3:16

The time I awoke was 3:16 AM, and the time flashed in my mind like that of a blinking digital clock. Was this something to write about, but about what? I asked the Lord, and the thought came: Scripture! John 3:16 came to mind: God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to pay our sins’ debt, and with Jesus as Lord of our lives, we have eternal life with Him. I went back to sleep, wondering what I would find in my search through God’s Word.

As I read through the Bible’s other sixty-five books that morning for what God said in 3:16 of each one, I found some didn’t have three chapters. Some chapters didn’t have sixteen verses. Most of the 3:16 passages needed the surrounding verses for a clear understanding. While reading, God reminded me that His holy presence dwells in each born-again believer (1 Corinthians); He inspired the written Word for our benefit (2 Timothy). James warns that envy and strife breed confusion, and John wrote in the Book of Revelation that God despises lukewarm Christians. But Malachi 3:16 grabbed my attention:

“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.”

Malachi writes that those who feared and revered Yahweh strengthened each other often by mutual encouragement, and the Lord heard. Not one word spoken in His name goes unnoticed by God. He not only hears what we say about Him but authorized an unnamed registrar to register in His presence each person in His Book of Remembrance who honors Him.

David hinted that he knew of such recordings when he said in Psalm 56:8, “Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?” He knew that God saw his faithfulness and remembered the injustices, abandonments, and heartaches he underwent. He believed God kept each tear that pooled in his eyes and the ones that fell. God “bottled” David’s tears, and the registrar recorded his name in the Book of Remembrance.

In Hebrews 3:13, the writer, who feared and revered God, urges all believers to do the same: encourage right-living and give godly counsel to each other daily to escape sin’s deceitfulness as long as life lasts. And in 10:24–25, he says we should meet regularly (for worship and Bible study), excite others (spur each other on) to persevere in the Christian walk, and do good works while showing God’s love. When we do, the registrar adds our names to the Book of Remembrance that God will open one day and read for all of heaven to hear. What will the book reveal of you and me as all of heaven listens?