Two Songs for the Season

Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. -- Luke 14:27

All three Synoptic Gospels mention Simon of Cyrene [the present day Benghazi, Libya]. Simon was just passing through Jerusalem, perhaps for the feast of the Passover. When Jesus collapsed under the heavy weight of the cross He was made to carry on the way to execution at the Place of the Skull at Calvary hill after the brutal scourging He was given by Roman soldiers, Simon was conscripted or compelled by the same soldiers to carry the cross for Him, lest He should die of exhaustion and blood loss before the scheduled crucifixion.

Mark’s Gospel uniquely mentions Simon’s two sons, Alexander and Rufus, who were evidently with Simon: A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. -- Mark 15:21.

We can only speculate why Mark should do so. Most Bible commentators agree that Rufus and Alexander all well known fellow believers to the readers of Mark’s Gospel [This is supposed to be the Christians in Rome.] Clement, circa AD 150-215, Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, writes this account in his writing HYPOTYPOSES: … they besought MARK, a follower of Peter, and the one whose Gospel is extant, that he would leave them a written monument of the doctrine which had been orally communicated to them. Nor did they cease until they had prevailed with the man, and had thus become the occasion of the written Gospel which bears the name of MARK. And they say that Peter when he had learned, through a revelation of the Spirit, of that which had been done, was pleased with the zeal of the men, and that the work obtained the sanction of his authority for the purpose of being used in the churches.

The Apostle Peter mentions Mark in his first epistle which is believed Peter wrote in Rome itself, as is indicated by him, when he calls the city, by a code name, Babylon, in the following words: With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. She [the church?] who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.—1 Peter 5:12-13. And they say that this Mark was the first that was sent to Egypt, and that he proclaimed the Gospel which he had written, and first established churches in Alexandria. (Eusebius, ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 2.15.1-2, 2.16.1)

In fact, the Apostle Paul greets with tenderness a certain Rufus and his mother in his epistle to the Romans: Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. --Romans 16:13.

Richard Bauckham, author of The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony, Eerdmans, 2006, conjectures about the mention of Alexander and Rufus as an unusual detail in Mark’s Gospel: “There does not seem to be a good reason available other than that Mark is appealing to Simon’s eyewitness testimony, known in the early Christian movement not from his own firsthand account but through his sons.”

If the Rufus in Mark 15 and Romans 16 are the same individual, this indicates that Simon of Cyrene, Alexander, Rufus and Simon’s wife eventually came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

No one who encounters Him at anytime and by any means can ever remain the same as he or she was before. Here is a beautiful song relating the story of that encounter between Simon and Jesus!

Watch The Lamb
by Ray Boltz
Courtesy of Google Video

Walking on the road to Jerusalem,
The time had come to sacrifice again,
My two small sons,
They walk beside me on the road,
The reason that they came was to watch the lamb.

Daddy, daddy,
What will see there,
There's so much that we don't understand,
So I told them of Moses and father Abraham,
Then I said dear children watch the lamb.

There will be so many in Jerusalem today,
We must be sure the lamb doesn't run away,
And I told them of Moses and father Abraham,
Then I said dear children watch the lamb.

When we reached the city,
I knew something must be wrong,
There were no joyful worshipers,
No joyful worship songs,
I stood there with my children
in the midst of angry men,
Then I heard the crowd cry out
“Let’s Crucify Him!”

We tried to leave the city
but we could not get away,
Forced to play in this drama
a part I did not wish to play,
Why upon this day
were men condemned to die,
Why were we standing here,
Where soon they would pass by.

I looked and said, even now they come,
The first one cried for mercy,
The people gave him none,
The second one was violent,
He was arrogant and loud,
I still here his angry voice
screaming at the crowd.

Then someone said there's Jesus,
I scarce believed my eyes,
A man so badly beaten,
He barely looked alive,
Blood poured from His body,
From the thorns upon His brow,
Running down the cross,
Falling to the ground.

I watched Him as He struggled,
I watched Him as He fell,
The cross came down upon His back,
The crowd began to yell,
In that moment I felt such agony,
In that moment I felt such loss,
Till a Roman soldier grabbed my arm
and screamed, “You, carry His cross!”

At first I tried to resist him,
Then his hand reached for his sword,
So I knelt and took
the cross from the Lord,
I placed it on my shoulder,
And started down the street,
The blood that he'd been shedding
was running down my cheek.

They led us to Golgotha,
They drove nails
deep in His feet and hands,
Yet upon the cross I heard Him pray
Father, forgive them.
Oh, never have I seen such love
in any other eyes,
Into thy hands I commit my spirit
He prayed and the He died.

I stood for what seemed like years,
I'd lost all sense of time
until I felt two tiny hands
holding tight to mine,
The children stood there weeping,
I heard the oldest say,
Father please forgive us,
the lamb ran away.
Daddy, daddy,
What have we seen here,
There's so much
that we don't understand,
So I took them in my arms,
And we turned and faced the cross,
Then I said dear children,
WATCH THE LAMB.

- § -

Forever, Author of Salvation,
JESUS rose and conquered the grave!

"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

Jesus said to her, "Mary."

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
– John 20:15-16, NIV

Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel!Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
-- Zephaniah 3:14, 17, NIV

Mighty To Save
by Hillsong United
Songwriters: Fielding, Ben; Morgan, Reuben
courtesy of get2pc.com

Thanks for singing!

