It’s a “PLEASE LORD REMEMBER ME” Saturday.
LORD WE PRAY FOR YOUR REMEMBRANCE AND PROTECTION. AMEN
As Christians, most of the times we concentrate on the words of Jesus from the cross, but the words of others hold meaning for us also. One should always have a keen eye, a listening ear and an open mind, for we learn from others. So as we listen to those other men on the crosses by Jesus, we find some surprising lessons. The Bible tells us that when Jesus was hanging on the cross one of the criminals being crucified with Him insulted Him. This man was degrading Jesus by saying: “If you can do so much, and if you can do what they say you can do, why don’t you get yourself off that cross and then come and get me off?” Think about a person trying to degrade someone who is far better than he is. “If you are God and can do so much, why don’t you get us out of this mess?” This thief is teaching us how to have the wrong attitude towards Jesus, for him not to save you. If you want to be saved by Jesus, you need to have the right attitude towards Him. He was not praying to Jesus, he was seemingly bossing Jesus, telling Him what to do instead of asking Him to help him. We do that in our prayers sometimes … telling God what to do instead of asking Him to do what we want Him to do for us. Like many of us today, this man’s only concern was to use Jesus to get himself out of a mess. Jesus is not a tool to be used; not a person to be manipulated or to be used to get what you want. Jesus is to be trusted, reverenced, obeyed and not used as a tool to get what we want. Now check out the attitude of this other thief and the results he received because of his attitude. He had respect and reverence for God. He said to the first thief, “Don’t you have any respect for God?” This man saw God in Jesus. This man at least was God conscious and he respected God. Some people live as if there is no God. This man though he was dying called his partner to the fact that he should at least respect God. This man confessed sins by saying, we are getting what we are due because we are guilty of our crimes. This man was honest to confession. The Bible says, if we confess our sins He is just to forgive us. This man had the right attitude for being saved. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom says the Scripture. This thief’s heart was touched by Calvary, by his plight and he was saved. The first thief’s heart was hardened by his plight and he was lost. Some people’s hearts are hardened by troubles and trials, while others are melted. This thief knew enough about Jesus to know that he was not guilty of the crime He was charged with. He says, this man has done nothing wrong. Note the humility of this thief: He did not beg Jesus to get him down. I’m guilty, he says and I am not asking you to help shun my punishment because I know I’m getting my just deserves. I’m not asking you to get me down from here; I just want you to remember me when you come to your kingdom. I’m asking for mercy. Please Lord Remember Me. This thief believed that Jesus would live beyond the grave. He did not believe that the cross was the end of things with Jesus. When you come into your kingdom, he said, “Remember Me.” This thief believed in life beyond death. Jesus looked beyond what this man was saying and understood what he meant. The poet expressed it in a beautiful way when he said: He looked beyond my faults and saw my needs. No, this thief did not want Jesus to get him from the cross. He wanted Him to have mercy on him and rescue him from hell. If you have the right attitude Jesus will respond in the right way. Listen to what Jesus said: “This day, thou shalt be with me in Paradise.” Yes, if we will have the right attitude toward Jesus, He will remember us when things get tough with us. When the load gets heavy He will remember us, He will be our burden bearer, He will be our light when the way gets dark, and He will be our friend when we are lonely. He will remember the things we do for Him, even though we forget them. Yes, Jesus remembers when others forget and He forgives when others remember! Can I get an AMEN, UP IN HERE, UP IN HERE?
