In heaven is your name written in the “books” or in the “book”?

Are names of those you love written in the “ books” or in the ” book“?

The Bible speaks of books which one day will be opened before the throne of God.

” And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and BOOKS were opened” (Revelation 20:12a). ” The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books “….. each person was judged according to what he had done” (v.13b). Every person has his or her name in the books and in those books, are recorded sin that will prevent entrance into heaven.

All those whose names are written in the books will be lost forever from the presence of God.

However, the Bible also mentions a “book.”

“Another book was opened which is the book of life” (Revelation 20:12b).

” If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (v.15).

How does a person’s name get changed from the books to the book?

When a person chooses to love and serve the God of creation, by faith in Jesus Christ, that person’s name is removed from the books and is written in the book of life. It is permanent and will not be erased.

The Bible says: ” Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…….” (Romans 8:1).

My prayer and heart desire is that your name and the names of all those you love are written in the book, the book of life.

If you have a question about which book you are in, please contact the author, a Christian friend or your Pastor and ask for help.

By definition an agnostic is a person who believes that God is unknown and unknowable. This person is tragically mistaken. God has made himself known and He is knowable.

First, God has made himself known through his creation:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work his hands. Day after day they pour forth their speech …. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4).

And again, the New Testament says: ” For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—- His eternal power and divine nature —-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

Second, God also has made himself knowable through Jesus. The Bible says that: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being….” (Hebrews 1-3).

Jesus said: ” Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9b).

Finally, to know God we must know Jesus, for Jesus himself said: ” I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him” (John 14:6,7).

The agnostic is mistaken. God has made himself known and by faith we can know Him as we study his book the Bible.

I encourage you to find a church or a Bible study group that will help you as you seek truth.

On September 11, 2001, A group of terrorists struck a devastating blow against America and the free world at large. I say the free world at large because men and women from 80 nations of the world died in the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City.

The Bible says, ” The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear it if the spirit is crushed?” (Proverbs 18 :14)

The terrorist struck at the body of America, but were unable to crush the spirit of America. The spirit of America and the free world at large was truly revealed in the days immediately following September 11.

Following this great tragedy, people and nations around the world turned to the only reliable source for comfort and strength.

They turned to God.

” The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those that trust in my name. When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them’ ” (Psalm 91:14,15). Notice the words of action used here: rescue, protect, answer and honor.

But what about those Christians who died in the attack? Where was God when they needed Him?

The Bible is also clear on this issue. God was with them.

The Bible says, ” When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you” (Isaiah 43: 2). The keywords here are through and with. This is a promise from God for every believer in Jesus.

And again , ” Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid of them! The Lord your God will go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). The Lord is with you and whatever you face in the future, He is also there waiting for you.

Should you face a tragedy in your life, (and you will), turn and call out to the God of the Universe. He will hear you and He will answer you!

If you are not confident that you could face a tragedy today, seek counsel from a Christian friend or your Pastor.

“ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain …..” (John 15:16).

By definition the word appointed in this verse is also translated elsewhere to be set apart or ordained. Some states in America require registration as an ordained person in order to perform certain functions, such as a marriage ceremony.

This word, choose, is very significant. As a believer In Jesus you have been chosen, set apart and ordained to do three things:

(1) …you should go—. This means focused activity through prayer and obedience to the Holy Spirit as revealed in Scripture: whether to the mission field or to your neighbor next door.

(2) … and bear fruit— The first step to bear this fruit is found in Galatians 5:22,23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… every Christian should produce this fruit. The second step in fruit bearing is found in John 15. The fruit referenced here is another Christian: the vine (Jesus), the branch (the believer), the fruit (another believer).

(3) …. that your fruit should remain... This is most critical. This fruit is a new believer who must be cared for until there is spiritual growth. As a newborn baby needs loving and caring parents, so a newborn believer in Jesus must receive loving care and assistance from a more mature believer.

Do you have spiritual children? Are you teaching them as you have been taught?

If you do not have spiritual children perhaps you are not abiding obediently, in the Vine.

Your Heavenly Father has ordained you, the believer, to produce “Galatians 6″ children, those who evidence the fruit of the Spirit and also “John 15″ children, those who evidence abiding in Christ by bearing spiritual fruit, another believer.

If you need counsel to achieve this end, see your pastor or a Christian friend for help.

The child was born in a small village in southern Israel to a common Jewish family. He was given the name: Jesus. He grew to manhood and at the approximate age of thirty He began teaching about God. He did miracles that only God could do. He said He had come from God and would soon return to God.

He was arrested, judged, put to death by Roman soldiers, and buried in a tomb. Upon inspection of the tomb three days later, He was gone, as He said He would be.

He had risen from the dead by the power and authority of God. And He lives today. After his death and resurrection He appeared to many people as a witness to his life.

There were no newspapers, no Telegraph,, no radio, no television, no worldwide communication network and no Internet.

Yet, He told his disciples to: ” Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

An impossible task? Yes. Yet today believers of the message of Jesus Christ are to be found in nations around the world.

This message of Jesus is simple, yet profound. ” But God demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

” That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:9,10).

This message is so simple that a child can understand it, yet so profound that it must be received by faith. If you would like more information, please contact the author. your Pastor or a Christian friend.

” When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.

And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.

The flame will not set you ablaze.” (Isaiah 43:2).

These promises of God are very clear; He will never leave nor forsake his children.

Waters, rivers, and fire are often used in the Bible to symbolize intense suffering.

Christians suffer just as non-Christians; however, Christians have the promise: I will be with you; they will not sweep over you; you will not be burned.

