Today You'll Be With Me in Paradise

Aug 02, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Helpless Hands, Hopeful Heart

The thief on the cross could not perform rituals, earn merit, or even lift a finger to prove his worth. Yet in his helplessness, he found hope through raw faith. Salvation came not through effort but through surrender. His story reminds us that redemption hinges on trusting Christ’s finished work, not our ability to bargain, beg, or bargain. True hope blooms when human strength fails. [51:19]

“Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” (Luke 23:42-43, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you feel most helpless in your spiritual journey? How might this weakness become a doorway to deeper trust in Christ’s sufficiency?

Day 2: Excruciating Love

The word “excruciating” comes from the Latin for “out of the cross.” Christ’s suffering was not merely physical but cosmic—bearing the weight of humanity’s rebellion. Flies swarmed his wounds, shame stripped his dignity, yet love held him there. His pain purchased our peace, transforming a symbol of torture into a throne of grace. [42:49]

“He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5, ESV)

Reflection: How does the visceral reality of Christ’s suffering deepen your gratitude for salvation? What burden might you release to his finished work today?

Day 3: Three Crosses, Three Choices

Rejection, redemption, and repentance hung side by side. One thief mocked, one repented, and the center cross bridged heaven and hell. Every person faces the same choice: scorn the Savior’s sacrifice or cry out for mercy. The crosses still speak—a stark reminder that neutrality toward Christ is impossible. [46:18]

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6, ESV)

Reflection: Is there any area of your life where you’ve been spiritually “neutral” toward Christ? How will you actively choose him today?

Day 4: The Gift You Can’t Earn

Salvation is not a paycheck for good behavior but a gift wrapped in grace. The thief could not tithe, fast, or join a small group—he simply received. Like a birthday present, forgiveness requires open hands, not moral résumés. Our pride balks at free grace, yet only the empty-handed inherit paradise. [56:24]

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you still try to “earn” God’s favor? How might embracing salvation as a gift free you to love Him more fully?

Day 5: Today Means Today

Jesus promised the thief immediate assurance: “Today you will be with me.” No purgatory, no probation—paradise began at his last breath. Unlike religions of uncertainty, Christianity offers bold confidence. Eternal life starts now, anchored in Christ’s performance, not ours. Assurance is the birthright of every believer. [59:23]

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13, ESV)

Reflection: Do you wrestle with doubts about salvation? How might Christ’s promise of “today” calm your fears and ignite your joy?

Sermon Summary

Luke 23 sets three crosses side by side, and each one tells the truth about sin, redemption, and faith. Crucifixion stands there as a painful, cruel, shameful death, meant not only to kill a man but to strip him, mock him, and make him suffer as long as possible. The Roman cross was so awful that the English word “excruciating” comes right out of it, pain “from the cross.”

Jesus’ cross is the cross of redemption. Isaiah 53 stands behind it, saying that all like sheep have gone astray, and the Lord laid on him the iniquities of all. Jesus is not dying because he did wrong. Jesus is bleeding and suffering as the Lamb of God, the one whose blood brings forgiveness of sins.

The first criminal shows the cross of rejection. His mind is working like a rationalist, looking at Jesus bleeding beside him and saying, “If you’re the Messiah, come down and save yourself and us.” Unbelief looks at a crucified Christ and sees only weakness. It cannot imagine that salvation is being accomplished right there in the suffering.

The other criminal shows the cross of repentance. His faith is amazing because he trusts a dying man hanging beside him. Maybe he had seen Jesus heal, cleanse the temple, raise the dead, or show compassion to the poor. Maybe he saw it all right there at Calvary, Jesus forgiving his killers, caring for his mother, and acting like the Savior even while dying.

That thief was helpless, but he was not hopeless. He could not join a church, do good works, give money, fix his life, or even move his hand. He could only trust Jesus and ask, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered with the greatest words anybody will ever hear: “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”

The gospel rests there. Bible-based Christianity has a Savior, not just a prophet, philosopher, or guru. Salvation is a gift, not a paycheck earned by good works. Assurance belongs to the believer because heaven depends not on personal performance, but on Jesus being great enough and compassionate enough to save. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that is not narrow in the sense of shutting people out. It is wonderfully open, because anybody, from any background, can come to Jesus and go to heaven.

