Young People’s Blog

“And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God, my God” (Ruth 1:16).

When I was young, it was common for people to keep small birds, especially canaries or budgies, in cages in their homes. They were pretty little birds, and the canaries would often sing, which entertained the people who kept them. But of course, if you opened the cage, the bird would fly away.

If you could bring a bird to love you better than it loved the open sky, you would not need a cage. Christians in communion with Jesus do not need a cage to keep them from flying away into the world. They are happily separate from the world, and they are the willing, joyful servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we saw yesterday, the desire to serve the Lord Jesus, devotedness in service, and above all, perseverance in service, all spring from the same source—love to Christ. His love constrains every one of us; do we feel that constraint?

“For the love of the Christ constrains us…and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live to themselves, but to Him who died for them and has been raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15 JND).

We do not use the word “constrain” much in everyday speech, but it is a strong word, meaning to compel or force someone to follow a particular course of action. It may not be physical force; in fact, it is usually a moral force—something we cannot see. Yet it is still a mighty power.

In our Christian lives, God does not make us do certain things to please Him. Rather, He works in our hearts to remind us of His love, and the love that took our Savior all the way to Calvary’s cross. When the love of Christ has really touched our hearts, it is the strongest force to keep us from sin, and to give us energy in the service of the Lord.

Naturally we all want to live for ourselves, and to spend our time, energy and money doing what we want. But if we remember the One who left the glory of heaven to come down to this earth to die for us, it will touch our hearts, and make us want to use all that we have for His glory.

“We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

I knew an elderly Christian woman who went to be with the Lord at an advanced age, and was totally clear in her mind right to the end. She had not always had a happy life, and had faced some difficult problems from time to time. Yet she was always at peace in her heart, and was always a happy person.

One day her daughter asked her how this could be, when she had faced a number of serious difficulties in her life. Her mother replied, “I have always remembered that, despite all the problems and difficulties in my life, the Lord was working.”

This was a good attitude, and something we all need to remember, whether we are young or old. Even if we have done wrong, the Lord still loves us, and even though He may allow some hard things in our life, they are all working for our good.

“The God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

It is a wonderful thing to have someone comfort us when we are in trouble. Also, it makes a big difference if the person who comforts us has been through the same kind of trouble. They understand, and what they say means more to us. They know the right things to say.

The Lord Jesus went through many kinds of suffering, and not all of it was to put our sins away. He suffered many things so that He could sympathize with us in the problems and difficulties we face. We will speak more of this tomorrow.

Also, the Lord sometimes puts us through difficult times in our lives, not necessarily because we have been careless in our Christian life, but so that we can understand and comfort someone else who may be going through a hard time. It is important to realize that in order to comfort others, it helps if we have been through a similar difficulty. Think of that as a possibility, the next time you are going through a difficulty in your life.

“And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8).

The prophet Isaiah wrote this in the first person, referring to himself. He was a faithful prophet who was ready to go and give a message for the Lord, to the people of Israel. However, it is also a picture of the Lord Jesus who was willing to come down into this world on behalf of God the Father, to show the love of God to this world, and to die for us.

The Lord Jesus did not have to come, but when someone was needed to complete the work of redemption, He came forward. He was the only One who could complete that work, and He came willingly, knowing well what it would cost Him.

Sometimes you and I volunteer for something, perhaps not realizing what it will cost us to do it. But the Lord Jesus knew what it would cost, and He said, “Here am I; send me.” He heard the voice of the Lord, and responded in the right way.

“Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with the all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord” (Haggai 1:12).

Here we find that some of the Jews had come back to the land of Israel, after being taken into captivity to Babylon, but sadly, it seems that they had gotten careless, and neglected what was due to the Lord. Because of this, the Lord had sent the prophet Haggai to speak to them about it.

Thankfully the leaders and the people listened to the voice of the Lord through Haggai, and confessed that they had sinned. Evidently the people had spent all their time building their own houses, and neglected looking after the house of the Lord.

However, it is always good to repent, and to recognize when we have done wrong. Instead of making excuses and defending themselves, the people admitted their sin, and if we read in other parts of the Bible, such as the book of Ezra, we will find that the people began again to build the house of the Lord. As a result, the Lord blessed them, and the king of Persia at that time (Darius Hystaspes) gave them a great deal of help too. The Lord honors those who honor Him!

“And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2).

In our verse today, we find another man who did not want to hear the voice of the Lord. He was Pharaoh, the powerful king of Egypt. The Israelites had been his slaves for quite a few years, and he did not want them to go away. When Moses and Aaron spoke to him about the Lord God of Israel, he proudly said, “I know not the Lord.” Probably this was true, but then the Lord began to show his power to Pharaoh.

Pharaoh had magicians who worked miracles on a small scale using Satan’s power, and probably Pharaoh was quite impressed with them. But God’s power was greater, and by doing miracles through Moses and Aaron, the Lord gradually showed Pharaoh that Jehovah was the only true God.

If you read on in the book of Exodus, you will find out that Pharaoh never did obey the voice of the Lord, and he eventually perished in the Red Sea. Again, it is important not to disregard the voice of the Lord.

“And they [Adam and Eve] heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8).

Especially in the Old Testament, there were a number of times when people actually heard the voice of the Lord. Sometimes they welcomed it, while at other times they did not want to hear it. However, whenever the Lord speaks to us, it is important to listen carefully, and not to disregard what the Lord is saying.

Here we find Adam and Eve hiding in the Garden of Eden, and not wanting to hear the voice of the Lord. Why was that? Quite possibly the Lord had come down to visit them before, and they had not hid themselves. But now they were hiding, because they had disobeyed the one commandment that the Lord God had given them.

As Christians, we sometimes do wrong things, and if we do not immediately confess that sin to the Lord, we also will not want to be in the Lord’s presence. Adam and Eve did obtain forgiveness, but they had brought sin into the world. As we well know, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden for their sin.

“If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha” (1 Corinthians 16:22).

This is a very strongly worded verse, and we might wonder why it is included right at the end of an epistle written to a Christian assembly. The words “anathema maranatha” mean “accursed at His coming.” Were there some in the assembly at Corinth that did not love the Lord Jesus Christ?

Sadly, it seems that there may well have been those in Corinth who were putting on a good outward show, but who were not real believers. They discounted the Apostle Paul, and wanted to “take over” the assembly there. Sadly, some of the true believers in Corinth were being strongly influenced by these men, and thought that they were very spiritual.

Paul points out the seriousness of pretending in God’s presence, and uses some strong words to show us what will happen when the Lord executes judgment. How awful it is to think of some who pretended to be true believers, yet in a coming day will be proven never to have been truly saved! All this is a warning for us too, for if we have grown up in a Christian home, we can easily say the right words, and act in the right way, yet not be truly saved.

“Ye know the household of Stephanas…and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints” (1 Corinthians 16:15).

You all know that in a general way, it is not good to be addicted to anything. Many people are addicted to tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, and they cannot get free of them. But here in our verse today is an addiction that is good for us to have. Here was a household that was addicted to serving their fellow believers.

To be addicted to something means that we cannot stay away from it. The compulsion is so strong that we are continually going back to it. In natural things this is bad, but in this case, it was a good thing. To serve others is a wonderful way to honor the Lord, and here was a household that was continually serving fellow believers. They were evidently one of the early families to be saved in the region of Achaia, which was an area composed of nearly all of Greece. The Word of God takes special note of them. They are a good example for us.