Come to Christ Before It’s Too late

This morning, during my pre-Easter reading, I looked at the  account of Jesus’s crucifixion. Specifically, I was reading the account of the two thieves who were crucified alongside Him.

It’s a story with several huge contrasts. Firstly. the two criminals were guilty of the crimes that led to their deaths and knew it. In contrast, Jesus was innocent of everything they convicted Him of. Secondly, we see one of the guilty pair openly mock Jesus while the other recognizes who Jesus is and turns to HIm.

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23:39-42 ESV

We’ve heard it before, so Jesus’ answer has lost some of its impact. Yet, it really is stunning.

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:44 ESV

The thief has done nothing of merit. He has no good works to cling to. Yet, he recognizes his own wretched state, understood who Jesus is, and threw himself into Jesus’ mercy. Yet, that’s all that he needed to do.

Jesus willingly submitted to rejection, humiliation, torture, mocking, and death to set us free.

No one can come to Christ after they have died, but there is always hope that in the moment of those final breaths, they will understand and be saved. 

I don’t know who will be in paradise when I get there. There will be many horrid sinners who came to Him at the last possible moment. Many “good” people who rejected Him until it was too late will be absent.

When I was pastoring, I did funerals of believers and non-believers alike. If I wasn’t certain of their final destination, I always held forth the promise and real hope that before it was too late, they, like the thief, understood the truth and appealed to Jesus.

If you know Jesus, keep praying for your unsaved friends, family, and loved ones until they have passed on. Jesus can work miracles.

If you don’t yet know Him, seek Him and turn to Him now. You may not have an opportunity later.

Your salvation isn’t about how good or bad you are. It isn’t about weighing your good deeds against your bad. It’s about the love of Jesus and trusting Him.

I pray that you and yours find Him and that we will see each other in Paradise.

Be blessed

Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

Kevin

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Running Late

It’s wet here. It rained heavily all day yesterday and is raining  again this morning. The forecast is rain every day until Saturday.

That’s not unusual. Given where we live on the Lower Mainland. I was surprised when I looked at the forecast, though. It showed 50 meters of rain was forecast. Although it was an obvious typo and should have read mm, it did catch my attention.

Fifty meters of rain, that’s about 165 feet. We’re talking about a flood of biblical proportions. I envisioned animals pairing up and heading for Israel.

Fortunately, while we may have some minor flooding locally, it’s not going to be at the point where we should be boarding the Ark.

The account of that flood demonstrates God’s wrath against sin, but it also clearly shows His mercy. I don’t doubt that the sin of the world today approaches or even exceeds that of Noah’s day. Fortunately for us, God promised never to destroy the world in that way again.

It is only by his grace and patience that the world isn’t destroyed and humanity isn’t wiped out as we speak. God would be just and fair to destroy it all because of His rebellion. Many people recognize the evil of the world and the fact that we are not destroyed as “proof” that the Lord does not exist. Peter directly addresses this thinking.

This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:1-9 

I’m grateful for His patience. Part of me wants to cry out, “Come now. LORD!” but then I think of those unsaved, and I want Him to delay. He isn’t worried about what I think the right moment will be. He knows it. Frankly, I’m glad He has to make the call rather than you or me.

How do we live as we wait?

We live each moment to the best of our abilities in service to Him. When we fall, we repent quickly and turn back to Him. We strive to tell others about Him at every opportunity.

Let’s see our eyes and the Lord and serve with grateful hearts.

Be blessed

Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).