Young People’s Blog

Obedience

The key to understanding the Bible is not scholarship, but obedience. This is not to undervalue scholarship, but to give obedience its rightful place.

To understand the Bible it is essential to have…

A prayerful attitude.

An earnest, inquiring mind to search.

A meditative spirit.

An obedient heart.

• Obedience is the secret of knowledge: “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine” (John 7:17).

• Obedience is the secret to happiness: “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17).

• Obedience assures God’s fellowship: “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you” (Philippians 4:9).

• God places the value of obedience above the highest forms of service and sacrifice: “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22).

The Book of Books

“The Word of the Lord endureth forever”
(1 Peter 1:25).

It has been said that out of every thousand books written, six hundred do not pay the cost of printing and only live a year, while only fifty last seven years. However, the Bible, which is centuries old in its complete form, and probably over five thousand years old in its earliest portions, is still easily the best seller. It is printed in hundreds of languages and dialects, and millions of copies of the whole or part are circulated every year. And yet no book has ever been so persecuted.

Persecution has raged since the days of Jehoikim, king of Judah (about 606 B.C.), who, “cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire” (Jeremiah 36:23). Antiochus Epiphanes (168 B.C.), destroyed all the copies he could find. Diocletian (303 A.D.), did the same, and many in later years made bonfires of the earliest printed New Testaments. The Bible has stood attacks from atheists and modernists, but is still what William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), former prime minister of England, called the “Impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture.”

Dear Young Christian,

As I write this page, I am sitting at a table in the drawing room of Chateau Rianduale, here in the south of France. We have just completed a happy three-day Bible conference with believers from many countries, including western Europe, eastern Europe, and Egypt. It has been a fresh reminder of a future time when all believers will meet around the Lord Jesus in heaven, “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Revelation 5:9). If these times of togetherness on earth are so precious and edifying, what will it be to be at that meeting in the Father’s house? There we will never get tired, never be distracted by sin and self again, and there we will worship and praise forever, “Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing” (Revelation 5:12).

As you start out on another busy week, be encouraged to realize that it may end by hearing the shout that will summon us to “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

The Veil

“The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent” (Matthew 27:51).

“And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Mark 15:38).

“And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst” (Luke 23:45).

When the Lord Jesus died, immediately, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. In the Old Testament, the veil separated the holy place from the holy of holies. It not only spoke of the presence of God, but of man shut out from God. Such was the character of the time of law: God was present but man was unable to draw near to God. The rending of the veil proclaimed that all was over with Judaism; but more, it tells us that God can now in righteousness come out in grace with the good news of forgiveness for man, and that man can draw near to God on the ground of the precious blood. So for us today, the invitation is, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22). There is no distance now. What a privilege is ours!

One Sin

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).

The question has been asked, “How much sin will shut you out of heaven?” You cannot say to me, “You are a big sinner, and I am a little one.” Suppose you have committed ten sins, and I eleven, then am I to be shut out of heaven, and you let in? If I find two crab-trees, one bearing one crabapple, and the other one hundred, do I say the one is as much a crabapple tree as the other? Of course!

How many sins had Adam committed when he was driven out of paradise? One sin of disobedience. That one sin proved his distrust of God and his confidence in Satan, just as one crabapple proves what the tree is.

Thankfully, by the obedience of the Lord Jesus in going to Calvary, there is forgiveness and salvation, even for the worst sinner. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). It is not a question of whether you are a big sinner or a little sinner, but a question of whether you are saved or not.

Are you saved?

Solitude

“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35).

Loneliness and solitude are two different things. While the feeling of loneliness is never pleasant, yet solitude, (being alone with the Lord), is not only a privilege but essential to spiritual growth and power in our Christian life and testimony. The Lord as the perfect man gives us this wonderful example. In the midst of His teaching, preaching, and busy days of service, He found time to be in a “solitary place,” in private prayer and communion with His God.

If you want to have effective service for the Lord with spiritual fruit and blessing, you must spend quiet time alone in His company. It is good to have a designated place  where you can slip away sometime during the day and be in solitude with Him. Another example in the life of the Lord is after He fed the multitude:

“And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, He was there alone” (Matthew 14:23).

Will you spend some solitary time in this way today?

Contentment

“Be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14).

“Be content with such things as ye have”
(Hebrews 13:5).

A survey of some 1,500 Canadians asked how much pre-tax money would they need to make them feel comfortable. There were a variety of answers, but what really caught my attention was the conclusion of the matter by the financial institution that conducted the survey. Their assessment of it was as follows: “The more people earn the more they believe they need!”

As believers, we must remember that God has promised to supply all our “needs” — not necessarily all our “wants.” Our hearts are tricky and deceitful too, and sometimes we think if we had more we could do more for the Lord. But the truth of the matter is, if the Lord wants us to do more, He will give us more.

It is good for us, like the Apostle Paul, to be able to say, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11). We may think we need more,

“But godliness with contentment is great gain”
(1 Timothy 6:6).

Troubled — Part 2

When we enjoy the fact that we have a risen Savior living for us in heaven — who is interested in every circumstance of our lives and is above all the difficulties and trials — and that we can sit at His feet now, as we will soon do when we arrive at the Father’s house at His coming; then and only then, will our troubled hearts be calm, quiet, and peaceful.

Here are some verses to meditate on regarding this subject:

“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock” (Psalm 27:5).

“But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: He is their strength in the time of trouble” (Psalm 37:39).

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15).

With all this in mind, I would ask you once again,

“Why are ye troubled?”
(Luke 24:38)

Troubled — Part 1

“Why are ye troubled?” (Luke 24:38).

This question, directed to the disciples by the Lord after He had risen from the dead, is a good question to ask ourselves when we become anxious, overly burdened, worried, fretful, and concerned about the circumstances of life. There are many reasons why we are troubled! The ones in this chapter (Luke 24), had not fully grasped the truth that the Lord Jesus was risen from the dead, so they were troubled.

Early in Luke’s gospel, we read that Martha was “troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41). This was because she had not taken time to sit at the feet of Jesus.

On another occasion, the disciples were troubled because they did not recognize the Lord, or realize that He was in full control of the storm on the sea of Galilee. When they saw the Lord walking towards them on the water “They were troubled, saying, it is a spirit” (Matthew 14:26).

Because the Lord was coming again to take them to His Father’s house, He could encourage His disciples, just before He left them to go to the cross and return to heaven, by saying,

“Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1).

Dear Young Christian,

This morning I have been thinking about the Lord’s coming to call all believers safe home to the Father’s house.

“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

This is a wonderful truth and a “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). While we don’t know exactly when the Lord is coming, one thing is for sure, as you are reading this calendar page today, we are closer to the Lord’s coming than we have ever been before. The promise is, “the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:8). Let’s keep this hope before us this week as we carry on with our responsibilities and daily activities. This will encourage and cheer you no matter what the circumstances.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland