Young People’s Blog

Spices — Part 3

“And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment … Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus” (Luke 23:56; 24:1-3).

What devotion these women exhibited! They waited just long enough to fulfil the requirements of the sabbath day, and then, in haste, they made their way to the tomb of the Lord Jesus, who they so loved. There was very little intelligence as to what was transpiring, but great devotion. They need not have prepared the spices, for, as we well know, they found the tomb empty, and the Lord Jesus risen from the dead. What a day it was for them, and for all the world! What a day for us! We have a risen Savior, living in heaven and soon coming back to take us to that wonderful home. But let’s not forget the prepared spices. The hearts of the ladies were in the right place, and understanding and intelligence soon followed. What a lesson for us today!

I’m leaving Grenada tomorrow, with a bag full of spices.

Spices — Part 2

I am still on the spice Island of Grenada, and today, as I purchased some spices to take home to my wife, I was thinking again about the Bride in the Song of Solomon. When describing her bridegroom, she said, “His cheeks are as a bed of spices” (Song of Solomon 5:13). The north wind and the south wind had had their effect, and her appreciation of Himself had deepened. She appreciated in a way she had never before, the fragrance and loveliness of her lover. In fact, at the end of her enumeration of His qualities, attributes, and glories, she says, “Yea, He is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend” (Song of Solomon 5:16).

Don’t despise the winds of circumstance that the Lord allows in your life. Let those winds, soft or harsh, warm or frigid, gentle or cutting, blow you closer to the Lord Jesus, your beloved Bridegroom, and let the sweetness and fragrance of Himself fill you with joy and delight. Then you will respond like the final words of the bride at the end of the book, when she said, “Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices” (Song of Solomon 8:14).

Spices — Part 1

I landed on the island of Grenada this morning. Grenada is known as the “spice island,” and, depending on how the wind is blowing, you can often smell the cinnamon, nutmeg, and other pleasant fragrances wafting out over the Caribbean, even before you reach the shore. It brings to mind the following verse and meditation:

“Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out” (Song of Solomon 4:16). This is the request of the Bridegroom in connection with His bride, typifying the Lord Jesus Christ and His bride, the Church. He not only requests the gentle, warm breezes of the south wind to blow, but the harsh, cold winds of the north also. Why? What lesson do we learn from this?

The lesson is simple! If there is going to be the fragrance of Christ and the production of worship in our lives, of which the spices flowing out would speak, then there must be the trials and difficulties as well as those pleasant quiet times when all goes well. We need both. Don’t think that because you belong to the Lord all is going to go well. No, we need the winds of adversity as well as the winds of tranquility.

Have You Ever Wondered

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Have you ever really wondered
Just what heaven will be like?
Have you ever contemplated,
No more clocks the hours to strike?
Have you ever thought about it,
When all pain and sorrow cease,
When from every care and worry,
We will have a full release?

Best of all, to be with Jesus,
This will be what makes that place,
Captivated by His glory,
When we see Him face to face!
All His splendor, all His beauty,
Then eclipsing all around,
He alone, the theme, the center,
In that home where joys abound!

Dear Young Christian:

Can it be another Monday already? Yes indeed, time waits for no one. We say, “Time flies.” We imagine that time is going by faster than it used to. However, it is we that fly and we who are going faster and faster. It is society that has picked up the pace, not the clock. Job said, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle” (Job 7:6).

One thing is for sure, we are that much closer to the Lord’s coming than we were last Monday. I can’t tell you when the Lord is coming or if He is coming this week, but I know with certainty that we are nearer to that event today than we have ever been before. The promise remains, “Behold, I come quickly” (Revelation 3:11).

So, start out to school or work with this hope before you.“Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh”(James 5:8).

In the meantime, try, if you can, to slow down a little, and make sure you spend some quiet time with the Lord amidst the pressure and fast pace of everyday life.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you.

Send your comments and questions to jhyland1959@gmail.com

The Blood

The blood of Jesus is a very precious subject.

• It is that which cleans us from every stain of sin. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

• It is through that blood that we have redemption and forgiveness. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7).

•It is the blood of Christ that has given us access into His presence.“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).

•We are sanctified (set apart for Himself) because of His blood. “Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate” (Hebrews 13:12).

• Through the blood we are justified and brought into a perfect standing before God. “Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:9).

What a theme to meditate on today! It is that of which we will sing for all eternity (Revelation 5:9).

Warnings

On Wednesday, February 4^th, 1970, the Liberian registered tanker, the Arrow, ran aground and broke in two off Canada’s east coast. The ship, coming from Venezuela, was headed to Cape Breton with a cargo of 108,000 barrels of Bunker C fuel. The oil spill resulting from the wreck contaminated the waters of Chedabucto Bay, as well as 190 miles of Nova Scotia shoreline.Reports say that there was equipment failure, and it is true that the weather conditions were very adverse. However, confessing it to be his error, the Captain said, “I did not believe the message of my electronic depth sounder.”

We shake our heads and wonder at such folly. But how many there are on the sea of life who do not believe the warnings of the Bible. Of such we read, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy” (Proverbs 29:1). Don’t be like the captain of the Arrow and ignore the warnings. There is a much worse fate awaiting those who refuse to listen and heed the warnings of Scripture. “What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God” (1 Peter 4:17)? Hell! Therefore, “Repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

Fame

Two famous athletes were being questioned by a sports writer as to their legacy and accomplishments. Ted Williams pointed to his success in baseball. Michael Jordan noted his achievements in basketball. How sad! A lifetime quest for fleeting fame and the applause of this world. Here is what the Bible has to say on the matter: “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26). Athletes strive for a prize that is corruptible at best. Their names come and go from the sports pages and news casts of society.

In contrast, the Apostle Paul had the best goal of all, declaring, “For to me to live is Christ … I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:21; 3:14). What are you living for? Is it a flash of glory and fame in this world, or is it for Christ and eternal consequences?

Complaining

“And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard” (Numbers 11:1).

“Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not His word: But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord” (Psalm 106:24-25).

Instead of enjoying the blessings of God and all His care and provision for them, the children of Israel despised His goodness and, sad to say, for the most part, disregarded His word. Privately in their tents they complained and murmured, thinking perhaps that no one else could hear them. But little did they realize that the One who hears our cry when we are in distress is also the One who hears our voice of discontent and complaint. Remember, when we complain, the problem may be with us and not with others or concerning our circumstances. Also, remember, that when we grumble and complain we are really in the end blaming God, and that is a serious thing. Whether in secret or publicly, the Bible never condones complaining. “That there be no complaining in our streets” (Psalm 144:14).

Not an Easy Road

While traveling by car through the jungle of Guyana, South America this morning, on our way to preach the gospel at a village by the name of St. Cuthbert’s Mission, I couldn’t help but think about the following lines of a hymn, writer by J. W. Peterson, that we used to sing as young people.

It’s not an easy road we are travelling to heaven,
For many are the thorns on the way;
It’s not an easy road but the Savior is with us,
His presence gives us joy every day.

No, no, it’s not an easy road,
No, no, it’s not an easy road;
But Jesus walks with me and
Brightens my journey,
And lightens every heavy load.

The road we were driving on was indescribable and there were times when I really wondered if we would make it.

Isn’t that the way it is with the road of life sometimes? And yet, when we trust the Lord, and walk with the consciousness of His presence with us, He always brings us through. He has promised, “I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Joshua 1:5).