10:11 PM

Lovely morning to share a beatdown but also some reflection with the PAX.  Disclaimer was uttered and 5 core principles announced.  No warm-o-rama today..  Today not only is it my 5 Year F3 Maniversary but more importantly Good Friday and I wanted to reflect on this day when we remember that Christ did for us.

 

Stations were set about 50 ft apart.   Pax were voluntold and given a refection corresponding to each station (1 – 14) along the Via Dolorosa, which they would read while the rest of the PAX did the stations corresponding Exercise.  Pax were grouped into 4 teams.  Team members would then carry their Cross (sandbag, logs, etc.) while the rest of team performed the MOT (Mode of Transportation) to the next station, whey would then share the burden with other PAX and continue.

 

1st Station: Jesus is condemned to death – GRATITUDE

 

Jesus just had one of the worst nights ever. His agony and isolation in the garden. The betrayal by one of his friends. The denial by another. His arrest, torture and condemnation to death by the people he had lived among for 33 years and had taught, cured, helped and served.

 

Jesus did nothing wrong, He was the only perfect man to have ever lived, and was willingly condemned to death. Do we ever thank Him for that in our thoughts, words or deeds?

 

Oftentimes we do not feel like coming to workout. We get lazy, we have bad days, we don’t want to wake up. Jesus chose the hard way for our sake. We too often choose the easy way. The way of distraction, sloth, and idleness. …Let’s thank Him right now by giving Him our best workout with all our effort.

 

EXERCISE: 33 Standard Merkins

MOT: Bear Crawl

 

2nd Station: Jesus carries His cross – DETERMINATION

 

Not only is Jesus given the death penalty, He also has to be publicly humiliated by carrying the piece of wood he will be nailed to. And yet He does it willingly. He embraces the cross even though as God the Son, He did not have to. He is determined to do His Father’s Will. He is determined to show us that He is willing to suffer anything for us.

 

How many times do we post for ourselves versus for our brothers? Let’s embrace the challenge, the difficulty, the sweat, the fatigue … like Jesus embraced His Cross.

 

Let’s be determined to post for each other as much as we do for ourselves. Let’s get stronger for our brothers, let’s get stronger so we can serve better.

 

EXERCISE: 33 American Hammers

MOT:  Lunge Walk

 

3rd Station: Jesus falls for the first time – COMMITMENT

 

Jesus has lost a lot of blood. He was nearly whipped to death, had a crown of thorns shoved and beat into his skull and he is exhausted. He falls.

 

We fall many times as well. We fall short of our goals at times, we have disappointments, discouragements and we have doubts.

 

Jesus went through this as well. But He didn’t quit. He fell but He got up. Let’s show that same commitment. Let’s never give up on ourselves or our brothers.

 

EXERCISE: 33 Burpees

MOT: Crab Walk

 

4th Station: Jesus meets his mother – MOTIVATION, ENCOURAGEMENT, DEDICATION

 

Mary was doing everything she could to support, encourage, inspire, uplift her Son in the midst of all this suffering. She was the perfect teammate. Mary did not want her Son to die. But Mary nevertheless was there to support her Son achieve His mission which she knew required His death.

 

During our workouts we should be constantly looking for ways to encourage one another. The more we forget ourselves and focus on lifting others up, the less we are trapped in our own sufferings.

 

Let’s make sure that at every workout we are improving in our level of encouragement, motivation and communication. We all have our mission. We need our brotherhood to help us achieve it.

 

EXERCISE: 33 BigBoy Sit Ups

MOT: Reverse Lunge Walk

 

5th Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry His cross – OTHER-CENTERED, CAMARADERIE

 

Simon did not want to help Jesus carry His Cross. He didn’t know Him.

Do we treat some of our brothers the same way? We are willing to encourage and challenge some, the ones we are close with, but the others who we don’t know as well … not so much.

But once Simon began to help Jesus, he grew to know Him, respect Him and love Him.

Let’s build true camaraderie in F3. With everyone! One F3, one heart, one purpose.

 

EXERCISE: 33 Squat jumps

MOT: Crawl Bear

 

6th Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus – COURAGE

 

With angry, drunk, sociopathic soldiers surrounding a man they are en route to nail to a cross

… one extremely courageous, bold, brave woman named Veronica risks her life and her reputation by wiping Jesus’ face with her cloth. She wanted to help in some small way and nothing was going to stop her.

How often do we give in to our fears of what others might say or do! Are we afraid of excellence? Are we afraid of challenging our brothers to do better, to strive harder for perfection?

May we imitate the bold courage of Veronica and let nothing hold us back from helping our brothers get better and to take the lead ourselves rather than waiting for others to do what we know needs to be done.

 

EXERCISE: 33 LBCs,

MOT: Side Shuffle.

 

7th Station: Jesus falls for the second time – PERSEVERANCE

 

Even after Simon comes to help Him, Jesus still falls again. Perseverance is agonizingly difficult at times.