Key Takeaways

1. Helpless does not mean hopeless. The thief on the cross had no strength left to prove anything, fix anything, or offer anything. His body was pinned down, but his soul could still turn toward Christ. Faith became the only possible movement left to him, and Jesus received that movement as real repentance. [51:19]
2. The cross exposes every heart. Two criminals saw the same bleeding Jesus, heard the same cries, and suffered the same punishment. One turned suffering into mockery, while the other turned suffering into confession. The cross does not merely reveal who Jesus is, it reveals what the human heart does when grace is close enough to touch. [46:18]
3. Salvation is gift, not paycheck. The human instinct wants heaven to be wages for a life that finally balanced out well enough. The gospel says eternal life is a gift, received and made one’s own, not earned and collected at the end. Good works matter after salvation, but they cannot purchase what Christ has already paid for in blood. [56:24]
4. Assurance rests on Jesus alone. Assurance does not come from measuring religious performance, counting duties, or hoping the good outweighs the bad. The thief had assurance because Jesus gave him a promise: “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” The soul that trusts Christ stands on his word, not on the shaky record of its own obedience. [58:49]
5. Christ’s narrow way is open. Jesus saying he is the only way does not make salvation small, it makes salvation clear. No background, religion, past sin, or personal history can shut out the person who comes to him. One Savior means there is one open door, and that door is wide enough for any repentant sinner.

## [65:17]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[29:23] - Dublin Baptist Heritage and Mission
[32:11] - Farsi Ministry and Muslim Conversions
[32:50] - From Mecca to Christ
[34:12] - Dreams That Stir a Search for Jesus
[37:20] - Luke 23 and the Dying Thief
[39:01] - The Horror of Crucifixion
[43:07] - The Shame of the Cross
[45:54] - Three Crosses at Calvary
[47:33] - Why the Thief Believed
[51:19] - Helpless but Not Hopeless
[53:35] - Christianity Has a Savior
[56:02] - Salvation as God’s Gift
[58:49] - Assurance of Salvation
[65:17] - Jesus the Only Open Way

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Luke 23:39-43
“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, 'Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!' But the other rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.' And he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' And he said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.'” [37:20]

Isaiah 53:6
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” [46:43]

John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'” [01:05:52]

Ephesians 2:8-9
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” [56:24]

Observation questions

In Luke 23:39-43, what differences can be seen between the two criminals in the way they speak to Jesus and about themselves? [45:54]
What words in Isaiah 53:6 show both the guilt of all people and God’s action in dealing with that guilt?
What could the repentant criminal still do, and what could he no longer do, while hanging on the cross? [51:19]
In Ephesians 2:8-9, what words make it clear that salvation is received rather than earned? [56:18]

Interpretation questions

Two criminals were equally close to Jesus, yet only one turned to him in faith. What does that suggest about how the cross exposes the human heart? [46:18]
The repentant criminal said, “We indeed justly,” and then said of Jesus, “This man has done nothing wrong.” Why are both of those statements important to real repentance?
Jesus answered, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” What does that promise show about where assurance of salvation comes from? [58:49]
Jesus said he is the only way to the Father. In what sense is that exclusive claim also an open invitation to all kinds of people? [01:05:55]

