"The Gift Of God" - Inspirational Weekend

God gives us many gifts, such as the gift of hospitality, the gift of empathy, the gift of service to others, and to some the gift of being effective pastors.   But those gifts and many others, as important as they are, are not the "gift of God" meant here.  You mature Christians already know where I am going with this article.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith;  and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.  Not of works, lest any man should boast."   -   Ephesians 2:8-9

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  -  Romans 6:23

Eternal Life !   

That is God's gift to us !  Like any gift, it is free.  All we have to do is accept it with gratitude.  We do this by believing that Jesus is the Savior and that by putting our faith in Him we may have everlasting life, and all of eternity with Him.  

Even in this life we may have foretastes of the gift of God to be enjoyed, such as peace with God and a quiet trustfulness as to the future, and many other joys as well.  There is much comfort in knowing the good Lord is always near !

"Forget not the channel through whom it flows; it is a gift to thee, because thy Lord paid it all."           -  A.G. Brown

Jesus took our place on the cross and suffered a terrible and painful death so that He paid our sin debt in full.  He was our Redeemer and He did it all out of such a great love for us -  a love so strong and true that we cannot begin to comprehend the depths of it.

When you think about it, eternal life actually begins the moment you surrender your life to Jesus; the moment of conversion, when the soul passes from death to life.  He that hath the Son hath Life. You have freedom from condemnation (Romans 8:1), communion with God, and you begin to grow into the likeness of Christ.  There is no longer any fear of death.

Jesus told His disciples (and by extension, us as well) that He was going to prepare a place in heaven for all true followers.  This is found at John 14:1-3, which follows:

(1) "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.  (2) In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  (3)  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

With such a wonderful hope - eternity forever with the Lord - how can some people shrug their shoulders in complete unconcern and indifference and go their "merry" way instead, sinning all the way to hell?

And what is equally disturbing, how can professing Christians go the way of the world and still be putting the good Lord first in their lives?  They can't.  Some so-called believers go to bars with worldly people; they talk and act and dress worldly and try to blend in as much as possible with the world.  How does Christ, who bled and died for them, feel when He sees their rebellion?

James speaks of spiritual adultery when he says at James 4:4 :

"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?  whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."

And then there are the verses at 1 John 2:15-17 that tell us: (15) "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  (16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  (17) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

If you find yourself guilty of being worldly and sinful, think of how it must make Jesus and the Heavenly Father feel after all their love for you has done; after Jesus dying a cruel death to save you if you would but believe in Him.   And then you go and become His enemy by friendship with the world?  That is not showing gratitude for His great sacrifice and His love for you.

Let us be mindful that new converts to Christianity do, for the most part, still exhibit carnal ways and worldliness.  They are "babes in Christ" who, in time, will mature and leave their worldly ways behind them and become more Christlike.  We need to be patient with them until they develop a close, intimate, personal, love relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ."  -  1 Corinthians 3:1

Let us examine ourselves and determine to put the good Lord first in our lives.  He loves us with a love we cannot even begin to fathom; it surpasses anything we can imagine.  

Remember what it says at Ephesians 2:8?   "For by GRACE are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."

To obtain grace, you need to be humble.

"........  {He} giveth grace to the humble."  -  James 4:6 b

It takes humility to confess your sins and to realize that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. 

It takes humility to say, "Not my will, Lord, but thine."

It takes a humble person to surrender all to the good Lord.

After the Lord "woke me up" to be more spiritually minded, every time I heard or sang the hymn "Amazing Grace" I was brought to tears.   I was so grateful to Him for saving me and bringing me out of the darkness and into His life-giving Light.

Following is one of the most beautiful renditions I have ever heard of that wonderful hymn:

Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend ......  and life !!

Update - Behind The Scenes Reasons Why President Trump Pulled Troops Out of Syria (Video Amir Tsarfati) And Another Amir Video About The Reason For The Season

Again, Amir Tsarfati gives us an informative update on current events in the Middle East.  You can rest assured that his updates are accurate because of his reliable sources;  there is no speculation in his updates, and he tells it exactly as it is.  

