Young People’s Blog

“And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh…spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying…If the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it us…only rebel not ye against the Lord” (Numbers 14:6-9).

Joshua and Caleb had been two of the twelve spies sent out by Moses to see the land of Canaan. They were the only two that wanted to go ahead and conquer the land; the other ten spies rebelled, saying that the walls of the cities were high, the people were giants, and that it was impossible for them to do it. Joshua and Caleb tried to persuade the people to go ahead, for the Lord would be with them. But the people would not listen. As a result, the Lord made the people wander in the wilderness for forty years.

All this is a good lesson for us. Joshua was only a young man, yet he and Caleb gave good advice to the people. Yet they had to submit to the Lord’s judgment on the whole camp when their advice was rejected, and they did not complain about it. They did not lose anything by all this, however, for the Lord rewarded them later for their faithfulness.

“And the Lord spake unto Moses…and he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle” (Exodus 33:11).

The children of Israel had sinned by making and worshiping a golden calf; because of this, Moses had pitched the tabernacle outside the camp of Israel. Then those that wanted to be where the Lord was went out to the tabernacle. Moses went back into the camp, but Joshua stayed out at the tabernacle.

Joshua was a young man, and the Lord was going to use him. Later, when Moses died, Joshua became the new leader of Israel, but he started his training for this work when he was young. He wanted to be where the Lord was; he did not wish to be connected with those who worshiped idols.

Joshua is a good example for young people today. Even among other Christians, there may be things going on that we do not want to be connected with. We may have to separate from those things, in order to enjoy the Lord’s presence.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17).

Well over 125 years ago, two small boys were sent to buy some groceries at a store in Canada. They came from a Christian home and had already accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior. When they got outside the store, they found that the storekeeper had given them too much change. They immediately went back and returned the extra change. The storekeeper was very pleased and thanked them for being honest boys.

When they got home, they told their parents what had happened. To their surprise, their father said, “Boys, you did the right thing, but in the wrong way! You came home with the credit for it!” He told them that they should have told the storekeeper that they belonged to the Lord Jesus, and that this was why they returned the extra money.

This is a good lesson for us too. It is because we know the Lord Jesus, and have a new nature, that we are able to be honorable and upright. Let us remember to give the Lord Jesus the credit for what we do for Him.

“And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple…he shall in no wise lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42).

We all appreciate a cool drink on a warm day. Today most of us can simply go to the refrigerator and get a cold drink if we want it, and probably ice cubes too. But before refrigerators were invented, it was not always easy to get a cold drink. It would take some effort, perhaps going to the well and getting a bucket of water. Even then, the water might not be as cold as we would like it. But the Lord Jesus says that this simple act of kindness will be rewarded in a coming day.

But then it says that the cold water should be given “in the name of a disciple.” What does this mean? It means that the Lord Jesus must get the credit for it, rather than our taking the credit for doing it. We will discuss this a little more tomorrow.

“They gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when He had tasted thereof, He would not drink” (Matthew 27:34).

“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst…and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to His mouth” (John 19:28-29).

It seems that the Lord Jesus was offered vinegar twice; once just before He was crucified, and once just before He died. Gall was a bitter poison they had mixed with vinegar, and was offered to Him in mockery, although some feel that it was intended to lessen his sufferings. The Lord Jesus tasted it but would not drink it. Later, at the end of the three hours of darkness, He asked for a drink, and this time they offered him vinegar again. This was a kind of sour wine that the soldiers drank, but would not quench His thirst. This had all been prophesied in the Old Testament, for we read in Psalm 69:21, “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

All this shows the heart of man, who added to the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. Yet His love kept Him on that cross, until the work was finished.

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother” (Ephesians 6:1-2).

It is not always easy to obey our parents, for sometimes we may think that they are being unreasonable. Sometimes the world has changed since they were young, and we may feel that they do not understand the things we have to deal with. But here the Word of God tells us, as children, to obey our parents, “for this is right.” Usually our parents know more than we do, and understand us too. But even if sometimes we may disagree with them, we are to obey them “in the Lord.” This means that we are always to obey our parents unless they tell us to do something that would dishonor the Lord. For example, I have known of ungodly parents telling a child to steal something. Then it would be right to say, I cannot do that. But in everything else, we honor the Lord by obeying our parents.

“And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do” (Acts 22:10).

Before he was saved, Saul of Tarsus was a wicked man who persecuted Christians. But when he was struck down by a bright light on the road to Damascus, he immediately recognized that the Lord was speaking to him. He wanted to know what he should do, and the Lord told him to go into the city. There he would learn what he was to do.

Today we do not get saved quite as dramatically as Saul did, for the Lord spoke to him in a special way. But sometimes, after we are saved, we do not know what to do in our lives. There are big decisions to be made — what kind of a career we should have, where we should go to school, whom we should marry, where we should live, and many other important choices.

However, if we look to the Lord in a simple way, as Saul did, we will get clear direction as to what to do. We may not get all the answers right away, but the Lord will show us the next step, as He did for Saul, who afterwards became the Apostle Paul. The Lord will make His mind clear to those who have willing hearts.

“Thou art the Guide of my youth” (Jeremiah 3:4).

When we are young, we often feel rather confident, and perhaps think we know more than we really do know. We are usually strong physically, and also have mental energy to go ahead in life. All this is good, but we do need guidance. Perhaps we have good parents who are able to guide us, not only in natural things, but also in spiritual things. When I went to high school, we also had a guidance counselor who helped us in our career choice, and who helped us arrange things like university applications. Sometimes a good teacher is a special help to us, and perhaps ignites an interest in a particular subject.

However, nothing can replace the Lord, for He knows what is ahead in this world. Even the best of counselors in this world can only guess the future. Also, the Lord knows us better than anyone else, and wants to guide us in the right path. Many decisions that affect our entire life are made in youth. How good it is to ask the Lord for help in making those decisions!

“But God, who is rich in mercy…even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

“By grace are ye saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8).

In these verses we find the words “mercy” and “grace.” They are often found together in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, but they do not mean the same thing. Mercy is not receiving the punishment we deserve. In this verse, it means that God does not put all of us in hell for all eternity for our sins. No, He had mercy on us, and sent His Son to die for us.

On the other hand, grace is getting something good that we do not deserve. In this way it is the opposite of mercy. In the verses we are considering, we not only do not receive the judgment we deserve, but we do receive salvation which we do not deserve. It is God’s goodness that does this. God has shown His grace in sending His Son into this world. We read in John 1:17 that “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

“But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them” (Mark 15:9, 15).

Sometimes people ask the question, “Why is there so much trouble, crime, and war in this world?” Here in our verses today we see at least part of the answer. Barabbas had committed a number of different crimes. The Bible says that he had made insurrection; today we could call him a terrorist. He had also committed murder and had robbed people. More than this, he was guilty of sedition. That means that he had stirred up trouble, perhaps by starting protests and riots. But the people asked for this kind of a man to be released, while they asked for the Lord Jesus to be crucified. Pilate knew the Lord Jesus was innocent, but wanted to please the people, so he let Barabbas go free, and commanded to crucify the Lord Jesus.

God has not forgotten all this, and has allowed this world to see the results of the choice it made on that day. We are seeing around us all the things that Barabbas did. But it will not always be that way, for God will judge this world someday. How wonderful it is to know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, and to know that we will not come under God’s judgment for our sins!