Young People’s Blog

“The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:14,16).

A few days ago we were driving down a street in Perth, Australia, when we saw a building with large letters on the side of it, saying, “Building the inner man.” This could mean a gym, or it could mean a mental health center. It could also mean a place where people could go and learn certain things.

However, as we got closer, we saw that it was a Christian high school, and the saying on the building was obviously taken from our verse today. Many people in this world are very concerned about their bodies, but Paul tells us that “bodily exercise profiteth little” (this means for a little time), but that “godliness is profitable unto all things.” Yes, it is good to get exercise and keep our bodies in good shape, but it is even more important to keep the “inner man” in good shape! In that high school in Perth, they were trying not only to give the students a good education, but also to build them up spiritually.

“And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water” (Matthew 14:28).

Today we will consider another of the Lord’s disciples—Peter. He was a bold man, sometimes outspoken, but one who was much used of the Lord. As we can see by today’s verse, he was the kind of man who, when he saw the Lord Jesus walking on the water, wanted to do it too! If you read the rest of the story, you will see that Peter did indeed walk on the water, but he had to learn a lesson too.

Peter was a brave man, and it was he who drew his sword to defend the Lord Jesus when the soldiers came to arrest Him. And it was Peter who preached on the day of Pentecost, when 3,000 souls were saved. He also wrote the two epistles in the New Testament that bear his name.

Peter made some mistakes, but we can admire his boldness for the Lord, and his willingness to speak out for the Lord, even when it meant persecution. We should be willing to do the same.

“And there shall be no night there…and they shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).

“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever” (Revelation 14:11).

Today, as I write this in January, 2024, we are sitting in a hotel lobby in Sydney, Australia. A man passed us wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo, “Extinction is forever.” We knew what it meant. He was concerned about various animals that are becoming extinct, for when this happens, there is no human means of bringing them back.

However, there are other things that will last forever—things that many people do not think about. According to our first verse today, those who reign with Christ will reign with Him forever. What a wonderful thought! But those who reject Him will be tormented in hell forever too. This is a most awful thought, and ought to concern us more than the extinction of some animals in this world. Yes, man has not done a very good job of looking after this world, but God is able to restore those extinct animals. He may well do so during the millennium, although I am not aware that Scripture says so clearly. But those who go into a lost eternity will never be released. I cannot think of anything more serious.

“And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun” (Mark 16:1-2).

Here we find two women who were very devoted to the Lord Jesus. They had spent time with Him while He was alive, and now that He was in a grave, they wanted to put their sweet spices on His dead body, in order to honor Him. They never needed those spices, for by the time those women came to the grave, the Lord Jesus had risen again. However, because they came to the grave early in the morning, they were some of the first ones to learn about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, for the angel at the tomb of the Lord Jesus told them clearly that He was risen.

But the Lord Jesus greatly appreciated their devotedness in buying and bringing those spices. Devotedness is important in our lives too. We may not know as much about the Bible as others know, but the Lord greatly values our love to Him, and our devotedness. When we come together on Lord’s day to remember the Lord Jesus, as He has asked us to do, it is like bringing sweet spices to Him.

“And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again, Andrew and Philip tell Jesus” (John 12:20-22).

Here we find Philip again, but this time he is connected with Andrew, who was another disciple of the Lord Jesus. It seems that both Philip and Andrew were people who were easy to approach, and easy to talk to. When some Greeks wanted to see the Lord Jesus, they came first of all to Philip, and then Philip told Andrew. Together they go and tell the Lord Jesus.

We do not hear much about Andrew and Philip otherwise. They were apparently not prominent in preaching publicly, and they were not gifted leaders. We do not hear anything about them in the book of Acts, for the Philip mentioned in Acts was a different man. But they did well in personal work, and this is very valuable in the eyes of the Lord. All of us should work on being easy to approach, and being able to relate to people one-on-one.

“When Jesus then lifted up His eyes, and saw a great company come unto Him, He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?… Philip answered Him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little” (John 6:5,7).

It is interesting that of all the disciples, it was Philip to whom the Lord Jesus asked the question about where they were to get enough bread to feed a big crowd of people. Why would He pick Philip? We know from other references to Philip that he was a “one-on-one” type of person. He related well to people on a personal basis, and cared how people were doing. Earlier in John (chapter 1), we find that it was Philip who first brought Nathanael to the Lord Jesus. We will see tomorrow that Philip and Andrew were evidently good friends.

It is good to be the kind of person who notices how other people are doing, and cares for them. The Lord Jesus knew that Philip cared for others, and would be interested in how they were going to be fed. I am sure that Philip cared how the people were fed spiritually as well, but he also cared how they were doing naturally. It is a good characteristic for all of us to copy.

“Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile”! (John 1:47).

For the next few days, we are going to have some verses before us about those who were connected with the Lord Jesus during His ministry in this world. Each of them had a good, distinctive characteristic which we should think about.

Here in our verse for today, we read that Nathanael was a man in whom was no guile. What does this mean?

Guile is different from telling a lie, but it often amounts to the same thing. Guile is doing something or saying something to deceive people, often in a clever way. Afterward, the person can usually say quite honestly that he or she did not tell a lie, but others know that he or she deliberately did or said something to give a wrong impression.

Nathanael was not like that. He was an honest man, and when it was clear to him who the Lord Jesus was, he believed on Him.

“In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct Thy paths” (Proverbs 3:6).

What an encouraging verse this is! Many Christians today are certain that they know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, and they know they will spend eternity with Him, but many are not sure what the Lord wants them to do with their life in this world. Often I hear the question, How can I know the Lord’s mind for my life? We get the answer in today’s verse.

If we bring the Lord into every aspect of our life, we will find that He will show us what to do. He will “direct our paths,” and show us each step of the way. We may not know what we are supposed to do a year from now, but He will always show us the next step. Then, when we have taken that step, He will show us what to do next. It is a wonderful thing to have the Lord guide us in this way, but we must bring Him into every part of our life. We must be willing to do His will, and not insist on doing our own will.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me” (John 15:4).

Have you ever cut a branch off a tree in summer, when it had leaves on it? How long did it take for the leaves to start withering and curling up? It does not take very long, and after a few hours you will see those leaves drooping, curling, and then, a day or two later, they will begin drying out. Then the wood in the branch itself begins to dry out, as the sap in it dries up.

It is the same for believers who do not walk with the Lord. We cannot lose our salvation, but without the Lord, we cannot do anything. Just as a branch cannot bear any fruit by itself, so you and I cannot do anything for the Lord without His help. We may try to do something with human energy, but it will not be pleasing to the Lord. To bear fruit for the Lord, we need His strength.

“By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).

The Lord Jesus did not only encourage His disciples to love one another, He commanded them to do it. The kind of love that the Lord Jesus is talking about here is not natural love, but rather divine love. What is the difference? Natural love among human beings exists among those who have common interests, and who get along well together. But divine love does not require the other person to return the love; it keeps on loving anyway. That is how we should love other believers.

Of course, all believers ought to behave in a loving way, so that we get along well together. Sadly, this does not always happen. But we are to continue to love others anyway, and as the Lord Jesus said, this will show those who are not believers that we belong to the Lord Jesus.