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Young Christians Calendar

A daily meditation for young Christians

February 2025

Friday, February 28, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever” (1 John 2:17).

Probably most of you have not heard of Sir Christopher Wren, for he lived back in the 17th century in England. But he became a very famous architect, and his ability was recognized when he was quite young. He was born in 1632, and after the Great Fire of London destroyed much of the city in 1666, he was commissioned to design and oversee much of the rebuilding of it. Quite a few of the buildings he designed are still in use, including St. Paul’s cathedral and Kensington Palace. He is buried in St. Paul’s cathedral, and on his tomb (in Latin) are the words, “If you wish to see his monument, look around you.”

However, all these buildings are going to be destroyed some day, for everything man has built in this world is temporary. Only what has been done for Christ, according to God’s Word, will last for eternity. Men have spent a great deal of time and money building things in this world, but to do the will of God here in this world is something that the Lord values, and He will give you a reward that will last.

Jim Elliot, a young missionary who was murdered by Huaorani Indians in Ecuador back in 1956, made a good remark. He said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” If we give up the things of this world to live for the Lord, we will never lose by it.

Thursday, February 27, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).

Most countries today have customs and immigration officials, who are there to regulate who and what comes into the country. We visited Australia recently, and it is a country that is very careful about what comes into the country, especially plants and food that might bring plant diseases into the country. They have dogs that sniff at people’s baggage, and sharp-eyed customs officers who are trained to spot people who might be carrying the wrong things in their luggage. People try many different tricks to bring the wrong things into the country, but many of them are caught.

However, some people manage to get past these officers, and bring plants, food, and also drugs into the country. However, according to our verse today, we cannot manage to outwit the Lord. Our sin will find us out, no matter how we may try to hide it. The Lord not only knows everything we have said and done, but He also knows our thoughts. This is serious, for even our thoughts can be sin.

How wonderful it is to know that God also loves us and He has provided a way for us to have all our sins forgiven through the precious blood of Christ. The light of God’s presence exposes our sin, but whatever the light exposes, the blood covers, if we accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11).

As I write this, I am in London, England for a few days. Today we had a few hours of free time, so we went to a museum which we had never visited before. One section of it was rather gruesome, for it showed how they used to execute criminals many years ago. In England, this was done by hanging most of the time, which was often carried out in public. (The last public hanging in England was in 1868.) Crowds of people used to come to watch someone being hanged, and it seems that most of the time the crowd applauded, for they felt that bad people should be properly punished for their crimes. People could be hanged for many different crimes, including murder, stealing, forgery, treason, poaching, and pickpocketing.

Our God is a God of judgment, and He cannot pass over sin, no matter how small. However, we see from our verse that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Rather the grace and love of God has provided a way for Him to forgive the sinner, if the sinner will accept Christ. And when God carries out judgment, He does not enjoy it, as did the crowds in years gone by. In another Scripture God calls it His strange work.

God is light, and we make Him a Judge by our sins, but He is also love, and no one has made Him like this.

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3).

All through man’s history, there have been very unusual attempts by prisoners to escape from prison. The Tower of London in England, which was built nearly 1,000 years ago, was often used as a prison for those of the nobility in bygone days. Despite the strict security, there was more than one successful escape from it. More recently, prisoners of war were kept in various prisons in Nazi Germany during World War II. There were quite a few successful escapes from those prisons, which often involved very clever methods and hard work. Many of those who tried to escape were recaptured, but quite a few escaped as well.

However, if we die without knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, or are left behind when the Lord Jesus comes to take every true believer home to be with Himself, there will be no possibility of escape. No clever methods or special tricks will enable someone to get out of hell. They will be there for all eternity. This is the most awful end of a life that can be imagined, for we cannot even think of what eternity in hell will be like. For those in prison, there is always hope, but those in a lost eternity will have no hope. Once again, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior?

Monday, February 24, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“And when they [the Jewish leaders] were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole Him away while we slept” (Matthew 28:12-13).

This verse is very sad, for it shows how stubborn the heart of man is. No doubt the soldiers told their leaders all about the earthquake, the appearance of the angel, etc., and how frightened they were. But instead of believing that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead, the leaders paid the soldiers a lot of money to tell a lie. The soldiers did as they were told, and even today there are many Jews who believe this lie.

But while we may find fault with the Jews for doing this, let us remember that naturally, our own hearts are no better. Unless the Lord works in our hearts, we will not believe on the Lord Jesus, no matter how much proof is given to us of His death and resurrection. Man’s natural heart will look for every possible excuse to refuse God’s offer of salvation.

