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"And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43  Jesus’ comment to the thief on the Cross that he would be with Him in paradise is actually a promise of God’s acceptance! Because heaven is where God lives, going there means God has accepted you.
40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.  The thief on the cross was saved the same way as Paul or Peter. Paul murdered Christians; Peter denied Christ; both Paul and Peter needed to come to the realization of their own sinfulness, repent, and believe on Him. Just like the thief on the cross, God is willing to save any sinner that comes to Him!
39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.  The thief on the cross came to the end of himself; he knew he was a sinner and needed Christ to save him.
A story is told of a man who was considered a “drunk”; he was always begging for money and hardly ever worked. He says in his own testimony that drinking would take control of him; he had a family to take care of, but instead he would bring his horse to the bar and buy everyone drinks until the horse was completely sold. Another time, instead of staying home with his wife – he drove 11 miles through a massive snow storm so he could buy his fill of whiskey. One time, when his son was 2 years old – this alcoholic came home from a ten day drinking binge to find his son dead in his mother’s arm. At the funeral, his wife insisted he promise never to drink again. Two hours after his vow, he came home staggering drunk. Could Christ save a man like this? 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:15  The world’s philosophy says, forgive other people for your own benefit. God is much wiser: He shows us that Forgiven People Forgive. Our motivation is not solely to forgive so we can benefit; our motivation is to forgive so others will see how loving and kind God is. But what happens when we stubbornly decide we will not extend forgiveness to someone else?
" 3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." Luke 17:3-4  While some do not forgive others because they have not yet received Christ as their Savior and they have yet to be forgiven themselves, many do not forgive because they simply haven’t been taught how to handle the issue of an unwilling or unrepentant offender.
"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots." Luke 23:34  Notice the forgiveness of God and Jesus in Luke 23:34; yet, it “seemed” to fail because the people around the cross, in response, “parted his raiment, and cast lots.” Why didn’t they thank the Lord that He had forgiven them for all their wrong doings? Because, they lacked repentance; neither their hearts or minds changed.
"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots." Luke 23:34  An account based on a true story is told of Paco, a young Spanish man who ran away from home, estranged from his father. Realizing the need for reconciliation with his son, the father put an ad in the Madrid city newspaper, El Liberal, which read “"Paco, meet me at the newspaper stand at noon on Sunday. All is forgiven! Love, Papa." The father did find his son at the newspaper stand on Sunday, along with many other young men named Paco who were also looking for love and acceptance from their dad!
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AuthorPastor Doug Mann Archives
October 2014
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"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." 2 Peter 3:18 Copyrights: All photographs used in individual blog posts have the proper credits given at the bottom of each posting as per the terms and conditions of Weebly. Web Administrator.
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