Young Christians Calendar – September 2021

September 2021

Look Up, Lift Up!

“Looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2).

It was a lovely summer afternoon when two brothers set off in a boat to cross the river, with the object of preaching the Gospel on the other side. They truly loved the Lord, and, with hearts full of His love, were glad to be able to tell others of the Savior of sinners. About halfway across the water, one opened his Bible and showed the other some lines which were written in it — they were these:

“When you have failed, look up,

When failing not, still look up:

When empty, lift up your empty cup;

When full, return Him praise.”

What good lessons there are in these short simple statements!

There will be failure in our lives from time to time, but we can always look up to Heaven to that perfect Man who, at God’s right hand, is ready and able to restore, and then to preserve us as we continue to have Him as our object.

When we feel empty, He can indeed fill us with Himself so that we can say like David, “My cup runneth over” (Psalm 23:5). What a resource we have!

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

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Their Faith

The missionaries and evangelists of long ago faced intense opposition wherever they went and were often entirely without human support or the practical and monetary fellowship of other Christians. But their very circumstances of isolation cast them upon God. They had power first with God and, as a result, with the people. They learned the value of souls and estimated the real worth of the world in the secret of the Lord’s presence. When they came forth to preach and teach, they awed their listeners as they spoke in burning words and with loving hearts the message of God. The divine truths they knew were realities to them, and they spoke of them as such to both sinners and believers. Theirs were circumstances somewhat akin to what the Apostle Paul said when summing up his service for Christ: “The Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me” (Acts 20:23-24).

I have found it profitable to read the accounts of those “that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 15:26). It helps to encourage and strengthen my faith. Get ahold of some good Christian biographies and I am sure it will do the same for you. And, remember, we are told, “Whose faith follow” (Hebrews 13:7).

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

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God

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good” (Psalm 14:1).

The downfall and degeneration of society, the lack of law and order, violence and corruption, and of all moral decency, is a direct result of a loss of God-consciousness and of the giving up of God’s Word. The world has always been characterized by lawlessness and “no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:18). But today it has affected the Christian profession and, sad to say, even true believers.

We are living in the day which the Apostle Paul describes in his last epistle. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come … . Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:1, 5). Read the rest of the description down to the end of verse 9, and I think you will quickly see the parallel. This is the result of a loss of a sense of God’s presence and His holiness.

More than ever, we need to live in the conscious sense of the presence of God, spending time each day reading His Word, speaking to Him in prayer, and, as Jude writes, “Keep yourselves in the love of God” (verse 21).

Monday, September 27, 2021

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Dear Young Christian:

Last night on a seven-and-a-half-hour flight from Ottawa, Canada, to Frankfurt, Germany, we had some smooth flying, as well as some turbulence. No one on board was immune to this turbulence. It did not matter whether you were in first class or coach, young or old. It did not matter what your social standing was or whether you were a passenger or a crew member. It made me think of the journey of life. It is not all smooth going, and there is no one who escapes turbulent situations to some degree or other, even as believers. Just because we are saved and following the Lord, it does not make us exempt from what affects others. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). So, you may pass through some turbulent experience this week, but remember that the Lord is with you and will sustain you through it, just as He brought my wife and I to a safe landing at the Frankfurt airport.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

Sunday, September 26, 2021

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His Obedience

“The Lord God hath opened Mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back” (Isaiah 50:5).

These words can only apply to the Lord Jesus as He submitted to His Father’s will. As to His suffering at the hand of man, the next verse tells us, “I gave my back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not My face from shame and spitting” (verse 6). He was indeed the victim of extreme abuse and intense suffering. The heart of man came out in all its awfulness and hatred against God and His Son.

However, the Lord gave His ear to hear the will of God His Father. He would not turn back from that. He had said, “I came down from Heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me … . Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father.” (John 6:38; 10:17-18).

What a wonderful theme we have for our heart’s meditation today … His obedience to His Father’s will.

Saturday, September 25, 2021

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Youth

“Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment … . Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them” (Ecclesiastes 11:9; 12:1).

The warriors of ancient times would not admit an old man into their army. They considered him unfit to fight and too feeble to meet the situations of battle and to face the enemy.

Though God rejects no one who comes to Him through Christ and the work of Calvary, few come in old age or even middle age. In all the gospel crusades and revivals that have taken place at various times around the world, the majority of those who have been saved and enlisted as soldiers for Christ have been young people.

