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Young Christians Calendar

A daily meditation for young Christians

January 2024

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Wednesday, January 31, 2024

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“The love of Christ constraineth [draws] us…that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
As we noticed yesterday, God will reward us in a coming day, at the judgment seat of Christ for believers, for what we have done for Him during our lives on earth. We said that God does not present rewards as a motive for living for Him. Let me use an illustration.
Most of you who are reading this have fathers and mothers, and I hope that you are living in a happy home. Can you imagine your father saying to your mother, “If you make me three good meals every day, look after the children well, keep the house clean, do the laundry regularly, and give me a nice hug and a kiss when I come home from work, I will give you a really nice present for your birthday! No, that would never happen in a normal home.
But your mother probably does all of those things I have listed. Why does she do it? You know why; it is because she loves your father, and you too. It is the same with the Lord Jesus, and with us. Why do we do what the Lord Jesus wants us to do? It is because we enjoy His love so much that we want to do something in return for all He has done for us.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

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“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
In our verse yesterday, it said that all of us must give account of ourselves to God, and we mentioned that this included both believers and unbelievers. However, it is most important for us to understand that there can never be any judgment for sin for believers. Today’s verse makes this abundantly clear. If we have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, then all the judgment for our sins took place at the cross. The Lord Jesus bore the judgment for us, and the question of our sins can never be raised again.
However, God will hand out rewards to believers for faithfulness in our lives down here, and in that sense we will, as believers, also give account of ourselves to God. At the judgment seat of Christ for believers, our lives will be reviewed, and what has been done for the Lord will be rewarded. Everything else will be burned up.
Those rewards are something greatly to be desired, although God never sets rewards before us as a motive for living for Christ. No, there is another more important motive for living for God’s glory in this world, and we will discuss that tomorrow.

Monday, January 29, 2024

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“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).
For many years I and several others went into the downtown of the city of Toronto, Ontario each Lord’s Day afternoon to visit in a “Detention Centre”. All the young people locked up in there were under 16 years of age, and all had committed serious crimes. It was a privilege to be able to speak to them about the Lord Jesus. On one visit I read this verse to them and asked them what it meant. Most of them did not know; they did not understand the words, and I had to explain it to them.
However, it is a most important verse, for it means that every one of us must answer to God for the way we have lived our lives, and this applies to believers and unbelievers. When we are guilty of doing something wrong, it is easy to try and blame someone else for it. When we are before God, however, we cannot do that. God knows all about us, and it is what we have done that matters, not what someone else has done. The Lord will take care of that other person, but we must answer for what we have done.

Sunday, January 28, 2024

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“He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? For He was cut off out of the land of the living” (Isaiah 53:8).
“When Thou [God the Father] shalt make His [the Lord Jesus’] soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days” (Isaiah 53:10).
If you have read Isaiah 53 before, perhaps you have wondered what the expression “declare His generation” means, in verse 8. The Roman governor Pilate knew the Lord Jesus was innocent but gave in to the demands of the Jewish leaders and gave orders to crucify Him. In a natural sense, this would mean that the Lord Jesus would never have any children. In many parts of the world, and especially in Eastern countries, it is considered a shame and a disgrace to die without having any children.
But God had other plans, if we may say so reverently. It is true that the Lord Jesus never had any natural children, but how many spiritual children came from His work on the cross! Millions of people will be the children of God, and will be in heaven, because they have believed on the Lord Jesus. That is what it means in verse 10, when it says, “He shall see His seed.” His seed refers to His children, and although He was cut off as a man in this world, yet “He shall prolong His days.” Man thought he had gotten rid of the Lord Jesus, but in resurrection there was to be tremendous blessing.

Saturday, January 27, 2024

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“But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid” (Matthew 14:27).
“Be of good cheer” is a very encouraging expression, and it occurs seven times in the Word of God. It occurs twice in Matthew, once in Mark, once in John, and three times in Acts. See if you can find them all. The word that is translated “cheer” in the Greek language is sometimes translated “comfort,” so that the Lord Jesus could say to the woman who touched the hem of His garment, “Be of good comfort.” It is the same word.
Here in our verse for today, the Lord Jesus had asked His disciples to get into a ship and to go across the Sea of Galilee, while He sent the multitudes of people away. Then later, in the night, He came to them, walking on the water. They were in the middle of a storm, and were frightened when they saw Him, but He reassured them, telling them who He was.
The Lord Jesus wants to do the same for us today. We may encounter storms of various kinds in our lives, and various troubles. But He comes to us, and says, “Be of good cheer.” When He is with us, nothing can harm us.

