I was thinking this week about those special moment in our lives.

All of us have times that are special.

The first day of school, when we turn 13 and became a teenager, our 16th birthday and we can drive, our high school graduation, for some our 21 first birthday, then getting married, the birth of our first child, and the list goes on and on.

BUT the most important and special moment in any one’s life is when they  accept Christ as their savior.

Other special moments expire in time. But when you becoming a follower of Christ that special moment lasts an eternity.

The passage I want you to read gives us a look at a day that was very special for one man and not so special for the other.

Read Luke 23:32-43

This could have been a special day, a life changing day in the life of both criminals.

But one had decided he won’t accept Jesus for who he was, which made this anything but a special day.

 It was more of a tragic day, he was “hanging on a cross”, he was in agony in pain he was lost and alone and he was dying!  

This is a tragic moment and to hear the sarcasm that comes from his mouth makes it an even worse tragedy. This man is about to die, and will live eternally without God and without hope of anything ever changing.

All of us cross paths with people every day who are just like this criminal. Angry, bitter, feeling hopeless and lost and these people will also spend eternity without the love and security that having Christ in your life brings. 

As the two criminals hung there that day something changed the second man’s heart. 

1.  Maybe it was the way Jesus was silent as they nailed Him to the cross – 

2.  Maybe it was the way Jesus responded to the mocking by His enemies – 

3.  Maybe it was the sign over the cross of Jesus that proclaimed His title – 

4.  It could have been any number of things that spoke to his heart.  But, whatever it was, it told him that Jesus was no ordinary man! 

We need to be aware of how everything we do these days speaks to those around us.

1.Maybe the way we handle challenges in our lives.

2.Maybe the way we handle those who mock Christians and the church.

3. Maybe the fact we call Christ our savior and we call ourselves Christians.

I mentioned a few weeks ago we may be  the only bible someone reads. Jesus actions spoke volumes to those who watched.

We might be the one who can lead a lost people that God put in front of us to a very special moment in time, a day that would see them accept Christ as their lord and savior.

Whether you are a sinner, a seeker or some who is saved Jesus can make this a special moment  for you.

Like the thief on the cross we just need to call out to him, welcome Jesus into your life and ask Jesus to help us be bold in our witness to others and give you confidence to know for sure that one day we will be in paradise with him.

Finally, I encourage you to Identify and pray for those specific people who you know that are like the second criminal on the cross.

Maybe you can help someone have a very special moment in time. 

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 ALLIANCE HISTORY AND THOUGHT

What do all these men have in common:

Stephen Harper, Ex- Prime Minister of Canada
Robert A. Jaffray, missionary statesman to China
Ryan Smyth, Ex-hockey player for the Edmonton Oilers
A. W. Tozer, author and pastor
Preston Manning, founder and former leader of the Reform Party of Canada.
Ravi Zacharias

They are or were members of a Christian and Missionary Alliance church at one point in  time.