Category: cross

When we’re engulfed by fear

Ruth Kirk

Lord,
When we’re engulfed by fear,
Remind us you are always near.

Lord,
When we are put to shame,
Remind us of your holy Name.

Lord,
When we are full of care,
Remind us of the thorns you wear.

Lord,
When we are hurt and bruised,
Remind us how you were abused.

Lord,
When we are racked with pain,
Remind us all how you were slain.

Lord,
When we think life’s unfair,
Remind us of the wounds you bear.

Lord,
When death is close at hand,
Remind us of God’s angel band.

Lord,
We share one flesh and blood:
Remind us of our Father’s love.

References

Being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground (Luke 22:44; NIV).

Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus (Luke 23:11; NLT).

The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head (John 19:2; NLT).

They spat on him and took the staff and struck him repeatedly on the head (Matthew 27:30; NET).

Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross (Mark 15:24; NLT).

Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side (John 20:27; NLT).

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34; NLT).

When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body (1 Corinthians 10:16-17; NLT).

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16; NLT).

Always

Ruth Kirk

Always new-born in the stable;
Always safe on Mary’s knee;
Always playing and rejoicing,
Always, Lord, alive and free.

Always, Christ-child, in the temple,
Talking there with everyone;
Always rising from the river:
This is my beloved Son.

Always shining and transfigured;
Always changing those you meet;
Always saving and forgiving,
Ready to wash others’ feet.

Always calling: Come and follow;
Always teaching: Take your cross;
Always healing and restoring,
Helping those distressed by loss.

Always sharing our temptations;
Always here to calm each storm;
Always angry, always weeping,
Always breaking every norm.

Always pleading in the garden;
Always suffering, in pain;
Always dying, always rising,
Always coming, Lord, to reign.

Always living in our hearts, Lord;
Always pouring out your love;
Always caring, giving, serving —
Lord, you are our flesh and blood.

References

She gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling-cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn (Luke 2:6-7; RSV).

They found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions (Luke 2:46; ESV).

There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light (Matthew 17:2; NIV).

Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me” (Mark 1:17; NLT).

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil (Luke 4:1-2; NIV).

If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine (Matthew 26:39; NLT).

Christ lives within you (Romans 8:10; NLT).

This is my body given for you (Luke 22:19; NIV).

This is my blood (Matthew 27:28; NIV).

………………..

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Leave sin behind

Ruth Kirk

 

Lord,
May I leave sin behind,
And turn again to you;
Then I will face this troubled life,
And see my trials through.

Lord,
May I leave self behind,
And follow Christ, your Son;
Then I will bear my cross, like him,
And serve till life is done.

Lord,
May I leave all behind,
And ask your Spirit’s aid;
Then I will live in love for all
I meet, before I fade.

Lord,
May I leave life behind
Without a backward glance;
Then I will reunite with you,
And join your timeless dance.

 

References

Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you (Job 11:14; NLT).

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33; NLT).

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me (Matthew 16:24; NLT).

He will give you another Advocate [Comforter, Encourager, Counsellor], who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth (John 14:16-17; NLT).

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them (Romans 12.9; NLT).

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it (Luke 9:24; NLT).

Anyone who puts a hand to the plough and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:62; NLT).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours (Psalm 90:4; NLT).

 

How did you hold back?

Ruth Kirk

 

Father,

How did you hold back
As Christ was whipped and mocked?
How did you contain your wrath
Towards the crowds who flocked?

How did you prepare to watch
Your Son’s last sacrifice?
How did you stay silent
When the soldiers threw their dice?

How did you endure it
When they nailed him to the cross?
How did you bear up, Lord,
As you shared his pain and loss?

How did you contain your grief
As he paid for our sin?
How did you forgive all those
Who scoffed, and taunted him?

How did you respond
When Jesus took his final breath?
You opened wide your arms, Lord,
And received his soul, in death.

 

References

He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman Soldiers to be crucified (Mark 15:15; NLT).

The mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!” (Matthew 27:23; NLT).

The solderers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice (Matthew 27:35; NLT).

Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross (Mark 15:24; NLT).

In all their suffering he also suffered (Isaiah 63:9; NLT).

He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5; RSV).

“He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! (Matthew 27:42; NLT).

Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last (Luke 23:46; NLT).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

Spring flowers

Ruth Kirk

 

Golden gorse, you gladly sing
To greet the birth of Christ our King.

Drifts of bluebells softly say:
Remember Mary every day.

Snow-white hawthorn tells us of
Transfiguration by God’s love.

Blackthorn gives a warning cry:
Jesus lives, yet he must die.

Swaying palms, you shout with loud
Hosannas, like the joyful crowd.

A tree is felled, to make the cross
On which Christ’s life-blood will be lost.

Fragile primrose whispers: pain
And death; but he will rise again.

Easter lily, awed and hushed:
He lives in me. It is enough.

 

References

The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen (Luke 2:20; NLT).

Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word (Luke 1:38; KJV).

There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light (Matthew 17:2; NIV).

This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him! (Mark 9:7; NLT).

The Son of Man must die, as the scriptures declared long ago (Matthew 26:24; NLT).

The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, “Hosanna!” (John 12:12-13; RSV).

Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross (Mark 15:24; NLT).

Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day (Luke 24:7; NLT).

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

You faced your cross

Ruth Kirk

 

Lord,
You faced your cross
Forgiving others;
May I face my own
In the same way.

Lord,
You faced your pain 
With care for others;
May I face my own
In the same way.

Lord,
You faced your death 
With love for others;
May I face my own
In the same way.

 

References

When they came to the place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross […] Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:33-4; NLT).

Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43; NLT).

He said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home (John 19:27; NLT).

I want to follow Christ

Ruth Kirk

 

Lord God,
I want to follow Christ –
Please teach me 
How to think.

      Don’t judge, reject, 
      Hate, or condemn;
      Make finding fault
      Extinct. 

Lord God,
I want to follow Christ –
Please tell me 
What to say.

      Apologise to those 
      You hurt; 
      And speak the truth 
      Each day. 

Lord God,
I want to follow Christ –
Please show me 
What to do.

      Take up your cross;
      Love everyone; 
      Forgive those 
      Who hurt you. 

 

References 

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5; NIV). 

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you (Luke 6:37; NLT).

How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye (Luke 6:42; NLT).

They kept demanding an answer, so he [Jesus] stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” (John 8:7; NLT).

If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23-4; NIV). 

We will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ (Ephesians 4:15; NLT).

Take up your cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24; NLT).

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them (Romans 12.9; NLT).

When you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too (Mark 11:25; NLT).