by Randy Willis

This is written for and dedicated to nine people: my three sons and six grandchildren. They are the joy of my life. Anyone else who would care to listen in is welcome.

To my three sons: Aaron Joseph Willis, Joshua Randall Willis, and Adam Lee Willis.

And my six grandchildren: Baylee Coatney Willis, Corbin Randall Willis, Presley Rose Willis, Olivia Grace Willis, Juliette Rebecca Willis, and Violet Jean Willis. 

And my future grandchildren

With gratitude and love

“Their strength of character has been demonstrated many times by how they treat people who can do nothing for them.” —Randy Willis, aka Dad, Grandpa, Papaw.

“Go now, write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness.” Isaiah 30:8

The party began the night before.

Josh, Aaron, and Adam Willis. Fischer Store Road, Wimberley, Texas. Headed to First Baptist Wimberley.

Aaron, Josh, and Adam Willis. Fischer Store Road, Wimberley, Texas.

Aaron Willis, Josh Willis, and Adam Willis headed to Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, on Easter Sunday.

When I was young, this quote, widely and falsely attributed to Winston Churchill, was one of my mantras.  It no longer is. “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

Jesus delivered challenging instructions for His followers during His Sermon on the Mount. These teachings are recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. Verse 5:44 is the most difficult for me. Mama used to say I can forgive anyone, but I can’t forget. That’s me too. And that’s not laudable.

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. —Matthew: 5:44

Have you ever had an enemy gloat over you? They seemed to take malicious pleasure in their success and your failure, although never admitting the latter.

We all have witnessed this behavior. You know the type who can’t help but start every sentence with the first-person singular subject pronoun “I.” I have felt guilty myself about the overuse of “I” while writing my memoir.

Perhaps this true story will encourage you. It is about victory over defeat. Triumph over tragedy.

Arch-Enemy

Their dispute began many years before. They were opposites in every way. After mocking his enemy all day, his Arch Foe finally breathed his last. It was now the time to celebrate. Break out the confetti. Open your best bottle of champagne. Post photos on social media. So your friends can celebrate your victory.

His foe’s death was proof positive that his claims were not valid, and there were many. What does it matter since public opinion was never on his enemy’s side anyway? Why? So he could now accomplish all his goals with this resistance to his goals in a grave.

Now that the victory was his, he could take his rightful place as the greatest conqueror in history. Let the celebration continue. And it did.

After all, his enemy was no match for him. It was well documented that his foe was poor and, in fact, was born in a little-known county town with little influence.

His vanquished enemy was brought up in another community, where people said nothing good would ever come out of it. I can understand this because when I was a kid, we called those places “The other side of the tracks.” For you see, the folks of “color” lived on the other side of the railroad tracks.

His enemy was no business entrepreneur. He had no awards. Not even a single plaque on the wall. He worked with calloused, dirty hands in his daddy’s carpentry shop until he was thirty. One would have thought he would have owned his own business by then.

After that, he traveled as an itinerant country preacher for a mere three years. At best, according to any local public opinion poll, he was average with little chance of a productive future.

After all, he never wrote a book. He never held a political office. He never commanded an army. He never owned a home. He never went to college.

In fact, he was hardly a world traveler, with no frequent-flyer miles. He never traveled more than a hundred miles from where he was born.

Why was his conqueror concerned about one so lowly and meek? His kindness had gotten him nowhere. His archaic language about love was out of vogue to most folks.

He was rejected by the religious folk of the day. In fact, they wanted him dead, too.

His mother was the subject of the most vicious rumor, even though his stepfather stood by her.

While he was still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. One of his closest friends denied him. Another betrayed him. Few understood him. Many even hated him because he was different from them.

He was betrayed for a few coins and turned over to his enemies. He experienced the mockery of a trial. He was beaten just shy of death. His beard was plucked out, and he was spit upon over and over again. A purple robe was placed on him to mock him.

A razor-sharp crown of thorns was pressed into his head. Afterward, he was nailed to two rugged pieces of a tree. This cross was rightfully prepared for a notorious criminal named Barabbas. He was nailed to Barabbas’ cross. Oh, my, could Barabbas be me, too?