I urge you to watch all of the following 32 minute video by Amir for inside information on the pullout of USA troops from Syria.  I will not tell the information  myself.   Amir gives an excellent in depth discussion of it in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjmoNLejUC0

As the above video ends, it clicks over to another video of a Bible teaching on the birth of Christ.  In case it doesn't work out or there is a glitch, here is a link to that 45 minute video which also shows Amir's  knowledge of the Bible and his gift of preaching the Gospel.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0ZBqvadHFo

Although Jesus was not born on December 25, Amir gives good advice on witnessing to others about Jesus at this time of the year.  Most people, especially non-Christians, celebrate Christmas just because of tradition.   They don't understand the real reason why people celebrate this time of year.  

Jesus is the true gift to us all.  The best gift.   He is our Savior.   He is our hope for eternal life.  

"Jesus is to believers the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have."   -  Charles Spurgeon 

Let us not only remember Him on one day of the year!

Let us celebrate Him everyday....all year long!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."   -   John 3:16

"An Important Message From God" - Inspirational Weekend

Jesus brings us an important message from God His Father, and it is something that we really need to listen to today and always. 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  -  John 3:16

That, my friends, is REAL love !  God sent His Son to die in our place on the cross, so that when we believe in Him as the Savior and put our faith in Him, we have the hope of eternal life.  

God really, truly loves you!   

"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.  God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."  -  1 John 4:16   (See also 1 John 4:8).

God's very nature is love.  In all His actions, God is loving.  His love is always pure, always holy, always seeking what is best for His people.  God's love is never ending.

No matter what trials or hardships or sorrows you face, take it to the good Lord in prayer and He will guide and sustain you.  Just believe !

The greatest truth we learned in church is this:   "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so."   Remember that from your childhood Sunday School?   

There is nothing you can do to make the Lord stop loving you !

(Romans 8:38-39)

The death of Jesus on the cross for sinners is the greatest, most visible and the absolute final word concerning God's love for humanity !

"Whom should we love, if not Him Who loved us, and gave Himself for us?"  -  Assorted Authors

"The test of Religion, the final test of Religion, is not Religiousness but Love."  -  Henry Drummond

We should be so very full of gratitude for all the good Lord has done on our behalf , that we should love Him with all of our heart and that we should obey Him in all things.  

"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."  -  John 14:23

Following is a 2 minute sermon clip by Charles Spurgeon concerning "Abiding In Obedience And In Love".

Here is a beautiful song by Kari Jobe:  "What Love Is This"

All of the above applies to those who have already surrendered their lives to Jesus and who have been born again (John 3:3).  If you are not a believer in Jesus, you will not experience eternal life with Him when you die.  We all know the alternative....hell.

God is waiting for your response to His message.  

If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior, you need to stop and pray to the Lord for forgiveness for your sins; believe with all your heart that salvation is found only in belief in Jesus and genuinely repent of all known sin and forsake your life of sin and endeavor to live a life that pleases the Lord....a godly life.  Follow as closely as you can in Jesus' footsteps.  You need to read the Bible to learn more about the Lord and His commands and His love and His attributes and His will for your life.

Pray without ceasing !  (I Thessalonians 5:17) .   You draw close to the good Lord by communicating with Him.  He wants to fellowship with you.   Christianity is all about a close, intimate, personal love relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:9,10,13 explains:  (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

"Jesus saith unto him,  I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."   -  John 14:6

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life."   -  John 6:47

"Do Not Be Troubled At Heart" (With Videos and Charles Spurgeon Sermon) - Inspirational Weekend

You may be thinking, "The world is falling apart, another World War is on the horizon, how can I not be troubled?"   May I remind you that the good Lord is in control, and things are not falling apart, but instead are falling into place, according to Bible prophecy.

Although we will concentrate here on John 14:1, let us also read verses 1-4 of John 14:

 (1) "Let not your heart be troubled:  ye believe in God, believe also in Me.  (2) In My Father's house are many mansions:  if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  (3)  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  (4)  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know."  

What comfort do those above words of Jesus bring to all who love Him and long to be with Him in heaven soon!  The whole 14th chapter of John is Jesus comforting His disciples.  He had previously told them that He would suffer and die and would be leaving them shortly, so now He sought to comfort the disciples.  His words are of great consolation to His followers in this modern age as well.  

Following is a beautiful song titled "Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled", by David and Renae Haas.

Sometimes there is nothing quite like a hymn or worship song to bring comfort to the soul.  I urge all of you who have a computer to go to You Tube and listen to old time hymns every morning before your Bible study.  God wants us to rejoice and be glad in Him; to praise Him and to follow in the footsteps of His Son, Jesus Christ.

