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Young People of Scripture
David

“And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth … And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth” (1 Samuel 17:33, 42).

We are not told how old David was when he went out to fight Goliath, but we know that he was a youth … a young person. Both King Saul and Goliath questioned his ability because of his age, but as is often the case in Scripture we see that the Lord delights to use young people in remarkable ways for the blessing of His people. Even his own brothers questioned his motives. “And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? … I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle” (1 Samuel 17:28).

Throughout his life David remained faithful to his God in spite of times of failure and discouragement. In the end the Lord records that he was “a man after Mine own heart” (Acts 13:22). Wouldn’t you like to have such a commendation?

Alone

“Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me” (2 Timothy 4:17).

Have you ever felt like all your friends and family have forsaken you? Maybe even brothers and sisters in Christ, and as a result you felt alone … so alone!

The Apostle Paul felt that way when he wrote this last letter to Timothy. When he was imprisoned for the last time and called to go to trial, he had to go alone, or so it seemed. How he must have felt it to have to say, “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me” (2 Timothy 1:15). Yet he realized that the Lord was with him. He was alone as far as earthly companionship, but not alone because the Lord has promised, “Lo, I am with you alway” (Matthew 28:20).

So for us too, how good it is to have the assurance that we will never have to move forward or stand still alone. Our Lord will be with us, even in the most difficult of circumstances. His promise remains, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

Ever with us! Never alone!
Jesus our Savior, escorts us safe home!

Lying Lips

“Let the lying lips be put to silence” (Psalm 31:18).

Lying seems to be a way of life for many people. Several years ago, a survey found that 91% of those questioned lie routinely about matters they consider trivial; 36% lie about important matters; 86% lie regularly to their parents; 75% to their friends; 73% to their siblings; and 69% lie to their spouses.

Speaking the truth should be one of the outstanding characteristics of a believer. We are exhorted, “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds” (Colossians 3:9). Whenever we are deceitful, we are following Satan’s example, “for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).

Lies are based on the false assumption that we can hide a wrong and protect ourselves from the truth by simply denying the facts. But lying merely compounds a problem. Honest confession on the other hand is the quickest way to forgiveness, and it puts us back under the wise council of God. Someone has well said, “To avoid lying, do nothing that needs a cover-up.” Remember too, the Bible clearly states, “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are His delight” (Proverbs 12:22).

Dear Young Christian:

We tend to search for security in the world, which in reality is full of insecurity. Sometimes we make a checklist in our minds of things we need to do or get and think that if we are able to check off every box we can relax and be at peace. The problem is, we keep adding to the list, and only become frustrated.

There is, however, one way to have security in this life, and that is to develop a relationship of full confidence in the Lord. When David was in trouble, or felt his own inadequacy and insecurity, he knew where to turn. He could pray, “Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust” (Psalm 16:1). In Psalm 118 we read, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man” (verse 8). Solomon records, “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint” (Proverbs 25:19).

If you are looking for security in the things that you think you can accomplish you will be terribly disappointed. True and lasting security is found only in the Lord. He “is our refuge and strength” (Psalm 46:1).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

Sing Praises

“It is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely” (Psalm 147:1).

Songs of praise to God are pleasant to His ear. He enjoys hearing them — and it also cheers us when we sing. The problem is, quite often, that we don’t do it enough. We are so busy with our own lives that we don’t spend time in praising the Savior, or we are too busy listening to something with earphones plugged into our ears.

“I create the fruit of the lips” (Isaiah 57:19).

“He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God” (Psalm 40:3).

God implants praise in our hearts and on our lips, and it delights His heart when we give it back to Him in audible songs of praise. Let your heart sing to the Lord today. (Sing with your lips too, of course, but the content of your heart is what counts.) Praise the One who was willing to send His Son to die for you. Let Him know that you appreciate Him and what He’s done, and is doing, for you. “Sing unto God, sing praises to His name: extol Him…and rejoice before Him” (Psalm 68:4).

