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Young Christians Calendar

A daily meditation for young Christians

May 2021

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Monday, May 31, 2021

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Dear Young Christian:
The busyness and pressure of life coupled with our own self-interests can often keep us from seeing another’s need. How often do you stop by to visit an elderly person who sits alone day after day? When was the last time you dropped in to see someone who is sick or going through some turmoil or heartache in their life? It may be just a short time until our turn comes and we long for someone to stop by and sit with us. The Bible tells us, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction” (James 1:27). Job could say, “I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy” (Job 29:13).
Someone else has well said, “Sometimes we are caught by the Tyrant of Urgency when we could be giving valuable time to the important matters of life … to people instead of things.”
Don’t get so wrapped up in your own interests that you have no time for others. Of the young man Timothy, Paul said to the Christians at Philippi, “I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state” (Philippians 2:20).Could that be said of you?
Your Christian Friend,
Jim Hyland

Sunday, May 30, 2021

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Sacrifice
“Once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26).
On October 30th, 1991, a Canadian Armed Forces CC-130 Hercules transport plane left the U.S. Air Force base at Thule, Greenland, flying on an Operation Boxtop supply (of mainly fuel) flight. The aircraft crashed about 30 kilometers short of Canadian Forces Station Alert (which is the world’s most northern settlement), on Ellesmere Island in the high Arctic. Captain John Patrick Couch died while waiting for rescue; 13 people survived the accident. Captain Couch gave some of his Arctic clothing to keep others warm and then worked for hours in the freezing cold to keep still others warm. He then laid down to sleep and never awoke. The news headline later read: “Pilot gave his life for his crew.”
Such a sacrifice reminds us of the great love of the Lord Jesus who gave Himself for us in that great sacrifice. We can say with awe and reverence, “He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16). “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Saturday, May 29, 2021

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Yes or No
The following account shows us how simple it is to just say “yes” to the Lord, and come to Him for salvation:
“I wonder, Harry, that you are not afraid to die; I am terribly afraid!” were the words of an old man to a young person, who lay on the bed next to him in a large ward of a city hospital.
Harry’s symptoms were telling plainly that his short life was fast nearing its end.
Mr. Clayton, a Christian visitor, had just been pressing on the old man the need of immediate acceptance of God’s free salvation. “I know it all,” he had replied, “but I do not understand how I can get it, how I can make it my own?”
“How did you get it, Harry?” the visitor asked, turning to the youth.
“Why, when the Lord Jesus said to me, ‘Come unto Me … and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28), I just said with all my heart, ‘Yes, Lord, I come,’ and He was true to His word, and gave me rest. And when He said, ‘Come now’ (Isaiah 1:18), I said, ‘Yes, Lord, now; not tomorrow.’ And when He promised to forgive me freely, to make me His own, and fit me to be with Him forever, I just said, ‘Yes, Lord,’ for I knew He could not break His word. How could I say ‘No’ to Him?”

Friday, May 28, 2021

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Monthly Question Page
Q. Why is it that I read the Bible but don’t seem to get a lot out of it?
A. There are several things that keep us from understanding and enjoying the Word of God.
Firstly, it is only in the power of the Spirit that we can truly enjoy and understand the Scriptures. The Lord pointed this out to the disciples while He was still with them. “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). If we are allowing something in our lives that is hindering the Spirit from teaching us we need to confess it so that we “grieve not the holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30).
Remember too, it is not through our own intellect that we gain true knowledge of the Bible. “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Pray as you read and ask the Lord to open your understanding. This He delights to do. “Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45).
Lastly, don’t struggle with the things you don’t understand; enjoy the things you do understand which the Lord has already made precious to your heart.

