Young People’s Blog

The Pit

A converted Chinese man once described his experiences in seeking deliverance from sin in this way:

“I was once in a horrible pit of sin, and for years I cried to Buddha for help; but he replied, ‘You must deaden your consciousness and imagine that you are not in the pit.’

“Then I sought the help of Confucius, and his answer was, ‘You should have followed my teaching, and then you would never have fallen into the pit.’

“At last I turned to Christ, and, with no word of rebuke, He descended into the pit, and, with His pierced hands, brought me up out of it; and we have been walking together ever since!”

Of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus, we read prophetically:

“I am counted with them that go down into the pit … Thou hast laid Me in the lowest pit … . Thou hast afflicted Me with all Thy waves” (Psalm 88:4, 6-7).

As a result, we can say, “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings” (Psalm 40:2).

It is my prayer that every one reading this calendar has been delivered from the pit of sin. If not, “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15).

Your Light

“Ye are the light of the world … . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven” (Matthew 5:14, 16).

Before we can speak for Christ we must shine for Christ.

The story is told of a blind man who was found sitting at the corner of a street in a great city with a lantern beside him. Someone went up to him and asked what he had the lantern there for, seeing that he was blind, and the light was the same to him as the darkness. The blind man replied: “I have it so that no one may stumble over me.”

There is a lesson in this simple story, and something for us to really think about as Christians. Where people don’t read the Bible, many read you and me instead. That is what Paul meant when he said we were to be living epistles of Christ. “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3). Dwight L. Moody once said, “I would not give much for all that can be done by sermons, if we do not preach Christ by our lives. If we do not commend the Gospel to people by our holy walk and conversation, we shall not win them to Christ.”

Complaining — Part 3 (Government)

The next time you complain about the government remember these verses:

Those who rule: “The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Daniel 4:17).

Obeying their laws: “For the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well” (1 Peter 2:14).

Submitting to their authority: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God” (Romans 13:1-2).

When we speak of them: “Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities” (2 Peter 2:10).

“Likewise also these … despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities” (Jude 8).

When paying taxes: “For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues” (Romans 13:6-7).

Complaining — Part 2 (The Weather)

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

Here are some more weather phenomena that we often complain about, especially those of us who live in northern climates.

• Wind: “He bringeth the wind out of His treasuries” (Psalm 135:7).

• Snow: “For He saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth … Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” (Job 37:6; 38:22).

• Cold or Heat: “While the earth remaineth … cold and heat” (Genesis 8:22).

• The time of year: “Summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).

Imagine the chaos and confusion if humans were in charge of the weather. But thankfully the Lord Himself controls it all and knows what is needed, and the perfect balance of each element. While it is true that He allows drought and famine, and other harsh conditions to exercise men’s souls, yet He is “upholding all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). Nothing is out of His control.

Complaining — Part 1 (The Weather)

“That there be no complaining” (Psalm 144:14).

We tend to be complainers by nature, and there are two things that we complain most about: one is the weather, the other is the government. Yet the Bible tells us that both these things come directly from the hand of God and that we can do nothing about either one. Thankfully He is in complete control of both!

The next time you complain about the weather remember these verses:

• Rain: “The Lord … prepareth rain for the earth” (Psalm 147:7-8).

• Hail: “He gave them hail” (Psalm 105:32).

• Sleet: “He casteth forth His ice like morsels: who can stand before His cold” (Psalm 147:17)?

•Thunder & Lightning: “The Lord also thundered in the Heavens … and He shot out lightnings” (Psalm 18:13-14).

• Tornado or Hurricane: “The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm” (Nahum 1:3).

• Cloudiness: “The clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3).

Dear Young Christian:

If we are honest, we may have to admit that it’s easy to give thanks for favorable things and happy circumstances, but difficult to give thanks for the painful things in life. But the Lord uses painful things as well as easier things to produce glory for Himself and blessing to us. Without complaint, and with the realization that He is doing all for our good, let us give Him thanks for the difficulties He allows. He is using them to produce in us spiritual fruit and a beautiful reflection of Christ, which the positive circumstances alone could never yield.

I am not saying that the painful things are easy or that we should become callous or indifferent to them. But we need to cultivate the habit of thanksgiving no matter what.

Here are some verses to think on as you face life this week:

“O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 106:1).

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

“Giving thanks always for all things” (Ephesians 5:20).

Your Christians Friend,

Jim Hyland

Where Are the Nine?

“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” (Luke 17:15-17).

Ten lepers had been mercifully and miraculously cleansed by the Lord Jesus. Sad to say, only one returned to give Him thanks. I can just hear the sadness in the voice of the Lord as He asked where the other nine were.

We, too, have been cleansed, not from leprosy, but from our sins. “Ye are washed … ye are sanctified … ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Will we be like the one leper who returned to give glory to God and thanks to the Lord, or will we be like the nine who went their way and never showed their gratitude? As we consider what He has done for us in the great sacrifice of Calvary, “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving” (Psalm 95:2). “Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15).

Gambling

A sudden thunderstorm sent a flash flood through the streets and into the gambling casinos of Las Vegas, Nevada. As the Colorado River rose, downtown streets were closed off and buildings sandbagged, but in the casinos, it was “business as usual” to the patrons determined to carry on.

The manager of one place said, “Water was dripping on the slot machines, but the people kept pulling the handles. We finally had to ask them to move. It didn’t seem to bother them at all. You hear stories like this. It’s hard to believe until you see it. They are oblivious and couldn’t care less!”

It is a perfect picture of many people today. We are living in a time when nations are being swept by storms of revolution and change, a time when the greatest storm of all, the storm of God’s judgment, could break at any time, but still people go on, oblivious to all the warnings. They are gambling, not money, but their souls. They are risking their eternal future for temporary gain. They willingly run that risk every day, gambling that tomorrow will find them still alive with one more chance to be saved.

I hope none of my readers are gambling with their eternal souls. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

Our Example

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

In reading through the four Gospels it is striking to note the way in which every hour of the time of the Lord is filled up. There is no loitering in the days of the Lord on earth, no looking for ease, no self-seeking. He is taken up with untiring activities of service and love. When He does seek solitude it is to be alone with God His Father. At twelve years of age He could say, “I must be about My Father’s business (Luke 2:49). Later on, He confirms, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17).

We find Him by night, praying; by day in the Temple, teaching; along the road, healing; in homes, comforting; on the hillside, feeding the multitude; in the cemetery, raising the dead; with publicans and sinners, eating with them and forgiving sins. He never acted for self, He lived for the glory of God, and He lived a selfless life for the blessing of others.

What an example for us! Would that we were more like our Lord and Master!

Young People of Scripture
Naaman’s Servant Girl

“And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:2-3).

Naaman was a great man and had favor with the king of Syria, “but he was a leper” (2 Kings 5:1). However, God was interested in Naaman and his blessing and used a poor, seemingly insignificant, captive slave girl to convey a message of hope. As servant to Naaman’s wife, this young person bravely spoke of the prophet in Israel and with simple faith declared that there was healing for her master. It must have taken real courage to speak out the way she did.

The above verses are all we ever read of her life and testimony, but what a powerful message they convey. If your life were summed up in just a few words, what would they be? Would it be that you had boldly spoken for the Lord and that there had been great blessing as a result? Point someone to Christ today. There are many broken lives and hearts all around us. Let’s point them to the One who can heal and save and bless!