Epitaphs

“But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?” (Job 14:10).

On the grounds of Chillingham Castle, Northumberland, in northeastern England, there is a graveyard with a tombstone bearing the following inscription:

Go home my friends, dry up your tears;

I must lie here till Christ appears.

We call these inscriptions, “epitaphs,” and I am wondering what could be written on your gravestone if you were to die. Could those who took care of your burial and the placing of a tombstone on your grave put something that indicated that you were with the Lord Jesus in Heaven?

I recall another epitaph of someone I knew very well and whose funeral I had the privilege of preaching. It simply says:

“I’m Home!”

Death and eternity are real! Are you ready? Could loved ones put on your headstone:

“Absent from the body …

Present with the Lord”

(2 Corinthians 5:8)?

Guyana — Part 4

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him” (James 1:12).

I have just returned from the south of Guyana and from the area where a missionary couple was murdered by natives in March of 2005. This is just outside of Lethem and on the way to Karaudarnau (Crăw-dăr-năh), where I have stayed and preached the gospel on more than one occasion. It was reported that on March 29, 2005, police in Lethem stumbled on the bodies of the American missionaries after responding to a report of a fire at a San Jose Ranch in the Rupununi District. Richard Hicks was 42 and his wife, Charlene, 58. The couple’s house had been set on fire, and the husband’s body was burned beyond recognition, police said. His wife was found a few yards away with marks of violence. I know several believers who personally knew the Hicks. They all testify of their faithfulness in the gospel and care of others. Their deaths have encouraged many native Christians to carry on the work they began with much blessing resulting.

Remember, the Lord always honors faith and sacrifice!

Guyana — Part 3

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

On our way back to Georgetown from southern Guyana we stopped at a rest area along the jungle road, called “Mile 58.” I have stopped there before, and it is a place where you can buy gas, relax a little from the tedious drive on the clay-mud road, and also buy something to eat and drink. As the five of us purchased some rice and other tasty things, I notice a sign on the door with a timely message:

EAT, DRINK,

GIVE THANKS!

Most of us give thanks before we eat, but perhaps it would be good to do so again after we have finished our food as well. At our table we did give thanks before we ate, and as I looked around, I wondered how many others did the same. The Bible reminds us, “And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 3:13). It is good to recognize that everything comes from the good hand of our God and that we can, with thanksgiving, use it for His glory.

Guyana — Part 2

In the same home we mentioned yesterday, on the wall at the other end of the table was the following verse:

“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

In conversation with our host and his wife, I very quickly realized that this was a verse that they also really took to heart. Not only had they taken myself and my four fellow-travelers in, but I learned that their gate was always open to those who needed a place to stay and a meal. In fact, on the last evening of our stay with them they killed and roasted a pig and invited everyone from the village to join in a feast just before we had a gospel meeting.

We don’t have to have a lot to be a testimony to the world and a help to our fellow believers. There was a boy in the days when the Lord was on earth who only had “five barley loaves, and two small fishes” (John 6:9), but it was used to feed thousands. The great question is not how much do we have, but are we using what we have for the Lord? “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it” (Proverbs 3:27).

Guyana — Part 1

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6).

The village of Karaudarnau (Crăw-dăr-năh) Guyana is down on the very southern tip of the country, and I recently had the privilege of visiting there. I stayed in the humblest of circumstances with a Christian couple who shared what they had and with genuine love showed me some of the finest Christian hospitality I have ever experienced. On the wall at the end of the table in their adobe house with a thatched roof of palm fronds, was the following paraphrase of the above verse of Scripture:

Don’t worry about anything,

Instead pray about everything,

And thank Him for His answers.

Each morning as I sat down for breakfast, I reread this text with fresh appreciation. Life is tough amongst the Wapishana (Wăp-ē-shănă) Amerindians, and to live for the Lord is not easy. But I could see that my host and hostess really believed the message of this verse and lived each day in the confidence and joy of the God they faithfully served.