Christ, by His Spirit, is still calling the young people. He desires their blessing and that they would have a happy life as well as a glorious home in Heaven with Himself. Have you responded to that call?

Friday, September 24, 2021

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Monthly Question Page

Q. Some of my non-Christian friends question the accuracy of the Bible and whether it is really the Word of God. Can you help me on this subject?

A. The Bible, containing sixty-six books, was written by some forty-two authors over a period of about fifteen hundred years. Yet, it contains no discrepancies, and all fits together like a jig-saw puzzle. No book written by man could ever do that.

There are more than three hundred prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Jesus as the coming Messiah, and He fulfilled every one of them.

Perhaps the greatest proof that the Bible is the living Word of God is the fact that it has changed millions of lives over the centuries. Think of those who have been saved from all kinds of backgrounds and religions. It has also guided, encouraged, and comforted countless Christians and is still doing the same today.

“For the Word of God is quick [living], and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Thursday, September 23, 2021

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What Is Man?

“I meditate on all Thy works; I muse on the work of Thy hands” (Psalm 143:5).

Do you ever stop and just think about God’s awesome creation? According to the best estimates of astronomers there are at least one hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe. Assuming an average of 100 billion stars per galaxy means that there are about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (that’s 1 billion trillion) stars in the observable universe!

No wonder David said in the next Psalm: “Lord, what is man, that Thou takest knowledge of Him! or the son of man, that Thou makest account of him!” (Psalm 144:3). And no wonder the New Testament writer echoes the sentiment again, by repeating, “But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest him?” (Hebrews 2:6). Planet earth is just a speck in God’s vast creation, and yet this is the very planet to which God sent His Son and of which we read, “And My delights were with the sons of men” (Proverbs 8:31). What a stupendous, awesome God we have! He not only created and sustains the universe, but He loves us and is interested in our eternal blessing and happiness.

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

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Monthly Scripture Reading
1 Peter 2

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps:

Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth:

Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously:

Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

1 Peter 4

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

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Lasting Joy

“The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

Frances Ridley Havergal was born in Astley, England, on December 14th, 1836, and died June 3rd, 1879, at Caswell Bay. She will long be remembered as a poet and hymn-writer, and for the many devotional tracts and pamphlets she penned. When meditating on the above verse of Scripture here is what she wrote:

“Perhaps in that word ‘of’ lies the whole secret of lasting joy. This joy is not merely joy ‘about’ the Lord, or even joy ‘in’ the Lord. It is His own joy flowing into the soul. Jesus prayed that His followers ‘might have My joy fulfilled in themselves’ (John 17:13). Let us seek not the stream but the fountain; not primarily the joy but the real and living union with Jesus by which His joy becomes ours.”

One of the last things the Lord said to His disciples before He went to the cross was, “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). How much do you and I enter into the Lord’s joy and what we mean to His heart?

Monday, September 20, 2021

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Dear Young Christian:

When we think of great victories or conquests, we usually think of heroic deeds and feats of war. We often think, too, of great men and women of God who have accomplished great things in the service of God and for the blessing of humanity.

However, consider the following from Robert Hill:

When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely ridiculed, and you smile inwardly, glorying in the insult or oversight, that is victory. When you are content, with any food, clothing, climate, society or solitude, and any interruption and annoyance … that is victory. “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Contentment is a great thing and is a real conquest. But the Lord is with us and we can do it. That’s why we are told, “Be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

Will you have victory in your life this week, by taking everything that comes your way from the Lord?

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

Sunday, September 19, 2021

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The Heavenly Man

• The two on the Emmaus road said to the Lord, “Art Thou only a stranger in Jerusalem?” (Luke 24:18).

• The disciples “supposed that they had seen a spirit” (Luke 24:37).

• Of Mary Magdalene we read, “She, supposing Him to be the gardener” (John 20:15).

Each was mistakenly right.

First of all, the Lord was a stranger. A stranger in Jerusalem and a stranger in this world. It was written of Him prophetically, “I am become a stranger unto My brethren” (Psalm 69:8).

The Apostles thought He was a spirit. “God is a spirit” (John 4:24). However, He could say, “Handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have” (Luke 24:39). He was a glorified Man.

Mary thought He was the gardener. Earlier He had said, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24). In the place where He was crucified, there was a garden and in the garden a tomb. There He died, He rose, and what fruit there has been from that Heavenly Corn of Wheat, that Fruitful Seed!