Why do I write this? You see, Barabbas’ cross was my cross too. Jesus took my place and was crucified on a cross, not only meant for Barabbas, but for me too. The Righteous for the unrighteous. The Godly for the ungodly. The sinless Lamb of God for the sinner. Who can understand that much love, not I.

The country preacher was lifted on the tree naked to shame him in agony between two outlaws. His executors gambled for his only possession—his cloak.

His lifeblood flowed down the cross into the ground, draining into the Kidron Valley. A valley he rode through only days before on a lowly donkey. As he hung, pierced with spikes, most of his friends had abandoned him. When he died, he was laid in a borrowed grave.

The party continued until very early on the third day. But the celebration was short-lived. No mere grave could hold his enemy, for He was the Lord of Creation. The creator of the Universe. The Savior was sent to redeem the world. God in the flesh sent from Heaven to atone for my rebellion and sins. And your rebellion and sins and the sins of the whole world.

Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. —Luke 23:34

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

The recently reduced to 11 Apostles (Judas Iscariot had died) of Christ were not to be found at the cross on Good Friday—save one, John. Mary Magdalene, along with Mary, Jesus’s mother, was there.

In the Gospel of Mark, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and Joseph, and Salome (the mother of James and John) were present at the crucifixion, but we are told that many women who followed Jesus were also present.

Three days later, Mary Magdalene and the “other Mary,” the two who were the first to appear at the empty tomb early on the first Easter morning.

It would be to these two women that an angel spoke the greatest three words ever spoken: “He is risen.” This was no accident, for Jesus (God incarnate) is sovereign. Women’s testimonies carried little, if any, weight in the ancient world.

“But the angel answered and said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” —Matthew 28:5-9

Jesus always honored women. This custom would not be the norm for centuries past or generations to come.

Jesus had previously cast out seven demons from Mary Magdalene, but now she would be the first person to declare the greatest news in history, that Christ had risen from the grave. And to men to boot.

Let’s read more details from the inerrant, infallible Word of God about Mary Magdalene.

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 

“His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

“But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

Not to mention his swarthy skin, which would be “swept under the carpet” when I was a mere lad walking barefoot down those red dirt roads in Louisiana. And by age 10, the marine shell roads of Texas, although no longer barefoot.

Sports

I’ve always loved track, but was too tall and gangly to ever win a race. Coach Carl Davis and Angleton High School encouraged me, as was the custom at the time.

“Willis you run real fast, your only problem is you run too long in one place,” Coach said.

And “Willis, you’re so clumsy, you’ll trip over the center line on the basketball court.”

And my all-time favorite when I began weight training, which many coaches opposed: “Willis, I’ve seen more meat on a chicken’s leg.”

And one dare not complain when one reaches home, lest one get a double portion.

In those days, were those comments known as “constructive criticism?” Not hardly, more like “get tough or die.”

Most of Daddy’s “constructive” words were, shall I say, far more “colorful metaphors” and should never be repeated in front of women, children, or small pets.

By the time I reached 18, I was 6′ 5 1/2″ and weighed 210 pounds. And got faster. But to this day, I’m still a klutz. Or as Mama said, “Randy, you’re like a bull in a China closet.”

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

But there was a group of men and women long before those of the “Greatest Generation,” those who served in World War II, as Daddy did on Iwo Jima.

Greater than The Greatest Generation

These men and women gave their all. Even more than “The Greatest Generation.” Far worse was said and done to them. They were misunderstood and hated.

I’ll begin with one I can best relate to, for he, too, it appears was a big man, and he loved to fish, too.

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

Perhaps the Apostle Peter was like me, known as the “big fisherman,” although not specifically mentioned as big in the Bible.

It was Peter who ran toward the empty tomb, trying to keep pace with John. Peter lost that race, but John waited for him to enter.

I reckon a man who could drag 153 big fish to shore (John 21:11), big or small, was a powerful man.

And remember it was Peter who, during the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, drew a sword and cut off the right ear of Malchus, a servant of the High Priest Caiaphas.

The incident, described in all four gospels, was immediately countered by Jesus, who told Peter to put away his sword and healed the servant’s ear.

If Jesus had not restored Malchus’s ear, there might have been four crosses on Calvary’s hill. That, my friend, is what I call “my sanctified imagination.”