But remember, no hymn or anything else can take the place of reading and studying God's Holy Word.  Also much prayer is needed to develop a close , personal, intimate, love relationship with the Lord.  Pray to the good Lord to give you an extra portion of His Holy Spirit to enable you to comprehend and live by His Word.  

"The saints could not be perfected but by Jesus' shed blood and the renewing by the Holy Spirit."  -  Charles Spurgeon

Let your heart be kept with the full trust in God.  Christ's disciples, more than any others, should keep their minds quiet, when everything else is unquiet.  The remedy against a troubled mind is to believe.  If you have trouble believing, pray to the Lord for strength and for giving you more of the Holy Spirit, which will enable you to believe in God and Jesus, and in all of the promises which they have made.  Pray believing that you will receive. 

"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."    -   Matthew 21:22  

Following is a sermon by Charles Spurgeon on John 14.  For those who are not familiar with him, He was born in 1834 and died in 1892.  He was a Baptist preacher at the congregation of The New Park Street Chapel (later the Metropolitan Tabernacle) in London for 38 years.   Before he was 20, Spurgeon had preached over 600 times.  He has been called "The Prince of Preachers", although he was also an author of many various types of works.  

Spurgeon's sermon here is 51 minutes long, but I pray that you take the time to listen to it.

Spurgeon says,  " Be not troubled!  Your Savior reigns.  He lives!  He is not far away!  ..... Do not worry!  Jesus will come again!  He will receive His followers.  All of this is near at hand!   We will be with the Lord forever......endless bliss!"

If you have never surrendered your life to the good Lord, now is the time !  His return is imminent!  You need to be repentant of your sins, confess them to the Lord, be sincere in your belief that Jesus is the only way to salvation.  Believe that His blood shed at Calvary washes away your sins....He will wipe the slate clean when you come to Him in faith and repentance.   You will be assured of eternal life with Jesus forever !  

"All that the Father giveth Me shall  come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out."   -  John 6:37

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life."    -  John 6:47

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:  no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."    -  John 14:6

"Stop Beating Up On Yourself When Suffering Guilt Or Condemnation" - Inspirational Weekend

The Hawaiian Moorhen in my photograph above almost looks as if it is gathering sticks.   People sometimes beat themselves up with imaginary blows from "sticks" of self-condemnation and extreme guilt.  When you think about it, that sounds a lot like perverted pride.  A "How could I, cool and collected as I am and being so righteous, ever sin like that?" attitude.   That smacks of relying on self-effort instead of relying on the good Lord to help you.  Remember that God hates pride  (Proverbs 8:13; James 4:6).

When you feel guilty and condemned, you need to humble yourself and go to God and ask for forgiveness.  Only He can forgive and cast your sins away and wipe the slate clean.  

"Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you."  -  1 Peter 5:7

But the verse we will focus on primarily this time is Romans 8:1 which says,  

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

The term "in Christ Jesus" is unique to the New Testament.  It truly expresses well the condition of the Christian as soon as he believes in Jesus, the Savior.  The true believer surrenders all to Jesus, and desires to follow closely in His footsteps; to imitate Christ as much as he possibly can.   If he is a true follower of the Lord,  his life will bear much fruit.  He looks to God and Jesus with true faith and obedience.  Therefore, the person that is in Christ is one who can say,  "In the LORD have I righteousness and strength.........".  (Isaiah 45:24)

Self-conviction is very different from Holy Spirit-conviction.  When the Lord convicts, He is specific as He lets us know where we were wrong, and He will oftentimes remind us of Scriptures to set us straight again and back on the right path.  When coming from the good Lord, it is not a morbid in-the-pits type of doom and gloom, but one that turns us to Him in repentance and a sincere heart to confess the sin and then to not continue in that sin anymore.  If you truly are converted, you have the Holy Spirit to always keep you on track where God's will is concerned.   

Self-conviction can totally consume you in despair and guilt and feelings of not being good enough; you lose proper Christian perspective and, again, you need to turn to the Lord in prayer and confession.

