Month: April 2015

Worry — Part 3

When we worry, we doubt God’s power. Remember, God is unlimited in his mighty power. Nothing can harness His strength and force. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2). Unfortunately, we do fear, in spite of God’s power.

“The Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). We have a mighty God! He is all-powerful. There is nothing He cannot do for His own, but we must trust Him to do it.

When I was a boy, a friend and I tied a tin can to a dog’s tail and watched it run and leap down the street with the can clattering along behind. There is a can that we may tie to all our troubles: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

As human beings we have many limitations, but our God has none. Do not doubt His power!

Worry — Part 2

When we worry, we doubt God’s wisdom.Don’t forget, our God is too good to be unkind and too wise to make mistakes. When we worry, we doubt this…we really question the goodness and wisdom of our God and Father. We read, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye” (Psalm 32:8). If God promises to direct our lives every step of the way, what have we to fear?

Two young boys had heard the Sunday school lesson which told of Elijah being translated to heaven in the chariot of fire. After class, one of the boys said to the other, “Would you want to ride in a chariot of fire?”

His friend replied, “I wouldn’t mind, if God were doing the driving.”

Young people, you may be certain that God is doing the driving. You need not fear anything, for His wisdom is sufficient. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Worry — Part 1

Worry for the believer is really sin, because it doubts God, and there are really three reasons why it is sin. These three reasons we will consider over the next three day.

When we worry we doubt God’s love.The love of God for the believer is one of the grandest themes in the Bible. Our language has not words enough to express His love for us. Sometimes preachers are given to exaggeration, but on this theme there can be no exaggeration.

While calling in the home of a believer who had repeatedly suffered one trial after another, she exclaimed, “I guess God doesn’t love me anymore.” The reply was, “He loves you all the more,” and the following verses were quoted: “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth… Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:6,11). God always has His afterward for those who suffer in light of His love.

Every time you worry, you doubt God’s all-sufficient love.

Don’t Forget or Neglect

“Watch and pray” (Mark 13:33).

Forget to pray — 
There will be no power today!
Your feet will stumble and stray,
If you forget to pray!

Pray each morning and night — 
Your steps will be guided aright!
You’ll have comfort, discernment, and light,
If you pray each morning and night!

Neglect to read God’s Word — 
His voice will not be heard!
Nor your heart and conscience stirred,
If you neglect to read God’s Word!

Read a chapter or two — 
And it will help you through!
Refresh, restore, renew,
If you read a chapter or two!

Dear Young Christian:

When the Lord Jesus was praying to His Father one of the things He asked for concerning His disciples was, “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). His desire for those who belonged to Him was that they should be separate from the defilement of this world. Hebrews 10:10 describes our spiritual position because of the work of Calvary. “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” But the Lord’s request in John is referring to daily separation in the everyday details of life. We can do that through reading the Scriptures. When you pour water through a sieve, even though it doesn’t retain anything, at least the sieve is cleaned. In the same way you can clean your mind and heart with the Word of God.

Make it your habit this week, and every week for that matter, to read your Bible on a daily basis. Let it have its cleansing affect, referred to as “The washing of water by the Word.” (Ephesians 5:26).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

The Lord’s Death

“And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elias: who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:30-31).

There they were on the Mount of Transfiguration. Five men with the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter, James, John, along with two men from past eras, Moses, and Elijah. What an awesome experience it must have been!

Moses and Elijah could have visited with the Lord on numerous topics when they met Him on the mountaintop. Instead, they discussed Calvary. Perhaps the whole of heaven was occupied with the Lord’s imminent death, and so Moses and Elijah were just continuing what was the main topic of concern in heaven.

How much are we occupied with the Lord Jesus and His death at Calvary? God would commend this subject to you as one that warrants your special attention today. It’s the most important event that ever occurred on earth. God will never forget it and neither should we.

Give Me

“Father, give me” (Luke 15:12).

These words were spoken by the younger brother in the parable that the Lord told about the man who had two sons…what we often refer to as the story of the Prodigal Son.

These three words really sum up the natural desire of the heart of the person who is without Christ. The unsaved want all the blessings and mercies that God the Father will give them, (and He gives them many), but without the company of the Father or the Father’s house. They feel Christianity is too restrictive…they want to live for themselves…have some fun out of life…do their own thing…no one is to put any restrictions on them…and on and on it goes.

However, the young man found that his own way, and his fast living, wasn’t worth the cost, and that it didn’t satisfy his heart in the end. He had to come to the point where he said, “I have sinned” (Luke 15:18), and in repentance returned to the Father. What a loving reception awaited him, and the Father could say, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:24).

Our Responsibility — Part 4

“Freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

When we think of what we have been freely given by grace, it ought to motivate us to tell others of God’s wonderful gifts and blessings through Christ and the work of Calvary.

May the Lord help us to be sensitive to the need of the lost and perishing people all around us. May we wake up and realize the truth expressed by the four lepers in the days of Elisha; “This is a day of glad tidings, and we hold our peace” (2 Kings 7:9)?

The time is short. The coming of the Lord is near! Soon the day of grace will be over, and there will be no more opportunities to speak a word for Christ or to have compassion on the lost souls around us. Let’s pray that the Lord will help us to be faithful in the responsibility that He has given to each one of us, so that we will have the joy of hearing from His lips these words: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21).

Our Responsibility — Part 3

Not only is it the responsibility of the Christian to spread the gospel to the lost, but it is a privilege that should be motivated by love for Christ. “For the love of Christ constraineth us” (2 Corinthians 5:14).

If we really have a genuine love for Christ and if our hearts are really occupied with Him, then we will not be able to keep from reaching out to others in some way. When the authorities forbade Peter and John to preach the gospel, they replied, “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).

If we have been with the Lord and have enjoyed His presence, our hearts will overflow to those around us. Jesus said to His disciples, “Ye shall also bear witness, because ye have been with Me” (John 15:27). It is a wonderful thing to enjoy the Bible for ourselves; but let us also in love share what we have with others lest we become stagnant in our Christian life. The Dead Sea is dead because it has no outlet. It always receives but never gives. It has no overflow to start a little stream in the desert around it.

Our Responsibility — Part 2

Many souls are headed for a lost eternity in hell. Should we as believers be indifferent to the needs of those about us? If a child were to step out into a busy street, certainly we would try to rescue it! If our neighbor’s house were on fire and he were asleep inside, would we not do everything in our power to try to warn him of his danger? Yet many of our neighbors and friends, and perhaps even family members, are in greater danger than that of being on a busy street or in a burning house. They are asleep in their sins, indifferent to where they are going when they leave this world, and are in danger of losing their souls for eternity! It is indeed our responsibility to faithfully and lovingly warn them of their lost condition!

The Apostle Paul could say, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (2 Corinthians 5:11).

He also stated: “For necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16).

What are we doing about our responsibility?