PASTOR'S REFLECTION

Is your name written in the Lord's book of life?

“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name; And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven; Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Lk 10:17-20)
Beloved, the danger in the Christendom is this: the devils may subject themselves unto you in the name of Jesus Christ, Satan may fall at your feet by the power of God, you may tread on serpents and scorpions and even over all the power of the enemy unhurt through God; yet, your name may be missing in the Lamb's book of life (Matt. 7:21-23, Lk 13:25-27). It has happened before and it is still happening now. The same, the Lord Jesus Christ said unto His disciples several thousand years ago, is what He is saying to us today. 'A stitch in time saves nine.'
In the above passage, the Lord made it very clear that miracles, signs and wonders, casting out demons, church positions, titles, testimonies, church politics, etc are good, but not the joy of a Christian. It is therefore very dangerous to rejoice over the additions at the expense of the most important. Unfortunately today, many of us are pursuing the mundane so vigorously not minding whether or not our names are written in heaven.
Child of God, have you asked God at anytime if your name is written in heaven? The truth is that until you hear from God, don't assume anything. Again, even when God confirms to you today that your name is included, it is also very advisable to go back to Him from time to time to check as names could be deleted (Ex 32:33; 2 Tim 4:10). Do you know that all those the Lord denied knowing in Matt. 7:21-23; Lk 13:25-27, were among the well-fed, well-taught, who had daily eaten spiritual bread and drank spiritual water in the presence of the Lord? Do you know they were the generals of Christ in the eyes of the world?
So what was their mistakes? They did not inquire from the Lord if their names were there, nor did they consistently examine themselves (2 Cor. 13:5), rather, they went about doing mighty works in His name. What happened to them is a lesson to help us (1 Cor. 10:11-12). If your name is not written there, all the noise, positions, bible study, church meetings and fellowship, and in fact, your coming to the world would be in vain. Judas Iscariot learnt his lessons too late (Matt 27:3-10). May you and I never make the same mistakes in Jesus name!

Pastor K. Nzeh.