Friday, January 26, 2024

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“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).
This is an important verse that we all need to remember, but it is especially important for young people. In school you will learn many things, and it is good to learn things like mathematics, geography, history, etc. But sometimes teachers may teach things that involve moral and spiritual values, and then it is important to remember this verse. On any moral and spiritual subject, the Word of God is the absolute authority. If anyone says something that is contrary to the Bible, this verse tells us that “there is no light in them.” We should immediately reject what they are saying, and believe what the Word of God says.
For example, you may be taught that thousands of years ago, our ancestors were “hunters and gatherers,” and that they lived in caves. Then supposedly they got smarter and learned how to plant crops and build houses. But this is all nonsense. It is an idea that has been brought forward to support the theory of evolution. Adam was clearly the first man, and his wicked son Cain “went out from the presence of the Lord…and builded a city” (Genesis 4:16-17). He knew how to build a city; he did not live in a cave.
Yes, we know that at some points in man’s history, some people did live in caves, but that is because they got away from God, and lost some of their knowledge. But man did not start by living in caves, and then learn how to build houses.

Thursday, January 25, 2024

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“And he [one of the thieves crucified with the Lord Jesus] said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43).
This is a very touching story. We know that the Lord Jesus was crucified between two thieves, both of whom at first mocked Him, asking Him to save Himself and them too. But then one of them realized who the Lord Jesus was. The sign on the cross of the Lord Jesus said that He was the King of the Jews, and one thief saw that it was true. The Spirit of God worked in his heart, and instead of mocking the Lord Jesus, he asked Him to remember him when He came into His kingdom.
What a wonderful answer he received! He did not have to wait, for the Lord Jesus has not received His kingdom yet. The Lord reassured this dying thief that on that very day, he would be with Him in paradise. What a change from all his suffering! It is true that he had been a bad man and was suffering the penalty normally given to thieves. But the blood of Christ was able to wash all those sins away and make him fit for the presence of God.

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

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“Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls; for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 JND).
In these verses for today, there are two types of burdens, and two types of rest. I have used the Darby translation, as it makes it clearer. The first burden is the burden of our sins. When we realize that we have sinned against God, our sins become a heavy burden, but the Lord Jesus suffered on Calvary’s cross in order to take away that burden, and give us rest. When we accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we can have perfect rest before God, for the Lord Jesus takes that burden away.
But then there are the burdens that have to do with our life in this world. Even as Christians, there are many burdens in our lives, and the Lord wants us to bring them to Him. He wants us to share the yoke with Him, and learn of Him. When we walk with the Lord, He shares bearing the burden with us, and then we will find that the burden is light. The world is very confused today, but you and I can have rest in our souls, if we enjoy the company of the Lord Jesus.

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

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“Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
Today’s verse is very similar to yesterday’s, for both of them mention that awful word hell. It is often used as a swear word today, and many people speak of it very lightly. But hell is a real place.
Some people have interpreted the word “destroy” to try and prove that people who go to hell are annihilated, which simply means that they cease to exist. But this is not the meaning of the word destroy. The word destroy means to make something unable to be used for the purpose for which it was made. You could take an ax, and in a few minutes you could destroy a wooden chair, but the wood would not cease to exist. The chair would just not be usable for someone to sit on.
According to Revelation 4:11, all things, including you and I, were made for God’s pleasure. Those who go to hell will never give God any pleasure, and in that sense they are destroyed. But they will not cease to exist. It is a most solemn thought.

Monday, January 22, 2024

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“Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him” (Luke 12:4-5).
The world “hell,” properly translated, is found only twelve times in the Bible, and all are in the New Testament. Other words are translated this way in our KJV, but often the word should be “hades” (in the New Testament) or “sheol” (in the Old Testament). These two words simply mean the condition of a soul without a body. Hades is Greek, and Sheol is Hebrew, and they refer to a condition, not a place.
The word translated “hell” is a solemn word, and of the twelve times it occurs in the Bible, all but one of them is spoken by the Lord Jesus Himself. Why did He speak of it? It was because He knew, better than anyone else, what an awful thing it is to go to hell for all eternity. He spoke more often of the terrors of hell than of the joys of heaven, for He wished to warn people to come and be saved.
The place called hell is referred to in other terms in the Bible, such as the lake of fire, or the blackness of darkness forever. All these expressions are meant to show us what an awful place hell is, and to warn us where we will spend eternity if we reject Christ.