Thursday, May 27, 2021

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Our Feet
David talks a lot about our feet in the Psalms that God used him to write. Here are just a few references:
• First, the Lord sets our feet on a Rock (Himself), so that we have a firm foundation to stand on.
“He … set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings” (Psalm 40:2).
• Next, He puts our feet in a large room, a place of fellowship with Himself and the family of God.
“Thou hast set my feet in a large room” (Psalm 31:8).
• Thirdly, He gives us the ability to rise above the difficulties of life and the obstacles that the enemy tries to put in our way. He also provides the power to walk as heavenly people for His glory.
“He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places … and He will make me to walk upon mine high places” (Psalm 18:33; Habakkuk 3:19).
• Lastly, He gives the power we need for every step of the Christian pathway, guiding and guarding our feet so that we don’t have to slip or stumble.
“Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip” (Psalm 18:36).

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

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Monthly Scripture Reading
Ecclesiastes 7
A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

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Love
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1 John 4:11).
Robert Cleaver Chapman was born in Helsingør, Denmark, on January 4th, 1803. Throughout much of his life he was known as the “Apostle of Love.” It was said of him that he not only preached the love of God, but he also lived it. He gave up a good position of prosperity in London, England to live among poor and working class people so that he could better minister the gospel and the truth of Scripture to them. He traveled hundreds of miles to bring the love of Christ to thousands of souls. He is noted as saying, “My business is to love and not to seek that others shall love me.” His caring and humble attitude had a marked impact on the lives of such men of faith as George Müller, J. Hudson Taylor, John Nelson Darby, and Charles Spurgeon. He deliberately avoided publicity because he did not want the attention that rightly belonged to the Lord.
What a testimony! It reminds me of the exhortation of the Apostle John: “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Ask yourself, “How can I show the love of Christ today?”

Monday, May 24, 2021

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Dear Young Christian:
I read a statement this morning that spoke to my own conscience and I will pass it along for your consideration:
“True greatness is not attained by giving orders, but by serving.”
It brought to mind the verse that says, “By love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). Human nature is such that we love to be served and pampered. But true, practical Christian living is characterized by serving others. It is not so much a question of what someone can do for me but what can I do for someone else. We have the perfect example of the Lord Jesus who said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
As you start out this week, pray about how you can be of service to others. If you are sincere, I know you will have many opportunities to “do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Serving others not only brings joy to the receiver, but also to the servant.
Your Christian Friend,
Jim Hyland

Sunday, May 23, 2021

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The Cross
Here are some facts concerning the cross that are good for our hearts’ meditation on another “first day of the week” (Acts 20:7).
His willingness:
“And He bearing His cross went forth” (John 19:17).
His joy:
“Jesus … who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2).
His obedience:
“He … became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).
His blood:
“Having made peace through the blood of His cross.” (Colossians 1:20).
The consequence:
“The preaching of the cross … is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Our response:
“God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14).

Saturday, May 22, 2021

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He Refused
“Refuse not Him that speaketh” (Hebrews 12:25).
The winds blew, and the sea rose, causing great disaster and loss of life in the North Sea. As night fell, a vessel was seen struggling against wind and tide making for the harbor. Seen by the coastguards to strike a rock, the word was passed to “Man the Lifeboat,” which was done. Several of the crew were clinging to the mast and rigging. One after another of the helpless, half-frozen sailors were borne from the place of danger to a seat in the lifeboat, while the crowd on the shore cheered the noble deliverers, who at the risk of their lives, rescued those who were “ready to perish” (Job 29:13). When they approached the captain, who was clinging to the shattered mast of the fast sinking ship, he refused to be carried from the wreck, first by maintaining that she would yet make the harbor, and finally, when every argument failed to convince him of his danger, he threatened to shoot, with a loaded pistol he had in his hand, any who would try to take him by force. The rescued men were carried to the shore, and, when morning broke, the wreck was gone and the captain with it.
What a sad commentary. And yet there are many on their way to hell refusing to be rescued and saved from their sins. I hope that you are not one of them!

Friday, May 21, 2021

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Not Our Own
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Do you realize that you are not your own, that as a believer you belong to God, and that you are not free to do as you please or to use your body in any way you like? It is a serious thing to violate the property of another person, and even more so with God who not only is our Creator, but has purchased and redeemed us at great cost through the death and blood of His dear Son. He can say, “I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine” (Isaiah 43:1).
The unsaved picture this world as a playground in which to indulge themselves. They say “There is only one life and let’s live it to the full!” They follow the appetites and desires of the natural man to their detriment and folly. “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption” (Galatians 6:8). But for the believer, remember, “ye are not your own.” Live wholly and happily for the Lord!

