BLOG PAGE - It’s All About Jesus

There Is A Wholly Beautiful Uniqueness

There Is A Wholly Beautiful Uniqueness

There is a wholly beautiful uniqueness
about each and every person’s life
lived right here upon this earth
day-by-day with faith in Jesus
who is the Son of God and the Son of Man
Immanuel (God With Us), the very
Lamb of God, the great I AM,
who died, was raised victorious
eternally over death and sin and
lives in every believer born again
a conqueror empowered
by the Holy Spirit who breathes
into every redeemed soul God’s
individual redemptive flame
lit as a light for the darkened world
even as the Creator placed each
star in the heavens to dance their praises
for the glory of their Maker, the One
who not only lovingly
makes them but calls them by name.

************

God’s Holy Church mirrors the wonders of the galaxies and the stars in the heavens above. As each galaxy and every star has their precious and precise place in the glorious dance across the heavens, so every member of God’s family has their place in His living, growing, glorious Church. And every person’s unique place fits exactly in God’s eternal Purpose. We discern this from Scripture:

Genesis 19:1-6
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs it course with joy.
its rising from the ends of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

***************

And so, I take joy in looking around me throughout my present and my past from my own experience within my own faith family. I am so blessed as I identify and appreciate the uniqueness, the shaping and the molding and the perfecting of gifts within my church family. Each individual fits just right in the midst of the beauty and glory God reveals while the Holy Spirit unifies and perfects our shared testimony to our Savior and His Gospel—the salvation and glorification of His own children, His people as we worship Him and serve others in the world around us. It is His Glory and His Gospel and by His Spirit that He works within us as He draws people to Himself and His Salvation.

Even so I praise God for Bible teachers who so love the Word, they dig deep and seek the Holy Spirit’s leading as they discover God’s Truth to share in all its glory, revealing the truth for the Church, which challenges, corrects, encourages and uplifts us and His disciples. In so doing, God uses them to prepare us for His declaration and manifestation of the Gospel all around us in our community, and beyond us throughout the world. Both in the present and in the past we have been blessed by those who answered this calling and gifting in their lives among us, pastors, teachers, and disciplers.

And again, I praise God for prayer warriors, who both in their private closets and within our faith groupings pray as if the life of our church depends on God’s gift of prayer. IT DOES! Faithfully, day-and-night they praise God, they seek His Face, they pour out their hearts’ concerns for His people and for His world. They thank Him for every blessing He bestows as He in joy answers their Spirit directed prayers. They pray both individually and in community with others. Before all, they pray. Throughout all, they pray. About all, they pray. Anticipating all, they pray. God uses their prayers gathered in His Holy Hands as He strengthens, as He inspires, and as He guides our Church.

And then I praise God for those who powerfully declare God’s Truth. Our hearts, individually, in small groups, and as a faith family, sorely need God’s Truth—inspired by the Holy Spirit to lift us up when we are down, to correct our path when we go astray, and to challenge us when we need to claim new territory for our Lord. How blessed we are for these who often speak the Truth that we must hear, whether it sounds dear in the midst of our troubles, or even though it seems hard in the midst of our wandering. How blessed we are by their careful seeking out His Truth for proclamation, for the way they open their own souls for both inspiration and correction. How blessed we are by the long hours they spend in His Word, and in prayer, making sure they have correctly discerned His message for each of us and all of us in the midst of our need. How blessed we are as He feeds them, His servants, and all of us through them.

Praise God for gifted, called, and surrendered worshippers who so clearly reflect His glory before us. Praise God for their sincerity and for the beauty of their musical offerings of thanksgiving before Him. Praise God for the inspiration of their testimonies which lift us up as they invite us to join them in worship. Praise God for the power with which His Holy Spirit speaking in and through them draws us in our hearts before His Throne. Praise God for their willingness to stand before us and declare the goodness of our Lord. Praise God for the way God uses their offerings to open up our minds and prepare us for the declaration of His Word. Praise God for the way in which their songs touch us when we find joy even in the face of sorrow. Praise God for the way His voice uses theirs to bring us healing when we feel hurt, discouraged, or lost. Praise God that we can join with these worshippers lifting up His Holy Name for all the goodness He displays.

