WHAT IS THE CROSS

What is the cross. Two pieces of wood put together in a T form? A piece of jewelry that some people wear on a chain, as earrings, on a charm bracelet? It is found on churches, hung on walls in homes, headstones in a cemetary. It is seen everywhere, but is the meaning of the cross understood? People know a man died on that cross. But do they know, really know who that man was? Do they understand what was done on that cross?

WHAT IS THE CROSS Part II

The cross was known to be the most painful and humiliating ways of death. It was designed to bring the utmost suffering for the longest period. Some took 3 or more days to die. What they went thru we cannot imagine.

In his classic book, The Body, Charles Colson tells the true story of Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish monk who was imprisoned in Auschwitz by the Nazi's in WWII. Father Kolbe was subjected to years of tortuous manual labor yet he was a constant source of Godly love and encouragement to his fellow prisoners. One July night a couple years after his imprisonment, the camp air was suddenly filled with the baying of dogs, the curses of soldiers, and the roar of motorcycles. A man had escaped from Barracks 14 -- Father Kolbe's barracks.

Prayer is a relationship with the Father. Because He is our Father, and we are His children, we are dependent upon Him for anything and everything within our lives. We don't pray in order to have our needs met. We pray because we have needs. This is how we are constantly aware of His presence in our lives and the way that our relationship is formed.

There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending school in Utah. Bro. Christianson taught at this particular school. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules.

Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Bro. Christianson's class. Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.