IN THE WORD DAILY
with Brother Rick
Luke 23: 42, 43
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me
when thou comest into thy kingdom.
V- 43 And Jesus said unto
him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
As Jesus hung on the cross
with the malefactors, we see that one of the men had no faith in the Son of
God, and we see the other had great faith that Jesus was the Christ. The
believer did not beg the Lord to take him off the cross. He did not ask Jesus
to look after his family. He did not ask the Creator of the universe to get
even with his accusers. He only asked Jesus one thing. He asked the Lord to
remember him.
This man found out later that
Jesus was a God of his word. Jesus told him that he would be with him in
paradise and I believe exactly what the Bible says. So we must conclude that
the man saw Jesus in paradise not long after that moment.
We learn from this verse that
church attendance does not save a man from a devil’s hell. I think we can say
that this man was not a pillar of the community. He was not a faithful member
of the local church. He was not a deacon of a local assembly. We also learn
from this verse that water baptism is not a prerequisite for entering heaven,
despite the heresy that some have spread. We also learn that good works
does not determine the eternal resting place of the soul. If it did this man
would be in a mess. We do however learn from this verse that Jesus always keeps
his promises. If God says it, you can take it to the bank. Titus 1: 1, 2 says, “Paul, a servant of God, and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the
acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life,
which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;” We serve
a God that stands on his word. Can the world say that about you? We serve a God
who backs up his promises. Can the world say that about you? We serve a God
that takes care of his own? Does your family and friends say that about you? We
learn in these verses from the thief on the cross that the motions we go
through as God’s children are the fruit of salvation, they are not a means of
salvation.
In our text we see that the
man who hung next to the Lord only asked for one thing, that Christ would
remember him when he took his rightful place at the right hand of God the
Father. If you could ask the Lord for something this morning, what would it be?
1 John 5: 14 says, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any
thing according to his will, he heareth us.” Jesus also tells us in
Luke 11: 9, “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall
find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Again I ask, if you
could ask the Lord this morning for one thing, what would it be? Would it be a
new car? Would it be a handful of sweaty cash? Would it be a new house? Would
it be something that has no eternal value? Or would you do as this thief on the
cross and ask for God to remember you.
We need Jesus to remember us
when he goes before God the Father. We need Jesus to remember our weaknesses in
the flesh. We need Jesus to remember our need for provision in this life. We
need Jesus to remember that our adversary is only a step behind us waiting to
attack at any moment. Thank God for his protection. We need Jesus to remember our
lost family. 2 Peter 3: 9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
I need for Jesus to remember my brother Rob. This morning my request to the
Lord would be, “Lord, please remember my brother before it is too late.”
God remember us today, we
need all the help we can get.