Sunday, January 21, 2024

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“And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger” (Luke 17:17).
If you read this story (Luke 17:11-19), you will find that ten lepers came to the Lord Jesus, asking to be healed. He did not heal them right away, but told them to go and show themselves to the priests. As they went to do this, they were all healed. We may assume that all of them went to the priests and showed clearly that they were healed, for according the law of Moses, there were certain things that had to be done when a leper was cleansed.
However, there was one of them who took the trouble to go back to the Lord Jesus and thank Him for healing him. The Lord Jesus really appreciated this, and He felt it keenly that the other nine did not bother to come back. They were so overjoyed that they were healed that they did not take the time and trouble to go back and give thanks.
If you are truly saved, have you thanked the Lord Jesus for what He did for you? Did you remember Him at His table this morning, as He asked us to do?

Saturday, January 20, 2024

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“He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth” (Psalm 72:8).
Everyone in the United States of America recognizes today’s date as inauguration day. Of course this year is not an inauguration year, but every four years, on this date, someone takes the oath of office and officially becomes the president of the United States. The last inauguration occurred on January 20, 2021, when Joseph Biden became president.
Inaugurations did not always occur on this date, but in 1933, a law was passed making this the date of the inauguration, and the first president to be sworn in on this date was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937.
According to our verse, someday there will be a change of administration in this world, when the Lord Jesus takes His rightful place. We do not know the exact date, for by that time, you and I will be in heaven with the Lord. But after the Lord Jesus deals with this world in judgment, He will take His place as Head over all things in this world, and He will rule in righteousness. It will be a wonderful time for this world, but not as wonderful as what we will enjoy in heaven, with Christ. Our joy will be to be with and like Him, but we will also rejoice to see Him have His rightful place in this world.

Friday, January 19, 2024

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“And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it” (Matthew 9:30).
“Jesus…saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee” (Mark 5:19).
Here we find the Lord Jesus healing two men who were blind, and in another place, casting demons out of a man. Yet He gave totally opposite instructions to them! He told the two men who had been blind not to tell anyone, but told the man with the demons to go home and tell his friends what the Lord had done for him. Why was this?
The two blind men lived right in the same area where the Lord Jesus spent a lot of His time. Sad to say, many people came to the Lord Jesus just to see the miracles He did. They did not really believe on Him, and when they crowded around Him, they only hindered His work. The Lord Jesus already had enough publicity!
But the man with the demons lived on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and the Lord Jesus did not normally spend much time there. Those people needed to hear about the Lord, and the man who had been healed was well known. He had been so violent and offensive before he met the Lord Jesus that no one could pass by the cemetery where he lived. When he was no longer under Satan’s influence, he was an excellent witness of the power and goodness of God. The Lord Jesus gave each one the right instructions.

Thursday, January 18, 2024

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“They shall beat their swords into plowshares [farming equipment], and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not rise up against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4).
Over sixty years ago, a sculptor from the Soviet Union by the name of Evgeniy Vuchetich, made a statute of a man with a hammer in one hand and a sword in the other. The man was using the hammer to make the sword into a plowshare, and the work of art was entitled, “Let us make swords into plowshares.” It won the highest award at the Brussels World Exhibition in 1958, and was donated to the United Nations in 1959. It still stands in the north garden of the United Nations headquarters in New York, NY, U.S.A. Yet as I write this in January 2022, the world is on the verge of another war, provoked by the massive buildup of Russian troops on the border of the Ukraine.
We are not writing this to say that countries like Russia are responsible for the wars in this world, but only to point out that this verse will not come to pass until the Lord Jesus comes and reigns in righteousness during the millennium. Only then will there be true world peace. All of man’s efforts to promote peace are doomed to failure, for this world has rejected the Prince of peace.

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

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“Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54).
Here we find one more centurion, the one who was responsible for the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. He had likely seen many men crucified, and was used to seeing men suffer this way. But when the Lord Jesus was on the cross, he saw things he had never seen before. He saw darkness over the whole land for three hours, then an earthquake, and the breaking apart of big rocks. He also heard the Lord Jesus cry out with the loud voice, just before He died. All of this impressed this centurion and others with him so much that he exclaimed, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
The Jews would not admit that Jesus was the Son of God. They said that He was just an ordinary man, although they would admit that He was a prophet. But God had His way of making the truth obvious to these Roman soldiers. It does not say that they really believed on the Lord Jesus that day, but they recognized that God was showing them who the Lord Jesus really was. Only God Himself could make all these things happen.

