Is you name in the book of life?

Revelation 20:11-15
¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³ 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 they had done. ¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.


In this passage, John tells us about the final judgement. It tells us that the dead will be judged according to what they have done. Every lie, every theft, every unpure thought. Those whose names were not contained in the book of life were tossed into the lake of fire. Make no mistake, you will be judged and you will be held accountable. You have sinned against a holy God and the punishment for that sin is eternal punishment in the lake of fire. The only way to avoid this is to make sure your name is in the book of life.


Do you know for sure that your name is in the book of life? You can know with certainty. Romans 10:13 tells us that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Have you called on the name of the Lord? Put your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin. Accept what He did on the cross as the payment for the punishment you deserve. Stop trying to do good to make up for the bad. Jesus took your punishment and offers His sacrifice as a free gift. However, like any gift, you have to take it. All the good you do will never make up for the bad. Sin must be punished. The question is do you want to take the punishment, or do you want to humble yourself, get down on your knees, and thank the One who already sacrificed all? 


Turn from your sin. Call out for forgiveness and thank God for what He did. Ask Him to guide your life and stop ignoring your conscience. Once you do that, the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see sin for what it is and help make your desires more like the desires of God. He will dwell within you and make you a new person. The change will be real. Then you will know for sure that your name is written in the book of life.

Are you ready?

Matthew 24:36 - 41 36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

If the Lord were to come today, this very instant, would you be ready? Were you doing anything last week for which you would have been regretful if He decided to come at that very moment?

What our Lord is telling us here is that we need to be on our guard. He is coming and no one knows the time or place. Everyone will be going on with their lives, like in the days of Noah, when all of a sudden He will show up to remove His church from the Earth. Do you want to be one of the people taken up, or  do yo want to be one of the people left in the field?

Sanctus Real from Soulftest

The Soulfest just concluded in Gilford NH last weekend. While the headliners were excellent, it was a great opportunity to see some of the lesser known bands. One of my favorites was Sanctus Real. This song is called "Lead Me" and is really comes from the heart.
(Not my video - h/t TrustTru7h)

Lyrics:
I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames, I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling, but on the inside

Oh, I can hear her saying
[chorus]Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent, but on the inside

Oh, I can hear them saying
[chorus]

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh Father, show me the way
To lead them

Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love
Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

I Will Rise

1 Thessalonians 4
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and (AS)the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

The Black Horseman

Revelation 6:5-6

⁵ When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A ^[d]quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a ^[g]denarius; and ^(O)do not damage the oil and the wine.”


This is commonly interpreted as a reference to hyperinflation. A denarius was a day's pay. A quart of wheat or three quarts of barley is enough for one person to eat for a day. This passage is eluding that in the end times, we will work a whole day for the equivalent of a loaf of bread. Not damaging the oil and the wine indicates that the rich will not suffer in the same way. 


If the government keeps printing money at the current rate, how long will it be before this scenario rings true?