In other words, just a guess. With that in mind, Peter was a fisherman, not a trained swordsman. I doubt he was swinging at Malchus’s ear. More likely his head.

Now that’s something I can relate to. I’ve done that many times, not with a sword, but with my tongue, which can be at times razor sharp.

In John 18:3, John refers to the group that arrested Jesus: “Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.”

Often interpreted as a Roman cohort (roughly 300 to 600 men), plus temple guards and officials, came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The stories of Christ raising the dead, the many miracles, and walking through his enemies untouched, no doubt necessitated the response in their minds.

But none of it was necessary, for Christ would soon willingly die. For this is why He was born to pay for man’s sins on the cross. What none of them knew was that Christ would be raised from the dead while taking hell, death, and the grave captive, not the other way around (Ephesians 4:8-10).

Peter’s faith would soon fail him as he denied even knowing Jesus three times. I, too, have denied Jesus far more than Peter through my actions and deeds, or the lack thereof.

So much is in the details

Jesus left his handkerchief (his burial face-cloth) and linen cloths folded separately.

Did Jesus’s mother teach him that? Or must we spiritualize all biblical texts? Perhaps it’s just Jesus’s habit or custom and not a deeper meaning. I have no clue.

There is much written on the “whys,” but one thing is certain: Christ was neither rushed nor in panic mode. He took His time to walk, speak, and declare more often than not to one or two individuals.

He’s still that way and will take all the time needed to be with you one-on-one, tenderly encouraging, correcting, and directing your paths through the Word of God, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit. He is never in a hurry.

There is no fellowship in this universe that compares. Draw near Him, and He will draw near you (James 4:8).

The scriptures record that Jesus sat in a certain manner (John 4:60). He sat down to teach the people (John 8:2), which was the custom.

I’ve wondered how he sat, walked, and all his mannerisms.

And how he must have looked walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52, and John 6:16-21).

Or walking through a group that wished to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4:29).

And those paintings of Him, looking frail with European features, that date back to the 3rd century. That’s not the Jewish man I’ve read of in the Bible, who drove the moneylenders unchallenged out of the temple (Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-46, and John 2:14-17).

Jesus was no namby-pamby man. He never had a desk job, like me. He worked as a carpenter with his hands and, as a 12-year-old boy, walked 90 miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem through rugged, mountainous terrain.

Jesus has a certain way of praying and sharing food. After His resurrection, when He walked with two of His followers on the Road to Emmaus, who did not recognize Him until He blessed and broke the bread (Luke 24:13-35).

Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight (Luke 24:30).

Wouldn’t you have liked to have been one of them? No need to fret, for another supper is coming.

You can attend the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9). If you don’t have a reservation yet, you might want to inquire about that soon. Why not today? No money—no problem. It’s already been paid for at the cross with Jesus’s lifeblood.

Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight (Luke 24:30).

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

How often has God spoken to me and I did not recognize His still small voice (1 Kings 19:12), for I was too busy talking or writing. Too often have I sought His voice through dramatic wind, earthquake, and fire as Elijah spoke of in 1 Kings.

How often has He walked with me and I was unaware because of the cares of life, or I was in a hurry to watch the kickoff of my favorite football team?

Jesus can be found in the minute details of our journey called life.

Jesus attends the funeral of every sparrow that falls to the ground (Matthew 10: 29-31). He hears the cry of every baby pricked by a pin (Psalm 34: 17-18).

Does He see your pain? Does He even care? So much that he takes your tears and places them in a bottle (Psalm 56:8).

What does it take to stop God in the flesh, God incarnate, Jesus Christ, in his tracks on his way to be nailed to a tree?

The cry of a blind beggar, the least amonst the least, named Bartimaeus (Mark 10: 46-52).

What are the qualifications to be the first person to go to Heaven with Jesus Christ?

Be a lowly thief on the cross who puts his trust in Jesus: “Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42).

 And Jesus said to him,  Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. —Luke 23:43

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

How difficult is it for me to adhere to Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God,” as I attempt each day to complete my “to-do” list?

I never seem to complete one of those lists of life-changing chores, such as mowing the grass and reading the latest on social media.

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

Nothing has ever been the same since.

