Hand in Hand Proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

 March 2008  Hand In Hand Ministries Publication 

Remember Me

By Karen Brooks from "Our Daily Bread 4 Today" from Tennessee

It was the end of the road for this thief, or so he thought. He was guilty. He was condemned to die. His life here would soon be over. He had no hope. Then he saw another prisoner that he recognized. What is he doing here in this prison with me? He doesn't belong here, he may have thought. Wasn't this the man that he had heard healed the sick, and raised the dead and went about forgiving sinners? Now he was here a prisoner along with him, a convicted criminal. He had took a great beating from what the prisoner could see, why would someone do this to him?

Jesus, A friend of sinners, the prisoner may have heard someone say, the promised Messiah. Hope for the hopeless. "I sure could use both a friend and some hope" he may have thought. Why is he here with the likes of me? Surely he doesn't deserve this! "I do", he thought. I deserve every bit of this. I wished now that things could be different but I have surely sealed my own fate, there is no hope left for me, I have been too bad to be forgiven. I don't deserve another chance."

It was time to go. Time to be nailed to the cross in punishment for his crimes. He heard the soldiers coming for him, but to his amazement he saw soldiers coming with a cross for Jesus also. Surely they were not going to crucify him, "next to me" he thought?

What crime had he committed?  Maybe this thief had once heard Jesus say, "I come not to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance", we don't know, the bible doesn't say. We do conclude that this man knew of Jesus somehow, he knew that Jesus didn't deserve the cross.

Later that day, hanging on the cross next to Jesus, having witnessed the cruel mocking from the people and hearing a fellow prisoner revile Jesus, he could be silent no longer. He admitted that they both deserved what they were getting, but, we read in Luke chapter 23:41 he said, " But this man hath done nothing amiss".

 

He admitted he was guilty and he proclaimed his belief that Jesus was innocent, then next came those words that Jesus came to Earth to suffer and die in our place to hear, Words of faith, asking forgiveness.

 

 

The man that thought he had been too bad to be forgiven, then heard these words from Jesus, "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise". The end for this man had just become the beginning!

Do you remember when Jesus spoke to you? Yes, he speaks to us today, maybe not out loud in an audible voice, but in a still small voice. He is with us also, for those of us who have asked his forgiveness, beholding his cross where he took away our sins!

This biblical account always reminds me of once when I was witnessing to a lost loved one. This person, some thought was just unapproachable with the gospel, wouldn't want to hear it. I was even warned, I might be "run off". I had no such concerns. Trying to reach this person with the love of Jesus, he responded, "But I have been to bad to be forgiven, I have just done to many things". I already knew of his past, yes he had stolen things, yes he had used profane language and much more that he thought was just unforgivable. He really believed this!

I opened my bible and told him I was going to read to him about a man who was a convicted thief, a common criminal (he had never heard this!) and I asked him to take note of Jesus response to this man when he asked, "remember me". At the end of this he was in tears. Talk to Jesus, I told him He will hear you, he will listen, he can and will forgive you , it is not of good works that we go to heaven but through Jesus alone, just talk to him. He promised he would and later before he died, he was in the hospital and he did talk to Jesus. And just as Jesus did with the thief on the cross, Jesus answered him!

 

One of the sweetest memories I now have is of visiting with him in the hospital and hearing his testimony. He would tell me how that he would talk to Jesus and Jesus would answer him right back. He would wake up in the hospital with a smile on his face as if he expected to be "home" in heaven already.

There is hope in the cross. Forgiveness for all, no matter how many our sins, they can be forgiven. Do you know him as your hope today? Is there someone in your family or circle that thinks they have been too bad to be saved? Someone who is hard to talk to about salvation? If there was hope for a convicted thief on a cross then there is hope for everyone.

I would like to wish everyone a blessed Easter season and I pray as we meditate upon our Lord's suffering and his sacrifice that we would look at our service to him. Examine ourselves to see if we are doing all that we can to reach the lost around us in his name. Let us live each day for Jesus because he died for us. He done it all for us, he took our place and bore our sins so that we too could be "remembered".

Jesus loves you no matter what your sins and failures in life. Jesus knew we would fail him but yet he still came, he still suffered for you and me. The greatest of all, he rose again and he is alive forever more and we can have life in him. We will spend eternity with him in all of heaven's splendor! He has promised never to leave us or forsake us but to go with us all the way.

 

Karen Brooks Dailybread4today Ministries.

Copyright ©  Karen Brooks, 2008 Webmaster

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email: Karen Brooks, Tennessee

 

 

Word of Life Ministries Statement of Faith  

We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible authoritative Word of God. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, was buried, resurrected, ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of God. We believe in the personal salvation of believers through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We believe in the personal resurrection of the dead, the eternal happiness of the saved, and the eternal punishment of the lost. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling we are enabled to live a Godly life, with all the Gifts of the Holy Spirit operational in the Body of Christ today. We believe in the Christian's hope, the soon coming return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hand In Hand Publication is an Internet Ministry of Faithful Christians joining hands together all around the world, for the sole purpose of promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ.