Month: May 2015

Minor Prophets — Jonah

Jonah had a message to present to the wicked city of Nineveh. “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me” (Jonah 1:2). However, Jonah was a disobedient servant who decided it would be easier to run from the Lord than to have his reputation as a prophet spoiled. This is indicated by what he said later on, when he complained to the Lord regarding the sparing of the city. “I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest Thee of the evil” (Jonah 4:2). He knew if the people repented that the Lord might not carry out the judgment and that he would lose his credibility as a prophet.

The account of Jonah is prophetically the story of the unfaithfulness of Israel as a witness for God in the earth and His governmental dealings with them.

Jonah is also a type of the Lord Jesus in His rejection, death, and resurrection. This is confirmed by the Lord when He stated: “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

 

Count Your Blessings

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

Some of our readers may be looking for full-time or part-time employment at this time of year. I thought the following statements were interesting, and while they won’t secure secular employment I think they are worth considering in regard to our spiritual life.

If you want a full-time job with benefits, COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS.

If you want a part-time job with no guarantees, COUNT YOUR TROUBLES.

When I was a young person we used to sing a chorus that went like this:

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

 

Sunshine or Shadow

Here are a couple of questions asked to a group of Christian young people who were gathered together for a young people’s weekend:

“Do you walk in the sunshine of the Father’s presence, or the shadow of a bad conscience?”

“Do you live in the warmth of the Father’s love, or the shade of self-will?”

What would your honest answer be?

When we allow sin and self-will in our lives we lose the communion and joy of the Father’s presence, and we do not enjoy the warmth of His love. Twice the Apostle Paul reminded Timothy of the importance of maintaining a good conscience. “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned” (1 Timothy 1:5). “Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck” (1 Timothy 1:19).

If you have allowed something to come between you and your heavenly Father, judge it today — right now! Return from the cold shadows of sin and self-will to the sunshine and warmth of the Father’s presence and love.

 

Dear Young Christian:

There is a lot of fear in the world this very day. And as another work week starts and the stock markets reopen, and trading and business begins around the world at various levels, there is a lot of speculation and trepidation as to what will happen between now and closing time on Friday.

But for the person who knows the Lord there is an inward peace that nothing outward can touch. As we see things in the world getting worse and worse, and the financial and political infrastructure hanging by a thread and ready to break, we don’t have to be overwhelmed. We can be aware without being overwhelmed. David said, “From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2). We are in relationship with One who is greater than all the circumstances of life, and in full control of everything that happens on planet earth. Our God and Father sees the big picture on the world stage, and is also interested in every detail of our life. He says, “Fear not” (Luke 12:32).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Altogether Lovely

“He is altogether lovely” (Song of Solomon 5:16).

This is the bride summing up her description and assessment of her bridegroom. In careful detail she has describe dhim in the preceding verses, and as a result comes to this joyous conclusion.

What is your assessment of your heavenly bridegroom, the Lord Jesus? As you think about Him today, what conclusion will you come to? Of no earthly bridegroom could it be said, “He is altogether lovely.” There will always be some character flaws or some little idiosyncracies that are not so pleasing. How many have married what they thought was the perfect man, only to find out that it was not so. But as you assess the qualities, attributes, and glories of your heavenly bridegroom, you will never find any imperfections there. You too will say, like the bride of the Old Testament, “He is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend.” The Bible is full of wonderful descriptions of various aspects of the person of Christ. Take time to enjoy some of them today.

 

Life Is Short

Jacob said:

“Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been” (Genesis 47:9).

David said:

“There is but a step between me and death” (1 Samuel 20:3).

Moses said:

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

(Notice the title of the Psalm.)

Job said:

“Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not” (Job 14:1-2).

James said:

“For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14).

The question is not how long we will live, but where will we be when we leave planet earth?

 

Unchristian — Part 2

In 1 John 3, which begins with the words, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (v. 1), John introduces a sharp contrast: Believers love righteousness, keep themselves from sin, and love one another; nonbelievers practice sin, hate others, and abide in death. These are strong words! We are either followers of Jesus Christ or of the devil. John says that love for others is what proves we are genuine children of God.

“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him” (1 John 3:18-19). And also, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). We can’t continue to practice sin and claim to be followers of Christ. Let’s always make sure our words and deeds back up our beliefs.

 

Unchristian — Part 1

“In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother” (John 3:10).

In a book titled Unchristian, reasons are listed why some non-Christians don’t like people who profess faith in Jesus Christ. Their major complaints have to do with the way some Christians act toward unbelievers. The unbelievers in the study tended to view Christians as being hypocritical, judgmental, harsh and unloving toward people not like themselves.

I’m sure you dislike hearing their view of Christians as much as I do. Sometimes there’s more truth in their perceptions than we wish there was. Paul exhorted the believers at Philippi when he said, “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).

 

Amazing Love

“I have loved you, saith the Lord” (Malachi 1:2).
“Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).
“Continue ye in My love” (John 15:9).

The following is a quote from an elderly brother in Christ written many years ago:

“The Lord that I have know as laying down His life for me is the same Lord I have to do with every day of my life, and all His dealings with me are on the same principle of grace. How precious, how strengthening it is to know that Jesus is at this moment feeling and exercising the same love towards me as when He died on the cross for me.”

Yes, young or old, the Lord loves us perfectly and consistently every day. He loved us from a past eternity, and that same love will continue into a future eternity. No wonder the Apostle John wrote: “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:5-6). The Lord’s love is truly amazing!

 

Hypocrisy

The ancient Greeks liked their plays and dramas, but rather than have the actor memorize their lines they had a person behind the curtain who spoke the lines while the performer on stage acted out the role. We might refer to the person behind the scenes as one who didn’t “practice what they preached.”

This is like the problem some Christian experience, and the Bible calls it hypocrisy. When there is a discrepancy between what we say and what we do we create confusion in the minds of those that are watching us.

The Lord rebuked the Pharisees because they were saying many things and taking a place of religious leadership, but their life was anything but what it should be. He said “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess” (Matthew 23:25).

The Lord wants us to be real, inside and outside. Paul summed it up, when he wrote: “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).