Application questions

The helpless man on the cross could not fix his past, improve his record, or prove himself. Where is there a temptation to think, “I need to get myself together first,” instead of coming to Jesus as needy and empty-handed? [52:32]
One criminal used suffering as a reason to mock, while the other used suffering as a reason to confess. When pain, disappointment, or fear comes, which direction does the heart tend to move, and what would repentance look like in that moment? [47:41]
Salvation is a gift, not a paycheck. Where does the heart still quietly keep score with God—through church attendance, moral effort, giving, or comparing with others? [56:33]
Assurance rests on Jesus being great enough and compassionate enough to save. When doubts rise, what does the mind usually look at first: personal performance or Christ’s promise? How could that change this week? [59:18]
The repentant criminal simply asked, “Remember me.” Is there a sin, burden, or fear that needs to be brought to Jesus with that same simple honesty tonight?
Jesus as the only way is not a closed door for a certain type of person, but an open door for any repentant sinner. Is there any part of a person’s background, shame, or story that makes it hard to believe that? [01:06:05]
Good works cannot purchase salvation, but gratitude does lead to a changed life. What is one concrete way a believer who has received mercy can live thankfully before Christ this week? [57:46]

Sermon Clips

59s

#ParadisePromise

“I'm not talking about how I'm not talking about do you honor Jesus or do you believe in Jesus? And then you put your faith and trust in him for your salvation. For your sal what else could the guy do? He couldn't do anything else. Put his faith and then he could ask Jesus to save you. Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus said to him, today today today, you'll be with me in paradise. Didn't have to worry about any of those sins of the past, present, or future. He didn't have a future. But today, he'd be with Jesus in paradise. Why? Because that was the son of god who was bleeding and dying for him right there next to him as his lord and as his savior.”

43s

#SalvationIsAGift

“Think about that. There's nowhere in all of Christian literature that you'll find or religious literature, excuse me, on all religious literature where you ever find salvation mentioned as a gift nowhere. But you will find the bible by the New Testament. Romans six twenty three, the wages of sin is death, but the what? the Coca Cola, but the gift the gift of god is eternal life through Jesus Christ. For by grace, you say it through faith. It's it's the word of god. It's the gift of God. Not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

60s

#HelplessNotHopeless

“So, my friends, he was helpless, but he wasn't hopeless. Helpless, but not hopeless. And because of that, he was helped. He got salvation. He received the eternal life that Jesus there's only two things that guy could do. He couldn't go back to church. Man, Jesus could say, you remember the wrong church, you need to go back in the right church. No. No. No. Can't do that. You need to do more good work. Well, that's that's out. That's out. Can't do any more good works. You need to, you know, start living a better life. No. Can't do that anymore. Not possible there. Jesus could've said, now look. If you just take the end of your finger and touch the tip of your nose, you'll be forgiven. Go to heaven. Can't do that.”

33s

#GraceNotPerformance

“Even there's even a Christian religion that says, if you say I know I'm going to heaven, you're not going to heaven. You just committed to sin and pride. Why? Because going to heaven depends on how well you perform here and now, how well you get to church, how much this, that, or the other. And you ever say you're going to heaven, you're not going because you think you're good enough to get there. I don't think I'm good enough to get there. I think Jesus is great enough to get me there and compassion enough to get me there, but I don't think I'm good enough to get there.”

38s

#SavedNotEarned

“But friends, this thief on the cross knew where he's going, and you can too today. You know, the problem with a lot of folks is they think, oh, well, you know, if I just do enough works, I won't I won't worry about forgiveness. I'll just do my good works, and then I'll get both and all this. Here's the point. You can say, I'm gonna take responsibility for my own salvation, but you're gonna lose every time.”

70s

#ReceiveTheGift

“How most people view salvation? They view salvation like they're work check. I'm gonna work Monday to Friday, and then Friday, I get paid. I know what that routine's like. I experienced that as a young man working for JL Lowry Masonry Contractors, I work Monday to Friday. Friday, the foreman gives us all a check, you know, and for for our good work, excellent work on my half, and all that kind of thing. So, you know, the point about it is we look at salvation. Well, if I just do enough good works, I just behave myself. If I just give enough money, then I'll get that paycheck at the end of my life, and I'll get to heaven. Right? That's the way you're thinking. Well, you want that, brother. You're gonna be real sorry. You're gonna be really sad about that one. It's not a paycheck. It's a gift. Anybody ever get a gift before? How many of you ever gotten a gift? Christmas, birthday party, whatever. How much you pay for that gift? Zero. What'd you have to do to get you had to receive it and make it part of yourself.”

