Bec's Blog

April 2026 Blog Post by Pastor Bec

Do you like books? I don’t know about you, but I sure do. I love to read. Do you?It’s never too late to start, and library books are free.

Books have so much to offer. They take us to other worlds – we can travel all over the world without ever leaving our home. They help us understand and express feelings. They invite us to allow our imaginations to run wild, and to dream.

As children, we learn to read, and can be transported to magical lands, like C S Lewis’s “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” where anything is possible.

We can have fun with stories that rhyme like those found in Dr. Seuss books. (Which is your favorite? I think I’ll always love “Green Eggs and Ham… “Would you could you with a fox? Would you could you in a box?”) And then, of course, there’s Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White, where the world of animals becomes real.

As we get older, there’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney,” and other books which share the angst of navigating awkward pre-teen years. Decades ago it was “The Boxcar Children,” and “The Nancy Drew mysteries,” and “The Hardy Boys.” (Remember these? ‘Probably still good reading today.)

And then there’s the classic “coming of age books,” like “Anne of Green Gables” (by Lucy Maud Montgomery) and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain.

There are more classic adult books than I can ever mention. What are some of your favorites? One timeless book most everyone reads in high school is Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.” This novel, written before it’s time, addresses issues of race, inequality and segregation with both laughter and heartache. It also gives us everyday heroes.

Of course, the greatest book ever written is The Bible. It is comprised of 66 books, within the Book. All the authors were inspired by God’s Holy Spirit, to record stories of God, and people. It is a love story. The Old Testament (39 books) tells us about who God is, how He created us to be with Him, how we blew it, and how He’s been trying to get us back to Him ever since. The New Testament (27 books) tells us all about Jesus, His Only Son, who left Heaven to reconcile us back to God through His sacrificial death and resurrection from the dead. For us, Jesus overcame sin and death.

Through belief in Him, we can enjoy the promise of life forevermore, and even more importantly, an abundant life now!

Paul is one of the NT authors. He wrote at least 13 of the 27 books. In one of the books, (one of my favorites), Philippians, he is writing to the church at Philippi. (Northeastern Greece, today.) In chapter 4, he urges the believers to stand firm, and to help others with relationship issues. There are two women he mentions by name, “Eudora and Syntyche,” to become of the same mind. He enlists the help of his “true companion,” because these beloved women worked by Paul’s side in advancing the cause of Jesus Christ, and their names “are in the book of life.”

“The Book of Life” is mentioned so casually, you might miss it. But it is mentioned three times in the Old Testament, (Exodus 32:32-22, Psalm 69:28, and Daniel 12:1). Once in Philippians, and six times in Revelation, (the New Testament).

It is described as “a divine record” of those who are spiritually saved – those who belong to God through faith in Jesus Christ. It is a comfort to know that we belong to God and are written in His Book of Life. If you haven’t already, won’t you choose Him today? Romans 10:9 (NLT) tells us, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

How marvelous to come to that saving belief, and even had it recorded in Heaven!

Eudora and Syntyche may have been arguing, but they believed in Christ and worked hard with Paul to further His Kingdom. In the Book of Life, deeds are recorded as well.

(Revelation 20:12) Did you know that in another of Paul’s books, Ephesians 2:10, we’re told that we are God’s special handiwork, “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

 So be encouraged! Your choice to follow Jesus, and live for Him, and do marvelous things God’s already prepared for you, will all show up one day in a book!