I Surrender All

At the Foot of the Cross

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Our part is to listen
His is to speak
For the words that He says
Will be heard by the meek

While His ways seem a mystery and not understood
God works in Heaven through it all for our good
When fears of dark nights seem to stand in our way
He sticks close by our side till the first light of day

And He calls us to follow
In both joy and through loss
For we come nearest to Him
At the foot of His Cross

At the Foot of the Cross
by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright ©  2023 
All Rights reserved

 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.  John 19:26-27 ESV

Wondrous Cross and I Surrender

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I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1 ESV

Surrendering all, is one of my favorite hymns and yet each time I sing it, that surrender looks a little different. The apostle Paul makes the point to the Roman church that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. This type of surrendering is not a one-time thing. This surrender begins every morning when we open our eyes, sit up in bed and put our feet on the floor. The direction those feet walk is a daily choice to follow Jesus. Wondrous Cross reminds us that when Jesus died on the cross, it was a long painful surrender. He had to keep surrendering, from the moment of His arrest in the garden, through the trial, the scourging and the crushing weight of the cross He was forced to carry. I know that we all face some days when life seems too heavy to bear. That is when we need to remember that Jesus surrendered Himself as a living sacrifice for us and then humbly take up our cross again and follow Him.

Sunlight – Sunlight

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Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

About 40 years ago I received an invitation to bring my guitar along to play some songs at a little nursing home in Danbury Connecticut, called Park Terrace. Our Linda Southard had started going there to visit and she believed a little music would brighten things up a bit. Linda would bring the message and our four year old son Ben who liked hanging out me comprised our team. I don’t remember much of what our small group did but I do recall that whenever Linda asked the people for their favorite hymns, Ben would put up his little hand and ask; “Can we sing Sunlight Sunlight?” That cheerful hymn from the 18th century had somehow become his favorite. Its melody often comes to my mind and reminds me that no matter what I face: Jesus is still the light. I pray that today’s short message and hymns including – Sunlight Sunlight; This Little Light and a medley of Wondrous Cross and I Surrender All will lift your spirits today. May God bless you and give you a sense of His presence. He ever remains the light of the world!