Young People’s Blog

The Will of God

“Then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:9-10, 14).

The Lord Jesus came into the world, first and foremost, to do the Father’s will. This is confirmed by His own words, when He stated, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work…For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me” (John 4:34; 6:38). Because He came, and because He fulfilled the will of God His Father, now we are brought into eternal blessing through the work of atonement. This truth takes our focus completely away from self, and gives us to realize that our blessing is altogether based on the person and work of the Lord Jesus, who said, “I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do” (John 17:4). This is in contrast to the Old Testament sacrifices, “which can never take away sins” (Hebrews 10:11).

Looking Down

“If one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow” (Isaiah 5:30).

I heard of a young man who once found a five-dollar bill on the street. From that time on, he never lifted his eyes when walking. In the course of fifty years, he accumulated 29,516 buttons, 54,172 pins, twelve cents, a bent back, and a miserly disposition. He lost the glory of sunlight, the luster of the stars, the smiles of friends, and the joy of living.

This person is not the only one who has suffered the loss of looking down. Many have looked in vain to the earth for satisfaction, pleasure, wealth, and happiness, but have never looked up to God. They have laid up treasure on earth but have neglected the salvation of their precious soul! Many have meant to be saved sometime but have gone into eternity without knowing the Savior.

The Bible says, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37). The most important step you can take in life is looking to God by faith and trusting His Son as your personal Savior! He says,

“Look unto Me, and be ye saved” (Isaiah 45:22).

Alone With The Lord

Do you know what it is to be alone with Jesus?

As you read through the 4 gospels, you find many individuals who were alone with the Lord, and as a result, received special blessing and communication. This seems especially marked in John’s Gospel. Here are 7 examples:

Philip, in chapter 1.

Nicodemus, in chapter 3.

The Samaritan woman, in chapter 4.

The impotent man, in chapter 5.

The woman accused of adultery, in chapter 8

The blind man, in chapter 9.

Mary Magdalene, in chapter 20.

Centuries earlier, David declared, “In Thy presence is fulness of joy” (Psalm 16:11). He had learned to be alone with the Lord and had experienced the joy that it brought to his heart and mind. On another occasion, we read, “And David the king came and sat before the Lord.” (1 Chronicles 17:16). Perfectly comfortable in the presence of the Lord, he could sit and enjoy fellowship.

It is a blessing to cultivate this habit and to take time from our busy schedules to be alone with the Lord.

True & False

“Thy Word is Truth” (John 17:17),

We have often been warned not to believe everything we hear or read! Thinking of this, I had to smile at a post I saw on social media. Here is what it said:

Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.

 -Abraham Lincoln

It gets the point across doesn’t it?

There is certainly a lot of information both true and false available at our fingertips today. One of the characteristics of the days just before the Lord comes is “knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4). The trouble is, so are the opinions, suppositions, and speculations of men.

However, there is one book that we can fully trust from cover to cover. That book, of course, is the Bible — the living Word of God. As the Lord stated in John 17, it is truth; and, I would add, nothing but the truth. The Apostle Paul reminded the young man, Timothy, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Read it and believe it!

Stagnant

I have been to the Louvre museum and art gallery in Paris and seen some of the great artworks of the old masters, including that of Leonardo da Vinci. His contribution to art, science, and engineering established him as one of the great geniuses of history. His mind must have been continually active, observant, and certainly creative, and he is attributed with the following quote: “Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity, and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.”

It is possible to become stagnant and complacent in our Christian experience as well. The young man Timothy was told, “Exercise thyself…unto godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7). The word exercise is from the Greek word gymnasium, and it has the meaning of a disciplined workout. Living a Christian life is not easy. It takes diligence, discipline, and both physical and spiritual energy. The Christian life is to be a life of growing in the things of God and the ways of the Lord. The last words that the Apostle Peter wrote were,

“Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

This will keep you from becoming a stagnant Christian.

The Living Word

“The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

The Living Word, how powerful,
Its comforts fill my heart,
Its light is to my feet a guide,
Its pages, peace impart:
It cheers my soul, it gives me joy,
When all around is dim;
It speaks of truth, and life, and health,
And occupies with HIM.

With HIM, my Savior, and my Friend,
Telling of all His ways,
Of love, and grace, and tenderness,
Filling my heart with praise.
Oh let me value all my life,
This precious book, divine;
Reading its message through and through,
Prizing each sacred line.

Dear Young Christian,

We are living in a world where it is looked upon as a virtue to be able to compromise and to accommodate many points of view. It is called tolerance. We are taught that there are no absolutes and that we shouldn’t make strong, positive statements of fact, but rather just suggest possibilities for consideration and debate.

However, this is not God’s way when it comes to the truth of Scripture and His principles for holy living. He has set forth His standard, and the only way of blessing and happiness is to read it, believe it, and obey it. The Bible is one book that is not open for debate, concession, or differences of opinion.

If you want to have stability in your Christian life and be useful to the Lord, remember, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

Seeing Him

“We see Jesus” (Hebrews 2:9).

“And when they saw Him, they were amazed”
(Luke 2:48).

“And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:36).

“And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only” (Matthew 17:8).

“And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him” (Matthew 28:17).

How good it is for us to have a fresh vision and appreciation of the various aspects of the person and work of Christ!

• Take time today to trace His perfect life and see Him glorifying God and doing His Father’s will.

• Consider Him at Calvary, suffering at the hand of man and at the hand of God for our sins.

• Look up by faith and see Him where He is now, seated at the right hand of God.

• By faith we can see Him in the midst of believers gathered together in obedience to His word.

This is what will produce worship and praise.

Come To Me

“Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life”
(John 5:40).

Although these words were spoken long ago by the Lord Jesus to those who refused His person and testimony while here on earth, yet I am afraid that they also apply to many today. Many who have been taught about the Lord Jesus by parents, grandparents and other loved ones have sadly refused to come to the Lord in repentance and faith.

I hope there is no reader of this calendar in that category. If there is, consider seriously the end result of such a refusal. The Lord warns that there is a day coming when “Ye shall seek Me, and shall not find Me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come” (John 7:34). If you do not come while the invitation is being offered, there is a time when you will want to come and it will be too late.

At this moment, He is saying, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Don’t wait until He has to say, “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).

What’s Ahead

“This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

If we are not careful, we can spend too much time dwelling on the past. When we do this, it can have a negative effect on our emotions, and it will do one of two things.

Dwelling on past failures will discourage us.

Dwelling on past victories will puff us up and make us proud.

While we need to judge past failures and thank the Lord for past victories, yet we need, like Paul, to have our focus on what is ahead, so that we can “run with patience (endurance) the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). The goal and prize in the Christian life is always Christ and heaven. Keep this goal and prize in view, and remember that what is ahead is more important than what is behind.

In spite of the past, we have a wonderful and secure future ahead. Don’t lose sight of it.