The Bible says the devil comes And shouts things just aren’t fair Because believers are being blessed And kept under God’s care
He shouts He knows about our sins And demands to take control Because our failures and our faults Have sold to Him our soul
But while he tells all that we’ve done Thinking that He might win The Son of God lifts up His hands And shows the scars to Him
Reminding Him that from the Cross He cried Father forgive They do know not what they have done I’ll die so they might live
Then in defeat the evil one Slinks from the scene in shame As he sees the Savior in God’s book Begin to write our name! And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. Luke 23:34 ESV
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:20 KJV
This year we decided that the time had come to organize our vast collection of family photos. We put this off for years because in our cabinets lie thousands of snapshots of our own, as well as hundreds from our parents, and even grandparents. Slowly and methodically, we went through our collection, tossing out faded landscapes, faces of folks we do not recognize or wished we didn’t.
At first, this was simply tedious but as time went on and the images passed before me, the memories came rushing back. We laughed seeing images of our children (now in their forties) jumping on the couch, we wept to see faces of friends and family separated by death or broken relationships. Some of our memories are treasures, while others we simply wanted to throw away. As flipped through the pile of photographs, I saw my life in the faces and was reminded that God also has a family album of His own in Heaven.
From His vast collection, He has lovingly shared with us a few eternal snapshots, to teach us the most important lessons of life. From our children, we learned to be patient and to love them even when they failed. From parents and grandparents, He showed us how to face difficulties with faith and respect for those weaker than we are. But from those who hurt us He has given us the opportunity to learn the greatest lesson of all. With these Jesus brings us to the cross where He teaches us to treat thieves as companions, failed friends as family members and those who cause our deepest pain, as people in need of mercy. At the cross God shows us that in forgiving others, He has forgiven us in spite of our sins. Then by His grace He has added us one by one into His family album in Heaven where we will one day see His face forever!
All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine. Revelation 3:5 NLT
I have been listening my way through the Bible and this morning spent 20 minutes hearing a list of hundreds of names at the end of Nehemiah. While at first blush long genealogies seem super boring, God showed me that they are not boring to Him. He reminded me that every time He writes down a name He sees that person’s face and every face is another life paid for at the cross. To Him those long pages of names are precious to Him. In fact Jesus tells us that the angels break into rejoicing every time one more is written down. But at the end of our lives it will not matter what things others write or if they remember our face. What will count is if our name is written in God’s Book and if our face will be seen at His throne! Is your name written down?
praise2worshipdotnet 
You must be logged in to post a comment.