my heart. “All will be well, You are going to be all right,” He said.

I was only 16 years old.

As I lay in my bed filled with Christ’s peace I saw an image in my heart of an angel writing my name in a huge book. Though I had gone to Catholic school, I had never heard about the book of life before. I wondered what the vision meant.

 Not until I began to read the bible on my own through the discipleship of our neighbor did I learn about the Book of Life and what that vision meant.

God was showing me that He had recorded my name in His book of life that night when I had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into my heart.

It comforted me to know that my name was written up in Heaven.

 

When I grew up and had children in Sunday school I created a picture of an Angel writing in the Book of Life. I made it into a Sunday school book cover for the children in the church we were attending. I wanted it to comfort them to know that after they had accepted the Lord as their Savior, their names were written in Heaven, and when the Last Day comes, and the books are read, they will be judged “Not Guilty,” because they are wearing the righteous robes that Jesus has given them. Their sins have been washed away by the blood of the spotless Lamb of God.

 

How do our names get into God’s Book of Life?

The Book of Romans says:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

~Romans 10:9-13

That night when I was 16 years old I simply called upon the name of the Lord and He came to me.  God is no respecter of persons. Jesus Christ promised that He would never reject any soul who came to Him. (John 6:37) And when anyone invites Jesus to be their Savior, He will surely write their name in His Book of Life.

 PRAYER

Heavenly Father, may You bless all those who call upon the name of Thy Son Jesus Christ and write their names in Thy Book of Life. May they live with You forever. Thank You, Lord, In Jesus’ name. Amen.

**You can listen to my Prayer Song/Music Video "The Book of Life" by scrolling down to the bottom of this page and navigating to the featured video. May you be blessed!

 

Prints of the Angel Writing in the Book of Life are available in my Etsy shop as note cards and as a triple matted fine art print. http://www.etsy.com/shop/WingsPublications

My Prayer Song, "The Book of Life" is on my new Album "Paths of Peace" available here on this website, ITunes, Amazon.com or anywhere on the internet~and soon as a CD through my Etsy shop.

Picture Credits: Gustave Dore Bible Illustrations, Christ on the Cross photo by © S.D. Harden from Mission San Xavier del Bac, Angel Writing in the Book of Life, Pen & Ink Illustration © Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved.

Music & Lyrics "The Book of Life"© 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved.

Video Credits: Christian Wallpapers, Gustave Dore Bible Illustrations, Suzanne Davis Harden Original Illustrations