Praise God for those who walk humbly and lovingly among us, ministering by their gifted spirits and personalities, serving us when we are in need. Praise God for how the Holy Spirit sensitizes their hearts to know when we need a word, a touch, a smile, a laugh, a shared tear, a helping hand, or a prayer. Praise God for how they uplift us when we need His touch through them and their genuine and caring hearts. Praise God when their courage in ministry inspires our own as they walk beside us. Praise God when God’s own assurance of His Presence right there beside us becomes so obvious through the caring “hugs” they share. Praise God for their knowing and obeying His Call when He summons them to love us from afar, or right up close beside us. Praise God for how their loving care testifies to God’s own loving care. Praise God, for such as these, His humble servants, are always there.

Praise God for those who heroically and faithfully and beautifully testify with their day-to-day lives how God makes all things possible through Jesus our Savior. Praise God for those who over the years never falter, though their paths through life may be more complicated than others. Praise God for those whose strength in facing this life lies outside the common path. Praise God for how He uses these blessed pilgrims as they inspire us and help focus our eyes on Jesus. Praise God for the privilege of knowing and serving and loving precious souls such as these. Praise God for how He reaches deep into our hearts and teaches us humility and gratitude and obedience through such inspired lives as these. Praise God for their genuine smiles and their absolute lack of guile. Praise God for their lives reminding us daily how we each must depend on Him and His faithful Love.

Praise God for those among us who keep our eyes from focusing only on ourselves and those close around us. Praise God for those who remind us that God calls each of His children in taking the Gospel to ALL the world. Praise God for those who remind us that He expects our full participation in Great Commission obedience throughout the world, through prayer, through our witness, through our ministry, and through our obedient giving. Praise God for those who remind us that God’s vision always takes us beyond acting as if we begin with our own, and then if we have a little left over; share with those beyond us. Praise God for those who go themselves beyond us, and calls us to support with our prayer and gifts their going in obedience to their Gospel calling, because in reality, their calling is our calling, also. Praise God for those who call us never to be satisfied until all people everywhere in the world have heard the Gospel for themselves.

Now, I challenge you to spend some time remembering and recognizing before God those who fit within your own faith family, these categories of those who bless you and others also. Thank God by name for those who share your own faith walk, who represent the different blessings which add to your daily walk with Him. Think present and past. Think of those close beside you. Think of those who challenge you. Think of those who inspire you. Think of those who confront you. Think of those who encourage you. Think of those who comfort you. Thank God for them, all of them. Thank God for Jesus who has saved and transformed them. Thank Him for the Holy Spirit who indwells and inspires them. Thank God as He continues to grow and bless and use your faith family in accomplishing His Eternal Gospel Purpose.

May this be our prayer, now and forever. Amen!

Leave a Comment

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Mike Stonecypher

Uncategorized

What Else But The Gospel?

What Else But The Gospel?

What else but the Gospel
in these turbulent times
can hold our hopes and dreams
in the midst of chaos and of strife?

What else but the Gospel
proclaimed on every page
through the Bible can open
up our hearts and minds and strength?

What else but the Gospel
recalls us to the Garden and
our relationship with God
based on obedience and trust?

What else but the Gospel
demonstrates with the Law
how in ourselves there can be
no holiness without sacrifice?

What else but the Gospel
gifts us with the Prophets
pointing forward to the One
who would fulfill God’s Promise?

What else but the Gospel
brings us the Living One
our Messiah to fulfill every
promise faithful to the End?

What else but the Gospel
lived and walked among us
illustrating God’s perfect Love
as he fed and taught and healed?

What else but the Gospel
lay down His perfect life
our lamb to bear our sin
and heal our broken hearts?

What else but the Gospel
rose triumphant from the
grave victorious over sin
and pain and tears and death?

What else but the Gospel
in Holy Spirit power
renews our battered
hearts and makes us new again?

************

Indeed, what else but the Gospel? What else but the Good News?
Jesus said it best. Just read His words in John 14:1-7:

”Let not your hearts be troubled.
Believe also in me.
In my Father’s house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.
I will come again
and take you to myself,
that where I am
you may be also.
And you know the way to where
I am going.”
Thomas said to him,
”Lord, we do not know where you are going.”
How can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him,
“I am the way,
and the truth,
and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through me.
If you had known me,
you would have known my Father also.
From now on you do know him
and have seen him.”

When asked by Thomas to show him and the other disciples the way to where He was going, He clearly identified Himself, not only as the Way to God, but also as the truth about God, and also as the life in God. He went on to explain to Thomas and the other disciples that it was only in Him, Jesus,that they could come to God. Then He said, to know Jesus was to know the Father. And finally He explained, to His disciples, and so to ourselves, that we all could come to know and see God in Jesus. In truth Jesus was pointing to Himself as the Incarnation of God upon the Earth, come among the people on the Earth to provide the Way to God, the Truth of God, and the Life in God. This is the heart of the Gospel: God loved the world so much that Jesus came among us, so that if we place our trust in Him, we experience the wonders of eternal life—that is, life in God now and forever.

