Remember Me

To Jesus in His agony on the cross there came one gleam of comfort. It was the prayer of the penitent thief…. This man was not a hardened criminal; he had been led astray by evil associations…. He had seen and heard Jesus, and had been convicted by His teaching, but he had been turned away from Him by the priests and rulers. Seeking to stifle conviction, he had plunged deeper and deeper into sin, until he was arrested, tried as a criminal, and condemned to die on the cross.

In the judgment hall and on the way to Calvary he had been in company with Jesus. He had heard Pilate declare, “I find no fault in Him” (John 19:4). He had marked His godlike bearing, and His pitying forgiveness of His tormentors…. The conviction comes back to him that this is the Christ. Turning to his fellow criminal he says, “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?” The dying thieves have no longer anything to fear from man. But upon one of them presses the conviction that there is a God to fear, a future to cause him to tremble. And now, all sin-polluted as it is, his life history is about to close….

When condemned for his crime, the thief had become hopeless and despairing; but strange, tender thoughts now spring up. He calls to mind all he has heard of Jesus…. The Holy Spirit illuminates his mind, and little by little the chain of evidence is joined together. In Jesus, bruised, mocked, and hanging upon the cross, he sees the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. Hope is mingled with anguish in his voice as the helpless, dying soul casts himself upon a dying Saviour. “Lord, remember me,” he cries, “when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.”

Quickly the answer came. Soft and melodious the tone, full of love, compassion, and power the words: Verily I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be with Me in paradise…. To the penitent thief came the perfect peace of acceptance with God.37The Desire of Ages, 749-751.
Conflict and Courage p. 326
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Mike and his family. His cousin died of a seizure yesterday morning (probably in her sleep). Rose
—-Please pray for my husband as he is recovering from a total knee replacement and has 2 blood clots which causes terrible swelling. He is on blood thinners and is going through physical therapy but continues to have pain and swelling so he can’t bend his knee well. Kathy
—-Joe, my father has been dealing with pneumonia and he seemed to be getting over it, but over the past week his breathing has gotten worse. He has a history of sepsis and I’m really worried this pneumonia will develop into sepsis. Ashley
—-Asking for prayer for Brother D. Had a stroke while teaching Sabbath school last week and is in ICU. Left side partial paralysis. A little improvement today as he could sit up. Michael
—-Please pray for Joyce who is still dealing with serious and painful ankle surgery she had a few weeks ago. She has two more weeks before she can bear weight on her foot. Rose
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Dear Friends,

My mother loved to garden. For several years she had a small garden at the back of our neighbor’s yard. The rich, black soil of Kalamazoo brought forth abundantly. It gave her so much pleasure to work in the soil and watch the fruit of her labor develop and grow. She grew green beans, corn, tomatoes, squash, lettuce, radishes, all the produce that she was especially fond of. She had the tomato vines staked up and was proud of the fact that the plants were over her head and full of large, juicy, red fruit.

Since her tiny garden was in the city, many in the neighborhood knew it was there. One day, some teenage boys decided to have some “fun.” They started a fire in her garden and soon the green plants were smoldering. They were too lush and green to burn well, but most of them were ruined. All of my mother’s care and hard work was for nothing. The garden was unsaveable.

My mother smelled smoke and went outside. She began crying with disappointment and all sorts of emotions filled her as she saw one of the neighborhood boys in that smoldering garden. My mother was filled with rage and started yelling and threatening him. The youth finally made my mother realize that he was trying to put out the smoldering mess. He gave her the names of the boys who had done this mischief and she contacted the police and their parents.

Just as my mother had misjudged the youth who was trying to help her, so we, too, so often are quick to jump to wrong conclusions. How many times we misjudge someone’s motives and share that misjudgment with others until we have ruined a person’s reputation even more than my mother’s garden was ruined physically. The hurt from our misjudgment can last for years and causes pain beyond our comprehension.

The Great Judge of the Universe warns us, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” Matt 7:1-5 “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:37,38

We all make mistakes. We all make errors in judgment. We have all sinned. (Rom 3:23) Yet, how often we never let a person rise above an error that they may have committed years before. They are looked down upon and made to feel the effects of a misjudgment until their life is destroyed just as surely as was my mother’s garden and we are responsible for it. We will have to answer to the Great God of the Universe for our part in destroying them. Fearful position.

How important it is to our Heavenly Father that we treat each other with the kindness and forgiveness that He shows us. Jesus gives us a glimpse of His forgiveness that also serves as a warning to us. “Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” Matt 18:23-35

Just as a parent wants His children to get along in harmony, so our Great Creator wants us to be happy, loving, forgiving, kind, and to enjoy being together without mentioning former words or actions. Peter tells us, “above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psa 133:1

Indeed, we must learn to live together in peace and love here in this world, if we expect to live together in the kingdom of Heaven. In that fair land there will be nothing to hurt or annoy. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” What a great and glorious time that will be! To have our Loving Creator take us in His arms and comfort us and wipe away our tears. There will be no misjudging, no irritations, no disunity there. We will live in love and harmony for there we shall know even as also we are known. May we all be in that grand and glorious land is my prayer.

Rose