Another thing to consider is the fact that these intense feelings of condemnation may be coming from the enemy: satan, or one of his demons.  Such negativity is not coming from Jesus. Evil spirits want to condemn you and deceive you; satan is a liar and a deceiver, and will stop at nothing to tear you down and make you feel guilty and as if there is no hope.  When you feel evil attacks on your mind, say the name of Jesus out loud.  Or also say out loud, "I plead the blood of Jesus."  Also, pray with fervor to the Lord for help. True, devout Christians cannot be demon possessed (remember Job was righteous and yet suffered terribly from the attacks of satan); so believers today may also suffer from the negativity of the demons. You need to remember that Jesus paid the price for your sin by His shed blood at Calvary; He took God's wrath for sin (your sin) upon Himself, and paved the way for you to gain eternal life if you but have faith and believe in Him.  He paid the price for your sins.  When you become a believer and a follower of Jesus Christ, there is no more condemnation for you.  (Romans 8:1)

Remember, the Holy Spirit will not let you wallow in despair and gloom, but will move you to confess your sins and depart from them.   

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  -  1 John 1:9

But what about the unbeliever?  Then, I am afraid, the unconverted will face God's wrath.  Jesus, at the judgment, will have to say, "I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."  (Matthew 7:23;    read also Matthew 7:15-22).   This may apply primarily to the false prophets, but it also applies to unconverted and carnal persons.  

I urge you, if you have not yet accepted by faith Jesus Christ as your Savior, to do so now, while it is not too late.

We are living in the last days (Matthew 24).  Jesus will return soon to take all true believers to heaven to be with Him.  

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words."  -  1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

Those words will be a comfort to the true believers and describe the Rapture of the Church.   It is not comfort to carnal, sinful men who never gave their life to Jesus.   Many will be left behind to face the seven year tribulation period when God pours out His wrath on all the ungodly persons left behind.   There will be plagues and catastrophes like the world has never seen before.   Much of the earth will be ruined, the water turned to blood, and much more as mentioned in the Bible in the book of Revelation.   I urge you to read all of Revelation.

The Lord does not wish to see any perish, but instead that all come to repentance.  (2 Peter 3:9).

Repent and turn to the Lord today, while there is still time.  Faith and belief in Jesus is your only hope.   

Confess and repent of all known sin and begin to live a godly life.

Jesus will welcome you with open arms of forgiveness and love.

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."  -  2 Peter 3:9

"And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment."  -  1 John 3:23

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."   -  John 3:16

"Does Jesus Know You? - The Narrow Way" - Inspirational Weekend

Do you have an intimate relationship with the Lord?  Do you regularly fellowship with Jesus?  Is Jesus your friend?  Do you love Him?  If you can answer a heartfelt "yes" to those questions, then you are no doubt a true Christian.   

But what if you cannot answer yes to those questions above?  Maybe you regularly attend church and you may even serve in the church, but you have no intimate, personal, love relationship with the Lord.   Maybe, if that is true of you, then you never were truly saved or born again.  You have a form of religion, you practice religion, but you do not actually know the Lord.  Then you are in danger of hell fire.  Because, if you do not communicate with and have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ, then Jesus does not know you !   

Jesus warns us at Matthew 7:21-23,  "(21) Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.  (22)  Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? (23) And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."

The above refers to those who are not truly converted, who do not actually know Jesus.  There are many false prophets and teachers today who can preach up a storm, but they themselves are not true believers.   Many only "tickle people's ears",  telling those in the pews what they want to hear;  they do not tell the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.  

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."  -  2 Timothy 4:3-4  

Many of these false teachers want fame, or security, or money, or all three.   So they avoid "offending" by not teaching on hell, (when Jesus taught on hell more than He did on heaven), or they do not teach that there is only one way to heaven.  (John 14:6).   They want to keep the pews filled and keep everyone happy with sermonettes that have no depth.   At times they just preach on "how to have your best life now", instead of how to obtain life in heaven with the Lord.  Jesus is not in such churches.   If you find yourself in such a house of worship, run to a church that preaches all the Gospel:  Christ at Calvary and His resurrection and how His shed blood redeems us.  Find a church where the Holy Spirit is present.

Back again to whether or not Jesus knows you......  remember in Matthew 7:23 Jesus told those who did many works that "he never knew them."    Many churches today are filled with so-called "carnal Christians";  who live like the world, talk like the world, think like the world, and act like the world.   There is no such thing as a "carnal Christian."  If they are of the world, they are not true believers at all; they were never truly converted.   They need to wake up before it is too late and repent, confess their sins, and pray for forgiveness and turn to the Lord in faith and with love and zeal and do works that befit repentance.   You are not saved by works, but if you are truly born again good works will follow.   You are saved  by faith in Jesus and belief in His resurrection.   (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:9-10,13).