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

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“Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul” (Acts 27:11).
“And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose” (Acts 27:42-43).
Here we have another centurion. This time the Apostle Paul was on board a ship that was taking him to Rome. The centurion was in charge of all the prisoners, one of whom was Paul. But although he was a prisoner, Paul knew the Lord and was able to give some good advice to those in charge, telling them not to leave the island of Crete. However, at first the centurion believed the master of the ship, and did not follow Paul’s advice.
Later they ran into a lot of trouble because they had not taken Paul’s advice, and the centurion realized that Paul was right. Evidently, he changed his mind, and now wanted to protect Paul. What do we learn from this? Sometimes you and I may speak the truth from the Bible to people, but they do not want to listen. However, let us not be discouraged. If we go on quietly with the Lord, He can work in their hearts, and later they may believe what we have said to them.

Monday, January 15, 2024

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“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy…and Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him” (Matthew 8:5-7).
A centurion was a Roman soldier who was the commander of 100 men and had authority over them. But here was one who recognized who the Lord Jesus was, and who came to Him for help. His servant was very sick, and he wanted the Lord to heal him. But if you read the story, you will see that the centurion asked the Lord Jesus not to bother coming all the way to his house. He had faith that if the Lord Jesus only said the word, his servant would be healed. The Lord appreciated his faith, and when He simply said the word, the servant was healed!
The centurion understood authority, and as a commanding officer, he was accustomed to sending his servants here and there to do various things. He knew the Lord Jesus could speak the word, and it would happen.
There are several centurions mentioned in the New Testament. Only one is mentioned by name. Can you find his story and name?

Sunday, January 14, 2024

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“The governor [Pilate] answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain [two] will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas” (Matthew 27:21).
When the Jews brought the Lord Jesus to Pilate, they asked that He be crucified. But Pilate knew that the Lord Jesus had not done anything wrong, and he badly wanted to let Him go. It was the custom at the Passover feast for the governor to release a prisoner, and Pilate proposed that he release either Barabbas or the Lord Jesus. When he asked the crowd whom they wanted, they immediately chose Barabbas.
This world made its choice on that day long ago and has suffered for it ever since. Barabbas had done just about everything criminal that could be done, yet the people would rather have him released than have the Lord Jesus set free. No wonder this world is full of crime and terrorism today!
We know that this was the natural heart of man, but God was in it, for we also read, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20). When man did his worst, and asked for a murderer instead of the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus went to the cross, and provided a way that you and I could be saved.

Saturday, January 13, 2024

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“Lying lips are abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 12:22).
Perhaps some of you have not noticed this yet, but in the world today, lying is very common. When I was growing up it was still regarded as a serious sin, and anyone caught lying was not respected at all. All that has changed today, and it is looked upon as all right to tell lies, especially to get out of trouble.
A few years ago I took my snowblower in to have it serviced. The man in charge promised to deliver it back on a Monday. I waited all day, and when he never came, I called him on the phone. He said that he had promised to deliver it on Tuesday, not Monday. When I reminded him of what he had said, and told him I had written it down, he finally admitted that he had lied to me, and said, “I guess that was not very professional of me.”
Let us be careful not to adopt the attitude of this world toward telling lies, for as we see in our verse, it is an abomination to the Lord. As Christians, we should be recognized as those who always tell the truth.

Friday, January 12, 2024

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“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye…Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3,5).
If we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that we are all experts at seeing the faults of others. A mote is another name for a small speck of something, while a beam is just that—a large length of wood or metal that could be used to support a house. Of course we would never actually have a beam in our eye, but the Lord uses the comparison to show us how we can always see the speck of wrong that someone else does, but perhaps do not notice the much bigger wrong that we have done.
The Lord can use us to help one another judge wrong things in our lives, but first we must judge ourselves. As Christians, self-judgment is most important, for we still have an old sinful nature, that wants to do bad things. When this happens, we sometimes try to excuse ourselves, yet still want to help someone else get rid of a very small sin.
If we have done wrong, we need to confess it to the Lord, and then He can forgive us, so that we enjoy happy fellowship with the Lord again. Then we may be able to be a help to others who do not realize what they are doing wrong.

