Young People’s Blog

Dear Young Christian:

For me life is a continual coming and going. Not that I am complaining, as I am very thankful for the opportunities to serve the Lord, and the many open doors that still exist —  even in these last days. This is not a time for sitting back and watching life go by. We are told, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:35). So I pack my bag, and tomorrow I am off to Trinidad.

While most of us are not called to the foreign mission field yet we can all serve the Lord where we are. What will your mission field be this week? Your neighborhood, summer school, your workplace … vacation spot … ? In the Bible we find those of all ages in all kinds of situations speaking and giving testimony for the Lord. For example, Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh, the maid to Naaman’s wife, Anna in the temple, Cornelius in his own house, Paul and Silas in prison … and on and on the list goes.

Have a good week, and don’t forget your mission for Christ.

Your Christian Friend,

 Jim Hyland

The Poor Wise Man

“This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.” (Ecclesiastes 9:13-16).

The poor, wise man is the Lord Jesus. “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor” (2 Corinthians 8:9). The city is a picture of this world, and the enemy is Satan. The Lord by the work of Calvary has delivered us from our sins and from the judgment that is coming on this world. Will you remember Him today, or will you be like those in the story who forgot their deliverer?

The Lord Jesus has asked us, “This do in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). He has even told us how to remember Him. “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till He come” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Will you remember Him today?

His Part

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5).

It is difficult to hear that man is an utterly lost sinner who can never find his own way back to God. We like to think there is something we can do to help save ourselves, but according to God’s Word we are not only lost, but without any ability to save ourselves, as the following story illustrates:

Ironside tells the story of a convert who rose in a meeting to give testimony to the saving grace of God. He told how the Lord had won his heart and given deliverance from the guilt and power of sin. He spoke of Christ and His work but said nothing of any efforts of his own. When the man’s testimony was ended the leader of the meeting said, “Our brother has only told us of the Lord’s part in his salvation. When I was converted there was a whole lot I had to do myself before I could expect the Lord to do anything for me. Brother, didn’t you do your part first before God did His?”

The other was on his feet in an instant and replied: “Yes, I clear forgot. I didn’t tell you about my part, did I? Well, I did my part for over thirty years, running away from God as fast as my sins could carry me. That was my part. An’ God took after me till He run me down. That was His part.”

So Shine

“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).

Four of us were having breakfast in a restaurant in Georgetown, Guyana yesterday morning. Before we ate, we paused for a moment while one of us gave a short word of thanks to the Lord for the meal. A man at the next table noticed this, and motioning to us declared that he was a believer. This led to some conversation, and we found out that he was involved in evangelical work and was wondering where he could get some gospel tracts and other Christian literature. We were happy to tell him that we had a literature and Bible depot in the country and that we would be happy to supply him with all the literature he could use. We were able to give him some material on the spot, and he assured us that he would soon be in contact for more. We were able to speak a few words of encouragement to one another, and then he was gone. I thought, Who knows the far-reaching blessing and fruit of such a contact?

Let your light shine today, and you will be surprised at the blessing it will be to others.

The Lord

“I will extol Thee, my God, O king; and I will bless Thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless Thee; and I will praise Thy name for ever and ever” (Psalm 145:1-2).

In conjunction with today’s meditation I would encourage you to read the whole of Psalm 145. The theme of this Psalm is “The Lord.”

• “Great is the Lord” (verse 3).

• “The Lord is gracious” (verse 8).

• “The Lord is good” (verse 9).

• “The Lord upholdeth” (verse 14).

• “The Lord is righteous” (verse 17).

• “The Lord is nigh” (verse 18).

• “The Lord preserveth” (verse 20).

No wonder David could say at the end of it, “My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord” (verse 21). As he considered all that the Lord is, and all the blessings that were his as a result, it really overwhelmed him and filled him with praise.

As you meditate on who the Lord is and all He has done for you and all that He is doing for you, you too will be filled with praise and thanksgiving.

Together

“For we are laborers together with God” (1 Corinthians 3:9).

This phrase is certainly remarkable. Does God really need us? He could speak and the whole world would shatter into a million pieces. If He recalled His breath all flesh would perish in a moment. And yet Christians, God’s people today, walking in tune with Him and serving Him in His great harvest field, are laborers together with God. We are working with God and He with us. We are working together for His glory and the blessing of souls. Do you get the importance of this statement, young Christian friend? WE ARE WORKERS TOGETHER WITH GOD. He is our God, He gave His Son to save us, and now we can be laborers together with Him. He says to each of us, “Son, go work today in My vineyard” (Matthew 21:28).

This is indeed a great privilege and one that is only given to us for this life. When we arrive in the Father’s house, God’s Son is going to come forth and serve us. “He shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them” (Luke 12:37). Are you asking God what He wants you to do today? If you are, you will find that He has plenty for you to do.

Keep

“While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy name: those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost.” (John 17:12).

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

These two statements of Scripture go very necessarily together. First of all, the Lord Jesus Christ has kept and will continue to keep each of His own until we leave this world and are safe home with Him in the Father’s house. Remember, His keeping power is as real and powerful as His saving power. We are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).

Now our responsibility is to keep our hearts and our affections for Him so that our lives can be lived for His honor and glory. We are encouraged by Jude, the brother of James, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 21). To keep ourselves in the warmth and sunshine of His love we must walk in daily fellowship with Himself. This will stir up our affections and keep us from the evils of the world as well as making us happy, fruitful followers of Christ.

Dear Young Christian:

We are going to be like Christ in Heaven. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

However, we can be like Him now. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). In other words, in the measure in which we are occupied with Christ Jesus as the glorified man in Heaven, there will be a reflection of Himself in our life.

Of course, we may fail, but that should not discourage us. Remember that the place you are in is that of an epistle of Christ and the life of Christ should be manifested in us. Christ has settled the question of our sins. Now He appears in the presence of God for us, and we are in the presence of the world for Him.

How much of Christ will the world see in you this week?

Your Christian Friend,

 Jim Hyland

Risen

“The Lord is risen indeed” (Luke 24:34).

This glorious truth was triumphantly conveyed to the disciples in the upper room by the two who had gone to Emmaus and returned to Jerusalem after having been in the company of the risen Christ.

What a wonderful comfort this was as the truth of it slowly sank into the hearts of those who heard it, and as the Lord then came and stood in their midst to confirm to them that He had indeed risen from the dead. “Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20).

So for us today, we look back to the work of Calvary to remember all that took place there when the Lord Jesus gave Himself for us. But we also look up and rejoice in a risen Savior, and as such we worship Him.

That resurrection morning,When through the early gloom,
The confirmation given, come see the empty tomb.
The grave, it could not hold Him, victorious He rose,
Oh, what a glorious morning, triumphant o’er His foes.

“He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:6).

And Then …

“Your life … appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14).

A young man came to the dean of a famed university. He told the old man that a long-cherished desire was at last fulfilled: He had entered law school and meant to spare no effort in pursuing his studies. The old man kindly replied, “When you have finished studying, what will you do?”

“Take my doctor’s degree,” answered the youth.

“And then?”

“Then,” continued the youth, “I shall have a number of difficult cases, and win a great reputation.”

“And then?” repeated the professor.

“And then,” replied the youth, “I shall be elected to some high office in the state, and become rich.”

“And then?”

“And then,” continued the would-be lawyer, “I’ll live comfortably and look forward to a quiet and happy old age.”

“And then,” repeated the old man again.

“And then,” said the youth, “and then I shall die.”

Here his listener raised his voice, and again asked with solemnity and emphasis: “AND THEN?”

The young man made no answer. He had not considered the most important thing of all — ETERNITY! Have you?