Saturday, September 18, 2021

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Our Greatest Need

“Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

I found this quote in an old periodical called, Grace & Truth, from April 1995:

If our greatest need had been information,
God would have sent an educator.

If our greatest need had been technology,
God would have sent an engineer.

If our greatest need had been money,
God would have sent an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure,
God would have sent an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness,
So God sent us a Savior.

“And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).

“Be it known unto you therefore … that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 13:38).

Friday, September 17, 2021

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Rebellion

“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23).

This statement may seem hard to us, but it is God who is speaking. He had told Samuel to reprimand King Saul with these words. Saul himself considered it severe judgment, and with a superficial request asked to be pardoned for his sin. But God no longer could tolerate him as king of Israel.

We all tend to make our own assessments of the severity of sins. We talk about greater and lesser sins. However, God’s perspective is very different. It has been said that one of the greater sins consists of not giving up lesser sins.

The above verse demonstrates precisely that. God understands the motive behind our actions. If we ignore Him and His rights in self-will, then that is sin … it is rebellion. Of course, there are differences in the measure of guilt or the character of sin. If we have never fallen into coarse, degrading sins, we should be sincerely thankful. However, the essential thing about our relationship to God is whether we seek to do His will or not. Can we truly say, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8)?

Thursday, September 16, 2021

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Young People of Scripture
Saul of Tarsus

“And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul” (Acts 7:58).

As a young man, Saul was one of the greatest persecutors of Christians. Later he said, “For ye have heard … how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it” (Galatians 1:13). He was of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of pure descent, born at Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, a fact which gave to him the privilege of Roman citizenship. He was a disciple of Gamaliel and a strict Pharisee. He is first introduced to us as a young man, by the name of Saul, at whose feet the witnesses who stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr, laid their clothes.

After his conversion on the road to Damascus, he was so completely changed that he became at once as bold for Christ as before he had been a persecutor of Christ. He immediately preached in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. He went on to become the Apostle Paul and to write a major part of the New Testament.

One great lesson we learn from Saul’s life is the power of God to change a person so completely that He can take the worst sinner and make them a great testimony and blessing.

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

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Cancer Cannot …

During a recent brush with cancer, someone sent me the following quote:

What Cancer Cannot Do

Cancer is limited,

It cannot cripple love,

It cannot shatter hope,

It cannot corrode faith,

It cannot destroy peace,

It cannot kill friendship,

It cannot suppress memories,

It cannot silence courage,

It cannot invade the soul,

It cannot steal eternal life,

It cannot conquer the spirit.

–Author Unknown

This brought to mind the words of Artaxerxes when writing to encourage Ezra, “Perfect peace, and at such a time” (Ezra 7:12). What a wonderful thing it is to have perfect peace and confidence, even in times of sickness or facing real trail. We have so much in Christ that can never be taken away or lost!

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

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From Him and To Him

It has been well stated, “Take your circumstances from the Lord and your difficulties to the Lord.”

Until we learn this simple yet important principle in our lives, we will never really have true happiness or “The peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

First of all, we must learn, like David, “This I know; for God is for me” (Psalm 56:9). Whatever is allowed in our lives we must not only accept, but accept with thanksgiving, realizing that He knows best and that it comes from a heart of love and a hand of tenderness.

Secondly, we must learn to take everything to the Lord in prayer, as so beautifully expressed in Joseph Scriven’s hymn written in 1885:

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear;
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Monday, September 13, 2021

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Dear Young Christian:

I believe that those of us who are saved can enjoy the wonders of creation in a deeper way than the unbeliever. That’s because we know the Creator in an intimate relationship as our Father. As I write this calendar page, I am looking at a beautiful bouquet of flowers on our dining room table. The vibrant colors are amazing: Yellow, pink, blue, orange, white, purple, and green … all for the Creator’s enjoyment and for ours as well. “All things were created by Him, and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).

When we get to Heaven, we will give the Lord worship and praise, not just as Redeemer, but also as Creator. We will fall at His feet saying, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11). As you enjoy creation this week, remember the One who created it all and who sustains it all as well. And remember, too, that this mighty Creator is interested in every aspect and detail of our lives.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

Sunday, September 12, 2021

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Spices

“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them” (Luke 24:1).