God gave the Prophet Isaiah an incredibly vivid
picture of Jesus and His suffering on our account.
We read this in Isaiah 52:13-53:12:

“Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
so shall he sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

It is no wonder so many Bible scholars refer to Isaiah as a fifth Gospel, or as the Old Testament Gospel. This prophet and poet beautifully explores the role of the suffering servant as the Lamb of God. It is no wonder John the Baptist so labels Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Isaiah identifies this servant as the one who bears our grief and our sorrows. In Isaiah’s words, this One seems to be stricken and afflicted by God. But, he explains, this One is pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. As we know from the Old Testament sacrificial system, the sacrificial lamb, had to be perfect and without blemish. So, Jesus was sacrificed not for any sin He had committed—He had no sin. It was for us He was slain on the Cross. This is at the heart of the Gospel. Isaiah explains—everyone of us has failed to obey God’s Law, so Jesus paid it all for us all, once and for all.

Then, in Psalm 22 David provides a heart wrenching description
of Jesus and His suffering on the Cross for our sin.
In fact, Jesus, is recorded is having quoted this
devastating cry:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
‘He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!’
Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog!
Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.”

In this unforgettable Psalm David opens his horrific depiction of suffering as the suffering servant cries out to God with the plea, “Why have you forsaken me?” Here again is the heart of the Gospel: Because every one of us has forsaken God’s Way, we need a Savior. That Savior is Jesus upon the Cross. It must be Jesus because only He has remained sinless throughout His LIfe. Only He can pay the price for our forgiveness. That price is heavy. There is intense physical pain. There is horrible mental anguish. There is intolerable humiliation. But most of all there is the experience of being separated from the perfect Love of God for the first time in all of eternity. This is the harshest punishment of all—the one that brings to our Savior’s lips that haunting call; “Why have you forsaken me?” Only He can know the depth of this spiritual agony. Only He can know the suffering of having lived forever in perfect harmony with God, only to experience the loss of that precious reality, that peace, that joy, that love shared together as God, the Father, the Son, and the Sprit. It is a suffering much greater than we can fully comprehend. It is a suffering so great it caused the earth and the heavens, both to be shaken to their core. Herein is the dramatic Love of God acted out on the Cross of our Lord Jesus. Herein we discover the depths of the Gospel.

In perfect Love Christ died for our sins.
In perfect Love Christ was buried.
In perfect Love Christ rose again the third day
according to the Scriptures.
Truly, truly, fully, forever we are blessed.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

1 Comment

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Mike Stonecypher

Uncategorized

Praise God! It’s Spring!

Praise God! It’s Spring

Song of Solomon 2: 11-13

. . . for behold, the winter is past;
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
The fig trees ripens its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.

What is this beautiful bravado
a daffodil displays like a forward platoon
as if defying the coldness of winter
and declaring the warmth of spring’s arising?

Can You Imagine?

Can you imagine a springtime
without all her pretty flowers,
with no daffodils hurrying
with their bright blossoms
rustling bravely in the freezing
breezes while winter ends?

And what of the whitening pride
of the pear trees bright white
all in a line mirroring the clouds
shimmering silver singing sweet psalms reflecting the sun?

Can you imagine a springtime
without all her pretty flowers,
with no pear trees whitening
like clouds in the heavens,
glimmering as the sunshine
glorifies the horizon?

Then come those glorious tulips
trumpeting the news: the Resurrected rules
while every garden rejoices
resounding with fresh, reborn, exultant praise.

Can you imagine a springtime
without all her pretty flowers,
with no tulips resurrected,
risen, their alleluias
resounding across the
world, joy arising?

What about the dogwoods so delightful
proclaiming Jesus’ parable, His death and
his rising sharing His Good News
scattered happily all around?

Can you imagine a springtime
without all her pretty flowers,
with all the redbuds and all
the dogwoods flaunting their
splendid array of pastels
scattered across the forests?

And then I think of azaleas
every blossom a jewel majestic
among multitudes of sisters
singing their choruses of glorious praises.

Can you imagine a springtime
without all her pretty flowers;
azaleas, begonias,
irises, eventually
lilies and gladiolas,
dancing for God’s glory.

An iris rises elegant and lovely
like some princess royal, holy to the Lord
bold witness to His glory magnificent
resplendent yet worshipping His Goodness.

