Knowing Before The Day

Graduation day was a suspenseful day for our son, Brad. He wasn't totally sure what was going to be inside that diploma that the college President handed him. Yousee, Brad informed me several days before graduation that no one would know for sure that they were actually going to receive their diploma until they returned totheir seat and looked inside the cover. The seniors didn't know their final grades, oh - and if there were any unpaid fees they weren't going to know that either, untilthey opened their diploma cover and found a bill instead of a diploma.

Well, when Brad's name was called he did that long march across that stage, he took what the President gave him, and returned to the bleachers. A moment later helooked my way, flashed a big smile and nodded his head, YES! Woah . . . man, he made it! But it sure would have been nice to know in advance, wouldn't it?

Now, you may have all your schooling behind you, but you've still got one more graduation day, and so do I. It's the day we graduate from this life to whatever isbeyond this life. In our word for today, from the Word of God, Jesus talks about the only document that will matter the day our heart beats for the last time - the dayEternity begins. In Luke 10:20 He says, "Rejoice that your names are written in Heaven." Ah, well - written where? Well, our word today from the Word ofGod, Revelation 21:23,25 describes Heaven a little bit. It talks about a city that "...does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the Glory of Godgives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp . . . On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there." And then verse 27 says, "Nothingimpure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those," now listen to this, "whose names are written in theLamb's Book of Life." The deciding document on the day you and I keep our appointment with God, is the Lamb's Book of Life. . .

If Jesus said to rejoice because you are in it, obviously we can know in advance, right? Now, that contradicts the usual conception that we won't know until we die ifwe're headed for Heaven or Hell - which, by the way, Jesus presented frequently, and always as literally real places. Now, apparently, either your name is in theLamb's Book of Life, or it isn't. If it isn't, you can't enter Heaven.

Now, my son didn't know until his graduation day if he made it or not. According to Jesus it doesn't have to be that way for us when it comes to that graduation daythat matters forever.

So, how can you know that your name is in His book? - the one that records all those who are going to have life. You see, the reason that we think that we can'tknow until graduation day is because we have the wrong idea about what gets a person into Heaven. Most folks think it will be based on whether our good deedsoutweighed our bad deeds, and we couldn't know then until we get God's verdict and we die. But that's totally contrary to what God's Word says. It says, He savedus, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. That mercy is described a few verses earlier in Titus 2:14, "Jesus Christ gavehimself for us to redeem us from all wickedness."

The only thing that will keep us out of Heaven will be our sin. All the choices of our lives that we've done our way instead of God's way. Our sin carries a deathpenalty which Jesus, the Lamb of God, paid as our substitute when He died on the cross. And it's the Lamb's Book of Life. I John 5:12 says, "He who has theSon has life, he who does not have the Son of God, does not have life." Is your name in the Lamb's Book of Life? It all depends what you've done with Jesus.

The only way to Heaven is to put your total trust in the One who died so you can live. You could open your heart to Him right now, right where you are, and know before the day is over that you will graduate to Heaven. If there has never been thattime when you've made Jesus your personal Savior, your name isn't there, but it could be. Beginning today and lasting forever. Jesus is waiting to hear your prayerof total trust in him and He's waiting to enter your name.

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Today's Daily Wisdom is written by Ron Hutchcraft, based on his popular radio broadcast,"A Word With You"."A WORD WITH YOU" daily devotionals are now available via e-mail. To subscribe send a blank email to:awordwithyou-subscribe@hutchcraft.com,or to request the "Yours for Life" booklet, fill out the form on this site:http://www.gospelcom.net/rhm/yours/yflorder.html. Ron Hutchcraft Ministries has been on-line with Gospelcom since February, 1996, providingpractical answers to real life issues. (c) 2000 Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.PO Box 400, Harrison AR 72602