Corona Devo 568

It's easy. Some of us are still trying to make it hard...but Jesus has made it easy.

Let's be Biblically reminded today of how easy Jesus made it for us to connect with Him. For us to be in relationship with Him. For us to be accepted by Him. And for us to (one day) enter paradise with Him and because of Him...Not because of us.

We want to ignore and avoid the process. We want to qualify and quantify the process. We want to complicate and even dictate the process.

But Jesus made it an easy process, for anyone.

Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. (33) When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.

(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...

(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.”  ~Luke 23:32-33, 35-36, 39-43

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It's all here: the entire, easy, simple, miraculous exchange of sin for salvation. It happened on the cross for that criminal, but Jesus made it easy for it to happen to us anywhere.

This criminal walks us through the easy steps to accepting Jesus into our hearts and thus opening the door to eternity in paradise with Him. If we have been making it "hard", let's come back to the "easy" that God lays before us today in His Word and by His love.

“Don’t you fear God..." ~Luke 23:40

It's easy. Our first step in understanding our relationship, our gratitude and our service to the Lord is grasping how holy He is. How perfect, sinless, and supremely-above-us in all definitions that He is. This produces a holy fear and awe within us of the Lord Almighty, and this is warranted. He is worthy.

The criminal felt this and articulated it by saying, "Don’t you fear God...?". We must fear/revere/submit-to/esteem the understanding and knowledge of Who God is, and only from that vulnerable posture can we begin to understand the unwarranted grace and mercy that He has given us by His death on the cross and the door-to-paradise that it flings open for those who take the easy steps to come to Him. Stop trying to make it hard.

“Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?" ~Luke 23:40

It's easy--we are all going to die. We don't know one person that hasn't.

So many of us run from this easy truth and plug our ears from the reality of what comes after it. But the criminal on the cross puts it simply and blatantly (and easily)--we can choose to ignore it, but we have in fact been sentenced to die one day.

Jesus makes it easy for us to get right with Him today so that we are ready for that tomorrow. Stop trying to make it hard.

We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” ~Luke 23:41

It's easy--Repentance. Catching even a glimpse of the purity of Jesus and God has a supernatural effect of revealing our complete inadequacy next to them. We do deserve to die for our crimes (sin). We can't make it right because again and again, day after day, we keep getting it wrong and continuing to sin.

It seems an impossible cycle, and it is.

And there is only One Solution: "this man (that) hasn’t done anything wrong.” (Luke 23:41).

This man makes it easy for us. Stop trying to make it hard.

We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” ~Luke 23:41

Actually, swallowing this one is not easy. It is hard for us to understand the fullness of purity, holiness and sin-less-ness that Jesus is. We all have done things wrong, but not Jesus. This man hasn’t done anything wrong.

And yet His purity is what covers us when we come into relationship with Him. His lack of doing anything wrong paved the way for us, and through it, Jesus made it easy. Stop trying to make it hard.

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

It was that easy. And by the criminal merely asking, it was done by Jesus. It's easy. Stop trying to make it hard.

Ask Him... It is a choice. God yearns for it to be an easy one for us. The door is open to everyone, but we must ask to enter, just as the criminal did: "remember me when you come into your Kingdom."

And Jesus did.

And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  ~Luke 23:43

In a moment...a humble, repentant, honor-giving, believing moment, the criminal's past no longer mattered and his future was secure.

It's that easy. Stop trying to make it hard.

Salvation...truly allowing Jesus into our heart and giving Him the reigns in our life sounds hard, but that is just our self-will and pride digging their heels in.  

The truth is, there is paradise in God's salvation for us.  Here on Earth and in Heaven too.  

Stop trying to make it hard. Jesus has made it easy.

Blessings,   

sarah    

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com