Young People’s Blog

“I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord” (Philippians 4:2).

I am sure that these two sisters in Christ, who lived so long ago, never thought that their names would be in the Bible for all to read for generations, telling everyone that they had trouble getting along with each other. How embarrassing! But no, it is there for a reason and for a lesson for us. It is so very important to get along together as Christians. I mean really get along, not just on the surface. The next verse goes on to speak of those laboring with Paul in the gospel. How much better this is, than nursing grudges and hurts. When Christians are working together in the gospel, they usually find it much easier to get along with one another.

Returning to yesterday’s dog sled. If just one of the dogs is not pulling together with the others, the sled may overturn, go off track, land in the water, or go through the ice. The lives of all depend on the pulling together of the team. Let’s remember to “be of the same mind in the Lord.”

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1).

I have always loved the wintertime here in Canada, and for years thought it would be wonderful to participate in dogsledding. But I think the time has passed for me to do that! However, it is beautiful to watch a team of well-matched dogs, running at top speed in response to the commands of their master on the sled.

I saw a quotation once that read, “Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes!” That meant, of course, that only one dog is in the lead viewing the landscape, and all the others running behind work just as hard, but see only the tail of the dog in front. Not much fun!

The master gives the commands, and the dogs follow the orders. Just the same, our Lord and Master tells us which way He wants us to go. Sometimes we cannot see much of the path ahead, but by faith, if we follow His voice, we will walk or run according to His plan.

At times, the Lord may give us a “lead dog.” He might be the one who tramps down the snowy path, making it easier for those who follow. And…. the sled never goes anywhere well, unless all are pulling together. Lots of lessons for us in a dog team!

“The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

As we noticed yesterday, God does not need informants, and He does not want to hear from you or me about what others have done. He knows it already! Also, we cannot “work off” the penalty of our sins by giving information about others. But God has a way that your sins can be forgiven.

During World War II, a man named Adolf Eichmann was personally responsible for ordering the execution of millions of people, mostly Jews. When he was arrested many years later and taken to trial in Israel, he was condemned to death. While he was waiting in prison for his execution date, some Christians visited him and gave him the gospel. He did not accept Christ as his Savior, but could the blood of Christ have washed away the sins of millions of murders?

Yes, it could! If Adolf Eichmann had repented and accepted Christ, all of those awful sins could have been washed away. You may say that you have not done any sins as serious as those of Adolf Eichmann, but if you are not saved, you too need your sins washed away by the blood of Christ. He is waiting for you to come to Him today.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith…not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

“They were judged every man according to their works” (Revelation 20:13).

In the criminal justice systems of Canada, the United States, Britain, and possibly other countries as well, police sometimes use people called informants. These are usually people who are themselves charged with having committed a crime, and who are offered a lesser sentence, or even no punishment at all, if they agree to reveal information about others who have committed a crime. This is sometimes called “guilt negotiation,” where guilty people can “work off” their crimes by helping the police catch others.

At the moment there is a great deal of concern about this method of obtaining information about crime, for some criminals give false information, and then innocent people are arrested. At other times criminals can carry on their illegal activities, while getting away with it by helping the police catch others.

But God does not need informants! He knows what each person has done, and in a coming day, He will be able to show each one’s guilt. If you are not saved, someday you will have to stand before God, and then you will be judged by God’s records. What a serious thing!

“Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful” (Romans 7:13).

The deck at the back of our house gets rather dirty at times, mainly from drippings from a big oak tree in our backyard. I power wash it from time to time, and a few days ago I washed part of it, but then ran out of time. When part of the deck was clean, it was amazing how dirty the rest of it suddenly appeared. Why was that? It was because of the contrast between the clean part and the dirty part. When the whole deck was dirty, it did not look too bad, but when part of it was clean, the rest looked very dirty!

It is like that with our sins. When we look at one another, perhaps we think we are not too bad, because we are all sinners. But when we look at God’s standard, and the law that God gave Israel, we realize how far short we fall of what God requires. There is only one remedy, and that is to have our sins washed away by the precious blood of Christ. If you are not saved, you are unclean before God, and God cannot have sin in His presence. God is inviting you to come to the Lord Jesus now and be saved.