Thursday, May 20, 2021

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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?

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

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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!

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

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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).

Monday, May 17, 2021

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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

Sunday, May 16, 2021

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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).

Saturday, May 15, 2021

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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)?

Friday, May 14, 2021

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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!

Thursday, May 13, 2021

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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.

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

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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).

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

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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.

Monday, May 10, 2021

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Dear Young Christian:
This week in a Sunday School periodical, the following article caught my eye:
Close to the shore of Spain, a German ship sank in a violent storm. A few days later some parts of the wreck and sailors’ clothes were washed ashore. In one of the jackets, a New Testament was found in which was written the following:
Markus Rotmann, Kolkwiese 12, Hamburg.
Read the first time at my sister Lotte’s request.
Read the second time because of fear of God’s judgment.
Read the third time and all the other times because of love
towards my Savior Jesus Christ.
If someone found your Bible or New Testament, what would they read on the flyleaf? Can you chronicle the times that you have read through the Word of God, and perhaps more importantly, have you read it today, and will you continue to read it this week?Remember, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words … and keep those things which are written therein” (Revelation 1:3).
Your Christian Friend,
Jim Hyland

Sunday, May 9, 2021

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Great Love
“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16).
“God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us” (Ephesians 2:4).
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
“The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
The greatest demonstration of love was at Calvary when the Lord Jesus hung between Heaven and earth and when He took the punishment for sin, died, and shed His blood. It wasn’t the nails that held the Lord on the cross but His great love for us. His love cannot be outperformed or even fully comprehended. No one has, or ever will show such love as Jesus did when He died at Calvary.
When was the last time that you thanked Him … truly thanked Him … for His great love and great sacrifice? Let’s do it today from a full and overflowing heart of gratitude. As Isaac Watts expressed it in the hymn so often sung …
Love that transcends our highest powers,
Demands our soul, our life, our all.

Saturday, May 8, 2021

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The Mirror
“For if any be a hearer of the Word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was” (James 1:23-24).
As Queen Elizabeth I grew old, her wrinkles were deep and many. It is reported that an unfortunate Master of the Mint incurred disgrace by casting a too-faithful likeness of her on the shilling. The die was broken, and only one mutilated specimen is now in existence. Her maids of honor took the hint and were thenceforward careful that no fragment of looking glass should come into Her Majesty’s hands. In fact, it is said that the Queen “had not the heart to look herself in the face for the last twenty years of her life!”
As a mirror exposes all the wrinkles and dirt on a face, so the Word of God exposes the heart. Reading the Bible shows us our sins. If we refuse to repent and change, we soon get tired of seeing our “dirty faces” in God’s Mirror and we stop looking into the mirror. How foolish! It is better to see the dirt, confess it and be cleansed by the blood of Jesus. You can pray like David, who said, “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:2).

Friday, May 7, 2021

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God’s Perfect Plan
I saw the following on a very nice wall plaque recently:
God Has A Perfect Plan For Us.
He Never Does It All At Once,
Just Step By Step Because
He Wants To Teach Us
To Walk By
FAITH
Not By Sight.
It made me realize that we are always in training and always learning in the school of God. None of us can ever say “we have arrived … we’ve learned it all.” No, it is a slow, lifelong process, and often a painful one, with repeat lessons.
David was a man who had great problems and difficulties all through His life. But early on he learned to say, “As for God, His way is perfect” (2 Samuel 22:31). The sooner we realize this in our Christian experience the better. It will give us real peace and submission to His will and His perfect plan. He wants to lead us by “the right way” (Psalm 107:7). Are we willing to follow, or do we think we are wiser than God and that we have a better plan?

