Month: March 2016

Dear Young Christian:

“Give an account of thy stewardship” (Luke 16:2).

Perhaps people at school or work this morning will ask you something to the effect, “How was your weekend?” or “Did you have a good weekend?” Or they may ask you, “What did you do on your days off?” Good question! What did you do? Does your list look something like this?

Slept in

Read my Bible and spent time in prayer.

Tidied up and helped around the house.

Did homework.

Met with other believers for Bible study and young people’s meeting.

Attended the breaking of bread and worship meeting.

Helped with gospel outreach.

Whatever else may be on your list make sure you have used your time wisely and for the Lord, and if not, start over fresh this week. Remember, we are accountable to God!

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you. Send your comments or questions to jhyland@primus.ca

A Perfect Lamb

“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats .… Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof” (Exodus 12:5,9).

The Passover sacrifice in the Old Testament was to be without a mark or blemish, typifying the Lord Jesus as the perfect, sinless Lamb of God. Notice three things that connect with the sinless humanity of the Lord as denoted in the New Testament:

His head:“For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who KNEW no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

His legs:“Christ also suffered for us … who DID no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:21-22).

The purtenance (inward parts) thereof:“He was manifested to take away our sins; and IN Him is no sin” (1 John 3:5).

No wonder John the Baptist could declare, “Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:36).

 

Tests

There are many people who pretend to be saved, and some who, being misguided, perhaps think they are saved, but they are not. One of the great tests as to whether we are really saved is whether there is genuine affection for the Lord. When we have truly experienced His love for us, there will be a reciprocal love for Him. “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Another test is whether there is a love for other believers, who are part of the family of God. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14). When we are saved we become a child of God. There is a family relationship established and a bond that is quickly experienced and enjoyed with God’s other sons and daughters.

If you fail these tests, then you may not be saved at all. But if you are reading this calendar page it is not too late. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved .… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:9,13).

 

Entangled

No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:4).

The word entangled is from a Greek word that means to weave in. This brings a very strong picture before us which goes much deeper than our usual thoughts about the word.

In southern Nigeria, the Urhobo tribal chiefs wear beautiful, multicolored robes which often display a thin gold thread intricately woven through the fabric, making the robe reflect the rays of the sun in a gorgeous way. This should be the character of our lives. That thin gold thread reminds us of the glorious person of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who should be woven into the very fabric of our lives so that we reflect His glory as a testimony to all those around us. When we weave ourselves into the affairs of this life, the gold thread won’t show like it should, and others will not see that we belong to Christ and to heaven.

 

Jacob’s Twelve Sons — Levi

From Levi came the priestly tribe of Israel beginning with Aaron and his sons. This is affirmed in the instructions given to Moses, when the Lord said, “And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office” (Exodus 28:1). Levi’s three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari were heads of the three branches of the Levites, (Numbers 3:17-39).

When Jacob blessed Levi a curse was pronounced on him because he had joined with Simeon in their cruel and vindictive dealings with Shechem (Genesis 34:25-31). We further read, “Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel” (Genesis 49:7). This shows two things. First, we see the righteousness of God in His governmental ways with His people. This in no way sets aside the reward for faithful conduct, either before or after. The Lord will never forget what we do for Him, nor will it go unrewarded, in spite of our failure. Second, we see that blessing for Levi, as for us, was only on the ground of pure, sovereign grace.

 

The Smashed Window — Part 2

“I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26).

The custodians of the cathedral gathered in the artist’s studio. They stood before a veil of canvas. The veil was removed to display a stained glass window surpassing in its beauty anything they had ever seen. “This window,” said the artist, “I have wrought from the fragments of your shattered one, and it is now ready to be replaced.” Soon after, a great stained glass window shed its beautiful light into the ancient building once more. The splendor of the new far surpassed that of the old, and its fame spread far and wide.

Yes, even as believers, the storms of life often have a shattering effect on our lives. But all is not hopeless. The Lord Jesus, the Master Artist, can put it all back together if we are willing to let Him. Peter failed and denied his Lord three times. However, the Lord said, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:32). After he was restored in his soul, he was used in a wonderful way for the glory of God and the blessing of others. The beauty of his life now shines in the pages of the book of the Acts as well as the two epistles he wrote.

 

The Smashed Window — Part 1

“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

Perhaps there is a Christian young person reading this calendar who feels that their life has been shattered by sin or circumstances. Like a smashed pane of glass, life looks hopeless and the future bleak. Maybe your heart is broken, fragmented into a thousand pieces. The following story illustrates the ability of our God and Saviour to mend broken hearts and broken lives.

In an old cathedral in Europe, a valuable stained glass window lay on the marble floor in a hundred fragments, shattered by the storm. The pieces were gathered up, put in a box and stored in a cellar for many years. One day a visitor came to see the window. Hearing of its fate, he asked if he might have the fragments. “Take them away,” he was told. “We can do nothing with them; they are absolutely useless to us.”

He carefully carried them away. Weeks had passed when an invitation came to the custodians of the cathedral to view a work of art by a famous artist, celebrated for his skill in glass work.

 

Dear Young Christian:

I recently read the following verse on a calendar leaflet of a daily reading that my wife likes to keep on the kitchen table: “And when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed” (Acts 16:40). It made me think of a contrast in the Old Testament where it says of certain individuals, “Our brethren have discouraged our heart” (Deuteronomy 1:28).

Which is it with you? Do we leave those we are with comforted or discouraged? By the end of the week, will someone be able to say that you comforted and encouraged them, or will someone have to say that you left them discouraged? It will be one or the other! We affect others more than we think. “For none of us liveth to himself” (Romans 14:7). Let’s try to be a comfort and help to others this week. We are exhorted, “Comfort one another” (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Also, “Comfort yourselves together, and edify one another” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you. Send your comments or questions to jhyland@primus.ca

Thanks

“And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us .… And … they were cleansed .… And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? (Luke17:12-17).

A father, whose son was off to college was found by his younger daughter in his study, weeping uncontrollably. When she inquired as to the cause, he replied, “Joni, look at these letters: ‘Send me $200 for books, $150 for living expenses, $100 for this, $50 for that.’ Always begging and never a word of thanks or appreciation for all I have done for him or for all my love for him. It hurts me … it breaks my heart!”

Yes, the Lord Jesus has done so much for us today. Will we stop and consider the work and cost of Calvary? Will there be, like the leper, a returning to give Him the praise and thanks that He is so worthy of?

(To be continued.)

 

Watching & Ready

“Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning” (Mark 13:35).

Writing yesterday’s calendar page made me think of an incident in my own life, when I wasn’t ready for the return of the owners of the house I was staying in.

It was one winter before I was married and I was working temporarily in Toronto and staying with a family that I knew well. They were away on vacation in Florida and had given me a return day. With this date in mind I let some things go, like doing the dishes and taking out the trash and sweeping the floor. Then one morning I woke up to find that they had returned a day early. I was embarrassed and apologized, but in the end it was no big deal.

However, those who are not ready for the coming of Christ will be forever lost. “When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and He shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are” (Luke 13:25). How important it is to be saved and ready!