Can you imagine a springtime
triumphant over one more winter
without this vast display busting
forth in resurrection
power, God’s reminder His
own Son has indeed arisen?

It seems like gladiolas stretch
their bright blossoms to the sky
reaching toward the One who
makes them all for the beauty of the earth.

Can you imagine the awful
price the Son as the Lamb has paid
carrying the heavy weight of sin,
enduring the absence
of the Father’s own Love
so we might in Him, live?

For us every flower abounds in praise
placed precisely in His Garden
a beauty among the beauties
who each and every lovely one
in joy bows down to the King of Kings.

Leave a Comment

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Mike Stonecypher

Uncategorized

Holy Week

JESUS THROUGHOUT HOLY WEEK

(You may perhaps enjoy using these Scriptures and
thoughts day-by-by day this Holy Week
while we walk with Jesus
His last week upon the earth.)

Keep Your Mind On Jesus

My name really doesn’t matter.
As a Levite I am used to doing
the task assigned
by the Priests;
I am trained to do their bidding
while I serve as a scribe writing
down their lofty
opinions.

But this one time I am writing
about Someone more important—
I am simply
writing down
this Holy Week what I have
seen and what I have heard
in tribute to the Lord.

Zechariah 9:9

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

************
On Sunday He entered on a donkey
as solemn and as grand as the grandest
of kings, as the
Prophet Zechariah
had written prophesying how Messiah
would come into holy Jerusalem
in God’s Timing—
His Kingdom Come.

Mark 11:15-17

And they came to Jerusalem.
And he entered the temple
and began to drive out those
who sold and those who bought in the temple,
and he overturned the tables of the money-changers
and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
And he would not allow anyone to carry
anything through the temple.
And he was teaching them and saying to them,
“Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer
for all the nations’?
But you have made it a den of robbers.”

Psalm 69:9

For zeal for your house has consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who
reproach you have fallen on me.

************

Oh, He looked like a mighty champion
for our people when, with the whip
in His hand as He
drove out the thieves
who had turned our sacrificial system
into no more than a scheme to grab
our coins for the
powerful.

And though they were my betters, so-to-speak,
in the Temple, I knew they would
hold His attack
against Him,
for they profited from the sacrilege
going on all all around us as
money changers
did their business.

Mark 11:27-33

And they came again to Jerusalem.
And as he was walking in the temple,
the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,
and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?”Jesus said to them,
“I will ask you one question; answer me,
and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?
Answer me.” And they discussed it with one another,
saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say,
‘Why then did you not believe him?’
But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people,
for they all held that John really was a prophet.
So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”
And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you
by what authority I do these things.”

************

I must confess I rejoiced in my heart
as Jesus stood toe-to-toe in arguing
about His actions
in the Temple;
they demanded where He got His
authority, and then He proved His
wisdom when
He asked them;
”Where did John get his authority
for his baptizing for baptizing?”
Well, what could
they say?
For they had clearly doubted John
had Heaven’s blessing as he did,
but the people
admired him;
so they could not question John
as if he were some charlatan—
so they could not
answer Jesus.
Then He would not answer their
question for they had refused
to answer his—
He had them,
and these proud and pompous men
had to leave him with the people
who knew He won
this battle.

Matthew 26:6-13

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,
a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment,
and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.
And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant,
saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold
for a large sum and given to the poor.”
But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman?
For she has done a beautiful thing to me.
For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.
In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world,
what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Matthew 26:14-15

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
“What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?”
And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.

************

As the days passed by I marveled at all
that Jesus did and said, and at the
refusal of some to
see His Glory;
even His disciples seemed worried
and confused as He continued
to demonstrate His
Love for His own—
for when Mary overcome with her
great love and her gratitude
anointed His blessed
feet at Simon’s house,
they reacted to the price she paid
rather than precious love she
demonstrated
for our Lord.

And on this very day Judas, among
His twelve made his deal, selling
His Master for
twenty pieces;
I cannot imagine such a darkened
heart that would barter with such
enemies
for his Lord.

John 13: 2-9

During supper, when the devil
had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot,
Simon’s son, to betray him,
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands,
and that he had come from God and was going back to God,
rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments,
and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him,
“What I am doing you do not understand now,
but afterward you will understand.”
Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you,
you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him,
“Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

John 13: 34-35

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another:
just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”

************

Such a beautiful setting for such an extraordinary
commandment for the Master to give to HIs disciples:
He began by washing
their feet,
and then He challenged them to love each other
even as He had shown them a servant’s love;
acting in love
as He served them.
John never forgot that powerful parable
(as He explained much later to me)
as his own
actions proved.

