Young People’s Blog

“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).

“Purify your hearts, ye double minded” (James 4:8).

What does it mean to be double minded? James uses this expression twice in writing to his brethren the Jews, some of whom were truly saved, and others who were Christians outwardly, but were not truly saved.

To be double minded means to try and be two different kinds of people. In this case, many of those to whom James wrote were living for the Lord part of the time, but then at other times they were living for this world. Sometimes they spoke nicely, as a Christian should, while at other times they used bad language and cursed other people.

James tells us not to be like that, for it gives a confusing message to those around us. How can unsaved people believe the gospel we may preach to them if we also act like worldly people, and do all the wrong things that unsaved people do? As James tells us, we need to purify our hearts and allow the Spirit of God to lead and guide us in our speech and actions.

“Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently…searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (1 Peter 1:10-11).

There are many verses in the Old Testament that refer to the suffering of Christ, and then the glory that would follow. We can read Psalm 22, or Isaiah 53, or Zechariah 13, and see some of those verses. Yet often the prophets who wrote those verses did not understand what they meant. When they asked the Lord, His answer to them was that they were writing those verses for us, and not for themselves. Have you ever thought of that?

God actually used godly men in the Old Testament to write things down by inspiration that they themselves did not understand, and those things were for our benefit! What a privilege it is to live today, in the time of God’s grace, when we can understand things that were written back in the Old Testament that even the writers themselves did not understand.

“He brought me to the banqueting house, and His banner over me was love” (Song of Solomon 2:4).

There it was — another “gone out of business” sign on yet another “all you can eat” restaurant! Somehow, it just doesn’t work anymore to have that type of advertising, as people take advantage of it, and soon there is no profit for the restaurant anymore. Too many people enjoying too much food, and it comes to an end. Sometimes there are expensive items on the buffet, and when people overload their plates with it, the restaurant loses out.

The Lord has spread a feast for us, and it is referred to as His banqueting house. There will never be a shortage there. The depths and heights of the love of Christ can never be reached (Ephesians 3:17-19), nor can we come to the end of those blessings promised us in Ephesians 1:3. Look up those verses and read them if you want to taste some of the feast prepared for you that will never run out!

“The body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26).

This is a very simple statement, yet it is one that men cannot really understand. Doctors have various ways of deciding when someone is really dead, but none of them is exact as to the time the person died. The person really dies when the spirit leaves the body, and only the Lord knows the exact time of that.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 tells us that “the dust [will] return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Doctors may say that the person stopped breathing, or his heart stopped, or perhaps the person was found to be “brain dead,” but none of these are exact. The body does exhibit all these clear signs of death, but all are the result of the spirit’s leaving the body.

As we saw back in August, there is a day coming when God will unite the spirit and body again. For believers this will happen when the Lord comes to call us home, but for those who have died without Christ, it will happen at the great white throne of God’s judgment.

“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10).

Perhaps you and I find it hard to accept this statement, that if someone breaks only one law, he is guilty of all. We all have different ideas of how wrong it is to do certain things, and we naturally find it easy to condemn others for things that we think we would not do. But we know that we have done other wrong things that perhaps others would not do, but perhaps we do not think that what we have done is all that bad.

Think of the links in a chain. If only one link is broken, the chain is useless. It is the same with God. If we have sinned only in one way, we are guilty before Him. Also, all of us must admit that we have sinned in many ways, and not just in one way. We can be most thankful that God has provided a way to put away our sins, if we are willing to come to Him.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

As I write this in October, 2024, I was solemnized by reading in the news that a young girl named Nell Smith, whom the internet called a “musical prodigy,” was tragically killed in an automobile accident a few days ago. She was only seventeen years old. As far as her life in this world was concerned, she seemed to be very successful as a singer and was about to produce her own solo recordings for sale. She had apparently started singing publicly at the age of eleven and was “on her way” to becoming famous.

Our verse for today puts all this in perspective. Those who paid tribute to her expressed the wish that she would “rest in peace.” But where is she now? Our existence does not end with death; rather we pass into eternity, and then all that we might have had in this world does not mean anything. All that counts is whether we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior.

“Now the God of peace…make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ” (Hebrews 13:20-21).

Yesterday we saw that God was not looking for instant perfection, but rather for steady progress in our Christian lives. Yet, according to our verse for today, the Lord does want us to work toward perfection as a goal. We know that we will not reach perfection until we are at home with our Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, but God is beginning that work in us down here.

More than this, He sets before us our Lord Jesus Christ, “that great Shepherd of the sheep” (v. 20), as the One who is there to lead us home. As the good Shepherd He gave His life for us, but as the great Shepherd He goes before us to lead us in the right path for His glory. In Psalm 22 our Lord Jesus is the good Shepherd, but in Psalm 23, He is the great Shepherd.

“Precept upon precept; line upon line…here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10).

Recently I saw an advertisement from a financial planning company. It read, “We want progress, not perfection.” That was good, and that is the thought in our verse today. Just as the financier was not promising wealth with just one transaction, the Lord promises us slow and steady growth. But it depends on something. We need to apply our hearts and minds to His Word. Then He promises that bit by bit, the truths of Scripture will sink in and take root in our lives. Slow and steady growth is the best way to learn.

Some of you may have at times “crammed” for an examination. You likely passed. But did you remember what you had studied in such a hurry? Probably not very much of it. The Lord wants us to learn precept by precept. That means one thing at a time, slowly and carefully. Keep your pencil and note pad handy in the reading meeting, just as you would in the school classroom. It is well worthwhile.

“They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures” (Psalm 36:8).

In our verse for today we see the contrast between the “pleasures of sin” and “Thy pleasures.” As we saw yesterday, the pleasures of sin are only for a season; they do not last. But when the Lord makes us to drink of the river of His pleasures, it never stops giving us enjoyment.

Rivers in the Bible are a picture of a continuous even flow of blessing. We have all seen large rivers that flow quietly on. I have stood on the banks of both the St. Lawrence River and the Mississippi river and watched the flow of the water. Both are large rivers that are used for navigation, and other uses as well.

The Lord uses the same imagery in the Bible, for there is a river described in the book of Ezekiel, and another river described in the book of Revelation. Both of them are symbols of the blessing the Lord will eventually give on earth and in heaven. See if you can find the chapters where these rivers are described.

“By faith Moses…refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:24-25).

This is an important verse for all of us, but especially for those who are younger. When we are young and in good health, the pleasures of this world can be a real attraction for us. Everything looks good, but the key phrase in our verse for today is “for a season.” There is definitely real pleasure in the things of this world, but those pleasures do not last. When we have enjoyed them for a while, we find that they do not satisfy us, but rather leave a sting that does not go away.

Why do those pleasures leave a sting? It is because they are the pleasures of sin. There is nothing wrong with enjoying nature, and all the wonderful creation that God has made, but even this has been spoiled by sin. However, all the pleasures of this world are designed to try to make you as happy as possible in a world spoiled by sin by leaving God out of the picture. But the Lord wants to give us what can really satisfy, and what will last. We will see that in our verse tomorrow.