Author: BTP

Innumerable Sins

“How many are mine iniquities and sins?” (Job 13:23).

Did you ever try to count your sins for a single day?

Suppose you average ten sins a day, that makes 3,650 sins a year. 36,500 in a decade, and 182,500 in fifty years. Suppose you commit more than ten sins a day, how terrific the sum will be!

Remember, there are sins of omission — the things that you should have done and failed to do. There are also sins of the mind — evil thoughts and desires. Then there are sins of ignorance as well as presumption. Then too, there are secret sins.

Did you ever lift a stone and see innumerable insects scurry away in every direction? What picture of the hidden sins which the light of God’s presence will someday reveal.

Only Christ can save us from our sins, and He can save regardless of the number!The Lord Jesus said, about a certain woman who came to His feet with tears of repentance, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven” (Luke 7:47). He says of all who come to Him in repentance, “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).

Counting Sheep — Part 2

I saw another excellent variation to the saying, If you can’t sleep count sheep. It was as follows:

If at night you can’t sleep,

talk to the Shepherd, rather than count sheep.

This is also a good idea. We have a Shepherd of whom it says, “Behold, He…shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). He is available at any hour of any day, and not only can we meditate on Him in the night, but actually talk to Him. There are very few people that would appreciate us waking them up or calling them in the middle of the night, just to have a talk, or even to unburden our hearts. But since our Great Shepherd does not sleep, we can come any hour of any day. We will never get put on hold, or call waiting, and we will never get a busy signal. The line is always open!

Not only is He available, and willing to listen, but He is able to take perfect care of us, day or night. The prophet Isaiah tells us, “He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young” (Isaiah 40:11).

Counting Sheep — Part 1

There is an old expression, If you can’t sleep, count sheep. This is supposed to lull you to sleep, I suppose by sheer boredom and repetitive thinking. However, I was visiting in a home recently and saw the following motto on the wall:

If at night you can’t sleep,

Count your blessings instead of sheep.

What a good idea! Of course this will not put you to sleep by sheer boredom, but you will never be able to get to the end of your blessings, and will certainly fall asleep before you can recount them all. Remember, our God and Father has “blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

David put it another way when he wrote, “I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches” (Psalm 63:6). The next time you can’t sleep at night, don’t get exasperated. Instead turn your thoughts over to the Lord, and think about Him and all that He has done for you. This will bring calm and peace to your soul and body, and you will soon fall into a restful sleep, and before you know it, it will be time to get up.

The Devil

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Here is a quote from Corrie ten Boom (Amsterdam, April 15, 1892 – Orange, California, April 15, 1983), the Christian, who with her father helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II:

“When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles…

When a Christian stops reading and studying the Bible, the devil laughs…

When a Christian stops praying, the devil shouts with joy.”

Interesting way to put it, isn’t it? The devil knows that these three things, fellowship, reading of the Word, and prayer, are essential to a Christian living for the Lord, being a testimony to the world, and having a healthy, strong Christian faith. Don’t let your guard down when it comes to these three things. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Vision

“Where there is no vision, the people perish”
(Proverbs 29:18).

In youth we often do not think
Of what tomorrow holds,
We live for momentary joy,
While “self” our future molds.
But for a Christian, this should not
Be how we live our lives,
Or how we plan our days and months,
As if with blinded eyes.

With circumspectness we should walk,
And live for Christ always,
Careful to ever do His will,
And give Him all the praise;
We need to have a vision of
Our Master and our Lord,
And live each day with this in mind…
Eternity’s reward.

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time” (Ephesians 5:15-16).

Dear Young Christian:

Here we are getting into the start of another year! For some of us who are a little older, it seems like just yesterday that we turned the calendar to the year 2000. Back then there was a lot of talk about what would happen in the electronic world and how it would affect our computers, our cars, our electricity, and so on. The buzzwords were “Y2K” and the “new millennium.” But here we are fifteen years later, and life goes on, the world becomes more openly corrupt, and we are closer to the coming of the Lord than we have ever been.

 When Paul wrote to Titus he gave some good and timely advice, “The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-13). Simply put, no matter where we are in the history of mankind, we can still live for the Lord, by His grace, until He comes.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you. Send your comments or questions to [email protected]

A Sweet Savor

“And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savor” (Genesis 8:20-21).

The burnt offering here speaks of Christ in His sacrificial death on Calvary. As we remember Him in His death today we are bringing to remembrance the burnt offering and what the work of Calvary and the person of Christ means to the heart of God. What did God think of Noah’s sacrifice? He smelled a sweet savor. Why was it sweet? Because it spoke of His well-beloved Son. When we remember the Lord in His death, God again smells a sweet savor. He is perfectly satisfied with the work of the cross. Keep this in mind today. As you take the loaf and the cup in remembrance of the Lord’s death, God smells a sweet savor. Don’t forget the wonderful truth that “Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor” (Ephesians 5:2). The work was for God and for our blessing, the motive was His love.

Only Two Roads

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:25).

We are all on a journey! The Journey of Life!

Not only are we on a journey, but we are all traveling on one of two roads. Either we are on the BROAD road, or we are on the NARROW road. There is no middle or neutral ground. The BROAD road ends in HELL, and the NARROW road ends in HEAVEN!

The Bible entreats us to be on the NARROW road. The Lord Jesus Himself said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Which road are you traveling on at this moment? You may be nearer the end of the journey than you think! Faith in Christ and the work He finished at the cross will transfer you from the BROAD way to the NARROW way.

Resolutions

Here it is the second day of the year, and I have no doubt that many people who made New Year’s Resolutions yesterday have already broken them.

David had a resolve which he expresses in one of his Psalms. “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).

This was a resolve that followed him all his life. Simply put, this verse tells us that David wanted to enjoy the company of the Lord every day of his life, so that He could be occupied with the qualities and beauties of this wonderful person, and be able to turn to Him in prayer for help and guidance at anytime.

It would be good for all of us to make a resolution like that, and then seek the Lord’s grace and help to stick to it. Many times we desire to do something but we don’t follow through. Let’s not only desire but seek after with real purpose of heart. This will make our resolve a reality, and there will be blessing in our Christian pathway as a result.

Happiness

Today, being the first day of another year, we will often hear people say, “Happy New Year.” In fact, we may find ourselves saying it to family and friends. But the key to having a happy, fruitful 2015 is found in the opening verses of the first Psalm. “Blessed (happy) is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:1-3).

Perhaps 2014 wasn’t as happy and fruitful as it could have been. Make a fresh start today, and live for the Lord in the little time that is left before His coming.

Here is another key to happiness, recorded by King Solomon: “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding” (Proverbs 3:13). If you put the Lord first, 2015 can be the happiest year of your life!