The Book of Revelation Devotions Day 69

DAY 69

Not to get all fire and brimstone on you, but is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Remember that is the only thing that keeps you from the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

How do we ensure that our names are in the Book of Life?

This may be a review but it is crucial, so it bears repeating. Not just for your own sake but also so that you can correctly present this information to others. As a Church overall through time we have often failed to properly portray salvation. It is often portrayed as a one-time experience instead of the beginning of a wonderful journey with Jesus. As a result, some people never move on from Jesus as Savior to Jesus as Lord. But what does scripture actually say about it? It starts with repentance which is a turning away from our own way, sin, the world and turning to Jesus and His way. We find the rest in Romans 10.

Romans 10:9-13 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

First, EVERYONE can be saved, there is no discrimination, and since NO person is worthy to be saved, there is no room for us to think we shouldn’t be included in that.

Second, we declare Jesus is LORD, not just Savior. Is He LORD of your life? Is He in charge of your life? Are you completely surrendered?

We must check our hearts, are we serving Him? Are we surrendered to Him? Are we worshipping Him with our hearts and is it showing in our lives? Jesus took our punishment, saved our lives, and how we live for Him is the evidence of our faith in that.

Think about this: did He give His life for you just so you could say you believe and then forget about Him? Or did He give his life to save you and now you honor Him with living for Him with all of you!?! Salvation is not something that gets tacked on to your life, it is something that completely changes your life. Jesus is not someone that gets added in to the mix of your life, He wants to completely change your life! This is how we have to start presenting Jesus to the world, not as an add-on option, but as a complete transformation!

Nothing we do gets ignored, but we by His grace through faith in the Lamb of God are saved. So now our sin is covered and all we have to focus on is living for Him! Salvation isn’t a childhood event we experience and then forget about, we need to be living out our salvation. We need to have active faith.

Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

This verse often gets misinterpreted. That phrase “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” sometimes gets interpreted in a manner that implies that somehow we have to negotiate or bargain with God about our salvation. There are a few things to look at in this verse. First notice the word “continue,” this indicates persistent action, not a one and done attitude. Oh don’t get me wrong, Jesus already paid the price, that was one and done, He only had to die once. But our attitude should not be past tense. I like how it is worded in the New Living version:

Philippians 2:12-13 (NLT) Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

I think this might make it a little more understandable. We are not limited to a salvation experience that is a date in the past. Instead that day marks the beginning of our journey with Jesus in which we display the results of that salvation in our lives everyday by our obedience and fruit.

So I ask again, is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and if so, is He LORD of your life? Are you surrendered? I find I have to ask myself to surrender daily.

Jesus, forgive me. Help me to keep you as Lord of my life and stay surrendered daily. Help me to correctly continue to live out my salvation in reverence and be a good example to others. Help me to be who you created me to be and shine for you every single day in every situation I face. Thank you for your love and patience Jesus.