How thankful we can be that God has worked in our hearts, and given us the faith to believe on the Lord Jesus!

Sunday, February 23, 2025

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Person and Work of Christ

“And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it” (Matthew 28:2).

Last night my wife woke up at 3:30 a.m., and felt the bed shaking for a few minutes. This morning when we got up, we learned that a powerful earthquake had occurred in southern Turkey and northern Syria during the night, causing serious damage in which many people were killed. We felt only a little ripple of the earthquake here in Cyprus.

Earthquakes demonstrate God’s power, and man can do nothing to stop them. Also, they usually occur without warning, although there are areas of this world that are more susceptible to earthquakes. There is no doubt that God uses earthquakes to speak to man, and to warn him of coming judgment.

However, in our verse for today, there is no record that the earthquake did any serious damage. Rather, it demonstrated to man the power of God in resurrection, and the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead. The Jews had set a watch of soldiers to make sure that the disciples did not steal the body of the Lord Jesus, but in Matthew 28:4 we read that “the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.” Not only did the earthquake scare them, but also the sight of the angel who came and rolled back the stone from the door of the tomb.

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus was a wonderful event, and was the assurance that God was fully satisfied with the work that the Lord Jesus did on the cross. The Jews did not want to believe that the Lord Jesus really rose from the dead, but God gave them plenty of evidence that it had happened.

Saturday, February 22, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“Thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep” (2 Corinthians 11:25).

This is a very short verse, but it would be interesting to sit down with the Apostle Paul and hear the details of these three shipwrecks. We do not know anything about what happened, for the only shipwreck in Paul’s life about which we know any details (Acts 27) had not yet happened when Paul wrote this to the Corinthians.

Last night here on the south coast of Cyprus, we heard a terrific storm out on the Mediterranean Sea, with high winds, heavy rain, loud crashing of waves, and a lot of thunder. I laid in bed and thought of the Apostle Paul and some of his experiences, and how he was probably shipwrecked in a storm like this.

If you know the Lord as your Savior, you are not promised an easy pathway through life either. You may not be shipwrecked, as Paul was, but we know that we will be called upon to suffer for Christ, if we live a faithful life before Him in this world. Paul could say, “Out of them all the Lord delivered me” (2 Timothy 3:11), and we have that promise too.

Friday, February 21, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“So they [Paul and Barnabas]…sailed to Cyprus. And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found…the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus…who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the Word of God” (Acts 13:4,6-7).

As I write this in February, 2023, we are actually in Cyprus, and yesterday we were able to visit Paphos, which is at the western end of the island. If you look at Cyprus on a map, it does not look very big, but it is quite a large island, and it would have been a long way for Barnabas and Paul to walk to Paphos. When you come across the name of a place in your Bible, it is good to look it up on a map and learn a little about it. It makes the stories come alive for you.

No doubt Paphos has changed quite a bit since Barnabas and Paul were there, but there is a plaque hanging there in Paphos, telling tourists that it was in this city that Christianity first came to Cyprus. It is clear that Sergius Paulus was saved when Paul and Barnabas preached to him that day, and he was one of the important people in government. Later others came to Cyprus to preach the gospel, and no doubt many others were saved.

Thursday, February 20, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11).

First of all, if we are going to lead a victorious life, and not allow our old sinful nature to rule our lives, we must recognize that the power is not in ourselves. As we saw a couple of days ago, the old nature is too strong for us. Just as the power to wash our sins away does not come from ourselves, so the power to keep the old sinful nature from ruling our lives does not come from ourselves. It comes from the Lord.

Since the Lord Jesus died and rose again, we are entitled to “reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin.” That means that when wrong thoughts come into our minds, we can say, “But I am dead to that kind of thing. That old sinful nature does not have any rights over me. I am free simply to turn my mind away from it, and to think about Christ.” Now that I have a new life in Christ, that is the life that I want to rule my thoughts, and that is the life that I want to display in my behavior.

I do not allow that sinful thought to go around and around in my mind, and enjoy it, but neither do I get all upset and fight with that thought. I simply turn away from it, because I can consider myself to be dead to it.

I can now consider myself to be dead to sin, and a dead man is not tempted by anything he enjoyed when he was alive. So also you and I can look to the Lord, and it is His power that enables us to reckon ourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God.

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6).