That first Easter Sunday would change everything. The world would never be the same. Christ defeated Satan and his kingdom of darkness with His shed blood, on the cross of Calvary, which was God’s blood in Jesus’s flesh. Christ conquered hell, death, and the grave, so that you and I may spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

Again, Christ conquered hell, death, and the grave. Christ did this to save you and me from eternal separation from Him. Holy God cannot even look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13). This separation from Him is a place known as Hell.

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

He is risen. Go tell it in every valley. Go tell it on every mountain top. Go tell with every deed. Go tell it with your life decisions, with every thought, and with every word you speak.

And remember to always speak this truth with Love. For He is Love. “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” —1 John: 4-8

But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ. —Ephesians 4:15

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” —1 Corinthians 13

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

How did I come to know Christ?

I was headed to Temple Baptist Church with Grandma, and my owner’s manual: the Bible. It was Grandma Lillie Hanks Willis who first poured Jesus into me; sometimes, she even used words. That’s my dog Pedro wanting to follow me.

We attended Temple Baptist Church in Clute, Texas, every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. It seemed that everyone attended church in those days.

On a Wednesday night, my mother could not attend church. I walked to church from our home at 519 Coleman Street. My twelve-year-old sister Marjorie accompanied me. I was only eight.

I had no intention of that night being any different from any other. I cannot recall a word Pastor Bill Campbell said in his sermon. But I remember vividly another voice that spoke to my mind—my heart—my spirit.   

It was not an audible voice.  It was a still, gentle voice, tender but ever so clear, telling me to go forward and accept Christ as my Savior.

I recall my response to the Holy Spirit as if it were five minutes ago: “Lord, I am too shy. I would if my mother were here to go with me.”

I felt someone touch my left shoulder. My sister Marjorie was sitting in the back row with her friends.   She could not see my face, for I was seated near the front.

She said, “I’ll go with you if you want me to.” I immediately stood, walked with her to the front of the church, and made my decision public.

I know you do not have to have an experience like that to be born again. Nevertheless, I am grateful for that experience; it has never left my mind or my heart.

I was eight when I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior.

More Photos of Aaron Willis

Josh, Adam & Aaron Willis skiing a few years after the auto accident.

Aaron, Randy, Josh, and Adam Willis.

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

Aaron Willis Hyde Park Baptist Church Austin 1991

Aaron and Alana’s daughter, Presley Willis Wimberley, First Baptist

Aaron and Alana’s daughter, Baylee Willis Wimberley, First Baptist.

Alana, Baylee, Presley, and Aaron Willis, Maui, Hawaii

My Family

Children’s children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father. —Proverbs 17:6

L to R: Presley Willis, Baylee Willis holding Baby Violet Willis, Corbin Willis, and Olivia Willis holding Juliette Willis

Our family at Port Aransas, Texas

Our Family Costa Rica

Our Family Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

Our family is in my “backyard” in the Texas Hill Country. I took this photo.

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

I found this charred letter from my pastor, Dr. Ralph Smith, after my home burned in the Texas Hill Country. It was the encouragement I needed.

This most extraordinary destiny ever offered to mankind.

You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. —Habakkuk 1:13

The Lord God in Heaven cannot look upon sin, for He is Holy. Yet He loves us, sinful man, and has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him. To spend eternity with Him.

This is the story of this most extraordinary destiny ever offered to mankind.

Let’s begin with the last invitation in the Word of God, which is in Revelation 22:17.

“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” —Revelation 22:17

Are you thirsty? Then come. Let him who hears come. And whosoever will, can come.

The invitation is to you—to me—to “whosoever will”—to everyone!

Bring your disappointments, failures, fears, and heartaches. The Holy Spirit says, Come to Jesus, our Savior.

God loves you. He wants to save you. He will save you. Come to Jesus, and drink the water of life freely.

Christ suffered, He bled, He died because He loves you and me. Listen to the still voice of the Holy Spirit, bidding you come to Jesus.

Don’t wait—come today! The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:2 today is the day of salvation.

The Ends of the Earth

Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. —Isaiah 45:22

All you ends of the earth” includes the Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert.

All you ends of the earth” are those in darkest Africa.

All you ends of the earth” are the isolated tribes in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.

All you ends of the earth” are presidents, world leaders, and kings.

All you ends of the earth” is the polished lawyer, the gifted doctor, and the brilliant college professor.

