Cross

Running to the Finish Line

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Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 KJV

As a long distance runner in high school, I learned early on that my toughest competition came from my own body and mind. At the starting gun my mind wanted to race ahead but our coach had taught us to start slowly. When I paced myself I discovered that later on in the race, I still had the strength to press on to the final lap. My recent retirement followed by our move to Florida brought on far more stress and anxiety than I had imagined.

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Suddenly I had no lunch to pack, no schedule to keep and no one coming by. It felt as if the road I had been traveling on for most of my life was a dead end. I found myself sleepless with anxiety and fear swirling around me. There I remembered that Jesus as He had hung alone on the cross, had cried out, “My God My God why have you forsaken me?” With no one who could understand and no deliverance at hand He endured it all for me. Humbled and grateful I remembered His example and loving sacrifice. In that dark hour long ago, another man on a cross next to Jesus cried out in pain and fear. Then Jesus, put aside His own suffering, forgave him and promised to personally welcome him to paradise that day.

Prayer: Father – Help me to remember that You endured the terrible cross for me. Remind me that I don’t need to be afraid because just You are the beginning of my faith You have also promised to help me run all the way to its finish line.

 

Seven Words

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Seven Words Our Savior Spoke

Seven words our Savior spoke

As He was dying there

Three words of comfort gently said

Three words He cried in prayer

And one He humbly asked “O How I thirst”

When they gave Him vinegar

Then Father forgive they do not know

What they have done to me

And to a broken dying thief He said

“In paradise we’ll be”

As Mary and John drew close to Him

His closest friend and mother

“Remember” He said “From this day on

To care for one another”

“My God – My God O why have You?

Forsaken me this way?”

He cried on that dark hill

Next “It is finished!” They heard Him say

I have done all your will

Then finally “Into your hands”

He prayed for His race was done

“I’m coming now to you My Father

Death defeated the victory won!”

Peter Caligiuri March 2020

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Remembering Him

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In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”                                   1 Corinthians 11:26 -27 ESV

Though the bread given to us may be held by human hands; 2,000 years ago it was given to us first by Him. As we take the bread and cup in our hands, He wants us to remember the marks of the whip, the crown of thorns and the cross. In the same way that Mary worshiped by pouring out the spikenard to prepare Jesus for His burial, we worship Him as we take the bread and cup and remember His cross.

 

I often think of the spear that pierced His side. Jesus hung lifeless after having given His spirit to the Father. But even as His body hung limp and vulnerable, a soldier plunged his lance into the side of Jesus. It was cruel but it was his job to make sure that Jesus was dead and with no possibility of rescue. And then there flowed out water and blood down His side and onto the ground showing the price that He paid for our sins and yet we easily forget. In the middle of the activities and pressures of life we need to come and sit again at His table. We must tell again the story of the bread He broke and the cup He blessed till the day when we eat and drink at His table in Heaven.