Today’s verse is most important, for we know that while the blood of Christ washes our sins away forever, we still have the sinful nature that commits those sins. The Bible often refers to this as “the flesh.” God forgives sins, but He never forgives our old sinful nature. It can never be made any better, and it deserves nothing but death.

However, in His work on the cross, the Lord Jesus has made it possible for us to allow the new nature to act, instead of the old sinful nature. In His death and resurrection, the Lord Jesus died unto sin, and God saw the end of what we all were as children of Adam. Now we belong to a new Head—the Lord Jesus.

Baptism is connected with this, for when we are baptized, we go under the water and then come up again. In this way we identify ourselves with the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and admit that our sinful nature deserves nothing but death.

This may seem a bit complicated at first, but if you read the 6th chapter of Romans, you will see how the Apostle Paul explains it. God looks upon our “old man”—what we were as children of Adam, as having died with Christ. Now, in resurrection, we have a new life in Christ.

However, some of you will say, “But I still have the old sinful nature!” What do I do now? Tomorrow we will see what to do.

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Romans 7:19).

Have you ever had this experience? Most of us, as Christians, have had this happen to us. We have wanted to do what is right before the Lord, but then found that our sinful nature was too strong for us. Perhaps we have become very upset with ourselves, and become frustrated when our minds just would not stop thinking about some particular sin. Even though we did not like thinking about it, it became a struggle to fight against that thought.

Some years ago, while I was at a Christian camp, I saw a group of young people having a mud fight. It was all in fun, but within a few minutes every one of them was covered with dark slimy mud. Suppose you had decided to hug one of those young people, what would have happened? You would have gotten very dirty.

But suppose, instead, you were upset because they had gotten so dirty, and you started fighting with one of them. What would have happened then? You still would have gotten very dirty.

The point is that whether we enjoy sinning, or whether we fight with sin, we get dirty either way. Our minds are defiled with the sin, whether we willingly do it, or get all upset because wrong thoughts keep coming into our mind. Tomorrow we will see how we should handle this problem, according to the Word of God.

Monday, February 17, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“Daniel…kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God” (Daniel 6:10).

Yesterday my wife and I were on a long flight, on an airline based in a country in the Middle East. It was interesting to us to read one of the rules of the flight, prominently displayed on the screen in front of every seat, saying that those who wished to pray must do so while sitting in their seat. This was obviously for those on the flight who were Muslims, and who are expected to pray five times a day, kneeling on their prayer mat.

We thought how sad it was that while Muslims had to be told to pray in their seats, we would never see such a rule displayed in a western airline. Muslims pray because they are told to do so, but we Christians have the privilege of praying at any time, and are told to “pray without ceasing.” (See if you can find this verse in your Bible.) Of course, there are times when we cannot kneel down to pray, but it is good always to be in an attitude of prayer, and to be ready to turn to the Lord at any time, either to thank Him, or to ask for help. It is also good to be like Daniel, who had a definite time every day when he prayed, and thanked the Lord.

Prayer expresses our dependence on the Lord, and brings His power into our lives.

Sunday, February 16, 2025

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Person and Work of Christ

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30).

People often say that Christianity is just another religion, but it is different from every false religion in this way. Christianity is a religion of four letters, while all others have only two letters. Christianity is characterized by the word “DONE,” while every false religion is characterized by the word “DO.”

In our verse for today, the Lord Jesus said, “It is finished”—there was nothing more to be done. But every false religion says “Do”—you must do something to earn your salvation. But we cannot earn God’s salvation; we must accept it as a free gift from God.

Nothing either great or small—
Nothing, sinner, no;
Jesus did it, did it all,
Long, long ago.

“It is finished!” yes, indeed,
Finished every jot:
Sinner, this is all you need—
Tell me, is it not?

Saturday, February 15, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“They think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you” (1 Peter 4:4).

Yesterday we saw that we are strangers and pilgrims in this world, and today we find out that the world will not understand us. Because we have a new life in Christ, we have different desires, different goals, and we enjoy things that this world cannot enjoy. When we do not want to do the same things as people who are not saved, they do not understand, and as our verse says, they will speak evil of us.

But as we said yesterday, we should not be surprised at this, or wonder why they do not understand us. People who are not saved have only an old sinful nature, and their idea of a “good time” is generally to do something that is satisfying the old sinful nature. Things like wild parties, drinking, immoral conduct, and other sinful things are usually part of what is called a “good time” by this world.