Indeed, God’s Kingdom being established
through the shocking events of this
week that would
change the world
would continue conquering nations through
perfect, sacrificial love, but not
in the ways
of our world.

John 19: 4-6

Pilate went out again and said to them,
“See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.
Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out,
“Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”

John 19: 12

From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out,
“If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

John 19:14-16

Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover.
It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

John 19:30

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said,
“It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

************

It is almost too much to bear, the horror of it all:
As the trial proceeded I could not believe it.
The Governor
tried to save Him,
but His very people demanded His death—
How could they not see He was our
Messiah Promised
by our God.

Even Pilate could see He was no guilty man,
He was an extraordinary person like no other
he had ever
met before.
But our leaders acted like an ugly mob and
even proclaimed Caesar their king while
screeching
“Crucify Jesus!”

Pilate, the pagan, somehow recognized
the nobility of this persecuted man,
but it did Him
no good,
for the governor did not have the strength
to stand against this rioting mob—
He surrendered
to their demand.

But Jesus knew, He knew why He bore this
burden for all these people, good and bad
and He finished
God’s task for Him.
He knew the weight of our sin.
He knew the penalty for our sin.
So He took it
upon Himself.

Luke 23: 55-56

The women who had come with him from Galilee
followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid.
Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.
On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment

************

The Apostle John told me about these faithful women,
faithful in love for our Lord, and in obedience
to the Sabbath
Law of God;
they were looking forward to the first day of the week,
even from the day of preparation in the midst
of their greatest,
harshest grief,
for they had stayed and watched with His mother
and the Apostle John until the very end when
He surrendered
at last to death.

Ironically His chosen disciples were gathered
hidden, terrified in their grief and shock,
together alone
without Jesus;
focused upon the danger they sensed since
they were known to be His followers
who had best
known Him.

I recall myself how I felt the agony
of wondering how it seemed so wrong,
the opposite of
my hopes
now that the One who appeared so fully
the Messiah, promised for our people
lay now dead and cold
in Joseph’s tomb.

Luke 24: 1-12

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb,
taking the spices they had prepared.
And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were perplexed about this, behold,
two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.
And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground,
the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you,
while he was still in Galilee,
that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men
and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb
they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James
and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles,
but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in,
he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home
marveling at what had happened.

***********

”He is not here, but has risen.” Here is joy
I believe with all my heart. Here is joy
bursting forth
like sunrise
filling up and overflowing all my soul:
here is joy that seemed too good
to be true,
but it’s real . . .
He is risen! Jesus my Lord and my Savior,
He is risen! I have seen Him! He is risen indeed!
And because He lives,
I live!
I live inspired by His loving power
bursting out from His borrowed tomb,
and because He lives,
I live.
Death could not hold Him, death could
not keep Him from His eternal glory,
and because He lives,
I live.

Leave a Comment

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Mike Stonecypher

Uncategorized

Jesus Bore The Cross For Me Part Three

Jesus Bore the Cross For Me, Part Three

Remarkable! Extraordinary! Incredible! All of these, and so much more. Such is the Love of God expressed in Jesus bearing all of our sins and the penalty of separation from Him and death as He suffered and died upon the Cross. Such is the Love God has for you and me and every one of His children. Truly, fully, surely, we are blessed. So, let’s reflect upon what Jesus has done for us on the Cross one more time.

JESUS BORE THE CROSS FOR ME

Jesus bore the cross for me,
Jesus bore the cross for you,
Our Savior chose to die
so we could live with Him.

I praise Him with my heart,
I choose Him with my soul.
I believe Him with my mind,
I serve Him with my strength.

God’s own eternal plan
led Jesus to the cruel cross
to take the sting of death
and crush the serpent’s head.

I praise Him with my heart,
I choose Him with my soul.
I believe Him with my mind,
I serve Him with my strength.

The serpent did his worst,
he offered all he had,
he spoke his boldest lies
but Jesus spoke God’s Word.

I praise Him with my heart,
I choose Him with my soul.
I believe Him with my mind,
I serve Him with my strength.

The Pharisees set traps,
the Sadducees sowed doubt,
the Romans mocked the King,
but Jesus chose to die.

I praise Him with my heart,
I choose Him with my soul.
I believe Him with my mind,
I serve Him with my strength.

Peter denied his Lord,
disciples ran away,
they left Him all alone
while Jesus chose to die.

