The Record-Keeping Challenge

God keeps records. Is it because He forgets? Certainly not. He remembers everything. So why does He still keep books?

That question disrupted my disorderliness to the core. If an omniscient God keeps records, why should a fallible human like me not do the same?

That realization shook me. I used to be careless; if there was a prize for neglecting important things, I would beat anyone’s hands down.

Diaries? I didn’t care. But reading the Bible and seeing how seriously God treats record-keeping exposed my negligence. So I began the journey—the R-K (Record-Keeping) challenge.

Forming new habits, even in small things, takes discipline. I miss it now and then, but I’m up for the challenge.

That’s what it means for the Word of God to renew a man’s mind: not just changing what one believes, but reshaping how one lives, one decision, one adjustment, one act of obedience at a time.

The Bible says: “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 3:16, KJV).

Is the above verse merely figurative, as some often claim? Some people dismiss passages like this because they imagine heavenly books as physical objects, made of wood pulp or other fibrous materials like the ones we use on earth.

But no. Heavenly records are made with heavenly materials and stored in heavenly formats. Even though we interpret them through the lens of earthly books, these records are not fragile.

They are not corruptible. These books are made in heaven, preserved in forms that no worm or moth can destroy, and no virus can corrupt.

They are eternal, incorruptible, and precise, kept by the One who never forgets, yet chooses to write.

So here’s the challenge: Start keeping records. Dates. Event headings. Places. Circumstances. Things you feel a judge would benefit from remembrance. God’s revelations. Dreams. Visions. Write them down.

Use them to confirm decisions. Use them to track the fulfillment of God’s promises. If heaven keeps a book of remembrance, let earth not be careless.

Let your records reflect your reverence. Let your memory be stewarded with wisdom. And may your name be found in the right book, when it matters most.

Reflection Question: Why do you think God keeps records, even though He never forgets?

SELAH: Disorganized records discourage review. Learn to add dates, headings, places, and context. Make your notes readable, relevant, and retrievable – Tabe Abane