But you and I, as believers, have a new life that wants to please the Lord. We are also indwelt by the Holy Spirit. That new life has new desires, and the Holy Spirit wants to give us the enjoyment of Christ in our hearts. People in this world do not know anything about this, and cannot understand it. We should be kind and loving to those who do not know the Lord, but we should not be surprised when they do not understand us.

Friday, February 14, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims” (1 Peter 2:11).

As I write this in the country of Australia in February, 2023, I am constantly reminded that I am a stranger here. Although Australia is a modern country, many things are different from Canada, where I normally live. For one thing, here in Australia they drive on the left side of the road, while in Canada we drive on the right. Here in Australia most houses are built of brick and concrete, while in Canada there are many houses built of wood. Here in Australia the trees, flowers, and other plants are also different from Canada, although some are similar.

As Christians we are also strangers in this world, for we do not really belong here. Heaven is our home, and the whole course of things in this world is “foreign” to a true Christian. We do not really “fit in,” for we do not live the same way as worldly people do.

However, we are also pilgrims. A pilgrim is one who is in a strange land, but who is going somewhere for a real purpose. He is not moving about aimlessly, but has a goal before him. You and I, as Christians, are here for a purpose, and we also have a goal before us. We are not expecting to be here indefinitely, for we are waiting for the Lord to call us home. Also, we are here to live for the glory of Christ, and to be like Him, for a testimony to this world. So we are both strangers and pilgrims, and we should not be ashamed of this. We are not to be strange or weird, but the world around us should recognize that we are different from them.

Thursday, February 13, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Yesterday we saw that the Lord Jesus told His disciples that there were many mansions in His Father’s house, and that when He left this world, He was going to prepare a place for them. However, the Lord Jesus did not often refer to the place where He was going, nor did He tell His disciples and others much about the place. Rather He said that He was going to be with the Father, and that when He came back again to this world, it would be to take all true believers to be with Him.

Heaven will be a wonderful place, and it will be beyond anything in this world to be in the Father’s house, but what will make it our home will be that the Lord Jesus is there as a Man. This is what it means, “I go to prepare a place for you,” in yesterday’s verse. His presence in heaven as a Man who has died for us and is risen is what makes heaven prepared for us. By being in heaven as a Man, the Lord Jesus has prepared the place for us.

In today’s verse, the Lord Jesus was speaking to a thief who was crucified with Him. The thief asked the Lord Jesus to remember him when He, the Lord Jesus, came into His kingdom. The Lord’s answer was that the thief would be with the Lord Jesus in paradise that very day. The Lord Jesus died, and the thief died shortly after. Both were together in paradise that same day.

Some people have beautiful homes, but what makes a home is not the beauty of the building, but rather who lives there. We will spend eternity with the Lord Jesus!

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“In My Father’s house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

As I write this in January, 2023, it is exactly 200 years since an American named John Howard Payne wrote the song, “Mid pleasures and palaces though you may roam, be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.” An Englishman named Henry Bishop wrote the tune for it, and it became very popular. Almost all of us can relate to the words of the song, for we can associate happy memories with our home, even though we may like to travel.

However, some people have only unhappy memories of their home, for they were not treated very well at home. Others perhaps have no home, and long for a place where they can find rest, fellowship, comfort, warmth, and shelter. John Howard Payne spent much of his time in Europe, and often did not have a home to which to go. On one occasion on a damp, cold evening, he sat huddled outside a wealthy home in London, England, cold and friendless, and inside the house heard the people singing around the piano. They were actually singing the song that he had written, while he was outside with no home!

How wonderful it is to know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, and to know God as our Father! Then we can look forward to spending eternity in the Father’s house, for that is our home. Most of us probably have a comfortable home to which to go, but to look forward to being in the Father’s house is beyond anything we can experience in this world.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“Be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

A few days ago, I was on a long plane flight, and took a quick look at the airline magazine that was in the pocket of the seat. Among other things in it was an advertisement for travel, and the words in large print were, “There’s no place like somewhere else.” That is the attitude of this world, for the heart of man is never satisfied with anything down here. No matter what we do, no matter what we have, or where we go, we get tired of it after a while. Then we want to go somewhere else, or do something different.

When I was younger, most people in my generation wanted to get things, such as a house, a car, furniture, nice dishes, etc. Of course, people also liked to travel, but it was not so important. Today many younger people would rather have a passport full of foreign stamps than a house full of things. But it is all part of the same mentality—we are never satisfied.