All you ends of the earth” is the prostitute. It is the drug dealer. It is the rapist. It is the thief. It is the murderer.

All the ends of the earth is me—and you. Come today!

Why a Bronze Serpent

“So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was if a serpent had bitten anyone when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. —Numbers 21:19

Bronze represents judgment. The serpent is destructive, deceptive, and the most dangerous creature you will ever encounter. He is our adversary and the father of all lies. His name is Satan.

He does not appear with horns, a red cape, and an ugly face. Instead, he appears as an angel of light and says, what harm can what I offer do? No one will know. No one will be hurt.

It’s your body. You are in control. You can be your own god. You can be like god. No one can tell you what you can and can’t do. He is Satan, and he comes to destroy God’s most cherished and loved creation: You.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. —John 10:10

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. “Take a little cocaine,” Satan whispers. “It will make you feel good. No one will know. You’re not hurting anyone.”

The Greek term pharmakeia, in the Bible, is the root of the word “pharmacy,” in English.  Pharmakeia is used in the New Testament (Galatians 5:20; Revelation 9:21; 18:23) to describe sorcery, witchcraft, and drug-related magic.

Jesus says, He has come that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Choose an abundant life in Jesus today.

You don’t need hangouts, hangups, or hangovers. You need a personal relationship with the Lord of Creation, who created the Universe and you. Jesus is His name.

In that relationship lies your future, your blessed Hope, your salvation, and your joy. And your Christ blood bought destiny. Choose your destiny today. It has already been paid for with Jesus’s blood on the cross of Calvary. But you must accept God’s free gift of eternal life. That is done through faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. —2 Corinthians 11:14

You and I have been bitten by sin, like the Israelite’s who followed Moses out of Egyptian bondage.

The Israelites had to choose whether to put their faith in God. It was a simple act of faith, but a life-or-death decision. We too face such a choice.

Those who looked lived.
Those who looked were healed.
Those who looked were made whole.
Those who looked were saved.
They didn’t wait until they were better people.
They didn’t have to touch it.
They just looked.

Jesus tells us in John 3:14-15 that this is a picture of Him being lifted up on the Cross of Calvary.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. —John 3:14-15

The bronze serpent represented the people’s sin. According to the Scriptures, Christ was made sin for us.

Will you look to Jesus?—will you put your trust in Him?—the One who died for your sins.

Will you put your faith in Jesus?—the One who shed His lifeblood for you—and me.

My son Aaron Willis’s Automobile Accident

Some years ago, my eldest son, Aaron, was in an automobile accident. His back was broken so severely that the doctors said he might not ever walk again.

Several vertebrae in his lower back were fused. After that, he was able to begin the long task of healing from the spinal fusion surgery. He was encased in a rigid plastic back brace from his neck to his waist.

Later, his doctor agreed to let him briefly remove the brace and shower as long as someone was with him.

I was driving to pick Aaron and his brothers up for the weekend. Unbeknownst to me, his brother Josh helped him remove the brace as instructed by the doctor. Aaron could take a hot shower in his shorts. Josh was with him, but was much smaller than Aaron at that time. Aaron’s doctor approved all of this.

I began to exit to stop at the Austin post office on St. Johns, off Interstate 35, when a small but clear voice said, “You need to go now.”

I passed the post office exit. I drove as fast as possible to Wimberley, an hour away. I wondered what that warning was about.

There were no cell phones then. As I entered their mother’s home, I asked his mother where Aaron was. She said in the shower.

I ran to it, and the moment I entered the bathroom, Aaron said, “Dad, I’m dizzy.”

I stepped into the shower and placed my arms under his arms from his back. He immediately passed out.

I told Josh to help me move him to a bed while their mother called 911. His dead weight was more than I could have imagined.

We got him onto his bed without re-injuring his back. I knew if he had fallen, he probably would have been paralyzed.

I prayed as I followed the ambulance to the emergency room at Austin’s Seton Medical Center. I noticed the symbol on the back of the ambulance.

It was the American Medical Association’s (AMA) logo of a serpent wrapped around a staff.

The sign of healing medicine reminded me of the bronze serpent on the staff lifted up by Moses. Christians believe that’s where the symbol originated.

But, more importantly, it reminded me of Jesus being lifted up on a cross for my son. God’s son suffered in place of my son.

