Young People’s Blog

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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!

“For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified (set apart)” (Hebrews 10:14).

At the end of another year, we are once again reminded of our Lord’s goodness to us, and also of how things are changing rapidly in this world. Yesterday we were reminded that time did not always exist, nor will it exist forever. Eventually there will be only eternity, rolling on and on.

However, we can be thankful for those things that do not change. If eternity will go on and on forever, so will the value of the work of Christ. Our salvation was perfected at the cross, and our verse today states that we are perfected forever. What does this mean? It means that nothing can change our perfect position before God, because it does not depend on time, or on us, but rather on the finished work of Christ.

A few days ago I tried to sign into a website, and was informed that my password had expired. I had to create a new one. There was nothing wrong with my old password; they just wanted me to have a new one. But our salvation will never expire; it is good for all eternity.

“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Genesis 1:14).

Have you ever realized that time did not always exist? You and I find it hard to imagine living without the idea of time to measure what we do, since we have always lived in a world of time. But it did not always exist. When God rearranged this world and made it ready for man to live on, He created time, and made things like the sun and the moon to regulate time. The sun shines during the day, and the moon at night. But the cycle of the moon around the earth takes approximately one month, and the earth takes one year to revolve around the sun. In this way we have days and nights, months, and years. But then the Lord took one week to remake this world. Because of this, we measure a week of seven days. It was God who gave all this to us.

As we get to the end of this year, it is good to remember that God created time, but that after God has created new heavens and a new earth, there will be no more time. Eternity will stretch on and on, without any time to measure it. Where will you spend eternity?

“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance” (Ezra 8:21).

Ezra was a godly man, a Jew, who lived in the Persian empire during the reign of Artaxerxes. The king had given him permission to go back to the land of Israel, and a number of other Jewish people went with him. This was in the year 458 B.C. It was a long journey, and they were concerned about their safety. They camped by the river that flowed to Ahava for several days, and asked the Lord for guidance. The river of Ahava was probably a canal that flowed from the Euphrates River to Ahava, to provide water for the town.

Ezra was concerned that everything in their lives might be done in a right way, whether it concerned themselves, or their children, or what they owned. It should be the same way with us. We are approaching the end of another year, and if the Lord leaves us here, we will be starting a new year soon. It is important to ask the Lord for His help and direction for every part of our lives. When we are walking in the path of His choosing, we can count on His help and protection.

“Whither thou [Naomi] goest, I [Ruth] will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” (Ruth 1:16).

Naomi and her husband had moved to Moab when there was a famine in Israel, and one of their sons had married Ruth, who was a girl from Moab. But now Naomi’s husband was dead, and so was Ruth’s husband. Naomi wanted to return to the land of Israel, and Ruth badly wanted to go with her. When Naomi tried to send her back to Moab, Ruth insisted on going wherever Naomi went. Why was this?

The Lord had worked in Ruth’s heart, and she really wanted to know the true God. Even though the Moabites were related to the children of Israel (they were part of Lot’s family), they worshiped idols, and did not like the Israelites. But Ruth realized that the God of Israel was the true God, and wanted to go with Naomi, whatever the cost.

She was richly rewarded for her faith, for she eventually married a wealthy man named Boaz, and became one of the human ancestors of the Lord Jesus. Read her story in the book of Ruth.