Our verse for today tells us to be content, for the Lord Himself has said, “I will never leave thee.” He is able to fill and satisfy our hearts when nothing in this world will satisfy us. Then we can be content with whatever He has given us in this world, for He gives us joy in our hearts that nothing in this world can give us.

Monday, February 10, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“The Jews answered him [Pilate], We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid” (John 19:7-8).

Yesterday we saw that moral power is always greater than physical power, and today we see this in the life of the Lord Jesus too. He was standing before Pilate, the powerful Roman governor, who had the power to release Him, or to crucify Him. Yet it was not the Lord Jesus who was afraid; rather, it was Pilate who was afraid, and the longer the trial of the Lord Jesus went on, the more afraid Pilate became.

No doubt Pilate knew about the life of the Lord Jesus, and all the miracles He had performed. He knew very well that the Lord Jesus was no ordinary man. When he found out that the Lord Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, Pilate was afraid. Yet sadly, Pilate’s political ambitions were more important to him than believing on the Lord Jesus, and he eventually gave the order to crucify the Son of God. He was afraid of the Lord Jesus, yet he was more afraid of losing his position and influence in the Roman Empire.

Sunday, February 9, 2025

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Person and Work of Christ

“Never man spake like this Man” (John 7:46).

The Jewish leaders were anxious to arrest the Lord Jesus, and at one point in His earthly ministry, during the feast of tabernacles, they sent officers to take Him. However, the officers returned without Him, and when the Pharisees and other leaders asked them why they had not brought Him, they said, “Never man spake like this man.”

The Lord Jesus was so impressive in His speech that even the officers who came to arrest Him were unable to do so, and had to return without Him. The same thing happened in the Old Testament, when King Ahab wanted to arrest Elijah. But when Elijah went to meet him, Elijah had such moral power that Ahab did what Elijah said. Moral power is always greater than physical power. You can read about this in 1 Kings 18.

This does not mean that we will never be persecuted, but it does mean that if we walk with the Lord, those who oppose us will not be able to answer us, when we speak with them. There will be moral power in what we say, and the consciences of others will feel it. We will see tomorrow how this happened in the life of the Lord Jesus.

Saturday, February 8, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles” (Proverbs 21:23).

“The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity…it defileth the whole body” (James 3:6).

We all know how much trouble can be caused by what we say. A careless word can cause hard feelings in others, and result in difficulties that may be very hard to straighten out. A harsh or insulting word can cause a fight, or perhaps an exchange of strong words that puts people at a distance from one another for many years.

Naturally speaking, nothing can keep the tongue from doing this, and each one of us knows how hard it is to control what we say. If we are upset or provoked, it is hard not to say something, or perhaps to say the right thing instead of the wrong thing. Yet here in Proverbs we are told that we are to keep our mouth and our tongue. How can we do that?

We can keep our tongue only when we walk with the Lord, and when we depend on Him for help. He will help us keep our tongue under His control, so that we do not dishonor Him in our talk.

Friday, February 7, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [hades] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works” (Revelation 20:13).

Today’s verse is one of the most solemn verses in the Bible. Once again we have hades and death mentioned, but this time in connection with unbelievers who have died. When they died their bodies were buried, although, as our verse recognizes, some were in the sea, because the people drowned. Others in our day might have been cremated. According to Luke 16, their souls are now in a place of torment.

But in a coming day, at the judgment of the great white throne, God is going to raise up those bodies, reunite them with their souls and spirits, and then judge them. Hades delivers up the soul, and death delivers up the body. No matter how or where they have died, God knows how to raise those bodies, and to bring them up for judgment. What a solemn thought! No believers will be at the great white throne, but only those who have died without Christ. Do you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior? If you die without Christ, it will be too late to cry for mercy at the great white throne. God’s time to be saved is now.

Thursday, February 6, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“I [the Lord Jesus Christ] am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [hades] and of death” (Revelation 1:18).

On the Humber river, near Deer Lake, Newfoundland, Canada, apparently there is a phone out in the forest, protected by a wooden box, and it is not hooked up to anything. It is an old dial-type phone, and was apparently put there by the town of Deer Lake, so that people could go out into nature and supposedly communicate with their dead relatives or friends. Of course, they cannot hear anything on this phone, but many say that they have obtained real comfort in this way.

Satan will do almost anything to deceive man, including a device like this that pretends to communicate with the dead. But our verse for today tells us that there is only One, the Lord Jesus, who has the keys of hades and death. Hades is the condition of a soul without a body, while death applies to the body. No one on this earth today can talk to the dead, but Satan, who has always been a liar, wants to deceive people in this way.

