FROM A PURE STAND

Jesus, the Christ, suffered,

like what falls from a pure stand;

with 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 low on the ground;

left to waste and decay, where the grave takes back,

cast away, 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 at the end of the 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

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, pine, beech and maple trees. In these splendid groves, one can be reminded of our Creator who sent His Son, Jesus, from the realms of Heaven to mankind.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Jesus willingly went to the cruel cross for us and poured out His life for the remission of our sin. Our debt was completely satisfied. Only Jesus could have paid it. And He could have called a thousand angels to His side but He didn’t. He humbled Himself and obeyed His Father’s will to go to Calvary, to shed His own innocent blood for us, the sinful, knowing not everyone would believe in Him. He left His pure, Heavenly realm to die the sinner's death for us. Creation itself reminds me of the holiness and determination of our Creator to have a relationship with us.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 

John 3:3

Be born again. Be saved! Not all will see the kingdom of God. Not all will walk on streets of gold. 

What does the Bible say about gold in Heaven?

For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.

Hebrews 9:24

When Moses went up Mount Sinai to meet with God, God gave him the blueprints for the tabernacle that the Israelites were to build. The gold they plundered from the Egyptians (which God had said in Exodus 3:21-22 would happen before it did, as we read later in the Exodus account) provided the gold used in the construction. By God's presence and power, He glorified the meeting place. Here in Hebrews, we learn that those blueprints were a copy of the tabernacle in Heaven.

"You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width."

Exodus 25:17

In the tabernacle, the cherubim were made of gold and so were other items. The gold-plated Ark of the Covenant was there. All were made holy by God's power. None of it was made holy by men.

And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 2:11

Jesus, God incarnate, left His home in Heaven, His glory, and became a baby, a life born limited, although not for Him! At His birth, gold was one of the gifts given. I'm sure Mary and Joseph used this wealth to help them. God provides, doesn't He? Even from great distances. And miraculously!

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

Revelation 1:12-13

The book of Revelation reveals images of Jesus and angels in Heaven and prophecy about the future. There are golden crowns, golden candlesticks, golden bowls, golden censers, golden streets, and the Heavenly city made of gold.

The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

Revelation 21:18

And this is Heaven's gold, mind you! Not Earthly gold. I wonder if it's more spectacular. I wonder if it's more priceless. I imagine so.

May you be encouraged to live a life trusting Jesus. Live a life trusting God's Word to see Heaven's gold for yourself.

 

FOR THE JOY: AN EASTER POETRY BOOK   update...

It's still slow going. Maybe spring weather would help! I didn't paint since the last post. My painting is collecting dust. But I have chiseled away at a few poems. I was happy to reach out to a pastor friend who in turn reached out to another pastor friend for help in getting the Aramaic translation of 'I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly' from John 10:10. This Aramaic phrase will be the title and last line of a poem in the resurrection half of the book.

FOCUS ON PRAYER

Please pray that representatives in the House will stand for American citizens above illegal immigrants. ILLEGAL immigrants. Can the illegal people have any respect to come into the country legally? My grandparents from Sweden came legally. What a trouble it is that the elected people in the House of our government did not show support for the nation's citizens over illegal immigrants nor respect for the office of presidency at the State of the Union address. Please pray for American citizens to elect better representatives.

IN CONCLUSION

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:3-7

We believers are kept by the power of God. Even if killed, God will work it out. It pays to live a life trusting Him. Faith, more precious than gold, leads to the gold in Heaven.