Are you following the narrow way?  

"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."  -  Jesus at Matthew 7:13,14   

Jesus has been called the "strait gate."   And after that gate there is a "narrow way."   The narrow way is to follow Jesus and live a godly, holy life as much as is possible.  The narrow way is to obey the Lord and endeavor to keep His commandments.   The narrow way is to share the Gospel with lost souls as we travel on the highway to heaven.  Trust and obey !!

If you are truly born again, your life will change to conform to God's will, because you have been transformed by the renewing of your mind.  (Romans 12:1-2).  You will want to obey and do the Heavenly Father's will, because the Holy Spirit empowers true believers.   You will focus on the Lord first, spiritual matters will be of main concern, and you will think less of yourself and more of Jesus.   You will not be so self-absorbed and self-centered and selfish.   If you occasionally have a battle with sin and are broken up about it, and realize you need the Lord and His Word and time in prayer, that is a sign you are born again.....God is doing a work of sanctification in your life.   

If you stay on the "narrow way" and focus on Jesus, you will not be in danger of ending up on "the broad way" which leads to destruction.  Our job is to warn others so that they do not end up on the road to destruction. 

The evidence that you have truly been saved is the fact that you continue to walk with Jesus and grow in the faith; becoming spiritually mature.  You put Jesus first and foremost.  Jesus is everything !   

Repentance and faith in Christ has never been "fashionable". We should not be discouraged if the religion we profess is not popular and few agree with us.   It is definitely better to enter life eternal with a few, than to go to destruction with a great company.   

Stay strong in the Lord.

Read your Bible daily in order to build your faith and to know the Lord's will......to know Him.

Pray without ceasing.  That will help you build a close relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.

Have a Christ centered weekend !

"And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent."  -  John 17:3

"Are You In God's Book of Remembrance And The Book of Life?" - Inspirational Weekend

But, you may ask, in the Bible aren't the Book of Remembrance and The Book of Life the same thing?  Apparently not, according to some commentators.   Both books, however, play an important part at the Judgement Day.   But first let us examine the Scriptures where these books are mentioned.

"Then they that feared the LORD spoke often one to another: And the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him, for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name."  -  Malachi 3:16

Read all of Malachi or at least all of chapter 3.   The book of Malachi was written at a time when Israel was disobedient to God and thought that He did not see or that He didn't even care what they did.   They were offering lame and unhealthy sacrifices and were unfaithful to their wives, to mention a couple of things besides the fact that they just complained a lot and wondered if it was even a good idea to serve the LORD.  But there was a faithful group during that time period that met and spoke with favor concerning God, and God heard them and put their names in the Book of Remembrance.  God knows the intent and motive and desire of every heart.   Not one pious loyal word for Him and His glory escapes Him.    

Some scholars do not believe there are actual books in heaven, that that is a metaphor to help us humans to understand that God keeps a record of our deeds, and the intentions and motivations of our hearts.  In ancient times the kings usually kept books of remembrances that their servants might be rewarded in due time.  For an excellent example of this, read Esther 6:1-3.  

The good Lord, as we already know, does not forget our good deeds and our true devotion to Him; He does not need to be reminded of all that as if He would forget.  God sees all and knows all and remembers all.  So perhaps these "books" in heaven may be just a metaphor to help us to understand that He remembers us and our deeds.   And that we will be rewarded accordingly.   But do not rule out the possibility of literal books, because the Bible should be taken literally.

"Thou tellest my wanderings; put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?"  -  Psalm 56:8

The above Scripture has a special meaning for me, as I "wandered" for a few years, all the while searching for the Lord although at first I did not realize that that was what I was looking for.   But God in His love and mercy settled me down.....in Him.   Psalm 56:8 is no doubt referring to the Book of Remembrance.  

Other references to God's Book are found at Daniel 7:10 and Daniel 12:1; Exodus 32:32.   

What about the Book of Life?   Rest assured that if you are a true believer in Jesus and have faith in Him as your Savior, that your name is written in the Book of Life or, as it is sometimes called, The Lamb's Book of Life.  