One key word in this passage is when. When suffering comes— not if-— God will go through it with you.

The promise of God here it is not deliverance “from” suffering but comfort and companionship “in” the suffering.

All people are subject to suffering in this present life; however, the believer has the presence of God, promised, while in the suffering.

God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you ” (Heb.13:5).

When the waters, rivers, or fires of life come, and they will, rest on the promises of God to give you comfort and strength.

If you have never put your faith and trust in God through Jesus, I encourage you to do it today and claim these promises of God, made centuries ago through the prophet Isaiah.

Do Christians suffer? Yes!

If you have questions, I encourage you to seek counsel from a Christian friend, your Pastor or reply to the author.

Man seeking God is a good definition of “religion.” In many ways this is true of Christianity. The Bible says:

” I love those that love Me and those who seek Me find Me” (proverbs 8:17).

” You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29 13).

And in Acts 17:27, the Bible says ” God did this so that men should seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him though He is not far from each one of us.”

The Bible teaches that people should turn from idols and seek the living God. We find, however, that when a person seeks and turns to the living God, He is there and reaching out to receive that person.

Jesus said In Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Again, The Bible says, “ But when the time had fully calm, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law…….” (Galatians 4:4).

And finally, “ Yet to all who received Him (Jesus), to those who believed in his name, He gave the right to become children of God….” (John 1:12).

People often seek God in order to satisfy an emptiness in the heart, or to gain strength in the time of suffering, or to provide hope in a hopeless situation.

The living God, through Jesus Christ, satisfies all of this, and more: (1) He gives peace of heart and mind, (2) He provides strength and courage, and (3) He gives hope where there is no hope.

While God wants to be your heavenly Father, He can do this only as you turn in faith and by prayer receive Him into your life.

God may be trusted to keep his promise, and He has promised that those who seek Him will find Him.

Please contact me if I can assist you in any way. God loves you very much!

The plan of God for the world as revealed in the Bible is twofold: spiritual and physical.

Jesus selected 12 men to be with Him so that he might train them to do the work of God.

” He sent them out (1) to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God, (2) and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:2).

To preach the Kingdom of God addresses the spiritual need of man. To heal the sick addresses the physical need of man.

We are all have spiritual and physical needs and our Heavenly Father wants to meet both of them.

God provided for our spiritual need when Jesus came into the world, went to the cross and paid the penalty for our sins. ” For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:17).

He also wants to meet our physical needs. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all He has done” (Philippian’s 4:6).

First, put your faith in God by trusting in Jesus, and second, by prayer take your needs to Him.

A gracious heavenly Father loves you and wants to be satisfy your spiritual needs, and then this loving heavenly Father want to meet your physical needs.

Is your struggle spiritual or physical ——–or both?

Whatever it is: financial strain, loneliness, job needs, poor health, rebellious children, anger, fear of death, or uncontrolled sin, you may ask God to help you, and you should ask Him now.

If you would like help, please contact me or a Christian friend for counsel.

Have you ever felt totally unloved and that you were of no real value to anybody? Jesus taught that every person on earth is loved and precious… to God.

Jesus told of a shepherd who owned 100 sheep, and one wandered off and was lost from the flock. The shepherd left the 99 and went searching for the one lost sheep. He searched until he found it and then carried it back to safety (Luke 15:4-7).

He told about a woman who owned 10 valuable silver coins. One turned up missing. it was lost. The woman lit a lantern, swept the floor, and searched carefully for the coin until she found it. (Luke 15:8-10)

Jesus then told of a man who had two sons. One son went to his father and demanded his share of his father’s wealth. The father divided his wealth and gave the son one half of all he owned. The son took the money and went away to a different city where he spent all the money on wild living. But when all his money was gone a great famine came on the land and the boy had nothing to eat.

Starving, he finally decided to go home to his father, to confess that he was wrong to do what he did, and to ask his father for a job as a higher hand —-not as a son—- but as an employee. As he was returning home, his father saw him coming. He ran to the son, kissed him, and welcomed him back home as a son, not as an employee. (Luke 15: 11-24)

The Bible teaches that we are all lost and apart from God. Jesus came into the world seeking and searching for his lost possession. He said, ” For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost ” (Luke 19-10).

One constant in these three stories is the love that the owner had for the lost possessions: the sheep, the coin, the son. If you are lost as the sheep and the coin were or have just strayed away as the son did, God loves you and is searching for you.

Today, God is searching for people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. If you are like the son, you must choose to return to your loving heavenly Father.

But if you are a sheep or a coin, God is searching for you. When you do accept his love and ask Him to come into your life there will be great joy in your heart and in heaven.

Are you loved? Yes, you are!

Please contact me or a Christian friend if you desire more information about this decision.

” He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers . His faithful promises are your armor and protection” Psalm 91:4 (Living Bible).

This is a great word picture of how God cares for his children, those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus.

As a bird shields and protects its young with its wings and feathers, so also God provides comfort and protection for those committed to Him.

what are the faithful promises that are our armor and protection? There are many of them in the Bible. For example:

” He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him…..(Hebrews 7:25).

” Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you” (John 14-27).

” Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone the new has come ” (2nd Corinthian 5: 17).

” If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

” Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3: 5-6).

” Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7-7).

These are just a few of the precious promises that God has given to all who call on Him.

He has promised: to save us– to give us peace– to give us a new life– to forgive us — to give us direction– to hear and answer prayer.

If you do not have all of this, you may have it this very moment, when by faith you ask Jesus to come into your life.

Please consult me, your Pastor or Christian friend if you have questions.