Welcome to Moments of Melody Time, five minutes to help you begin your day. I'd like you to meet a thief who went to heaven. When Jesus was crucified on the old rugged cross, there hung a thief on each side of him. To one of them he said, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Why did one thief go to heaven, and the other to hell? What did the one do to save his soul? Remember, his arms and legs were tied to the cross, and therefore he couldn't take communion. He couldn't be baptized. He couldn't join the church. He couldn't read the prayer book. He couldn't give money to the church or charity. He couldn't plead his own goodness or try self-improvement. All these could-nots did not keep him out of heaven. Why? Because there were several vital acts that he could and did do. First he repented. He acknowledged his sinfulness to the other thief and to Christ. He said, We thieves receive the due reward of our deeds. The Bible says, Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Second, he believed that Jesus Christ was the Lord and Savior of the world and of his soul. The Bible says, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. and thou shalt be saved. Third, he confessed his faith in Jesus Christ as the sinless Son of God. He said to the unbelieving thief, This man, Jesus, have done nothing amiss. The Bible says, 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. Remember what the repentant thief could do he did. What he did, you can do also. You can repent of your sins. You can believe in Jesus as your personal Savior. You can confess Christ publicly before your friends and relatives. But don't wait until you're dying, as the thief did. Jesus I come, Jesus I come into thy freedom, land and life, Jesus I come. and into thy word. Out of thy sin and into thy care, Jesus I come to thee. Now St. Paul's letter to the Colossians As you live this new life, we pray that you will be strengthened from God's boundless resources so that you will find yourselves able to pass through any experience and endure it with courage. You will even be able to thank God in the midst of pain and distress because you're privileged to share the lot of those who are living in the light. For we must never forget that He rescued us from the power of darkness and re-established us in the kingdom of His beloved Son. That is, the kingdom of light. For it is by His Son alone that we have been redeemed and have had our sins forgiven. You had your sins forgiven? I repeat, remember what the repentance thief could do. He did. What he did you can do also. You can repent of your sins. You can believe in Jesus as your personal Savior. You can confess Christ publicly before your friends and relatives, but don't wait until you're dying, as the thief did.