39s

#JesusOnlySavior

“You won't find that word in any other religious literature related to any other Christian or any other religious leader in the world. Why? Because there is no other savior but Jesus. came to save his people from his sins. I've come to give my life as a ransom. John said to him, behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world. A great savior. We have a savior. No other religion has a savior. Number two, we have salvation as a gift.”

62s

#JesusFulfillsProphecy

“He saw Jesus forgive the ones who have crucified him. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. He saw his compassion for his mother. Mother, here's your son, John. John, here's your mother. He's not worried by himself. He's living after his mother. He's just a total demeanor of the man dying on the cross. He was convinced. Had to be who he said he was. He had to be the one who quoted his word, for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life. And perhaps there's a flashback to this temple sacrifices when the high priest brought those lambs, an innocent pure male lamb, and sacrificed them for Jesus as a a mirror of what Jesus would would do for us.”

45s

#CrossOfRepentance

“And just like that Old Testament prophet or priest would, in the Old Testament times, take the blood of the the lamb and enter the holy of holies and sprinkle it on the holy seat for the atonement of sin so Jesus' blood was shed for us so we could have forgiveness of all of our sins. Amazing truth. So you have the cross of rejection. You have the cross of redemption. But on the left, you have the cross of redemption and reception, repentance. The cross of repentance where the thief repented of their his sin and trusted in Christ as his lord and savior.”

67s

#PaidInFull

“You got it was the exact ticket that guy dropped on the street six hours before. The exact ticket. First shot, we weren't hunting for. We weren't looking for it. I was happy to sit anywhere. And I thought to myself, that's stupid, isn't it? Why? We paid for the ticket full price, legal and all that sort of thing, and then we had to scalp and rebuy it hours later. Now how stupid is the person here excuse me. How unintelligent is it for a person here to say, you know, I'm I know Jesus paid for my sins, but I'm gonna try my best to get there anyway on my own. Just stupid as that was, paying twice for a ticket. And the thing about it is you try it that way, you lose the option on the first day. You won't get there anyway because it's not by deeds of righteousness. If you think that's gonna get you there, it won't. There's one way to heaven. Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except by me.”

60s

#FaithOnTheCross

“What a great truth that is. Now why would he have repented? My question. Why would he have repented? Maybe the guy that rejected Jesus was a rationalist. He figured this one out. This guy's next to me. He's dying just like I am. He's just bleeding like I am. He's the only guy. How could he be the messiah? If you're the messiah, prove by coming down off that cross and saving us both. He's the rationalist. He's the unbeliever. He's the faithless one. The guy on the other side believed. He believed. What caused him to believe? Don't you think that's a lot of faith to have? That you believe in a man who's dying on the cross next to you, who suffered and and bled and ridic been ridiculed and probably abandoned, abused. It makes more sense to go with the unbeliever than the believer. But let's think for a moment. What would what would have caused that guy to believe in Jesus?”

47s

#SavedToServe

“It's the gift of God's salvation, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Now we wanna work because we're saved. We wanna serve our Lord who saves us. Let me tell you something about this thief on the cross that just got salvation. If he ever survived that cross, he'd be the most fervent, excited, diligent, focused Christian you could ever imagine, wouldn't he? Nobody ever survived the cross because the Roman soldiers themselves would be crucified. They wouldn't let anybody come off a cross alive. But could you imagine what kind of a Christian he would have been if he would have been saved and his life would have been spared? Fantastic.”

63s

#ExcruciatingCross

“The victims were crucified. They were left hanging on the tree, and sometimes they'd survive for days. If they weren't beaten, especially if they lost a lot of blood, they would just survive. They would often die of dehydration, heart failure. The point was not to give them any means of survival. Don't feed them. Don't give them water. Although you might get away with a little bit of it, but as they did with Jesus. But point was long term suffering. And that's why it was such a dreaded way to die. So much so that we get an English word from this experience. The word is called excruciating. Anybody ever use that word excruciating? What's that mean? That means terrible pain. It's literally ex crusis from the cross or out of the cross. That's where we get that word. Painful death, but also a shameful death.”

