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Cherish the Resurrection
Cherish Jesus Christ’s glorious resurrection,
With thanksgiving, praise and affection.
Be glad that death he overcame,
So our life won’t be the same.
Jesus by his resurrection did defeat,
The devil at every throne and seat.
God’s great love is stronger than death,
That Christ for us gave up his spirit and breath.
Jesus Christ on the cross paid the price,
For all our sins, immorality and vice.
And before he died he said, “It is finished”,
He did as prophesied of him, undiminished.
Cherish Jesus Christ’s glorious resurrection,
And daily on it have your reflection.
Know that your life in Christ Jesus is new,
Let your praises to him to be not few.
And at the time of the Day of Judgement’s inspection,
Only those faithful will be reckoned with perfection.
Because in the Gospel and resurrection they’ve believed,
And unto the end they remain undeceived.
Be prayerful and desire the first resurrection,
To be in the Lamb’s Book of Life’s selection.
In which Christ will wipe your tears sad,
So that you remain in his presence ever glad.
Accept your invite in the Book of Life
[Jesus said;] He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (Revelation 3:5)
Stand where the light is!
Stand not O lover of God in the darkness for God is light and in him is no darkness at all. Jesus is the light of world. He is Holy One of God who takes away of your sins. Do not fear the world that tempts you to sin but rather be courageous in Jesus Christ. He gives grace to the humble. Be humble enough to ask for his help when you are tempted in any form.
The world is beset by darkness, spiritual darkness to be precise. No wonder those who don’t have the light of Christ are covered by the darkness. We may live in a fallen world but are not called to share in its fallen nature. Awake O lover of God to his call to faith in Jesus the Son of God who gives you salvation.
Be not caught up in the darkness of sin and deceit. For the Evil One controls the destinies of people dwelling in sin. These people refused the light of God because of their love of darkness. Pray for such people instead of thinking of yourself as too great. Even you once were subject to the darkness due to your sin until Jesus Christ forgave you when you turned back to him. So be humble for your salvation is by God and not by your good works nor good looks.
Cling to Jesus Christ and love God. Live not for your selfish pursuits of sinful pleasure and riches. Rather live for the glory of God. Reject the falsehood of the world, the works of wickedness and those who hate Christ our Lord. Be in the light so that you give true glory to God.
I pray that the light of our Lord Jesus Christ shine on you and your loved ones always in this life and in the next life which also includes the new heaven and the new earth and most importantly new Jerusalem. All praise and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God. Amen.
For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness.( Psalm 18:28)
And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:3)
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.( Isaiah 60:2-3)
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:19-28)
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”(John 8:12)
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ( 1 John 1:5-7)
And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:15-18)
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:4-6)
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (Timothy 6:11-16)
That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world (Philippians 2:15)
For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.( 1 Thessalonians 5:5)
The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. (Isaiah 60:19)
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:23-27)
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The Book of Life as mentioned in the Bible
Is there another book greater than the Bible? No, but the Bible speaks of a great book both in the Old and New Testaments. While the Bible is the written word of God that no one must add or subtract from, the Book of Life still gets updated by the Lord Jesus. Now the Book of Life is a record of all those righteous before the Lord God who will not be punished in the Final Judgement and will therefore escape it. The Book of life and the Bible do NOT compete with each other but rather they complement each other. The main difference is that the Bible teaches us the principles of the Christian faith while the Book of Life is the record of those who are faithful to the Lord God.
The church in the current age must keep reminding itself that the Book of Life is to be held with great honor. I’m surprised that not many people in the church are aware of it. If you honor the teachings of the Bible then you automatically honor the Book of Life, even if you never knew of it’s existence till now. There’s nothing too mysterious about this. All you need to do is to search for it in the Bible.
Is the Book of Life a new teaching?
No, as the Book of Life has been mentioned even in the Old Testament. Let’s read the following:
So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. (Exodus 32:31-33)
For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded. Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous. (Psalm 69: 26-28)
The Lord God records the life and struggles of his people in the Book of Life. He remembers them all.
You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? (Psalm 56:8)
Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. (Malachi 3:16)
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:16)
Jesus himself spoke of the Book of Life even when he was on his mission on Earth and also later he spoke of it in heaven.
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:17-20)
The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. (Revelation 3:5)
The context of the Book of Life is related to being faithful to God despite the tribulations of life.
At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1)
The Book of Life is linked to prophecy and the Final Judgement
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. (Revelation 17:8)
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)
Only those who have their names written in the Book of Life will be allowed in the new Jerusalem of the future, which is the inheritance of those who believe in the Lord God.
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:27)
Those who add or remove from the Scriptures are warned very clearly about their status in the Book of Life.
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19)
What to do so that one’s name always remains in the Book of Life?
You need to believe in the Lord Jesus and repent of your sins if you still into sinning. Romans 6:23 says that; For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36)
You need to realize that you can either remain in Christ or remain in sin but never be in both. Ephesians 5:5 says that; For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
You cannot earn the grace of God, you simply need to believe in the Lord Jesus for your salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that; For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
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Don’t be envious of the wicked
Never be envious of evil doers. Maybe they are living a life of luxury now. They might seem happy externally but deep inside they know such happiness won’t forever. Sometimes a believer in Christ may wonder what is going on. Because god hating sinners seem to prosper in the physical world. This is where your patience counts. Don’t lose out on your peace just because someone doesn’t get punished immediately. It could be that God is giving them a final chance to repent before strong judgement is poured out on them.
The most decisive judgement which happens to anyone is the one at the time of one’s death. If someone is in Christ at their dying hour then they will go into heaven. Here Jesus personally will comfort them and wipe away their tears. However if someone died in a state of sin and unbelief then that person will go to hell. Here Satan and his evil angels will torment that person for all eternity.
Hell is real and so are its torments. Jesus said this about hell; “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out” (Mark 9:43)
The only thing worse than Hell is the Lake of Fire. This Lake will soon hold Hell (also called Hades) and its inhabitants. This is confirmed in Revelation 20:13-15 which says that, The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
The Devil too will be cast into the Lake of Fire. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)
However, those who believe in Jesus Christ won’t go to Hell nor the Lake of Fire. This is because their names are written in the Book of Life. This book is in heaven and only those whose names are in it will enter heaven and also in the new Jerusalem which is to manifest in the future.
“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)
He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Revelation 3:5)
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:27)
So dear brothers and sisters who are in Christ Jesus, don’t be envious of the wicked. Especially when you know that their hopes will perish eternally. You have eternal hope. If you believe in Christ then you are safe from Final judgement and have passed from death to life. Happy are those who believe in Jesus till their last hour and their last breath! Amen.
Disciples of hope 