Come with me to Calvary. Jesus has a crown of thorns forced in His head. He’s nailed to the cross. As that cross is lifted up, Jesus says, “Father forgive them,” releasing forgiveness to all who would receive it from Him. Are you struggling to live with the guilt of what you’ve done? You can’t forgive yourself, and you can’t see how God could forgive you either? That’s where Judas was.
Jesus was ready to forgive brutal thugs for nailing Him to a cross, He was ready to forgive Peter for denying Him and Judas for betraying Him. Jesus is ready to forgive you, whatever you have done, if you’re ready to come to Him.
The cross is big enough to cover your sin. The blood of Jesus is rich enough to cleanse your guilt. His love is strong enough to reach out to you, embrace you in your darkness and bring you into a new life. Believe Him. Come to Him. Put your hope in Him.
It’s never too late
“Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:42
Jesus is dying and next to him there’s a thief who’s in the 59th minute of the 11th hour of his life. He sees his need, he believes in Jesus and he asks God to save him.
Never give up hope. The Lord Jesus Christ died to save you. He stands ready to welcome you. He calls you to believe in Him. He invites you to trust in his death. He offers you everlasting life. In this moment, ask Him to save you.
The enemy of your soul spins two powerful lies. One is to say that what you’ve done is too bad to be forgiven. The other is to say that it’s too late to do anything about it.
That’s what Judas thought: “Jesus will be crucified. There’s nothing I can do about. My opportunity is past.” Perhaps you feel that the die is cast, and that it’s too late—what will be, will be. Maybe you’ve lived sixty, seventy, eighty years without God and without Christ, and you’re thinking “It’s too late for me to come to Christ.”
Hope on the Titanic
There was a pastor on the Titanic by the name of John Harper. Harper was a pastor from Glasgow, travelling to Chicago to speak at Moody church.
When the Titanic went down, Harper spent his last moments in the icy waters urging people to put their trust in Jesus Christ. At one point he found himself clinging to a board alongside another man. Harper asked the man, “Are you saved?” The man said, “No.” Harper said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
He then managed to swim to others and speak to them in the same way. He came back to the man, “Are you trusting Jesus Christ?” he asked. “No,” the man said. “Others are turning to Him and being saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” A few moments later, Harper’s strength was exhausted and the icy waters took his life.
How do we know this story? Some time later a man stood up in a church in Canada and told his story: “I am John Harper’s last convert,” he said.
This week's Scripture: Father forgive them, they do not know what they're doing. Luke 23:34
This LifeKey is based on the message “Never Give Up Hope,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith on March 2, 2003, from the series “Deckchairs on the Titanic.” Colin currently serves as Senior Pastor of the The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is committed to preaching the Bible in a way that nourishes the soul by directing attention to Jesus Christ.
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