Be With ME In Paradise

Michael Franzese, a Heart Changed by God's Grace

After overhearing Jesus’ intercessory prayer for the bloodthirsty mob and brutal soldiers who were crucifying Him and them –- “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do”, – one criminal rebuked the other who was mocking Jesus: “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” [Luke 23:34, 40-43. NKJV]

Radical conversions like that of the penitent criminal still occur today. Jesus still gives the same blessed assurance of God’s pardon, salvation and eternal life to whoever believes in Him just as He did two thousand years ago. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

This is exactly what happened to Michael Franzese, a.k.a. Prince of the Mafia, Yuppie Don, while serving a seven-year sentence in federal prison in the mid-80’s. Today, he is a much invited evangelical speaker and founder of Breaking Out, a Christian youth educational group. Here is his story, reprinted from http://www.michaelfranzese.com/story.php:

Michael Franzese was once in the top echelon of the Colombo crime family. He left the mob after converting to Christianity, and has since written the autobiography Blood Covenant.

Indeed, he was the son of Sonny Franzese, a kingpin in New York's Colombo crime family. It was when Sonny was sent to prison that Michael left Hofstra University, where he was a student athlete in pre-Med, to try to help win his dad’s freedom, choosing to follow the path that landed his dad in jail. He began working to help Joe Colombo protest the treatment of Italian Americans, handing out fliers at a rally in Columbus Square, and was standing nearby when Colombo was shot. For Michael, this was his beginning in a life that took him from college jock to Mob Capo, and ultimately made him the target of state, local, and federal organized crime task forces.

Becoming a sworn, made member at the age of 24, he avoided the traditional Mafia domains in favor of the enormously lucrative edges of the legitimate business world. The smart, sophisticated Franzese was long considered an heir apparent to the family's vast power. His ability to make money, which according to the fed’s was more than anyone since Al Capone, won his fame, respect, and rock-star status among mob watchers, but the envy of others in that life.

Michael masterminded brilliant scams, from auto dealerships to union kickbacks, from financial services to the worlds of sports and entertainment, to a multi-billion dollar gasoline tax scheme, all with the help of ambitious tycoons and his own remarkable business acumen. His operations in gambling, loan sharking and corporate crime became a target of Manhattan's famed federal prosecutor, Rudy Giuliani, who indicted Michael on racketeering charges only to come up empty handed in court after promising him 100 years behind bars if convicted. More indictments would follow, however, and in a dramatic turn of events for the onetime Mob caporegime, Michael decided to plead guilty to yet another racketeering indictment, accept a 10 year prison sentence, and then vowed to do the unthinkable-quit the mob, not enter the witness protection program, and not testify against his mob brethren. The Prince abdicated his throne. It’s why he left that makes this story even more incredible.

Michael Franzese earned millions a week at his apex and used his wits and charm to keep the likes of John Gotti from encroaching on his operations. He escaped 5 major indictments and seemed invincible. That was before he met Cammy.

Among many things he was doing, he made movies – his last – Knights of the City, a break dance movie ala West side Story with Sammy Davis, Jr., Leon Issacs Kennedy, and music by Smokey Robinson, filmed in Florida. The imported 50 dancers from L.A. That was the beginning of the end – and the beginning of the unthinkable.

Michael met Camille Garcia, a beautiful dancer from Anaheim [and a Born-Again Christian] – he saw her getting out of the swimming pool and asked to be introduced. Cammy knew nothing other than he was the producer. He fell in love with her, doggedly pursued her and eventually they married. How she convinced him to take the rap on a racketeering charge and how he managed to become the only high ranking official of the Mafia to ever quit the mob, refuse government protection and live to tell about it makes Michael Franzese a truly motivational, inspiring, and fascinating speaker.

Michael's first book, Quitting The Mob, (Harper/Collins Publishing), was released in 1992, providing a glimpse at the life Michael left behind.

His most recent book, Blood Covenant (Whitaker House, Mar. 2003-now in the third printing), looks at that story from 10 years of changed life, providing insight only time allows. It captures Michael's life from beginning through today, offering a powerful look at the why and how he left his past, and how he is still alive today. As Paul Harvey would say, it is "the rest of the story."

- § -

Here is part of a reader’s review of the book, quoted from amazon.com:

By telling you how he came to completely trust in God, Franzese does a good job of creating the message that God forgives EVERYTHING that you do that is not pleasing to him.

Because many people do not accept the simple concept of God's grace, so many find this book to be a blow off towards the end. It is the exact opposite. Franzese's book explains God's grace and what it did for him in ways that most pastors and other religious leaders cannot explain. That does not make him a fanatic; it means he is telling the truth...a truth many do not understand and therefore refuse to accept. Here is my message: if you are looking for an ending that tells how he paid everyone back or how he fell back into the life, then this book is not for you. However, if you are someone who wants to see a true example of God's grace and the way he can use one person to change someone's life while getting the bonus of knowing the insides of the mafia life, I highly recommend this book to you. - by forevercrane.

- § -

Here is part of a video of the Born-Agin Don testifying about his conversion.

Michael Franzese recently spoke at Shadow Mountain Community Church, San Diego County, California. A DVD video of his talk available at http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/.