After His death, those who loved the Lord Jesus had diligently prepared fragrant spices for the body of the One they loved. However, arriving at the tomb on the first day of the week, they found that He was not there but had risen. Others, it seems, arrived too, but without spices.

Preparing spices would typify our ready worship and praise as a result of our enjoyment of the person and work of Christ. Have we prepared fragrant spices of appreciation this past week? As we come into the presence of the Lord today to worship and remember Him and the great work of Calvary, will we come with fragrant worship, praise, and thanksgiving? Or will we depend on what others bring? The Bible reminds us, “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving … . Come before His presence with singing” (Psalm 95:2; 100:2).Is your heart full of Christ today?

Saturday, September 11, 2021

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Riches

“The exceeding riches of his grace” (Ephesians 2:7).

George Cutting shared the following.

An American millionaire, John D. Rockefeller, said … “The poorest man I know is the man who has nothing but money.” He was only agreeing with the language of another, who said, “Though a man without money is poor, the man with nothing but money is poorer still! Worldly possessions cannot bear up the spirits from fainting and shrinking when trial and troubles come, any more than a headache can be cured by a golden crown … . ”

Saint Augustine once remarked that “earthly riches are full of poverty;” and this is certainly far nearer the mark than is the world’s notion of riches, which is something like this: that a man who has £10,000 must be twice as happy as the man who has £5,000. Never was a greater mistake made than this, yet how commonly is it believed. It is far more correct to say that money is a universal provider for everything but happiness, and a universal passport to every place but Heaven.

That is why it is so important to have “true riches.” What matters in the next life is not earthly things but what we have in Christ — eternal life, salvation, and forgiveness of sins.

Friday, September 10, 2021

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Our Strength — Part 3

“When I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

The Apostle Paul knew what weakness was. If you read the context of our verse, beginning at chapter 11:23, you will see that he is talking about and listing some of the things he had experienced in his walk of faith and service for the Lord. They are things that most of us will never be called on to go through. How did he do it day after day and year after year? Certainly not in his own strength, but in the strength of the Lord alone. He could say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). He could say this with confidence because he had had the assurance from the Lord earlier, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Are you feeling weak? Do you feel you just can’t face life, even as a believer? It is not wrong to feel our weakness if it casts us in complete dependence on the Lord? “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:30-31).

Thursday, September 9, 2021

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Our Strength — Part 2

Like Nehemiah, David is another Old Testament character who found his strength in the Lord. When you read about the life of David, you quickly see that he did not have an easy life. From the time he was anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the next king in Israel, until he died, there was one problem and difficulty after another. Family problems, running for his life from king Saul, wars with his enemies, domestic struggles, friends and people he trusted letting him down, and on and on.

But amidst it all, David found his strength in the Lord. In his song of thanksgiving, near the end of his life, he could recount the goodness of the Lord and say, “God is my strength and power: and He maketh my way perfect … . For Thou hast girded me with strength” (2 Samuel 22:33, 40). Often in the Psalms, which he no doubt wrote during many of those difficult times, he refers to the strength he experienced from the Lord. For example: “The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).

We, too, can experience that same strength to meet the daily round of life and the special trials and tests that the Lord allows to keep us dependent on Himself.

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

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Our Strength — Part 1

“For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands” (Nehemiah 6:9).

Nehemiah was doing the work of the Lord in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Day after day, week after week, he toiled. But just because we are serving the Lord, it doesn’t mean that it is going to be easy. Nehemiah soon found out that he had a crafty enemy by the name of Sanballat. This man and his cohorts tried many ways to discourage and stop the work.

However, in today’s verse we find that Nehemiah prays and asks the Lord to strengthen his hands. If it had been me, I might have asked the Lord to remove the enemy and give him what I thought he deserved. Or I might have asked Him to give the job to someone else more capable. I might have even asked for a miracle-shortcut so things would get done in a supernatural way without all the sweat and tears.

But no, this man of God asked for strength to press on, even in the face of the enemy and hard, mundane work. It is thrilling to see how God comes in when we are helpless, and all seems hopeless. Remember, “The Lord is the strength of His people” (Psalm 28:8).

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

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His Arms

“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).

Today I woke and found myself
In Jesus’ loving arms,
And all day long He kept me there,
Safe from the devil’s harms.

His grace and mercy followed me,
And all was sunshine bright,
I felt those arms of strength and power,
While walking in His light.

