Young People’s Blog

Monthly Question Page

Q. What is soul sleep? Is there such a doctrine taught in the Bible?

A. Soul sleep is a false doctrine that teaches that when a person dies they are completely unconscious until the resurrection. The Bible certainly does not teach this, and in fact there are many Scriptures that would refute such a thought.

The Bible teaches that when a believer dies it is the body that sleeps, not the soul. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). From other passages we know that this can only refer to the body. For instance: “Knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord … We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6, 8). In other words, it is one or the other. We are either in the body, or we are with the Lord. Those of our loved ones who have died in faith are in the conscious sense of the Lord’s presence now. In the same way, those who have died in their sins are now suffering torment, like the rich man in Luke 16:23.

We would love to hear from you.

Send your comments and questions to jhyland1959@gmail.com

Out of the Way

“O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself” (Jeremiah 10:23).

“Neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).

My wife and I were driving to a wedding in Dorothy, New Jersey. As we approached the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I decided I knew the route better than the GPS, even though it had been many years since I had driven through that area. However, we soon realized that my decision took us many miles out of our way. Although we eventually arrived at our destination, it was later than planned and the route was longer than anticipated.

Don’t we often do that on the road of life? Sometimes we think we are wiser than God and His Word, the Bible. We get off course, and, as a result, become frustrated and even discouraged. God has a way that is right, and, although not always easy, it is the best. In summary of the wilderness journey of the children of Israel, it says, “He led them forth by the right way” (Psalm 107:7). Wouldn’t we like that summary of our own life? Let’s put our own thoughts and wisdom aside and follow the Lord’s way. It is the right way!

Monthly Scripture Reading

Numbers 20

7 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

9 And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as He commanded him.

10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

12 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed Me not, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and He was sanctified in them.

God Will Help Me

“For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded” (Isaiah 50:7).

“Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me” (Isaiah 50:9)?

Twice, the prophet Isaiah says, “The Lord God will help me.” In the first instance, he realizes that, this being true, he does not need to be confounded, baffled, confused, or overcome. In the second instance, he has a sense of the Lord’s approval in spite of what others might think or say.

These are two good concepts for us to get ahold of as well. Seeking the Lord’s help day by day, and having a sense that He is “a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1) will give us a clear sense of direction in our Christian pathway and service for the Lord, and will keep us from being bewildered and confused. It will also give us a sense of His approval. The Apostle Paul had that sense of the Lord’s affirmation when he said, “Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him” (2 Corinthians 5:9).

One of David’s prayers was, “Help, Lord” (Psalm 12:1). That is a good prayer for us. The Lord has said, “Without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Dear Young Christian:

It’s Monday morning again! Time to get going, and to keep going in whatever sphere of life and work the Lord has called us to.

One thing we are called to do is to keep close to the Lord. Why is it that in the hurry and flurry of life we so often drift away from nearness to Him? One reason is that we allow the fast pace of society to come between us and Himself. Another is that we allow things in our lives that give us a bad conscience. Joseph, who is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament, said to his brothers, “Come near to me, I pray you.” Now that there had been a work of repentance with them he wanted their company in spite of what had happened in the past. The rest of the verse tells us, “And they came near” (Genesis 45:4).

This week, walk closely with the Lord. And if something has come between you and Him, confess it and have the matter cleared. And don’t let the pressures and busyness of daily life spoil your enjoyment of the Lord’s company.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you.

Send your comments and questions to jhyland1959@gmail.com

Look Up

“He rose again” (1 Corinthians 15:4).

“He is risen” (Mark 16:6).

Today, we look back to Calvary and remember the Lord Jesus and the mighty work He accomplished there to the glory of God and for our eternal blessing. However, it is also good for us to look up to heaven and realize that He is no longer in the grave, but that He is risen from the dead. And not only is He risen from the dead, but He is ascended back to heaven. “He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:10). Even more than this, He is seated at the right hand of God as a glorified man. “The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory … set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:17, 20).

Yes indeed, we remember His sacrificial death on the cross, but we worship, praise, and thank Him as a risen, ascended, and glorified Savior. He Himself has declared, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen” (Revelation 1:18).

The Prodigal Son

“A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living” (Luke 15:11-13).

This well-known Bible story has a sad beginning and a happy ending. Recounted by the Lord Himself, it tells of a young man who chose his own way and a life of sin and self-will. It led to a terrible condition of degradation, loneliness, and ruin far away from his father who loved him and was waiting for his return. Eventually, he realized that he had sinned and one day rose up from his deplorable condition in the pigpen, and returned to his father. With the confession, “I have sinned” (Luke 15:21), he found forgiveness full and free, and a place of fellowship with the father at his table.

Do you see yourself as that prodigal? Perhaps you say, “But I have never done those wicked and rebellious things that he did. No, but remember, we are all sinners, and we all have to repent. If we do, we will find God the Father ready and willing to forgive us and receive us in Christ.

Rough Flight

“We fly away” (Psalm 90:10).

I was on a Bahama’s Air flight from Freeport to Nassau. In the seat beside me sat a young boy who looked to be about nine or ten years of age. He was evidently an unaccompanied minor, and had a pouch around his neck with his necessary documents.

We took off in a thunder storm, and, in all the years I have been flying, I have never been so sure that we weren’t going to make it. We were tossed about like a cork on the sea. People were screaming and crying. However, the youth beside me never said a word. He just reached over and put his hand on my arm for comfort, gritted his teeth, and hung on. When we finally landed in Nassau, he drew a great sigh of relief, turned to me, and said, “We reach.”

The journey of life is like that too. It’s not all sunshine, blue skies and smooth flying. There is plenty of turbulence and rough times. God hasn’t promised a smooth flight, but He has promised a safe landing. Someday soon we will, “fly away, and be at rest” (Psalm 55:6). In the meantime, we have One who is in full control, and will bring us safely through the ups and downs, and the storms of life.

Psalm 23 — Part 6

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4).

Often, we apply “the valley of the shadow of death” in connection with a believer passing from this world to the presence of the Lord. This is certainly a good application and has been a great comfort to many. However, in its context, I suggest it has a more relevant application to the believer on a daily basis. Every one of us is walking through this valley every day. It is the world stamped with death and under the curse of sin. It is the world where Satan is the god and prince and we see the sad results around us every day. Someone has said, “The valley of the shadow of death is this world with the shadow of the cross hanging over it.”

Of course, David, who was used to pen these words, did not understand the full import of what he wrote. He did understand that this world is a world of sin, sorrow, and death. He saw thousand slain on the battlefields, he knew what it was to lose family members and his own children in death, and he sometimes feared for his own life.

 Until we reach the Father’s house of light and love we won’t be done with the “valley of the shadow of death.”

Be Careful

“Be careful to maintain good works” (Titus 3:8).

We are always being warned to “be careful.” From the time we can remember, our parents have warned us to be careful about this or that … where we go … what we say … how we act … what we do … and on and on the list of “be careful” goes. The Bible tells us to be careful as well. As our verse today encourages, we are to be careful to keep doing good works. Not good works to obtain our salvation, or even to maintain our salvation, but good works because we are saved. Here is some further instruction in this regard: “In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity” (Titus 2:7). We are also told to be “zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).

What good works will you perform for the Lord and for the blessing of others today? Good works are to characterize us as we go about our daily routine of life. Be careful to maintain this deportment and behavior at all times. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).