I praise Him with my heart,
I choose Him with my soul.
I believe Him with my mind,
I serve Him with my strength.

Mary stood with her son,
John stood beneath the cross,
some stood close by and mocked,
but Jesus died for love.

I praise Him with my heart,
I choose Him with my soul.
I believe Him with my mind,
I serve Him with my strength.

The soldiers did their job,
cast lots for His dear robe.
Would they call His own name?
Jesus, the Son of God.

I praise Him with my heart,
I choose Him with my soul.
I believe Him with my mind,
I serve Him with my strength.

Jesus fully knew the work He had come to earth to do. He knew this had been God’s eternal Gospel Plan from all of eternity. He knew He would be born in Bethlehem; He would preach and teach the Kingdom of God; He would heal many and cast out many demons; He would raise people from the dead; He would work mighty miracles; He would appeal to those whose hearts were open; He would declare truth openly to those whose hearts were not open; many would listen; some would believe; many would oppose Him; and in the end, He would be arrested, tried, condemned and crucified. But that would not be the end. He would rise from the dead on the third day, even as the Scriptures had predicted; and you and I, as we believed in, repented and trusted in Him—we would be given the indescribable gift of eternal life. Praise God! And so, He triumphantly declared from the Cross, “It is finished!” Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

From His Very First Step

From His very first step
upon this earth
Jesus was making His Way
toward the Cross
where He would pay
the debt for
sin we owed,
each of us.

From the day His parents
found Him in the
Temple in Jerusalem
Jesus was walking
the Father’s own Way
for Him as He
sought Him
everyday.

As he taught and as He
healed and as He
fed the thousands and walked on
water Jesus sought
to follow as His
Father led Him
always toward
the Cross.

At the tomb of His friend,
Lazarus, He
raised Him to live even as
He knew He chose
the path leading
Him surely toward
His death for us
on the Cross.

Upon the cross He lifted
Himself and prayed
to the Father; “Forgive them,
they do not know
the evil they
do and the price
I willingly
choose to pay.”

No wonder He said when He
bowed His head, as
His pilgrimage for all
our sin came to
its end; “It is
finished.” God’s
Mission was
accomplished.

When all had been accomplished, when sin and death had been slain. When the price had been paid, when the Lamb of God had paid the eternal price. When God’s eternal Gospel plan had been fulfilled. Then Jesus, our Lord and our Savior cried out to His Father with absolute faith; “Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.” Jesus knew the Father. While Holy God could not look upon all our sin carried by Jesus on the Cross, once death had come, eliminating the penalty for that sin; Jesus knew He could count on God’s precious promise in Isaiah 49:15: “I will not forget you . . . I have carved you on the palm of my hand.” Jesus not only claimed that beautiful promise for Himself. He claimed it for you and for me. We can make our precious last words, just as victorious as those of our Savior. We can declare with confidence, even with our last breath, “Father, into your hands, I commit my Spirit.” That will simply be our speaking the absolute truth. What a debt we owe.

What A Debt I Owe

What a debt I owe
to the perfect love of Jesus
and His life and death for me
and His resurrection power
and God’s forgiveness
complete and eternal
and the Holy Spirit’s
Guarantee and presence.

What a debt I owe
for His Words upon the Cross
even as He was dying;
“Father, please forgive them,
they know not what they’re doing.”
. . . and to the dying thief;
”Today, you will be with
me (free) in paradise;

. . . and then to His dear
mother, “Behold your (new) son,”
and then to His beloved
friend, “ Behold your mother;”
and as He shuddered and
shouldered our (every) sin;
“My God, my God, , why have
you forsaken me?”

. . . Then in longing for
all He had lost, His blood, his
sweat, his tears—He gasped,
“I thirst;” . . . and finally,
in triumph He declared
”Father, into Your hands
I commit my spirit.”
. . . And then He died.

What a debt I owe
to the perfect love of Jesus
and His life and death for me
and His resurrection power
and God’s forgiveness
complete and eternal
and the Holy Spirit’s
guarantee and presence.

Hallelujah! Praise You Jesus!
You have given Your life for me.
Hallelujah! Praise You Jesus!
You have destroyed all my sin.
Hallelujah! Praise You Jesus!
You have spilled Your precious blood
to cleanse my heart, my soul, my mind.
Hallelujah! Praise You Jesus!

Leave a Comment

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Mike Stonecypher

Uncategorized

Jesus Bore The Cross For Me, Part Two

Leave a Comment

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Mike Stonecypher

Uncategorized

Jesus Bore The Cross For Me, Part One