FROM A PURE STAND

Jesus, the Christ, suffered,
like what falls from a pure stand,
with all majesty stripped and beauty no more,
bearing sin and hurts and a whipping strand—
the punishment humbly He bore.
 
Jesus, God’s Son, perished,
like what dies dead on the ground,
left to waste and decay, where graves take back,
cast away and disowned but not making a sound—
obedience, none did He lack.
 
Jesus, our Lord, descended,
like what goes under the floor,
where there is no esteem in the lengthening of day,
smitten and stricken, where shadows grow more—
the price He did willingly pay.

He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

Like one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isaiah 53:3                                                     

 

FROM A PURE STAND

Like Advent for Christmas, Lent for Easter is beginning. We prepare for the coming Good Friday season, remembering how Jesus willingly went to the cross for us and bore our sin on it. He could have called a thousand angels to His side, but He didn’t. And He went knowing not everyone would believe. 

Then Easter Day came! We prepare for the glorious Easter Day, the resurrection! The Living God raised His Son Jesus Christ from the dead three days after He died. This is only possible from the Sovereign, Almighty, Omnipotent, Living God! 

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved. The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people. Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.

Psalm 99:1-3

The Bible tells us God loves us dearly.

The Bible also tells us pain filled God’s heart.

And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

Genesis 6:6

God had seen the great wickedness of people just before the flood and that every imagination of their hearts was evil continually. God can have grief today, or any day, filling His heart. The love in God’s heart is immense, as we know. But pain must also be immense, as we may not know.

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 4:13-15

Jesus, also, knows the feeling of our infirmities. The old hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus rings true. We do have a friend who sticks closer than a brother. And who also happens to be the Savior of the world, the Miracle-Worker, and the One who kicked Satan in the derriere.

There will be a day when God’s Son, Jesus, declares war. Jesus will destroy Satan for good, throwing the evil one, and all who go with him, into the lake of fire. God will have His vengeance. Jesus will avenge His own. This statement should cause anyone to sit up and take notice—to get their affairs in order before our Creator—to get their heart right with God. Make no mistake about God’s Word. It always rings true.

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God.

Ephesians 2:6-8

A wooded area that is not mixed with any other type of tree is said to be a ‘pure stand’. There are pure stands of oak trees, pine, beech and maple trees. In these splendid groves, one can be reminded of our Creator and the stand we make for Him. Creation itself speaks of the holiness of our Creator, if we have the ears to hear.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Please keep praying for the country of Ukraine. I have a friend here in my neck of the words who is Ukrainian, she and her family and other families. Our hearts are heavy. Continue to lift prayerful concerns before the Lord. Pray for Russia too. May hearts glorify Christ.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23:6

Like David, the psalmist who wrote Psalm 23 and who witnessed many hardships in his day including fighting the giant Goliath, hold fast to faith. Stand with beautiful feet, look ahead, and trust salvation’s mercy and goodness.