ransomed – Song Dive

The next entry for my Blog is I Stand Amazed in the Presence, which was written by Charles H. Gabriel in 1905. It was first released in April 9, 2021. A link to Extended Life Fellowship singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

I Stand Amazed in the Presence

I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.

Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be;
Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

For me it was in the garden
He prayed, “Not My will but Thine;”
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine.

Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be;
Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden on Calv’ry,
And suffered and died alone.

Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be;
Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
‘Twill be my joy thro’ the ages
To sing of His love for me.

Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be;
Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

There are a lot of songs which are focused on the trials we face in our lives and how God is there to lift us up and get our lives back on the right track. This is a song about coming face to face with Jesus and what it might be like. This hymn has been around for over 100 years, but the truth and hope still ring out with power and promise. When we get our first chance to stand face to face with Jesus, I am thinking I will be completely awestruck and speechless. Just imagine that feeling as you look into his eyes and see and feel an undying love for you. It is so hard to understand why he would die for someone who is a sinner such as I. We have all sinned, but Jesus forgave those sins when we accepted him as our personal savior. Even though I am sinless in his eyes, I still have to wonder how he could love me unconditionally. I was a sinner, I am a sinner, and will always be a sinner; but he no longer sees any of that. I can’t help but believe that I will fall on my knees and weep uncontrollably since it was because of people like me that he had to die on the cross.

The chorus puts words into the feelings of our heart as we stand before our savior. I believe this is the type of chorus that will be with us for eternity. We will continue to offer up our praise to Jesus for the never-ending love he has for us.

The garden referenced in the lyrics is the Garden of Gethsemane in Israel. This is a garden where Jesus went to pray the night of his betrayal. We find this in Mark 14:32-36. “They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, sit here while I pray. He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, he said to them. Stay here and keep watch. Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that, if possible, the hour might pass from him. Abba, Father, he said, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” In another scripture passage in the book of Luke, we find that Jesus prayed so hard that he sweated drops of blood. He knew what was coming, he knew he was going to be crucified. The man in him asked God to not let this happen, but the faith he had through the love of his father allowed him to accept his fate. He didn’t cry tears for his own fate, he knew he was going back home to heaven; but he cried the tears for us so we could also go to our heavenly home. He was willing to die for us, regardless of the pain he would incur; he loved us so much that on the night he accepted his death as a trade for us getting eternal life.

Jesus knew what he was facing when he accepted God’s will for him. He did not resist his arrest nor did he make any excuses for his message of salvation to everyone he encountered. He had seen people hanging from crosses, since that was a common form of execution by the Romans. He saw their pain, the blood flowing from their wounds, heard their screaming, and saw their tears; but he willingly accepted his fate knowing that he would soon be joining them. Jesus knew he was bearing the sins of the world and that the burden he was carrying at this moment was greater than any of us can begin to fathom. He also knew, that if he did not fulfill his mission, we would be unable to spend eternity in heaven and would end up in the fiery pit of hell. Instead, our lives would end at the time of our physical death and the grave, there would be no eternal life in heaven. As he was dying on that cross, he became encumbered with the sins of the world; and in that brief time he was separated from God the father by the sins he was now bearing. Imagine being separated from your child or your father; then think about how you would feel if this separation was not your fault. Jesus essentially died alone, due to the darkness of the sins he took upon himself. The day he died on the cross on the mount called Calvary, was one of the worst physical days anyone could endure, but it was also the most wonderful day for all of us who have accepted him as the son of God.

For those of us who have accepted the sacrifice of Christ and for those who will accept him in the future, our eternal home is secured. We are ransomed by his death on the cross, we are no longer prisoners of our sins. What a joy that will be, to see the one who died so I could spend eternity with my family and friends who also accepted his sacrifice. It will for sure be a time of singing, praise, and fellowship with the one who made this happen. I know that I will stand amazed in the presence of Jesus. This one man, who grew up in Nazareth, a town of under 500 people, gave hope to the entire world.

Keep this verse in your heart always, from John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Click to Hear Extended Life Worship Sing I Stand Amazed in the Presence

The next entry for my Blog is Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone), which was written by Giglio Louie. It was first released in 2006. A link to the Chris Tomlin singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog. The original version of Amazing Grace was written by John Newton in 1772.

Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)

Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love
Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love
Amazing grace

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, who called me here below
Will be forever mine, will be forever mine
You are forever mine

Think of a word or phrase that carries the most powerful impact on someone’s life. I know this might be a challenging request, since there are so many great words and phrases that positively impact us in a special or powerful way. The title of this song doesn’t necessarily stand out as the answer to my request, but when you look at the true meaning of grace; you will hopefully agree that this is one of the most powerful songs ever written. I believe that, deep inside, we all want to be better people. We want to be better for ourselves as well as for others. We want to be liked, loved, and embraced as we greet other people; but what happens when we do things wrong and people can’t seem to get past our mistakes and errors in judgement? Depending on what we may have said or what we have done, people will not let us into or back into their lives nor will they forgive or forget what we have done. We put ourselves in a situation where we live in regret and then start trying to avoid others. We are seemingly stuck with our past and this guilt becomes the chains that hold us back. We want to be free, but are unsure of how to break through our bondage and move forward in our lives.

Now, let’s look at the title of this song, the word to focus on is grace. In looking at this through the lens of Christianity, grace is defined as the unmerited favor of God. More simply put, it is a free gift of forgiveness and mercy regardless of what we have done in our lives. All God asks of us is to accept his son Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we then receive God’s forgiveness for every mistake we have made in our lives; past, present, and future. God’s grace is immediate. No matter what we have done in our life, God is willing to forgive us. People may or may not forgive our flaws, but God is the one who controls our eternity and the one who should be the most important being in our lives. We all make mistakes, some big and some small, and we may not be leading a good life. Maybe we got off track with our lives a long time ago and perhaps we consider ourselves as being bad or even wretched, but he loves us anyway and is willing to wrap his arms around even the most evil among us; all he asks is to put our future in his hands. As we accept God, we start seeing the life he wants us to lead and the person he wants us to become. We are no longer oblivious to our own wrongs and the wrongs of others around us. God instills in us the desire to be better and to see what needs to change in our lives. As we feel his love and his strength, we no longer have the same fear regarding what lies ahead in our lives because we know he is there to lead us, to guide us, to love us, and to pick us up when we fall.

As the chorus tells us, we have been set free from our past and present and now have hope for our future. We are no longer encumbered by the invisible chains that have held us back from who we can be. We can now live, love, and dream knowing that we will never be alone again and that we have a guaranteed eternal home. God sent his only son to die on the cross for us, so we could have the bondage of our past replaced by the promises of God! It is amazing to me that God gave up his son so each of us could have an eternal life with him. Jesus paid the price for us with his life, the ultimate sacrifice. God’s mercy wiped the slate clean of all wrongdoings we have had in our lives and has made us a new creation, with his promise of never-ending love. It may be a while before people we know overlook our past, but in God’s eyes we have no past, only a future.

God promises eternity for us and that we can have a rewarding life. It doesn’t mean we will have a perfect life, but we can have a life filled with hope knowing that we ultimately have an eternal heavenly home. In the book of John 14:1-3, we find this promise given by Jesus as he prepared to die on the cross for us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

One day this world, as we know it, will be no more, the writer describes it as the earth melting away like snow. The bible, in the book of Revelation, also tells us that the world will be replaced by a new world. The good news is that God has already reserved our space in heaven, once we have accepted his son as our personal savior. This is grace: the gift of eternal life.

Click to Hear Chris Tomlin Sing Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)