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Getting your name<br />
in the “Book of Life”<br />
... how does this happen?<br />
Or: How do we board the<br />
lifeboat?<br />
You will have noticed from the above personal<br />
testimonies that each of them was in a different<br />
situation before coming to saving faith. Every<br />
person’s life is unique, just as all snowflakes are<br />
different. There can never be two life stories that<br />
are the same, we have one significant thing in<br />
common when we leave the ship of death and<br />
board the lifeboat, namely that we are now<br />
assured of salvation. The practical details of the<br />
transfer are now discussed.<br />
When we wish to turn to Jesus Christ, we can<br />
know that He is already expecting us: “Here I am!<br />
I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears<br />
my voice and opens the door, I will come in”<br />
(Rev 3:20). First of all we should pray to Jesus to<br />
forgive all our sins. Such a prayer 1 could for<br />
example go like this:<br />
1<br />
About prayer: If we want to tell somebody something,<br />
then we do it in our own words and according<br />
to our own individual style of speech. When praying<br />
to Jesus for salvation, we do exactly the same. A personal<br />
conversation with God and Jesus Christ is<br />
known as prayer. We simply mention our request<br />
(desiring to be saved, or asking for forgiveness) and<br />
thank Him for the salvation promised in his Word. The<br />
prayers given here are definitely not fixed ritualistic<br />
formulas. Rather, they are possible examples. You, the<br />
reader, should pray in your own words, according to<br />
your own situation. If you are inexperienced and do<br />
not know how and what to pray, you may use the<br />
examples as your own prayer, after familiarising<br />
yourself with the contents.<br />
“Lord Jesus, it has now become clear to me<br />
who You are. I know that God created this<br />
world and all life through You. You also made<br />
me – my body with all its many functions. You<br />
have given me my <strong>sense</strong> <strong>organs</strong> for observing<br />
the world, as well as my soul and spirit for<br />
knowing You. I believe that You are the Son of<br />
God and that You were nailed to the cross on<br />
Calvary, where You died on account of my sins<br />
– all my actions and thoughts which are sinful<br />
in your eyes, and make me guilty before You.<br />
Because You were completely sinless, death<br />
could not hold You. You arose from the grave<br />
and live now. You are the great Lord over all<br />
things! I pray now for You to also be my personal<br />
Lord and Master.<br />
I know that with the guilt of my life’s sin, I cannot<br />
for one moment stand before You and the<br />
living God in the place of judgement. But You<br />
came into this world to save lost sinners. Your<br />
death on the cross was the price paid for me<br />
so that I might go free and not be punished. In<br />
that fact I trust. My entire life is an open book<br />
before You. You know all the errors of my<br />
ways, every false inclination of my heart, and<br />
my previous indifference towards You. So now<br />
I ask You – please, take away all my guilt<br />
before You and forgive all my sins; everything<br />
that I can think of, as well as everything that<br />
doesn’t come to mind right now. Take all those<br />
things away from me. I thank You that You are<br />
doing that right now. You are the Truth, therefore<br />
I trust the promises in Your Word. Amen.”<br />
Now you have done what we read in 1 John 1:9:<br />
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and<br />
will forgive us our sins and purify us from all<br />
unrighteousness.” There are two very important<br />
matters from this fundamental verse which we<br />
need to take to heart and emphasise:<br />
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