Verse of the Day - weekend 1/30

Through the Bible - Exodus 23-26, Matthew20:17-21:32

 

Good morning,

I read two different devotionals this morning that brought together two passages that I wouldn't have thought of in conjunction with one another.  The first is from Luke 23 and Jesus' conversation  with the thief on the cross.  It is where we'll go for today's verse.

 

Luke 23:42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom."

43 And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise." NLT

 

The second passage was 1 Corinthians 13:7 from the Amplified Bible.

1 Corinthians 13:7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

Two criminals were side by side with Jesus.  One saw the disparity the other didn't.  One saw how "love bears up under anything and everything that comes", one saw grace and love personified in Jesus the other didn't.  One chose to believe and called out for Jesus to remember Him.  Jesus didn't deny Him.

The hopes of all of those who come to Jesus in faith are "fadeless", whether they come early in life or at the very end, as long as it is surrendering yourself to God's grace. 

Pictures fade, colors fade, sometime the most vibrant fading the fastest.  But God's love, mercy and compassion for us never fade, they will carry us to an eternity in paradise.

Consider what these verses and the quote below mean to you this weekend as you prepare to worship.

"The gospel, in brief, is the good news about the person and finished work of Jesus Christ. Consider for a moment that the eternal Son of God relinquished the glories of heaven to become a man, a human being like you and me. He lived a perfect and sinless life (unlike you and me), fulfilling every requirement of God's holy law in a way we could never hope to accomplish. And then in a glorious display of God's love for sinners like us, he willingly received the full fury of God's righteous wrath against sin by dying for our sins on a cruel Roman cross.

Because God's absolute and perfect holiness demands an equivalent holiness from all who come before him, in ourselves we are hopelessly lost and condemned. But Jesus, who had no sin of his won to pay for, took our place, paid our penalty, and suffered our punishment. Because his death as our substitute was perfectly sufficient to pay for our sin, God vindicated him by raising him from the dead. So now all who place their trust in Jesus' work on their behalf and turn from their sin will be forgiven, counted righteous in him, and saved from judgment for all eternity . . . all by God's marvelous grace. This is the gospel. This is the good news. Better news simply does not exist!"

- Gary & Betsy Ricucci. Love That Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace,

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Luke 23:35-44

 

35 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. "He saved others," they said, "let him save himself if he is really God's Messiah, the Chosen One." 36 The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. 37 They called out to him, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" 38 A sign was fastened to the cross above him with these words: "This is the King of the Jews."

 

39 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, "So you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you're at it!"

 

40 But the other criminal protested, "Don't you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn't done anything wrong." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom."

 

43 And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise."   NLT