Author: BTP

A Merry Heart

“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance” (Proverbs 15:3).

“He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.” (Proverbs 15:15).

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”
(Proverbs 17:22).

I laughed till I thought I would be sick. The tears ran down my face, and my stomach hurt. When I thought about it later I realized what I was laughing at really wasn’t that funny. But then I thought of the above verses. God wants us to be happy, to laugh, to enjoy life. We are not to go around with long, sad, frowning faces.

There is of course a difference between having “a merry heart” and having a foolish heart. The Bible warns us to not be taken up with “foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient” (Ephesians 5:4).

So, like in most things, there needs to be a balance, realizing that there is a time and a place for everything. Even, “a time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3:4).

 

Dear Young Christian:

I have a busy week planned. As I write this page I am in the midst of packing Bibles and Christian literature to ship to the Caribbean for distribution in the gospel and amongst believers. Tomorrow I hope to fly from Chicago to Toronto and meet my wife so that we can attend a Bible conference over the weekend. Then we are home a day and off to a conference in southern France…then…on and on it goes…

Yes, we all seem to have busy plans, and every day of every week seems full to the brim with activity. One of the characteristics of the days just before the Lord comes is described to us by Daniel. “Many shall run to and fro” (Daniel 12:4). It shows that there is a restlessness about society in the last days, that there has never been before.

In the midst of all this, we can learn to trust the Lord, take quiet times in His presence, and not be overwhelmed by the busyness of life. Let’s learn to be like David, who said, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Two Hearts

There were two hearts exposed at the trial and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. The heart of sinful man, and the heart of a loving God.

When was the human heart ever displayed like it was then? All the cruelty and evil that was pent up for four thousand years came gushing out in all its hatred of God’s Son. And why, what had He done? He could say, “They hated Me without a cause” (John 15:25). Still, with all the kindness and grace He had displayed during His life on earth, “they cried out, Away with Him, away with Him” (John 19:15).

On the other hand, when was the heart of God displayed in all its fullness like there at Calvary? We read, “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Worship, praise and thank Him today for all that His heart of everlasting, divine love has provided for your eternal happiness and blessing, through His beloved Son. Then during the week continue to worship, praise and thank Him, over and over again.

 

Salvation

“Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else”
(Isaiah 45:22).

People are looking for salvation and deliverance in every level of society, whether it is politics, the business and corporate world, or in their lives personally and as families. The problem is that they are looking for it in the wrong places. Instead of looking to God and His Son, they are looking to themselves and their own deeds and inventions.

Of course nothing is right until we have looked to Jesus for the salvation of our souls, and have had our sins washed away in the blood of Christ. After that, we can look to Him in every situation and circumstance of life. Like God’s prophet in the Old Testament, who said: “Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7).

If you are not saved, remember, the Bible plainly states, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

 

Understanding the Bible!

“And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him….Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:30-31,35).

Someone has wisely pointed out that we cannot understand the Bible by forcing the lock; what we want is the key. But if you have CHRIST, you already have the key. In faith apply Christ to the Bible, and you can understand it. It is not a question of a superior mind or of great learning, for some of the learned have been the most foolish in their mistakes.

As you read the Bible see Christ on every page — the illustrations and types in the Old Testament, His life and work in the four gospels, the preaching of Christ in the Acts, the glory of Christ in the Epistles, and the exaltation of Christ in Revelation. This is the key, and this is where the real blessing comes from reading the Holy Scriptures.

 

Creation

“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God” (Hebrews 11:3).

God enjoys diversity in His vast creation. No two people look or act exactly alike. No fingerprints are alike in all the millions that the United States Bureau of Investigation has on file. Not even in identical twins are they alike. Some such cases have been claimed to exist, but when examined carefully were proved to differ. Those who have studied the blades of grass, the leaves of the trees, and the snowflakes, tell us the same variation is true. When man makes pins, needles, or other objects, they come out uniformly the same.

In most school systems today, evolution is taught. The unsaved would like to be able to convince themselves that they simply evolved from nothing, and that creation just happened through some cosmic accident eons ago.

Though we can’t fully comprehend and understand it, yet we believe the Scriptural account of creation, and rejoice to know that, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:27).

 

Rain & Sunshine

“I do set My bow in the cloud…And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud” (Genesis 9:13-14).

Rain — there are no rainbows unless there are falling drops to catch and unravel the sunbeams. It may be that all suffering is worse in its anticipation than in its endurance; but one thing is certain, that the big drops of sorrow have to patter on our souls before we can realize all that God is prepared to be to us.

Sunshine — it is only when God comes into our grief that we can see the treasures of love and grace which are stored for us in Him. We never know how great a blessing our sorrow may be until we carry it into the light of the presence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

King Solomon understood something of this when he declared, “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better” (Ecclesiastes 7:3). Better to have had sorrow and know the comfort of God, than to never have shed a tear.

 

Found Out

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

The missionary, returning before midday to his bungalow after a morning of travel and preaching, found a visitor awaiting his coming. Observant by nature, he noticed
that his travelling alarm clock was missing from its place on the shelf. Suspecting that his visitor had stolen it, he said nothing but managed to keep the man until the hour set for the alarm to go off. Then, to the dismay of the thief, the clock made its presence known and revealed the visitor’s guilt.

Yes, we may think that we can hide things, and perhaps we do for a time. Of course we can hide nothing from God, for we read, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth” (2 Chronicles 16:9). And also, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).

We may pretend to be a Christian, or even as a Christian hide some secret sin in our life, but it will all come to light eventually. We can only cover up so long! “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither anything hid, that shall not be known” (Luke 8:17).

 

Dear Young Christian:

Everything we have ultimately comes from the hand of God our Father. The Bible tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

When we realize this, then we can accept it all, whether it seems good or bad to us, from His loving hand, knowing that He knows best. As the “Father of lights” He discerns exactly what we need, and what is really for our good and blessing. As His children, our joy and contentment comes when we accept it as such, and submit to His will. Remember, if He withholds something it is not for our good; if He gives us something, thank Him for it, and use it for His glory.

As you head out to school, work, or whatever you are doing this week, don’t forget, “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of” (Matthew 6:8).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Time To Worship

“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3).

A time to worship the Lord is a very special and precious time. It’s the time when we clear our hearts and minds of anything else but Jesus Christ. It’s a time when we can really express to Him our appreciation of who He is and what He has done for us at Calvary. It’s a time to remember Him. He has requested, “This do in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).

Here are some other references to worship in the Psalms:

“Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2).

“So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou Him” (Psalm 45:11).

“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker” (Psalm 95:6).

Let’s start this first day of the week with worship, and continue throughout each day. Soon we will worship Him for all eternity with all the redeemed in the Father’s House.