Don’t let falls, failures or embarrassments stop you. Imitate Jesus on His way to Calvary. He fell down again and again, and every time He got back up.

 

He would fulfill His mission. Period.

 

Let’s persevere as a team, let’s fulfill our mission.

 

EXERCISE: 33 Burpees

MOT: Bear Crawl

 

8th Station: Jesus meets the weeping women of Jerusalem – SELFLESSNESS

 

Jesus is being marched to His death and He still takes time to encourage others. He is self- less. He is all about others. He is all about us.

 

Who do we work out for? Ourselves or our brothers? Let’s imitate our Lord and get louder in here. Let’s encourage one another to go harder, finish stronger, with better form, seeking perfection all together.

 

Cowards get quiet in the face of adversity. Leaders get louder.

 

EXERCISE: 33 Hello Dollies

MOT: Lunge Walk

 

9th Station: Jesus falls for the third time – RELENTLESS

 

And another fall. We’ve all been through this. We want to achieve a personal best, break a record, accomplish a goal, see improvement … and we fail.

 

Jesus knows exactly what we are going through. But Jesus was relentless. He always got back up.

 

Jesus teaches us to forget about the failures and focus on the finish. Let’s be relentless.

 

EXERCISE: 33 Burpees

MOT:  Crab Walk

 

 

10th Station: Jesus clothes are taken away – TOUGHNESS

 

Betrayed, arrested, spit on, jailed, slapped, scourged, crowned with thorns, condemned, forced to carry a cross … and now stripped in public.

 

If we ever think that our life is hard, that we have it tough … just think about Jesus in this moment.

 

Jesus = Toughness. Never let anyone tell you that Jesus wasn’t tough.

 

With the blink of an eye He could have destroyed every one of his torturers, yet He took it because He wanted you to be able to look at Him when your life got rough and know that He is with you and with Him you can conquer anything.

 

EXERCISE: 33 Freddie Mercury’s

MOT: Reverse Lunge Walk

 

11th Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross – SACRIFICE

 

We should offer up to God all our sufferings, all our sweat, all our difficulties. We should offer them up as sacrifices in imitation of Christ offering up His own body as a sacrifice and make them into prayers.

 

This workout should be a prayer that we are offering up to God for others and we should name them … Call out your prayers and offerings…

 

That is sacrifice. That’s what Jesus’ crucifixion was all about. Offering Himself for us. Nail your prayers to the cross.

 

EXERCISE: 2 minute air chair

MOT:  Crawl Bear

 

12th Station: Jesus dies on the cross – PASSION

 

Every athlete dreams of being on a team of passionate, dedicated leaders who will do anything and everything necessary to win a championship.

 

Where everyone is absolutely 100% ALL IN. Was anyone more passionate, more ALL IN than Jesus?

 

He did give anything and everything. It’s not a nice cliché with Him. It is reality. He gave His life for you.

Let’s have the passion to give our lives for Him and our brothers.

 

EXERCISE: 33 Cross SitUps

MOT: Side Shuffle.

 

13th Station: Jesus is taken down from the cross – ACCOUNTABILITY, LOYALTY

 

While Jesus was hanging in agony on the cross Mary, Mary Magdalene and John were there with Him at the foot of the cross. They did not abandon Him. They did not run for fear of the mob or the Romans. Jesus could count on them. They were loyal.

 

Are you that kind of brother? Can every one of your brothers count on you to be there for them when adversity hits?

 

Let’s prove to one another that we are that loyal, accountable brother by how strong we finish this workout.

 

EXERCISE: 33 Merkins

MOT: Bear Crawl

 

14th Station: Jesus is placed in the tomb – HOPE, CONFIDENCE

 

Jesus’ passion and death were not the end. Just as our own sufferings and death are not the end. Jesus’ death was in fact the new beginning. He conquered death and rose from the dead and changed everything!

 

This workout should renew us, give us hope and strengthen us both individually and as a team. We CAN achieve greatness … we were made for eternity … we were made for Heaven.

 

May our struggles, sweat and pain in the gloom give us the confidence to know that with Christ and our brethren, we can conquer the temptations of the flesh, the world, and the devil and accomplish the mission that God has put before us. .

 

In Christ we can conquer.

 

Thanks to Sigon Sam from F3 Greensboro and Full Monty from F3 Jax and a few others for providing resources which I gladly “borrowed” and added some Chilipepper to…

 

Announcements

• Gator wilderness
• Sat May 14
• Cleveland May 21st CSAUP
• Alzheimer’s walk in October

 

Praises

• ShamWow improvement

 

Prayers

• SAN Antonio ride 60 miles
• Baryshnikov
• Lancelot
• Ripken
• Bell ringer

Thanks brothers for these 5 years of being pushed beyond my limits!

Happy Easter!  The Lord Has Risen!!