Author: BTP

Psalm 23 — Part 4

“He leadeth me beside the still waters”(Psalm 23:2).

Still waters would remind us of those quiet times of refreshment, when we have our spiritual, inner thirst satisfied by the Shepherd, through the living water of the Word. He invites us, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters … If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink” (Isaiah 55:1; John 7:37).

It is vital that we learn to follow our Shepherd to those calm, tranquil waters; otherwise, we are going to try and satisfy our souls with the things that this world seeks to offer us throughout the day. We have within us a thirst that only the One who made us can truly and fully satisfy. On another occasion, David said, “O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is” (Psalm 63:1). Have you had a drink from the Living Word today? If not, you are a thirsty Christian, and you are spiritually dehydrated. What a sad condition to be in when there is so much refreshment available on a daily basis. Stop now and take a drink of “cold waters to a thirsty soul” (Proverbs 25:25).

End-Time Believers

While on the Island of Grenada a few days ago, we passed a building with a large sign out front. It read, in part,

END-TIME BELIEVERS

MEET HERE

I found the statement rather thought provoking, to say the least. This is because there is a very real sense in which we should all consider ourselves to be End-Time Believers. These are what are describe by the Apostle Paul as “the last days” (2 Timothy 3:1); and by the Apostle John as “the last time” (1 John 2:18). We are right at the end of God’s day of grace, the Lord Jesus is about to come and call us home to Himself, and the judgments of this world are at hand. The realization of this should not discourage us, but should, and will, mold our conduct and behavior as believers.

 “And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).

“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (2 Peter 3:11).

What a privilege it is to be living in the last moments just before the Lord’s return. To be End-Time Believers is to expect His coming at any moment.

Leaper Hill

Last week, when in Grenada, I visited a historical site overlooking the Caribbean Sea, with a large monument with the following inscription:

In 1651, the Caribs, realizing that they had made a mistake by allowing the French to remain on the island, became hostile. They killed many Frenchmen who in turn retaliated and with their superior weapons decided to wipe out the Caribs.

The last stand the Caribs made was on a precipice in the north of the island, but they were completely defeated. Those who survived, rather than surrendering, jumped over the precipice, which the French called “Le Morne De Sauteurs” or “Leapers’ Hill.”

It reminded me of the many martyrs who have given their lives rather than submit to that which is contrary to the Word of God. Those martyrs have a special promise.“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). Would I be willing to die for Christ? I can’t answer that question, as I have never been put to that kind of test in the path of faith. However, there are many, even today, who are facing this greatest of tests. We are told to, “remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them” (Hebrews 13:3).

Dear Young Christian:

“Have a good day!” “Have a good week!”

How often have we heard these statements said to us, or how often we have said them to someone else. It’s certainly not a bad thing to say, and, hopefully, when we say it we really mean it. But to have a really good day or week we must include the Lord in everything. “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (James 4:15).

Start out this week with a real desire to walk with the Lord. Be like Asaph, who wrote,“Nevertheless I am continually with Thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee” (Psalm 73:23-25).

I certainly wish you a good day, and a good week, and my prayer for you is that you will put the Lord first in everything you do and say.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you.

Send your comments and questions to jhyland1959@gmail.com

An Accomplished Work

“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to His mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:28-30).

In the Gospel of John there is no record of the Lord’s sufferings in the garden of Gethsemane or the sufferings on the cross. In keeping with the purpose of the gospel, all is presented from the divine side. With divine knowledge, Jesus, knowing that all things were accomplished, fulfilled the Scripture by saying, “I thirst.” Then He said with divine certainty, “It is finished.” Then we read, “He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.” This was His own divine act. A man can take his life, but no mere man can, by an act of will, separate his spirit from his body. This the Lord did as the Son, as He had already said in this Gospel, “Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (John 10:17-18).

No Difference

Hurricane Ivan hit Grenada in September 2004. I was there afterwards and saw the devastation it left in its wake. It was the worst storm to hit the Caribbean in many years.

Recently, while back in Grenada, a brother in Christ who went through it was telling me that, in the days and weeks after Ivan passed, people would line up just to get a bag of flour, some bottles of water, or a few nails. He told me that he himself stood in line with millionaires, politicians, and the elite and wealthy of the country. It didn’t matter who you were, everyone was equal. There was no difference.

Listening to this brought to mind the following verses:

“And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:15-16).

In the day of judgment, it won’t matter who you are, or what you had in this world. If you have rejected Christ, there will be no exceptions made … there will be no difference.

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!