Young People’s Blog

Change

In a senior class of students in a high school in Saint Maarten, I saw this statement on the classroom wall:

None of us can change our yesterday,

But all of us can change our tomorrow!

Perhaps there are some of my readers who look back on the past with real regret. You have allowed some sin in your life perhaps, or you feel you’ve wasted time and youth on worldly pursuits. Maybe you feel you haven’t given enough time to reading and studying the Bible. However, there is nothing you can do to change the past. It is over and gone, and what was, is!

But what about tomorrow? The Apostle Peter says of such, “That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God” (1 Peter 4:2). We have therest of our time. We don’t have to go on in that way any longer. Not only does the Lord delight to restore us, but also to lead us “in the paths of righteousness” (Psalm 23:3). That is, to keep us from going any further on that course, and to put us back on the right way. You can’t do anything about yesterday, but you can do something about tomorrow.

Heaven on Earth

“That your days may be multiplied … as the days of heaven upon the earth”(Deuteronomy 11:21).

This promise to the children of Israel was conditional on their dedication to keeping God’s Word, having it in their heart, and teaching it to the next generation. Notice the preceding verses: “Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates” (verses 18-20).

The principle still seems to hold true today. If our interest and time is in devotedness to the Lord and to His Word, we will have a very happy life. That’s not to say that there won’t be sorrow along the way, but we will be able to say, “As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). This is indeed heaven on earth. And heaven in reality will certainly be beyond anything we experience here.

Dear Young Christian:

This summer, I have been in several countries on several continents, including the USA, Trinidad, the Bahamas, Germany and Egypt. Everywhere I go is the same story: “Where is it going to end … how can we fight terrorism … what about the economy … why doesn’t the government act? This morning, while discussing world affairs with the brother in whose home I am staying, it was said, “The world is upside down!” It made me think of the accusation against Paul and Silas in Thessalonica. “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also” (Acts 17:6).

Yes, the world does seem upside down due to the fact that Christ and Christianity have been, for the most part, rejected. It is not the preaching of the gospel or the Christian that has turned the world upside down, but the fact that Satan, the god and prince of this world has had his sway. However, there is a day coming when the world will be turned right-side-up, and “the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you.

Send your comments and questions to jhyland1959@gmail.com

The Blood

What a wonderful theme for meditation the blood of Jesus is for our hearts.

•It has brought us near to God: “In Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).

•It has removed our sins:“The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

•It is through that blood that we have forgiveness:“Through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

• We are redeemed by that blood: “Redeemed … with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

The blood of Jesus will be the theme of our song for all eternity, “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy … for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Revelation 5:9). Let’s consider that blood today, and let it be the theme of our praise and song now. It is the basis for every blessing that we have and our only title to the Lord’s presence and the Father’s house.

Preaching

“We preach Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:23).

The forgiveness of sins through Christ is preached to us in various ways in the New Testament:

• In the four Gospels, we have it illustrated in individuals.

Example:“And, behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2).

• In the book of Acts, we have it preached to sinners.

Example:“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39).

• In the Epistles, we have it taught and expounded to believers.

Example:“In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

Israel — Part 2

“A land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it” (Deuteronomy 11:12).

God has made the land of Israel a central place! It has already been the scene of events surpassing all others in their importance and results, and it shall yet be the scene of events to which Scripture points. Today it does not appear to be the center, for the Lord of that land is absent. According to the parable He Himself told while here on earth, He is gone into a far country: “And as they heard these things, He added and spake a parable, because He was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return” (Luke 19:11-12). Yes, He will return and take possession of the land of Israel again. It will then become the center of all nations, the glory of all lands, and His beloved Jerusalem shall be the metropolis of the whole earth. His royal banner shall then float over its bulwarks as the proof and token that the King of Israel and the King of the Nations is there!

Israel — Part 1

• The following is quoted from the writings of Andrew Miller.

“The land which I give them to possess it” (Deuteronomy 5:31).

The land of Israel, the promised land, is a spot of great natural beauty and fruitfulness chosen for Israel by God. It is important to note that the locality of the Jews is not the result of accident, but of divine arrangement. Hundreds of years before Israel had any national existence, God had reserved the place for His chosen people.

From the top of Mt. Pisgah, Moses was privileged to see this goodly land before he died. He was permitted to survey the future dwelling place of the Lord’s redeemed of Israel — to see the fertile valleys, the beautiful mountains, and its well-watered plains. Under the guidance of the Spirit, he describes it as “a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass” (Deuteronomy 8:7-9).

Love Those You Serve

Steve Jobs was an American entrepreneur, businessman, inventor, and industrial designer. Jobs was the chairman, and the chief executive officer, and a co-founder of Apple Inc. On a calendar page hanging in our kitchen this month I notice a quote from Mr. Jobs — here is what it said: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

As I thought about this, I realized that to do great work for the Lord we must first be like the Hebrew servant in the Old Testament, who said, “I love my Master” (Exodus 21:5). Love for our Lord and Master is first and essential. Then it is love for those we serve. “By love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). We will have a love for what we are doing if we have love for those we are doing it for. Here is how Paul sums up the motive and method for our Christian service: “In singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men” (Ephesians 6:5-7). If the motive is love, we can indeed do great work for the Lord, and love what we are doing at the same time.

Paying Taxes

“For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing” (Romans 13:6).

So often I find myself complaining about paying taxes. Maybe you hear your parents gripe about it too, or maybe those of my readers who have full-time or part-time jobs chafe at what comes off in tribute to the government before you get your pay check. But remember, “they are God’s ministers”

For myself, I am glad that I live in a country where there is a measure of stability, and while I may not like many of the policies of those in power, and I may think they extract too much money in taxes, yet I am reminded of the Lord’s own words: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17). We are to pay all that is due in the way of rates, and custom, as well as income tax. What the authorities may do with our money when they get it is their matter, not ours. In the mercy of God, we are relieved of that heavy responsibility.

Dear Young Christian:

Over my desk in my office is a large framed pen and ink print by the artist, Daniel Maclise, of the Duke of Wellington and Commander Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher shaking hands after the Battle of Waterloo. The whole panoramic scene of the battle field behind them is one of sorrow, suffering, death, and carnage. It reminds me of what David said in Psalm 23:4. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” Yes, every day we are passing through the “Valley of the Shadow of Death.” It is this world, with the stamp of death upon it. We see it on every hand. Perhaps not in the graphic way many have seen on the fields of battle, but, nevertheless, we are well aware of the fact no matter where we are.

How good that we can walk through this “valley” in the company of the Lord, and without fear. Go forth this week with a real sense of His comfort and care.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you.

Send your comments and questions to jhyland1959@gmail.com