THE BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE FOR THOSE THAT FEAR THE LORD

I remember my surprise once I finally took note of the fact that God had a special book in which He recorded the names of those that fear Him.

Malachi 3:16 “Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.”

I believe this is a different book than the Book of Life, though you would think that they would mirror each other. Sadly, that is not necessarily the case. The Hebrew for thought includes value. It would seem that there are many true believers, those who have placed their faith in Jesus, who choose for whatever reason not to invest in that relationship; they are too distracted by the concerns, responsibilities and pleasures of this world. This would seem to be those that were referenced by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 3:13–15 “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

There are others who delight in that relationship and whose lives give evidence of the value they accord His name. According to Malachi, this evidence includes the desire to talk about Him and His truth with other believers. Honestly—How often is the LORD or the word of God the focus of your conversation with other believers?

As we conclude this series of blogs, I would like to share a couple of more scriptures that summarize much of what was identified as giving evidence of a healthy fear of the LORD in our lives.

Psalms 34:11–14 “Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”

2Corinthians 7:1 “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

If we in the body of Christ could just control our tongues, avoid evil as defined by the word of God, and seek peace, we could go a long way toward teaching those around us about how to have a healthy fear of the LORD. Our whole life should be dedicated to cleansing ourselves from the filthiness of the flesh and spirit as we seek to perfect holiness in the fear of God. We have no valid excuses for our failures. God has promised to empower us to be overcomers, but it is up to us to avail ourselves of that provision.

1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

Ephesians 6:13–17 “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench ALL the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”

It is important to note that the shield of faith is identified as most important. It was the critical piece of armor that would have delivered Eve from Satan’s deception in the garden. Satan’s darts come in many different forms, but they are all tipped with the same few poisons—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Without faith we do not have access to the other pieces of armor.

I pray that this series of posts on fearing God has encouraged you to examine your life and determine that you are prepared to meet the LORD when He returns. I know that I can improve in many of these areas, and I am sure you can too. I have asked God to do whatever it takes in my life to make me a vessel of honor and glory before Him.

If you do not know the LORD as your Savior, I would encourage you to take four minutes and watch a presentation from God’s word of the gospel message. It could be the most important few minutes of your life.