How wonderful it is to know that if our loved ones who have died knew the Lord Jesus as Savior, they are with Him in heaven. We cannot communicate with them, but we know that they are in the full enjoyment of His presence. How much better this is than a dead phone, into which people can talk, but never get an answer!

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“He [the Lord] made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel” (Psalm 103:7).

Here we find what David said about Moses, by inspiration. There is a difference in knowing what someone does, and knowing why they did it. The children of Israel saw all the wonderful works of the Lord—His power in delivering them from Pharaoh’s cruelty, His way of providing food for them in the wilderness, His way of bringing water out of the rock, and many other things. But Moses knew the Lord as a friend, and One whom he knew “face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10). It is a wonderful thing to know the Lord in this way, and it is worth all the wealth and power in this world. You and I can know the Lord in this way too, for in this time of God’s grace we are in a much closer position to the Lord than even Moses. We know God as our Father, and we are united to His Son Jesus Christ as His bride.

Let us not spoil that wonderful relationship by going after the things of this world, and neglecting the wonderful privilege of knowing the Lord in an intimate way.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (Hebrews 11:24).

We all know the story of Moses, and how his mother put him in a little basket in the Nile river, when she was not able to hide him any longer. Then Pharaoh’s daughter saw him, and raised him as her own son. Moses was probably raised in luxury in Pharaoh’s court, and could easily have decided to live his life that way.

However, Moses did not look at his life from the viewpoint of this world; he looked at it in the light of eternity. When he was old enough to make up his own mind, he refused to be regarded as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Rather, he identified himself with Israel, the people of God. He knew that the pleasures of Egypt would last only for this life, but living for the Lord would be rewarded for all eternity.

Perhaps you have a good opportunity before you, but it is most important to look at our lives in view of eternity, and not only for this world. Moses gave up Egypt, but then was able to lead the people of God out of Egypt to the land of Canaan. He knew the Lord in an intimate way, and in a way that few others did. We will look at this in more detail tomorrow.

Monday, February 3, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“The ant…provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest” (Proverbs 6:6,8).

In our verse today, we see that the ant, who is always busy, puts food aside in the summer and fall, so that there will be food to eat in the winter. Those of us who live in northern climates with cold winters know that you never see ants running around in the snow or on the frozen ground. No, they are probably busy underground, but they put away food of various kinds when the weather was warm, so that there would be food in the winter.

This is another good example for us. The Lord Jesus told His followers not to be anxious about the future, and not to worry about what they would eat. However, it is important to plan for the future, and to put aside food for the winter. In northern climates farmers harvest grain, corn, potatoes, and other crops in the fall, and store them for the winter. Those of us who are not farmers should always spend less money than we make, and put some aside for the future.

Sunday, February 2, 2025

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Person and Work of Christ

“And after this Joseph of Arimathaea…besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus…and there came also Nicodemus…then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury” (John 19:38-40).

“Men appointed His grave with the wicked, but He was with the rich in His death” (Isaiah 53:9).

When once the work of redemption was complete, God did not allow wicked hands to touch the body of His Son again. He provided true believers—Joseph and Nicodemus, to bury the Lord Jesus. More than this, they were rich men, and Joseph had a new tomb, hewn out of the rock, ready no doubt for his own burial. But he willingly gave that tomb for the Lord Jesus. Also, they buried Him with one hundred pounds of spices—a tremendous amount, and very costly too. God saw to it that His Son was given a rich man’s burial, because of who He was. No doubt Pilate and others would have buried the Lord Jesus in a common criminals’ grave, but God had said otherwise in Isaiah, hundreds of years before. God’s prophecies are always fulfilled!

Saturday, February 1, 2025

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Daily Meditation

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6).

Ants are one of the most interesting animals in the world. They are by far the most numerous of all animals in this world, and together, all the ants in the world outweigh all the wild birds and mammals. All the ants in the world weigh as much as more than 1.5 billion human beings.

Ants are a good example to us, for you never see a lazy ant. They survive in almost any climate, and are always busy. But the Word of God is very accurate, for it says, “Consider HER ways, and be wise.” Why does the Bible say “her ways”? It is because the so-called “worker ants” are all female, and they are the ones who look after the young ants, who go out looking for food, and who fight against predators. What a wonderful book the Bible is!

Ants are a good kind of creature to follow, for they keep busy, instead of sitting around doing nothing. God says that those who consider the ant, and her ways, are wise. On Monday we will see something else that ants do which is very important.