It Is Never Too Late To Look To The Lord Jesus And LIVE

 The one and only Savior of the world hung on a cruel wooden cross, with His arms of forgiveness wide open to all who would trust His name. The armies of heaven were at His disposal, but He could never respond to the jeering crowd that taunted, "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross and save Yourself," for to do so would have shut the door to paradise for everyone and slammed closed the gates of heaven forever, with no hope for mankind in the world.
 Jesus's gracious prayer of forgiveness  prompted one criminal on the cross behind him his request when, with a repentant heart he cried, "This man has done nothing wrong," and then turning towards the Lord he pleaded, "Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom."
 I doubt that the thieving criminal expected to hear Christ's merciful reply, "Today you will be with Me in paradise," nor would he have anticipated the wonderful joy into which he would shortly enter. But immediately, his simple faith was rewarded with a promise of paradise in the company of the Redeemer Himself.
 Though salvation is conditional on the repentant sinner turning to Christ, this beautiful passage gives assurance that It Is Never Too Late To Look To The Lord Jesus And LIVE. It demonstrates that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ, and is not dependent on any liturgical sacraments, baptismal rituals, good works, man-made doctrines, or legalistic requirements. It is faith in the Person, the Work, and the Word of the Savior that secures for us the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Our United Prayer:
Thank You, Father, for the beautiful gift of salvation that is given to all that trust in the name of the Lord. We thank You that the way into the paradise of God has been reopened through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and our sins, past, present, and future, have all been forgiven simply because we trust in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In His name we Pray, AMEN.