"And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life."              -  Philippians 4:3

"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."                        -  Jesus at Revelation 3:5

This Book of Life contains the names of all those who will live in heaven and worship God forever there.   In others words, all those who are saved will be written in the Book of Life.   

"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 were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."         - Revelation 20:12

"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."            -  Revelation 20:15

Believers and faithful followers of Jesus, Rejoice !  Your eternity with Him is secure !

Unbelievers, if you do not want to spend eternity in hell, you need to repent of your sins, pray with sincerity for forgiveness, and surrender your life to the Lord;  believe with all your heart that Jesus is your Lord and Savior,  and put Him first in your life.  

In the Bible there are many instances where a hardened and wicked sinner finds mercy and love and forgiveness from a tender-hearted  and patient God .  Manneseh, a wicked king of Judah (Israel) repented after God caused him to be taken into captivity in Babylon and the LORD heard his petition and restored his kingdom to him.  (2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33; read especially 2 Chronicles 33:11-13).  Remember the apostle Paul in the New Testament who persecuted and put in prison the Christians, until he became a believer in Jesus himself and was used mightily by the good Lord.  Read Acts 9 about his conversion and the rest of Acts about his zeal and effective ministry. 

So our heavenly Father can use former ungodly persons to do mighty works for Him once they repent and have faith in Jesus.  He loves us and will forgive us if we confess our sins and turn away from them.   Only God can make us pure and righteous and He does it by the shed blood of Jesus on the cross, which washes us white as snow.   He wipes the slate clean!  

Turn to Him now before it is too late.

Jesus will return soon to take all who are His to heaven with Him.

You will thereby avoid the horrendous times of God's wrath against the wicked during the seven-year tribulation period.   

You will also avoid the torment of Hell.

You will have a clean conscious once you are saved by faith, and you will know the joy of the Lord and what true love is....the love God has for you, and the love you have for Him and Jesus.



"And behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.  Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
Jesus at Revelation 22:12-14

"Are You A Prisoner Of Hope ?" - Inspirational Weekend

"Turn ye to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee;"  - Zechariah 9:12

The prophet Zechariah uttered the above plea to the Jews who were still in Babylon.   Other Jews had already returned to Israel from Babylon, but some still tarried in the pagan city instead of returning to their ancient homeland and sharing in the restoring of the Jewish nation   They intended to return and hoped to return to their native Jewish land, but some of their excuses for not doing so were that  "they were not willing to break up their associations in Babylon, family ties, increasing wealth there, and business relations."   They indeed had a vague hope of returning to the Jewish nation "someday".  They procrastinated.  "Procrastination includes hope, but it is a hope that imprisons."  

We all have hope where the eternal salvation of our souls is concerned.  None of us intend to be among the lost.  We all have hope that we will not perish forever, or should I say, that we will not burn in hell forever.. But some of us put off coming to Christ and accepting Him as our Savior and Lord and Master.  We think there is plenty of time and we will get around to it someday.  We may be involved in pleasures of the world, or too busy with our careers, or we may even feel we are so sinful there is no hope for us.   So we become prisoners of hope, thinking that someday we will get right with the Lord "when the time is right".  It is an imprisoning hope that keeps us from responding to the gentle, pleading voice of Jesus who is knocking on the door of our heart, asking us to turn to Him in faith and obedience.   "Someday" you say, "but not yet."

"(For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the day of salvation.)"   -  2 Corinthians 6:2

"Now is the day of salvation."  Repent and turn to Jesus so you may spend eternity in bliss with Him in Paradise.  You do not want to face the alternative choice, which is hell.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1

We all know what the word hope means.   One of its definitions is "trust."  True believers trust in Jesus and have faith in His promises and in the salvation He offers.   We have a hope for a glorious future in all of eternity.   Therefore, in a sense, true believers are prisoners of hope as well.   We are prisoners on this wicked earth, and long to be with our Lord .  We have "the blessed hope", and are "looking for the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ." (Titus 2:13).

We are "prisoners of hope" by our faith in Jesus and by His promises to us.   This is expressed beautifully in the following song:

Romans 8:24-25 . "(24) For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? (25) But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."

"And now, Lord, what wait I for?  My hope is in thee."  -  Psalm 39:7

"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;"  -  Titus 1:2