By: Juliet Constantine
“Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.” (Mal. 3:16 NKJV)
In the world of accounting, I was taught that journal entries are very important to keep track of all monetary transactions. With these records, accountants can create a financial picture of summarized activities for a particular period of time. Keeping records of spending help with managing cash flow, budgeting, and taxation-- not just for companies but also for homes. There are many others uses of journal entries: organizing thoughts, prioritizing, recording events, to help with consistency, and so on. It is also said that journal entries have many health benefits, and one of them is the reduction of stress levels in the person who journals. Irrespective of the type of journaling that’s done, the storage media selected is very important as easy recall will prove beneficial. So, we can conclude that journal entries serve as a remembrance tool. We could have easily called a journal a book of remembrance.
Well, that’s the term God used when He refers to the book which contains all our deeds. The Book of Remembrance is a record of all that we’ve ever done, be it good or bad; that book was started by God, not Adam or others. No action in this book will be physically erased, irrespective of the change that followed. If I was naughty and confessed my sins to God, “pardon” would be written across those confessed actions. But, if no confession was made, those actions would be “brought to book”.
I love the double entry system – for every debit there is a corresponding credit-- they cancel each other out. However, where there’s a balance, this is carried forward to the final accounts. In God’s accounting system, in His journal entries: where a sinful action is recorded, and the credit of pardon wasn’t applied, that action will be carried forward to His final account – the Judgment.
Since all our deeds are being precisely recorded by our guardian angels, we should be mindful that these will be “brought to book”. Those records are being used now to determine our reward: the gift of God or the wages of sin. Additionally, those who were given eternal life will be able to go over the entries to see if God made a mistake. Why? It’s because there will be surprise in both Heaven and Hell. The thousand year vacation isn’t just for fun. The saints will sit in judgment, examining the entries of the lost.
Many, whom others thought would not make it, will be saved. They would have sincerely prayed the Publican’s prayer, believed like the Centurion, and reached out to Jesus like the thief on the cross. They touched the hem of His garment and were made whole. They accepted the wedding garment of Jesus’ righteousness so their sins were all covered. Yes, though stained by the blight of sin, they made sure that a corresponding credit of pardon was written beside their deeds. They humbled themselves and allowed Jesus to work His transforming power in their lives.
You can too. What is being recorded in Heaven about you? Have you been naughty or nice? Is it something that you would want others to see, now or in the Millennium? Are you content with your actions – is there room for change or improvement? Your story can end like Rahab or Mary Magdalene, former prostitutes; David, the former adulterer and murderer; Solomon the former womanizer; Noah the former drunkard; Sarah the former doubter; Jacob the former deceiver; and many more whose names are all written in Heaven’s Register – the Book of Life. They all made the change. You should too.
Oh my Father, everything is written in Your Books, even our tossing and the tears we shed. They are all written in Your Book. Our sins are there too. I pray even now, Father, for full forgiveness of all my sins on record. Please keep me from falling, I pray, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Copyrighted by Juliet Constantine 2014 (for “Alone With God – Finding Jesus In The Scriptures” Daily Devotional)