35s

#AssuranceOfSalvation

“you didn't get anything you didn't have to pay for that gift. You had to receive it and make it your own. That's the same way with God. God's got a gift for you here today. More exciting than the best insurance policy you could imagine or the best bonus you could ever receive or the best material gift you could ever have packaged and sent to you. You have savior gift, and then you have assurance. No other religion has assurance of salvation.”

52s

#ShameOfTheCross

“Crucifixion was not only meant to kill, it was meant to shame and to insult and to belittle and berate and to, yeah, do anything you want to that victim. Now a lot of times when you get a view of the cross or when we see the cross depicted, it's up high. Right? But usually, the cross, as such, was just a few inches off the ground. Victim would carry that crossbeam to the place of the cross, and they'd drop the cross, put their hands on the crossbeam, lift it up, drop it on the stake, and then nail their feet to the stake. So they left them totally naked, no clothes, and that way it made for much more ridicule. That made much more opportunity for abuse, passer buyers.”

62s

#UnseenSuffering

“I asked one of them once. I said, well, the passion was pretty realistic, wasn't it? He said, yes, sir. And I said, was it true to the fact? He said, no. He said, you could never depict on television or on the screen how much suffering there was. You can never go far enough to do that. And I said, well, give me an example. He said, for one thing, it'd be insects and flies. This is The Middle East. Can you imagine the number of flies that uncover a man when he has bleeding like that, the type of irritation and suffering that would create? And that's why, Isaiah 53 said, we we recognized him not. We didn't see him. We didn't recognize him. Probably Jesus may have had, in some ways, so many flies on him. You would not have known who this was unless you'd been there to actually see him crucified. Terrible, terrible things.”

40s

#OnlyFaithMatters

“Or just scratch your knee or or lift your knee. You can't do anything physical anymore. There's nothing to do. You couldn't even give anything. You can't you can't give any money. Then there's no reason to believe that he had any money, but he couldn't give any money. It had all been taken from him by the Romans prior to crucifixion. Nothing nothing he could do, but he had two things he could do. One is he could put his faith and trust in Jesus, And that's what he did. How about you? If you put your faith and trust in Jesus”

36s

#Psalm22Fulfilled

“There's a lot of things. Or maybe it's while they were on the cross, and he heard Jesus not being concerned about himself. He did say, I thirst. He did ask the question, my god, my god, why have you forsaken me? Which he really was rhetorical. I think he knew the answer to it, but he was in a sense quoting scripture, Psalm 22. But the point about that is that he had faith in Jesus.”

34s

#IAmTheWay

“So in the case of Esther, she had a dream. She was in a cemetery, and she couldn't find her way out. And she met a man who said, follow me. I'll get you out of here. He followed her, this man, and he led her out of the cemetery. And then he looked at her and said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Boom. And walked away. She woke up, and then she found out later reading John fourteen fourteen who that person was and now is a fervent evangelist for Jesus.”

81s

#AssuranceVsWorks

“But assurance. You know, the number one issue related to Islam and my Muslims come to faith in Christ, the assurance of salvation. Why? Because they labor under this great burden of, man, I've got I gotta keep those five pillars. I gotta pray five times a day. I gotta go on the Hajj. I have to give two and a half percent every year in my general well. I have to keep the fast of Ramadan. I have to what's the other one? Ramadan. have to do whatever the fifth one was. And and that's that's why I have to that. Let's keep those five, and then I'll get to heaven. Oh, I have to make the confession, the Shahada. That's the easy one. That's the easy part. It just says, I believe it. There's no god, but all moms is prophet. So those are the five. You have to keep those regularly, and god sends a little angel on each shoulder to keep track, make sure you did all those done those right. There's no assurances of even the prophet Muhammad, Muslims say, didn't have the assurances of salvation. Even their prophet, their great prophet, had no assurance, and they have no assurance. They can't tell you where he is right now, hell or heaven.”

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