To this day, I cannot see that symbol without giving thanks to the Lord for that warning. I remember the shed blood of Christ lifted high upon a cross. It was for my sins, your sins, and the entire world’s sins.

When we arrived at the hospital’s emergency room, the doctors gave him intravenous (IV) fluids. They also gave him two bottles of Gatorade for dehydration.

The hot shower, combined with pain medication and dehydration, caused his blood to rush to his feet. This resulted in him fainting.

Look

Will you look to the One lifted up on a cross for you and me? Will you look to the Great Physician—Jesus—to heal you of all your pain, emptiness, and disappointments?

Will you look to Jesus? He took your place on the cross and died for your sins. Through Him alone, you can be made new, whole, and born again.

Choose

Jesus hung between two thieves (criminals) on a cross. One rejected Him, but the other put his faith in Him.

“Will You remember me when You enter Your kingdom?” one thief asks.

Jesus replied, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

Both of those men were guilty of crimes serious enough to warrant the Roman death penalty. One put his trust in Jesus, and the other chose not to.

The question is, which thief on the cross are you? The one who said yes or the one who said no?

Now, there was the third cross that day. It was for another criminal named Barabbas, and he represents us.

Jesus was crucified on a cross meant for Barabbas—it was your cross—it was my cross, too.

Come

Come just as you are.

Will you say yes to Jesus—today?

There’s a Scripture that I love, and it explains things so clearly even I can understand.

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. —Romans 10:9-10

You can settle this question in heaven and on earth today. Say yes to Jesus. Accept His pardon, just as that one thief did on the cross. There are no prescriptive or mandated words. Praying is just talking to the Lord.

Open

Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” — Revelation 3:20

Ask

Self-improvement will not qualify you for salvation, for God’s Word says, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10)

Comparing yourself to others will not work either: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

We seek to commend ourselves to God. However, God says our good works are like filthy rags in His sight [Isaiah 64:6]. If we are ever accepted in the eyes of Holy God, it must be through Christ our Lord.

There is no other way for says in Habakkuk 1:13, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.”

If you could be good enough to pay for your sins, think about this. Why did Jesus have to die for you?

Jesus bore your cross and my cross. He took our place on the cross. He shed His blood for our sins on that cross high on a hill for all the world to see.

The Just for the unjust. The Righteous for the unrighteous. The Godly for the ungodly The sinless Lamb of God for the sinner.

According to the Bible, we all have feet of clay and fall short of God’s glory. Our righteousness is described in the Bible as filthy rags. God’s grace (his undeserved favor) is available to us all. However, we must accept His gift of forgiveness. This gift was bought and paid for on the cross with Jesus Christ’s lifeblood. You can say yes to Jesus’s free gift right now.

Our greatest need is forgiveness. Christ came to forgive us, but we must accept that free gift. Jesus said in Revelation 3:20:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. —Revelation 3:20

Jesus knocks, but you must open the door to your heart, to your life, to your future.

It’s not a prescribed list of words. In Luke 23:42, one of the criminals crucified with Jesus pleads, “Lord, remember me when You come into your kingdom. His heartfelt cry of faith from the cross saves him.

Jesus answers in the next verse with a promise. He says, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” The first person to accompany Christ to Heaven was this lowly thief on the cross.

Isn’t it time to decide which “thief” on the cross you are? Are you the one who put his faith in Jesus Christ? Or are you the one who rejected our Savior who gave His lifeblood for us?

The most famous 25 words ever written.

For God so loved the world. He gave His only begotten Son. Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. —John 3:16

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

If these words are how you feel in your heart, then pray:

Heavenly Father,

I pray to You, asking for the forgiveness of my sins.

I confess with my mouth. I believe with my heart that Jesus is Your Son. He died on the cross at Calvary so that I might be forgiven.

Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead. I ask Jesus to come into my life as my personal Lord and Savior.

I turn from my sins and will surrender to your will throughout my life.

Your word is truth. I confess with my mouth that I am born again. I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus!

In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen!

Reach out and touch Him today!

For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well. —Matthew 9:21

“Many today have just enough religion to inoculate them from knowing Christ.” —Randy Willis

Vaya con Dios for He has Risen And Jesus is coming again!