Thursday, January 11, 2024

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“Love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave…Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it” (Song of Solomon 8:6-7).
Love and jealousy are some of the strongest emotions in the human heart. Down through the ages many people have died for others because of the bond of love between them. Husbands have died for wives, and wives for their husbands. Parents have died for children, and soldiers have died for their comrades. On one occasion during World War II, a hand grenade was thrown into a concrete bunker by the enemy. Several men were in the bunker, including their commanding officer. Had the grenade gone off in the normal way, all of them would have been killed. But the commanding officer immediately fell on top of the grenade and took the force of it himself. He died of course, but all his men lived.
The love of the Lord Jesus led Him to give Himself for us, not when we were His friends, but when we were His enemies. There is no love like His!
No man of greater love can boast,
Than for His friend to die.
Thou for Thine enemies wast slain:
What love with Thine can vie?

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

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“And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated” (Deuteronomy 34:7).
Moses’ life can be divided into three sections of forty years. He was forty years growing up in Pharaoh’s court, then forty years keeping sheep in the backside of the desert, and finally forty years leading the children of Israel through the desert towards the land of Canaan. In our verse today, we read that at the end of his life, he was just as strong and healthy as ever. His eyes were good, and his natural strength was the same. Why was this?
Normally as people get older, they get weaker, and their bodies start to fail. For example, by the time Isaac was one hundred and twenty years old, his eyes were dim and he could not see very well. But the Lord had a work for Moses to do, and in order to do it well, he needed good eyes and full strength. The Lord gave that to him and preserved his health.
The Lord can do that for you and me today as well. If He has something for us to do, He will give us the strength for it. We may not live to one hundred and twenty years with our full strength, but the Lord will see to it that we have the strength to do what He wants us to do.

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

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“My Beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away” (Song of Solomon 2:10).
The Song of Solomon is a short but very beautiful book of the Bible. You probably know that Solomon wrote three books of the Bible—Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. In Proverbs, God is almost always addressed as LORD, written in capital letters. This is really the word for Jehovah. In Ecclesiastes, God is referred to simply as God. But in the Song of Solomon neither God nor Jehovah are mentioned. Why is this? It is because the Song of Solomon speaks of a relationship between a bride and her bridegroom, and it uses more endearing language. She calls Him, “My beloved,” and He calls her, “My love.”
I live in Canada, and, as of this writing, we recognize Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state. When she was a little girl, her grandfather, King George V was the king. Whenever she went in to see him, she first had to bow and recognize him as king. But then she could run and jump up on his knee. Did she call him “Your majesty” then, or call him “king?” No, she called him grandpa! That is the way it is in the Song of Solomon.
You and I who are saved recognize Jesus as Lord, but then we can enjoy our relationship with Him as Savior, and as our Bridegroom, who is waiting to call us home.

Monday, January 8, 2024

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“Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).
Two days ago we were noticing that when we get old, the pleasures of this life often do not have much attraction for us. Both our minds and bodies are failing, and we do not have the interest or the energy to do the things we did when we were young. However, if we know the Lord, we find the truth of our verse today. The outward man may be slowly going downhill, but the Lord renews the inward man day by day.
I remember having lunch a few years ago with an older man who had Alzheimer’s disease. I had known him well for many years, but as I tried to have a conversation with him, I found that much of what he said to me did not make sense. However, when I spoke to him about the things of the Lord, I found that he responded quite normally, and everything he said concerning spiritual things made perfect sense. Why was that? It was because the Spirit of God that was in him was renewing his inward man, and he was enjoying those things, even if his mind was not totally clear on natural things. He had indeed remembered his Creator when he was young, and he was getting the benefit of it when he was older.

Sunday, January 7, 2024

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“And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire…Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire” (Exodus 12:8-9).
When the Israelites ate the Passover, they were to make sure that the lamb was roasted with fire. It could not be eaten raw, nor were they to boil it in water. It must be roasted with fire.
We know that the Passover is a picture of the Lord Jesus and His death on the cross. On the cross, during the three hours of darkness, He bore the full judgment of God for sin. The fire that roasted the lamb speaks of the judgment of God, and it could not be lessened in any way. Of course the lamb did not feel anything, for it was already dead, but the fire is a picture that shows us the suffering of the Lord Jesus for sin. He had to bear the full judgment for sin; it could not be lessened in any way, if our sins were to be put away. Today is the Lord’s Day, and He wants us to remember Him, and all that He suffered for us.

