Month: April 2015

Dear Young Christian:

I am writing this page as I look out over the city of Cairo Egypt from my ninth story bedroom window. Yesterday it was 47° Celsius which is the same as 120.2° Fahrenheit. I fear it is going to be the same or more today.

With a fan blowing on me I am thinking about the children of Israel as they worked beneath the hot desert sun so many centuries ago, and how the Lord said to Moses, “I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered My covenant” (Exodus 6:5). They may have thought that God had forgotten about them, but He saw their difficulty, He heard their groans, and at the right moment and in the right way, He was going to deliver them.

Maybe you are going through some hard thing this week. You feel the Lord has forgotten you, that He doesn’t hear your groans or even your prayers. But be assured that He is well aware, and has not failed you. Just as He eventually did the best for the Israelites, so He will do for you. Trust Him!

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you. Send your comments or questions to jhyland@primus.ca

Hallelujah

“And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia” (Revelation 19:4).

Some words were coined for use only by Christians, and such is the word HALLELUJAH! Actually the word is Hebrew, and is a compound of two words, hallal and jah. The first word, hallal means “to praise,” and the word jah is the word for God, the same word which means Jehovah.

Hallelujah is a universal word and understood by all who love God’s Word everywhere. Simply put, the word means, “praise be to God.”

It is understandable that the world does not grasp the meaning nor significance of the word Hallelujah, for only those who are redeemed by the blood of Christ can truly praise the Lord for what He has done for them.

The word is used a number of times in the Psalms, but in the King James Version it is always translated, “praise ye the Lord” or something similar; such as Psalm 104:35 and 106:1. John uses it four times in the Book of Revelation.

Praise the Lord today; He is indeed the worthy One!

 

A Giver

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”
(1 Timothy 1:15).

Each January, I have the privilege of giving the gospel in the schools in the Bahamas. In doing this I try to take an incident or story from their history that has an application to the truth of salvation.

On my arrival in Nassau one year, I visited a new museum, called the “Pirates of Nassau Museum.” I was taken from one display to another and listened to the history of the pirating in the Caribbean. I soon realized that those scoundrels had only one thing in view in coming to those areas in around the Bahamian Islands, and that was to get something for themselves. Yes, they were out to GET, by whatever means it took.

It was then my joy to be able to go to the schools and tell of the Lord Jesus, who came to this world, not to GET, but to GIVE. The pirates of Nassau stole and murdered; the Lord gives life and an inheritance to those who receive Him as Saviour. He Himself said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

 

Companions

There is an old saying, “A person is known by the company he keeps.”

With this in mind, make sure you select as friends and close companions, not only other Christians, but those who are out and out for the Lord — those who are really on the Lord’s side. The company we keep will influence us for good or for evil. Make sure you company and fellowship with the godly. “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another” (Malachi 3:16). This kind of interaction with other believers who desire the Lord’s glory has His distinct approval and commendation.

The Lord’s earnest desire, and we might add, ours as well, is that you would grow to be men and women whose influence upon your generation will be felt; an influence which will stamp its own character on souls for eternity; for influence — good or bad — never dies. The impress of eternity is upon each one of us.

David said, “I am a companion of all them that fear Thee, and of them that keep thy precepts” (Psalm 119:63). Can you honestly say that as well?

 

Minor Prophets — Obadiah

Obadiah has a very short and direct message concerning the future judgment of Edom. The Edomites are the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother, as we see from Genesis 36:1. “Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.” They have always been staunch enemies of the people of God, as we see in Exodus 17 when Amalek, Esau’s grandson came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. Later the wicked man Haman, another descendant of Esau, tried to have the Jews annihilated in the book of Esther.

Along with many other nations they are determined to have Israel destroyed. A careful reading of Psalm 83 will clearly show their hatred as they say, with other nations that join with them, “Come let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel be no more in remembrance” (Psalm 83:4). (Notice the connection with Edom in verse 6 of the Psalm.)

Edom’s judgment will be complete and final as is indicated by verse 10: “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever.” God does not look lightly on any nation or people who have despised or suppressed Israel in any way.

 

Patience

I saw, what I thought was a very good definition of patience:

Patience is trusting God’s timing!

Trusting God’s timing is more than just waiting God’s timing. We have no choice but to wait for God’s timetable, but, at least for myself, I don’t always do it with patience or trust. To realize that His timetable is really the best, and that He knows, not only what we need, but when we need it, will give us a real peace and calm in our hearts that we cannot experience otherwise.

David put it this way: “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass…Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself.” (Psalm 37:5,7).

To some degree we are all creatures of impatience. Seven times in the book of James we have the word patient or patience, beginning with the following exhortation: “The trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:3-4).

 

No Repay

Here is an interesting statement that I saw on a billboard the other day:

You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.

It reminded me of the Lord’s exhortation when he was in the house of a certain Pharisee. He said, “But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:13-14).

So often our motives for doing something for others is selfish. We do it because we hope to get something for ourselves — some reward, verbal or temporal; a return invitation; or some recognition that we think will put us in good standing with others.

But let’s learn to do it for the Lord’s commendation and approval. Paul said, “We labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him” (2 Corinthians 5:9).

 

Dear Young Christian:

Did you ever just talk for the sake of talking? Have you ever just rambled on with pointless chatter, and really not said anything of real value? I certainly have been accused of that on more than one occasion, and been reminded of the verse that says, “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

This week, let’s try to do more listening than talking. God has given us two ears and one mouth. It seems that He wants us to listen twice as much as we talk. For some of us this is harder than for others. But we can all ask for grace from the Lord to help us to hold our tongues. Over a hundred years ago a man by the name of John Nelson Darby made this statement: “Say little, serve all, pass on, this is true greatness.” The Lord Jesus said, “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you. Send your comments or questions to jhyland@primus.ca

Precious

“Unto you therefore which believe He is precious”
(1 Peter 2:7).

As you think about the Lord today, ask yourself this question: Is He really precious to my heart?

There was a time in each of our lives when we did not love the Lord or desire His company. We were like the prophet, who said, “There is no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2). Then after we were saved we saw Him in a completely different light, and like the bride in the Song of Solomon we said, “He is altogether lovely” (Song of Solomon 5:16).

Today, remember…

“He loved us” (1 John 4:19).

“He saved us” (Titus 3:5).

“Christ…hath given Himself for us” (Ephesians 5:2).

“Christ hath redeemed us” (Galatians 3:13).

“He hath said I will never leave thee nor forsakes thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

And don’t forget His wonderful promise: “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3).

 

Salvation

Through whom:“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

For whom:“God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

How:“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Where:“Believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).

When: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Why: “We shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:9).