And then when evening came at last,
He brought me safely home,
To where I started earlier,
Throughout the day to roam.

And as I laid me down to rest,
And sleep throughout the night,
I felt those arms around me still,
Were holding me so tight.

Monday, September 6, 2021

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Dear Young Christian:

Sometimes, when we think of sin, we think of those gross transgressions that perhaps even the unsaved would consider distasteful and wrong. But the most dangerous sins, and often those that are most detrimental to our Christian life and testimony, are those little sins that slowly and subtly take hold of us and form habits and practices that are unholy and displeasing to the Lord.

As you start out this week, take stock of those things that you are allowing in your day-to-day life without much thought. Often, in standing guard against the great attacks of Satan and sins of sizable account and consequence, we miss his wiles and let in those tiny sins that add up and spoil our joy if left without being confessed and judged. Solomon said, “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor” (Ecclesiastes 10:1).Flies are small, and one dead fly is of no consequence. But, when you let them accumulate, then there is a spoiling of what was once sweet and good. Don’t let those little sins accumulate in your life this week.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

Sunday, September 5, 2021

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His Atoning Sufferings

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).

Often, we focus more on the physical sufferings of Christ than on those atoning sufferings endured at the hand of God when forsaken during those three hours of darkness. As good as it is for us to meditate of the Lord’s sufferings at the hand of man, we need to remember that none of those sufferings put away sin. Here are some verses to consider in connection with those sufferings that satisfied God as to the question of our sins, and on which we can rest our eternal salvation:

“He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

“Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

“God … 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 5:20-21).

Saturday, September 4, 2021

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Do You Know God?

Of course, you know there is a Supreme Being, the Creator and Upholder of all things. But do you know God, the holy and righteous God before whom you will stand some day? Do you know that He cannot look upon sin or allow the sinner to go unpunished? Can you look forward to meeting God calmly and without fear?

God has revealed Himself to us in His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ’s mission was to declare the heart of God, to make known His hatred of sin and His love for sinners. “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Because of the cross and the work accomplished on it, God is now shown to be “just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

Do you know God in this way? “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent” (John 17:3). All who know Him say: “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid” (Isaiah 12:2). But the great question remains, DO YOU KNOW GOD?

Friday, September 3, 2021

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Walk With God

When I was growing up my parents had the following text on our wall at home: “And Enoch walked with God … three hundred years” (Genesis 5:22).

Three hundred years! Wow! That’s quite a record!

How many years does the average Christian have, to walk with God here in this world? Certainly, nowhere near 300! Enoch lived at a time when the world was in a very wicked condition, culminating with the flood in the following chapters. Enoch was gone by that time, but he left quite a testimony for us to consider. “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). “By faith Enoch … had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).

John Shaw (1630-1704), when preaching, said of Enoch, “Yes, he walked with God so much that he just got in the knack (habit) of it.” Do you walk in the conscious sense of God’s company? We only have a few short years allotted to us, it is a good thing to get into the habit of walking with God every day.

Someone else has said, “Let us walk with God more, and we shall walk more like Him.”

Thursday, September 2, 2021

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Certainty

Sir Ambrose Fleming (1849-1945), a renowned British scientist, said: “We must not build on the sands of an uncertain and ever-changing science, but upon the rock of the inspired Scriptures, which do not comprise the guesses of fallible minds, but the utterances of holy men of God who spoke by the Holy Ghost.”

Here is the witness of some of those “holy men of God” (2 Peter 1:21):

Solomon: “Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, that I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth?” (Proverbs 22:20-21).

Luke: “It seemed good to me … to write … that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed” (Luke 1:3-4).

Job: “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25).

Paul: “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).

John: “We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love” (1 John 4:16).

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

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Let Your Light Shine

This month is marked by many of you young people returning to school, starting a new job, or returning to the old routine of life after summer vacation. Many of you will meet new fellow-students and coworkers and find yourselves in new surroundings. Don’t forget to let your light shine for the Lord right away. We are exhorted “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16). “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).

Letting your light shine right away will preserve you from many embarrassing situations and will keep you from being invited or enticed to take part in things that would not be pleasing to the Lord.

Not only so, but who knows what a blessing your Christian testimony may be? The Lord can use it for the salvation of someone who you study or work with. You may even find that there are other believers who need encouragement and who you can have fellowship with.