The
New Testament uses such words as “saved” (Acts 4:12), “born again” (John 3:3),
“becoming a new creation in Jesus” (2 Corinthians 5:17), or “believing in
Jesus” (John 3:16) to describe the end
Paul was working toward—and the end we should be working toward. It is that moment in time when the sinner
repents, is forgiven, and becomes a child of God with Jesus living in him or
her. It is that instant when their name
is written in the book of life.
(Sometimes those brought up in a beautiful Christian environment find it
difficult to pinpoint such a time, and only God knows when their name was
written in the book of life. But there
is that actual time of writing their name in the book of life.) And it is whether or not one’s name is
written in the book of life that determines whether he or she will escape hell
and rejoice for eternity in heaven (Revelation 20:15).
This
moment of naming Jesus as Savior and Lord is the end toward which we should
diligently be using all of our means.
I remember
the day that my name was written in the lamb’s book of life. I was 12 years old. I definitely remember how I felt after I
prayed and invited Jesus into my heart.
I felt so peaceful and loved. It
was a life changing moment. I prayed
something like this:
Dear Jesus,
I know I am a sinner and I do things
that are not pleasing to you. Please
forgive me of my sins and come into my heart and life.
There it
is. Once I prayed this prayer my name
was written in the lamb’s book of life. Because
of my prayer I can KNOW that I will be in heaven one day.
Since
reading this book, I have put together a list of family members who know that
their names are written in the lamb’s book of life. Then I have another list of those family
members that I do not know that their name is written in the lamb’s book of
life. I am going to begin praying for an
opportunity to share God’s great love for them.
I want to
know that my family will be together in heaven one day.
For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
I want all
of my family to know that they will have eternal life in heaven someday. So, I will begin with my family and then move
on to anyone in my world that has never opened the door of their heart to
Jesus.
Of course
the key to all of this is prayer. I will be praying for each family member, and
each person God would want me to share his great love with them.
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57
How
about you? Are you excusing yourself for
not personally sharing Jesus with the lost because your spiritual gift is
something other than evangelism? Because
God has called you to do other things in His kingdom? These other kingdom activities are right and
good. Don’t stop. But while
you are serving Him-and them- are you letting them end up in eternity without
Christ?
Are
you inadvertently sending them to
hell because you never get past the means
and never quite get to the end of
sharing with them the good news of Jesus’ salvation?
This
book has been waking me up and helping me to realize what I need to be doing out
there in my world. I do have an
evangelistic heart that has been buried in the tyranny of the urgent of
everyday life. I have been challenged to
get out there and share Jesus’ great love with others. What about you?
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