Safe and Secure Saints and Friends,
​”Welcome to the Hotel Star! How can I serve you today?” “Yes, we are Mr. and Mrs. Smith and our three adorable children. We received our invitation to stay here in your fine hotel.” “Well, let me take a look in the Reservation Book here… Smith, Smith.. I’m sorry, I do not see a reservation under that name. Could you have used another name?” “Oh no. We are very proud of our name. Our name is on the Mayflower Compact, the Institute of Science, and the cornerstone of the very first church in our town!” “Well, I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, it is not in our Hotel Reservation Book.” “It must be there. I received the invitation weeks ago.” “My apologies, sir. Let’s take a look at our Invitation Book. Yes, your name is right here. We did send an invitation to you. But you did not respond, so you were not put in the Reservation Book.” “Well, I would like you to put us in the Reservation Book now.” “I’m sorry, sir. You must make a reservation before arriving. That’s our policy.” “Okay, thank you. I’m sorry, dear. I really should have made sure that I responded to the invitation.” “It could be worse, honey. You could have made the reservation, then upon arriving, found that our name had been blotted out of the Reservation Book.” “Oh, that would have been terrible. But it does remind me of what Pastor Harold was teaching last Sunday. We need not ever worry about our name being blotted out of the Book of Life.” “That is certainly reassuring. While Pastor was explaining all the books that God keeps track of in heaven, I wrote on my bulletin a name for God that’s not in the Bible.” “What name is that?” “‘The Great Accountant!’ Perfectly keeping account of the book of the law, the book of works, the book of the living, and the book of life. All of those names and deeds and reservations and everything else in those books!” “The way Pastor explained each of the books really helped me to understand more of God’s Word.” “Yes, me, too. I learned long ago that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. But they were just part of the ‘Book of the Law’, which are the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which revealed God, where we came from, how people were to live, and much more.
The next one Pastor explained is an easy one to remember, the Book of The Living. Everyone that God has created, which is everybody, is in that book, even before we are born. The Psalmist said, ‘In Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.'” Psalm 139:16 “Remember, Pastor said when David’s enemies seemed to be getting the better of him, he prayed to God concerning them, ‘Let them be blotted out of the book of the living.’ Ps 69:28 In other words, ‘Take care of them now, God!'” “The expression on Pastor’s face pictured how I could see David’s in that moment.” “Me, too. When Pastor spoke of the Book of Works, I learned that there are two Books of Works. One for God’s children – everything we do for Him is recorded and we will be rewarded when we stand before Jesus. The other Book of Works is for those who do not accept Jesus as Savior. They will be judged according to their works and they will not be good enough to enter heaven. Revelation 20:15 The last book Pastor spoke about is the best! The Lamb’s Book of Life. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are allowed by God to enter heaven. God says when anyone trusts in Jesus, his name is found in the Book of Life and will never be removed. Jesus said, ‘He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life.’ Revelation 3:5 When I heard, ‘He who overcomes’, I asked myself what that could mean. Then, as if he was reading my mind, Pastor said, ‘Who is he who overcomes, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.’ 1 John 5:5 That’s me!” “Yes, and anyone else who trusts in Jesus as Savior!” “So I can believe Him when He says, ‘I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life.’ It’s like when He says, ‘I’ll never leave you nor forsake you.’ Hebrews 13:5 He never will, but it’s a reassuring promise to have in one’s heart.” God perfectly keeps His books. He knows His own, and He has set the names of His children permanently in His Book of Life. Today, you can make sure your name is there forever. Tell Him, ‘Thank You, Jesus, for paying for my sins when You died and rose again. Help me to live every day for You, Amen.’