Is your name written in God's book?

Is your name written in God's book?   The bible mentions the Lamb's book of life directly two times.   What is the Lamb's book of life you ask?   It is the book in which everyone's name who has accepted the gift of eternal life from Jesus is written.  

Revelation 20:15 tells us that "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." I would call the book of life a pretty important book to make sure your name is in. In fact, I would say it is THE MOST IMPORTANT book to be sure your name is written in.

To reinforce what is said in Revelation 20:15, Revelation 21:27 goes on to say: "Nothing impure will ever enter it (Heaven), nor will anyone who does what is shameful and deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."

Revelation 20:12 gives us a view into the judgement that is to come - "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 are written in the books according to their works.

You may be sitting back and saying "Wait a minute!   I am a good person!   I just went to church last week!   I don't drink or smoke, I don't curse or use the Lord's name in vain!  In fact, I volunteer and the local homeless shelter, food pantry, all the time!   Are you telling me that I still won't get into heaven?"   

In short, if all you are relying on is being a good person to get into heaven, then I am saying that you will fall short.  Works alone are not enough.  You see, Ephesians 2:8-9 tell us: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."   So, to go with your good works, you also have to have faith and believe in Jesus and follow Jesus to be accepted into Heaven.  

Matthew 19:16-24 says the following:

"Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?  Why do you ask me about what is good?  Jesus replied, There is only One who is good.  If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.  Which ones?  he inquired.

Jesus replied: You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and lover your neighbor as yourself.

All these I have kept, the young man said, What do I still lack?

Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come follow me.

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

This doesn't mean that you have to sell everything and be homeless to follow Jesus and gain entry into heaven.   In my opinion what Jesus is getting at here is similar to what I touched on in the post "What is success?"   as Jesus told us in Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."   Jesus knew that the individual loved his wealth and status and would never be able to put his relationship with Him (Jesus) first.  Jesus doesn't just want part of us, he wants ALL of us.  

Oswald Chamber's wrote in "Jesus wants all of me" - "God doesn't care how good we act on the outside.  He doesn't care how many nice things we have.  He just wants us to be like Jesus.  He doesn't want any of us to keep our lives closed up like a bottle with the top on.  He wants us to take the top off and pour ourselves out.   He wants us to share ourselves."

When you look at the life of Jesus, he came to serve and set an example of us all as well as to provide us THE path to salvation.   Jesus didn't close himself off and only pay attention to those who followed him.   He came to the sinners.   He didn't recoil when a prostitute came to him looking for help/forgiveness (Luke 7:36-50), He also didn't run the other way when someone with leprosy asked to be healed (Matthew 8).   

You see, Jesus came to save sinners - not run from them.  This is stated in Luke 19:10 - "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."  That is something we all loose site of from time to time.   To lead other people to Jesus, we have to be the examples of Jesus' love.   We have to let the light shine from within us.   We have to stop looking down our noses at others and chose to love them and help lead them to Jesus.   Until we begin using Jesus as an example of how to live our lives again, we will continue to push people away from Jesus!

Having said all of that, I want to leave you with this.   We are all sinners and required God's grace.   Even those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior are not perfect.   We are still sinners and still mess up - just like everyone else.   The big difference is we have a relationship with Jesus and recognize that we must confess our sins and ask forgiveness.  

If you haven't yet accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I strongly encourage you to do so.   Salvation is the work of God.  It came through Jesus by the shedding of his blood on the cross:

John 3:17 - For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Romans 5:9 - Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

Those who experience salvation are given eternal life as a gift of grace they receive by faith:

Ephesians 2:5 - ...made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.

Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.

This gift comes because of Gods mercy, not as a result of human effort.

2 Timothy 1:9 - He saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace.  This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 

Titus 3:5 - ... He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.  He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

The gift of eternal life is just that - a gift.   It is given to us freely and out of love.  It is up to each of us to make a decision regarding if we will accept God's gift.   So I leave you with these questions - is your name written in God's book of life?   If not, what stands in the way and are those things that are in the way worth you soul?

Romans 8:11 - And if the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His spirit who lives in you.

If your friend jumped off of a building, would you?

If your friend jumped off of a building, would you follow them?

Growing up, how many of us heard that very statement from our parents, grandparents or someone else?   

Then we grow up, take jobs, have families and we out grow those questions - right?

However, the questions change form, but the peer pressure and the pressure from the world remains the same:

• You can't be successful in life without compromising

• You can't get ahead without adopting the values of the places where you live and work

• Go ahead, everyone does it

• Its just the way things work in the real world

But, as Christians we aren't supposed to take on the values of the world.   We are to be  reflections and examples of God so that we can represent His light.   Romans 12:2 says, "And do not be confirmed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Ever wonder why God doesn't want us to adopt the values of the world?   I mean, he created the world, so why wouldn't he want us to reflect his creation?   Right?

While it is true that God created the world, He has also told us that Satan is the current ruler of this world.   That is reflected in the following verses:

1 John 5:19  We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under control of the evil one.

John 12:31 Now is the time for judgement on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

John 14:30 I will not say much more to you, for this prince of this world is coming, he has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

Knowing satan is in control of the world, whose values are we reflecting when we give in to the pressures of the world we are no longer living by faith and have put on a spiritual blindfold.   When this happens we go through life crashing into various situations and falling into Satan's traps.  Further we reflect the values of the world and no longer reflect God's light and values.   Realizing that, it is no wonder so many consider Christians hypocrites!  

But there is hope.   Colossians 1:13 tells us - "For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

John 17:14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

You see, as a Christian, we are chosen.   We are a royal priesthood, a people for His own possession.   This is directly called out in 1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a hold nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light."  