“And they continued stedfastly in…prayers” (Acts 2:42).

Finally, we have the importance of prayer brought before us. It is important at any time, and an old brother used to remind us that “a prayerless life is a powerless life.” However, I believe that it is collective prayer that is spoken about here. I have heard some believers say that since they can pray at home, there is no need to go to a prayer meeting where others are present. But this ignores the fact that God attaches special significance to collective prayer. We read in Matthew 18:19 that “if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.”

There is a special blessing attached to prayer collectively, in the local assembly, even if it is only two people who are present. Also, there is a special joy in our hearts when we come together, and find that several have the same burden on their hearts. Most important, the Lord is there, for He has promised to be where “two or three” are gathered together in His name (Matthew 18:20). Let us not neglect the prayer meeting, for it is very important.

“And they continued stedfastly in…breaking of bread” (Acts 2:42).

The third thing mentioned in this verse is “breaking of bread.” This too was characteristic of the early believers, for we also read that “upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread” (Acts 20:7). They may well have had other meetings on the Lord’s day, the first day of the week, but coming together to break bread was uppermost in their hearts and minds.

When we break bread, we have a meeting that is for the Lord, and not primarily for us. It is a meeting when we come together to give, not to receive. Sadly, many groups of believers today break bread only once in a while, and instead someone preaches a sermon every Lord’s day. But a sermon is for us, even though it may honor the Lord. The Lord Jesus must have the first place; to remember what He did for us, and to give Him the thanksgiving and praise that is due to Him, should take precedence over any other meeting on the Lord’s day. I have asked this question before, but perhaps we can ask it again. Do you remember the Lord Jesus on Lord’s day, as He has asked us to do?

“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’…fellowship” (Acts 2:42).

We notice in this same verse that the word “fellowship” is linked together with the word “doctrine.” Why is this? Can’t we have fellowship with other believers, even if they hold bad doctrine? Sadly, as we saw yesterday, much of the bad doctrine that is being taught dishonors the Lord Jesus Christ, and is an insult to His Person as the Son of God. We may be able to recognize those who hold bad doctrine as true believers, but it hinders our having full fellowship with them.

On the other hand, sometimes dear fellow believers have been taught this bad doctrine by those whom they respect, and they do not realize that it is wrong. If you and I know the truth from God’s Word, we can try to be a help to them, and to point out from the Bible why this bad doctrine is not right. This takes love and grace, and wisdom from the Lord. When we give up bad doctrine, we can have full fellowship with those who want to walk in the truth.

“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42).

It was a wonderful time at the beginning when the church of God was new, when everyone was together, and when there were no divisions or denominations. Here in our verse for today we find four important things that characterized them.

The first one mentioned is doctrine, and we might wonder why that is placed first. But if we think about it for a minute, it is obvious that good doctrine (good teaching) is the basis of everything we have in Christianity. Good doctrine is like the skeleton in our body; without it our body would be only a pile of “mush”—unable to do anything.

Over the centuries men have brought all kinds of bad doctrine into the house of God, and this is very serious, for every bad doctrine takes away some of God’s glory, and gives it to man. But today we can still continue in good doctrine, for it is found in the Word of God. He used the apostles and others to write His Word, and it never changes. We can still hold, and continue steadfastly, in good doctrine!

“But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children” (1 Thessalonians 2:7).

“Christ Jesus…appointing to ministry him who before was a blasphemer and persecutor, and an insolent overbearing man” (1 Tim. 1:12-13 JND).

In these two verses we have two descriptions of the same person—the man who was once called Saul of Tarsus, and afterward called the Apostle Paul. Which verse gives a true description? Both of them! It is Paul himself who gives us both verses in the Word of God. The second verse describes Saul of Tarsus before he was saved, and the first verse describes him after he was saved.

Even as Christians, sometimes there can be part of our personality and character that is not very good, and we may excuse ourselves by thinking, “That is just the way I am made naturally.” But the Lord has given us new life in Christ, and is able to change us, just as He changed Saul of Tarsus. The Lord made him a gentle man, instead of an insolent, overbearing man.