Saturday, January 6, 2024

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“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 12:1).
Perhaps you have not read much in the book of Ecclesiastes, but it is a very interesting book. It was written by King Solomon toward the end of his life, and he tells us what it was like to be rich and wise, and to try everything in this world that might make him happy. He ends up by saying that “all was vanity and pursuit of the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11 JND). Just as you cannot catch the wind, so you cannot find lasting pleasure in anything in this world.
But then, at the end of the book, he gives us some good advice. We are to remember our Creator when we are young. In youth, we want to try everything, but then as we get old, we find that there is no pleasure at all, even in things we enjoyed when we were young. Sadly, at that point, if we have neglected the Lord all our life, we often do not have any interest in Him. Most people who get saved do so when they are young. If you are not saved, it is much better to remember your Creator now. You do not need to try everything in this world. Solomon has already done it, and tells us that it does not make us happy. Only the Lord can fill our hearts.

Friday, January 5, 2024

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“And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord…it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein” (Leviticus 22:21).
In the Old Testament the children of Israel were to offer animal sacrifices to the Lord, because the Lord Jesus had not yet come and died on the cross. The Israelites looked ahead to the death of the Lord Jesus, and those sacrifices were pictures of the Lord Jesus. They also reminded the Israelites of the seriousness of sin, for an animal had to die, in order for their sin to be covered. But no animal sacrifice could really take away sin, for we read in Hebrews 10:11, “Every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” Only the blood of the Lord Jesus can wash away our sins.
Whenever the Israelites offered a sacrifice, it was to be a perfect animal, without any blemish in it. It could not be lame, or have only one eye, or be sick, or anything like that. It had to be perfect, for the Lord Jesus was perfect, and the animal was a picture of Him.

Thursday, January 4, 2024

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“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).
When we know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we have a new life in us. God wants us to allow that new life to shine out in our everyday life. We must live in this world, go to school, go to work, and interact with people who are not saved. But they should be able to see that we are different. How do they see this?
We may tell people that we are saved and belong to the Lord Jesus. But they cannot see into our hearts. The only way they will know for sure that we belong to the Lord Jesus is if what we say and do is different from those who are not Christians. For many people in this world, a believer’s life is the only Bible they ever read. That means that even though they may not read the Bible, they ought to be able to see Christ in you and me. They should see our “good works,” and then glorify our God and Father who is in heaven. They should be able to recognize that our good works are not because we are nice people, but because we know the Lord.

Wednesday, January 3, 2024

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“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted [tested] of the devil” (Matthew 4:1).
We might wonder why it was necessary for the Lord Jesus to go out into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. When the devil met Him, he tempted the Lord with three different things. You can read about them in Matthew 4:1-11. They were the kinds of things that would tempt us to sin, but instead of committing a sin, the Lord Jesus simply answered Satan by quoting Bible verses. Can you find those Bible verses He quoted to Satan? They are all from the book of Deuteronomy.
Some have used all this to try and say that the Lord Jesus Christ could have sinned, but did not. But it was impossible for Him to sin, for He did not have a sinful nature. Rather, the temptations proved who He was, for He resisted all the attempts of Satan to make Him sin.
All this is a good lesson for us, too. When Satan tempts us, we can resist him by quoting the Word of God. Satan has no answer for that. When He quoted the Word of God to Satan, the Lord Jesus left us a good example of how to handle temptations to sin in our lives.

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

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“Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:26).
The words in today’s verse were said to two people who were walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus, a distance of about 7 ½ miles (12 km.). They were discouraged, for they had really believed that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah, and now that He had been crucified, they thought that all their hopes were gone.
But the Lord Jesus came along beside them and walked with them, and started talking to them. When they told Him why they were sad, He began to show them from the Old Testament Scriptures why He had to suffer, and then enter into His glory. It was all there in the Old Testament, but many of the Jews were so impressed with the thought of a glorious kingdom that they did not notice the verses that spoke clearly of the death of the Lord Jesus.
The death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus were all part of God’s plan, long before even the world was made. He had to suffer for sin, and die, but that was not the end. He rose from the dead and is now seated in heaven at the right hand of God.

Monday, January 1, 2024

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“As thy days, so shall thy strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25).
This verse was given to the children of Israel just as they were about to enter the land of Canaan. They were to enjoy that good land that the Lord was giving them, and according to this verse, their strength would be the same as their days. That did not mean that they would never get old and become weaker. But it did mean that if they were obedient to the Lord, they would have strength to do whatever He wanted them to do, whatever their age.
As we begin another year, we do not know what the future holds, or how long we will be here. Probably most of you who read this are young, and are feeling strong and healthy. But there are even young people who do not always feel strong, and who cannot do everything they would like to do. However, we can go forward with confidence in the Lord, that He will look after us, and give us the needed strength for whatever He allows in our lives. Best of all, this may well be the year when the Lord Jesus comes and calls us home to be with Him!
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