Thursday, May 6, 2021

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The Tongue — Part 2
“The tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be” (James 3:8-10).
The tongue is untamable by nature. Every kind of creature has been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly, uncontrollable evil, full of malicious and deadly poison. With the tongue things are said that poison the minds of others and even turn believers against one another. The tongue can be thoroughly inconsistent, for, while capable of blessing God, it can also curse man made in the likeness of God.
Christians are in speech and acts to be consistent with God’s ways. The tongue, when used by grace and restrained by the Spirit of God, can be used in great blessing and with great benefit. Nothing but the power of the Spirit filling the heart with the grace of Christ can restrain the tongue. When the heart is enjoying the grace and love of Christ, the tongue will speak in grace out of the abundance of the heart.

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

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The Tongue — Part 1
Here is some good advice: “Extinguish burning thoughts before they become flaming words.”
It made me think of these verses from the book of James:
“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell” (James 3:5-6).
If not bridled, the tongue can become the means of condemning others and exalting ourselves, for it can boast “great things.” If not controlled, it becomes the source of great mischief, for though “a little member” it is like a little fire which may, if not extinguished, eventually destroy a whole forest. Furthermore, the tongue is described as a fire which not only kindles trouble, but keeps it going. It is capable of instigating every form of unrighteousness and fanning things so that they become completely out of control. By its evil suggestions the tongue can lead to every member of the body being defiled. The evil spirits of hell find in the tongue a ready instrument for their wicked work, which is why it can be said that “it is set on fire of hell.”

Tuesday, May 4, 2021

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Our Speech
“Grace is poured into Thy lips” (Psalm 45:2).
“And all bare Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth” (Luke 4:22).
“Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6).
The Savior spoke with loving tones,
With kindness in His voice;
His graciousness personified,
Each word of perfect choice.
And so, we too should seek to speak
Those things that make for peace;
Let every word be healing balm,
We from our lips release.
Our speech commendable and right,
As glorifying God:
That others may our Savior see,
In us where here he trod.

Monday, May 3, 2021

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Dear Young Christian:
As you start another week of activity in a world that hates Christ and a world where it is easy for the believer to become cold and indifferent to His claims, I want to give you some counsel.
The Lord desires, more than anything else, that you give Him your heart. He says to each of His children, “My son, give Me thine heart” (Proverbs 23:26). The Lord died to win your heart’s affection! The problem is that we often only give Him part of it. The rest we keep for ourselves or something else. Jesus wants our heart so that He can fill it with His love, with His peace, with His joy. A really happy Christian is one who has given his whole heart to the Lord Jesus. A heart that is given to Christ is a full and happy heart — and so is the person it belongs to.
There is much to dull our hearts and chill our affections, but we are exhorted, “Keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21). Live in the sunshine of the enjoyment of His love, and your heart cannot help but respond.
Your Christian Friend,
Jim Hyland

Sunday, May 2, 2021

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Seeing Jesus
“And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only” (Matthew 17:8).
“We have seen the Lord” (John 20:25).
To be occupied with the person and work of Christ is what produces true worship, genuine praise, and heartfelt thanksgiving in our hearts and on our lips.
Today we look back to remember the work of Calvary:
“Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto My sorrow, which is done unto Me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted Me in the day of His fierce anger” (Lamentations 1:12).
We look up and see where the Lord is now:
“We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9).
We look ahead and consider the future:
“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6).
Seeing Jesus is indeed a precious and enduring focus!

Saturday, May 1, 2021

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The Ladder
“Then said Jesus unto them … I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved … . I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John 10:7, 9; 14:6).
This interesting and slightly amusing account told by the evangelist Mr. Moody, has a pungent and timely message:
“A man dreamed that he built a ladder from earth to Heaven, and when he did a good deed up went his ladder a few feet. When he did a very good deed his ladder went higher, and when he gave away large sums of money to the poor it went up further still. By and by it went out of sight, and as years rolled on, it went up, he thought, past the clouds, clear into Heaven. When he died he thought he would step off his ladder into Heaven, but he heard a voice roll out from paradise: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1).Down he came, ladder and all, and he awoke. He said that if he wanted to get salvation, he must get it in another way than by good deeds, and he took the other way, which is by Jesus Christ.”
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