So, while we are sent into this world, we mustn't try to be a part of the world.   In John 17:13-19 Jesus tells us,  "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.  I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world and more than I am of the world.  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world bu that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.   Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified."

What values will you chose to reflect?  The values of the world or the values of God?

What is success?

What does it mean to be successful?

The sticky note above provides the dictionary definition of success.  Is this how really how success is defined?   If this is how success is defined, then how is it measured?

John Wooden has said “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”   

Did Coach Wooden measure success by the dictionary definition or did he use a different measuring stick?

The definition used by many in the world today largely measures success using:

• How much money you make/have
• How large a house you live in
• The type of car you drive
• How well known/famous you are

That raises the following additional questions:

• Is the CEO of a company more successful than a custodian in the same company? 
• How about a teacher? 
• A doctor? 
• A mechanic?
• A Hollywood actor or actress? 
• How about a house wife and/or a stay at home mom?

Before we get much further, I want to make it clear that there is nothing wrong with having a big house, lots of money, nice cars or fame.  There is nothing biblically wrong with having any of these things.   However, we all tend to get ourselves in trouble in one way or the other by making these things a primary focus and ultimately replace God with the pursuit of these things.  

When we replace God with the pursuit of any of these things, we cross a line and these things become idols, which happens to break the first two of ten commandments – “1. You shall have no other Gods before me” and “2. You shall not make idols.”   When we let the pursuit of any of the above things replace God in our lives, we have unconsciously created and idol and, in effect, made it a god in place of the one true God.

Mathew 6:21 Jesus tells us ”For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

Additionally, 1 Timothy 6:9-10 says “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. (10) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief's.”  So we must be careful to protect ourselves and not let any of the above things come before God in our lives.

 

While the world would have us believe the key to life is all about success, it isn’t.   Saying that life isn’t all about success would be heresy to many people, because we are all trying to succeed in some way.  For many of us it is trying to ascend the corporate ladder and have success in our careers, or having success in raising kids, or just merely being successful at looking successful.  Planning for success, working for success, and worrying about success dominates our everyday lives. Look around and tell me if you feel that I am wrong in this observation.  So it is very easy to fall into the trap of believing that life is all about success – but it isn’t.  You see, Jesus provides us with the following two truths:

 

Luke 12:15: Speaking to the people, he went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.”

 

And, Matthew 16:26 Jesus is quoted as saying,  “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”

We all loose focus on the fact that everything we have – homes, cars,  money, toys, video games, sports, food/drink, clothes, shoes, the very air we breath are all gifts from God.   When we loose focus on that basic truth, we also loose focus that we are all servants who are tending to these gifts.

Does that mean we should just stop trying and not worry about being successful?   Of course not!   While success is not what life is all about, success does play a part in life.  We just can’t make it THE ultimate thing. 

Thomas Merton wrote, “If you are too obsessed with success, you will forget to live.”  There is a lot of truth in those words, and when we focus all, or most, of our lives on success, we will fall short of the full life Jesus promises in John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

How many of us sacrifice huge portions of the lives we are meant to live:

• loving our husbands and wives,
• spending time with kids,
• eating meals with families,
• hanging out with friends,
• helping people in need,
• spending too much time focusing on our own success?

How many of us are unavailable to those who need us most, whose lives are enriched by us—and who will enrich ours, right back?

 

The bible goes on to say in James 2:26 “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

 

Proverbs 16:3 further tells us: ”Commit to the Lord all you do, and your plans will succeed. "

Matthew 25:14 give us the parable of the talents.   In this parable, Jesus tells the story of  master who is leaving for a time and provides three of his servants the opportunity to use their abilities.   One servant, he provided five bags of gold, the second servant was provided three bags of gold and the last servant was given one bag of gold.   The first servant took the five bags of gold provided to him and, using his skills and abilities,  gained five additional bags of gold.   The second servant took the three bags of gold and, using their skills and abilities, also doubled the bags of gold they had from three to six.   The final servant decided to protect the bag of gold he was provided and hid/buried it so that it would not be lost.  

After some time had passed, the master returned and asked each servant for an accounting of how they had used their talents.   The first servant came in an showed that he had started with five bags of gold and now had ten.   The master was very happy with that servant and said “well done good and faithful servant!   I have trusted you with little and you have turned it into much.  You will be trusted with much more!”   The second servant, like the first, came in and showed his master that he too had doubled the bags of gold from three to six.   Again, the master was very happy with his servant and explained “Well done good and faithful servant!  I have trusted you with little and you have turned it into much.   You too will be trusted with many more things!”   The last servant came in an explained that they knew how shrewd a businessman their master was and that they had taken great care of the single bag of gold provided and provided the same bag of gold back.   Upon hearing and seeing this, master was very upset with the last servant and exclaimed “you lazy servant!  I have trusted you with a single bag of gold and you have done nothing with it.   You will be thrown out into the darkness where there is suffering and gnashing of teeth!”

While the above is a paraphrased version of the parable of the talents, it shows that the first two servants used the talents and abilities to good measure and would be considered successful.   The last servant, did not use their talents and abilities and were not considered successful and were no longer trusted nor taken care of by their master.  

 

In the end, I feel that being successful is not at all about having the most money, best cars, biggest house or most influence.  Rather, it is more about each of use using all God has given us for the furtherance of His kingdom.   This work should bring us both joy and peace of mind knowing we have done our best through the power of Christ working through us to accomplish what He has called each of us to do.   And if we all do that, we all will make a difference in the world that we live in.