No Cheating

TITLE: No Cheating
DATE: November 29, 2019

Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed.
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TEXT Luke 23: 40-43 – ESV -: 0 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

78-year-old Ron Lafferty is dead.

Now it is possible you never have heard of Ron Lafferty. If so, let me remedy that circumstance.

• Ron first broke into the news in 1984 when he and his brother were convicted for the 1984 murder of his sister-in-law and her little girl.
• This the brothers did because, as part of a really far-out, super radical Mormon sect, they felt god had told them to kill the mother and daughter because the mom didn’t like the Lafferty’s position on polygamy.
• The trials came up with “Guilty” verdicts. Ron received the death sentence and his brother got “life-imprisonment.”

​But that’s not all Ron is known for.

• Way back in ’84, at least in the State of Utah, Ron was given a choice of how he wanted his sentence to be carried out.
• Ron chose to go by firing squad.
• Of course that  choice was made more than 35-years ago. What with appeals and requests for clemency, it has taken three-and-a-half decades for the wheels of justice to get Ron ready to stand before the sharp-shooters. It would have been the first death-by-firing-squad in almost a decade.

Well folks, it ain’t gonna happen. Not none of it. No more lawyers; no firing squad; no appeals. None of it. Not anymore.
That’s because Ron Lafferty died of natural causes at the State prison in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Ron managed to cheat the firing squad, but he hadn’t managed to cheat death.

The grim reaper came for him just as he comes for almost all of  us. On that day there will be no appeal there will be no clemency. On that day we will appear before our Divine Judge for immediate sentencing... and the execution of that sentence will not be postponed.

Oh, there’s one other “On that day” statement which is important.

On that day the only thing of tremendous significance is this: Was Jesus our Lord and Savior from sin? Did we, with a repentant heart, pray, “Lord be merciful to me a sinner”,..,. and then did we rejoice because our loving Lord has shown His mercy and grace in Bethlehem, on Golgotha and at  a borrowed tomb.

God is just that: merciful.

THE PRAYER: Lord God, Heavenly Father. I, too am a sinner and worthy of temporal and eternal condemnation. I give thanks that the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel and brought me into the light of the Lord. May I invite others to join us in Your Gift. In Jesus’ holy Name I pray it. Amen.

The devotion for today was inspired by various recent news articles. For further reading you may wish to go to this address: https://www.newser.com/story/282923/death-row-inmate-featured-in-jon-krakauer-book-has-died.html  and the article written by Newser Editors and Wire Services  .

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann. He along with three of his brothers perform on the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html