Author: BTP

The Twelve Apostles – Part 4

Thaddaeus

He is referred to by different names.

In Matthew he is called, “Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus” (Matthew 10:3).

Mark simply refers to him as, “Thaddaeus” (Mark 3:18).

Luke mentions him as, “Judas the brother of James” (Luke 6:16).

John calls Him, “Judas…not Iscariot” (John 14:22).

There is little known of him from Scripture. He is the one who asked the Lord, “Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” (John 14:22).

Secular history tells us that he was a man of great national zeal, more interested in making Christ known to the world as a powerful King rather than a suffering Saviour. This seems to be confirmed by his question. However, secular history also records that after the ascension of Christ and the establishment of Christianity by the descent of the Holy Spirit, he preached the gospel faithfully in many parts of the known world, and that he was killed by arrows at Ararat.

He is assumed to be the writer of the Epistle of Jude.

 

Crossroads

There are many crossroads in our life, and many ways the Lord directs us. We need much prayer but we need to couple it with consistent orderly reading of the Word of God. We read, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). According to this verse, this is the main way that God directs us. It is not just reading here and there, but in an orderly way. As we come to steps and decisions in our life, if we are prayerfully reading our Bibles, the Lord will speak to direct us, so that when we take the step we can do it with confidence because we have a scripture that we feel has directed us.

If we do not have what we feel is definite direction from the Lord then it is best to wait, and waiting is one of the hardest lessons that the Lord tries to teach us…and we probably never learn it fully this side of heaven. Over and over in the Psalms David talks about waiting on the Lord. For example: “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14). “Wait on the Lord, and keep His way” (Psalm 37:34).

 

Always

Christianity is a very practical thing. It takes daily exercise, spiritual energy, and diligence. Here are seven things that we should always be doing…

“Rejoice in the Lord alway” (Philippians 4:4).

“Giving thanks always” (Ephesians 5:20).

“Praying always” (Ephesians 1:18).

“Let you speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6)

“Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

“Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:10).

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

This is just a sample list of the many things that should occupy a Christian in the path of faith and service.

 

Dear Young Christian:

Do you feel overwhelmed or overcome at the beginning of another week of school, work, or just the daily grind of life? King David had the answer for such a problem when he said, “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2).

We don’t have to feel overwhelmed when we have a Lord who is greater and higher than any problem or difficulty that we will face this week. That’s not to say there won’t be troubles and hard situations ahead, but we can commit each one to Him, knowing that He is able. The Apostle Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). Is the resource of power and strength any less for us today…not a bit! It is the same mighty strength and limitless supply that Paul and so many others have experienced over the centuries. Will you draw on this resource this week?

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

The Garden

“The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher”
(John 20:1).

Mary’s heart had never left the garden. Over the years Jesus had won her affections and although the Sabbath routine had to be kept, I’m sure Mary’s heart was not in it. In heart she was still in the garden, at the mouth of the sepulcher. Her Lord had died. What would she do? As soon as custom would allow she came back to the garden. This is devotion. Nothing would come between her and her Lord — even if He was dead. She wanted to be close to Him, even if it just meant being close to His dead body.

Are we that devoted to Him? Is the remembrance of His death that drawing power that brings us together every Lord’s Day morning?

Later on we read of the early believers, “Upon the first day of the week…the disciples came together to break bread” (Acts 20:7). The Lord has requested, “This do in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24).

 

A New Heart

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

Your heart, if normal, is about the size of your doubled fist. The average weight of the heart of a man over 20, is 10.59 ounces, with a calculated increase of about 1 ounce for every 22 pounds of added weight to the body. The average heart beats at 72 beats a minute, about 2,500,000,000 times in a lifetime, or 103,680 times a day. Every day 9,000 quarts of blood are pumped through your heart. At top speed it can pump more than 16 quarts a minute.

Amazing! But God wants to give the sinner a new heart. Wonderful things are done to the human heart with surgery in this day of medical advancement, even to transplanting this vital organ, but the greatest heart transplant a person can have is the one that only God can perform because of the work of His Son at Calvary. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 

Comfort

“Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand” (Psalm 73:23).

One day in 1932, pianist, singer, and songwriter Thomas A. Dorsey discovered his need for God’s comfort. He left his pregnant wife Nettie at home in Chicago while he drove to St. Louis to sing. At the end of the performance, he received a telegram with the tragic news that his wife had died in childbirth. Within hours, the baby boy also died.

Filled with grief, Dorsey sought answers. Should he have stayed in Chicago and not gone to St. Louis? Had God done him an injustice? A few days after Nettie’s death, he sat down at the piano and began to play and compose. Finally sensing God’s peace and closeness, he commenced to sing some new words and play a new song:

Precious Lord, take my hand,

Lead me on, let me stand;

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;

Through the storm, through the night,

Lead me on to the light;

Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.

 

Treasures

Treasures are laid up, only as treasures on earth are laid down. This does not mean that we have to go through life poor or destitute, but the question is what value do we place on the things that God our Father has given us to help us through this life? Are we using our temporal means for the furtherance of the gospel and the truth, or are we using them simply for our own pleasure and lust?

When we get to heaven we will have to give an account of how well we handled our financial affairs and worldly possessions. “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

In view of all this, the Lord Jesus, when here on earth gave some very timely advice. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

 

Slings & Stones – Part 2

The missionary went on to say:

“But is that not rather cruel discipline for one wayward sheep? That last stone went so close that it almost struck it! Yes, almost, but not quite! And it brought the sheep right back to the place where the shepherd wanted it.”

Sometimes The Good Shepherd disciplines and deals with us in a way that may seem harsh and rough. But it is because, like the foolish sheep, we go our own way. Then, He proves His “everlasting love” by allowing circumstances that, like the slings and stones, cause us to return to the very place where our caring Shepherd wants us to be.

One thing is for sure, the Shepherd wants us by His side, and enjoying the cool waters and green pastures of spiritual refreshment and sustenance that He has for us. These things can only be enjoyed as we are near to Him. Remember too, that the nearer we are to the Shepherd, the safer we are from the enemy. “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).

 

Slings & Stones – Part 1

“As a Shepherd seeketh out His flock in the day that He is among His sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day” (Ezekiel 34:1).

At a Palestine Exhibition in London, a missionary, dressed in native shepherd’s costume was telling about shepherding in the Middle East.

He said:

“You may wonder why the shepherd carries a sling and stones. It is not so much to defend from wild beasts. A wandering sheep, nibbling the grass, leaves the flock. How to get it back? To send a dog would perhaps drive it further away. As the sheep browses heedlessly, crack goes a stone against the rock beyond. The startled sheep jumps, turns, and looks towards the flock. Crack! Another stone, now close behind. Scared, the sheep begins to run towards the flock. The volley continues; the cracks of the stone against rock, always behind the sheep, afford sufficient stimulus to bring the wanderer safely home.”

Continued…