We have libraries full of books that we can read for knowledge or entertainment. But then there are other books, books that are kept for one reason or another, like for public records or payroll and even for taxes. Why, there are even books kept in cemeteries so they know who is buried there and where they are buried. So books are very important for a variety of reasons. Today so many people want to ban books for many reasons. Classics that were written many years ago may seem outdated, but if we do not know what life was like back then, then how can we determine today if we have advanced as a society? I think if we are honest we know that life is different now then a hundred years ago, even twenty years ago. Books are important no matter when they were written. People without books are lost in many ways. Yes, you say but we have everything now online. But one day we may not have the internet for many reasons, like for one, the power grid could fail. A hard copy is still the best back-up. But did you know that God keeps books also? Yes, they were written before the foundation of the world, before God even spoke the world into existence. Even your life and mine were written down as Psalm 139: 16 says, “Your eyes have seen my formless substance; and in Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”
God knew and wrote down every minute of every day. God is all knowing, all powerful and ever present. He knows the beginning from the end. The prophet Isaiah says this in chapter 46, “Think about this. Wrap your minds around it. This is serious business, rebels. Take it to heart. Remember your history, your long and rich history. I am God, the only God you’ve had or ever will have, incomparable, irreplaceable, from the very beginning telling you what the ending will be, all along letting you in on what is going to happen.” In the day of Malachi there was a Book of Remembrance written and the people who were godly were written in it. Malachi 3:16-18 says this. “Then those who fear the Lord spoke with one another, and the Lord listened attentively; a record book was written before Him of those who fear the Lord and esteem His name. They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, My own special possession, on the day when I take action. And I will have compassion on them, as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. Then you will again distinguish between the just and the wicked, between the person who serves God, and the one who does not.”
When everything is said and done, these books will be opened as it says in Revelation 20:11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Your life will be read to you, what God intended for you, and how you actually lived your life. Life is just a fleeting moment to God, for He is eternal. But God has a plan for each one of us as Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
God does not want anyone to perish. 2 Peter 3:8-9 tells us this, “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.”
God has another book called the Bible. It began back when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments over three thousand years ago, and from there it was written by forty different people, Prophets, Kings, the Apostles, and by some whom we have lost their identity. There was no way that these people could have conversed with each other and yet, the Bible which is actually 66 books put together by these forty authors who came from three different continents, and wrote their words over many centuries, had complete unity in thought and purpose .The Bible tells us that God entrusted His very Words to the Jewish people, (Romans 3:2) and because of this we have those sacred Words today. Even the Bible, people say, is outdated and dead, and should be banned. But this is not so! God’s Word is alive as much as He is alive. Hebrews 4:12 tells us this, “For the Word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us this, “All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.” This is why we have the Bible. It tells us everything we need to know to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives. It does not matter your race, your creed or your economic status. The Bible is our road map leading us to eternal life with God. They want to ban the Bible because it convicts us of our sins and it sheds light in the darkness. John 3:19 says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
Life starts with God and it ends with God, the in between is up to us. If we choose life (eternal) or if we choose death (eternal) is also up to us and it is determined by how we live our lives. Today, choose life and begin to follow the path that leads to life and if you are on the road to death, veer off and start walking on the path that leads you home to God for He has prepared a place for you. This is what the Messiah told His Apostles in John 14:1-3 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house there are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be.” Read a good book lately? Why not read God’s Book to life and choose life. You won’t regret it, because it is the greatest story ever told.