Month: August 2016

Praise

“I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all Thy marvellous works.”
(Psalm 9:1).

“I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation” (Psalm 111:1).

“I will praise thee with my whole heart” (Psalm 138:1).

David praised the Lord a lot. He was a man who appreciated very much what the Lord had done for him. And yet King David really didn’t understand about forgiveness of sins, a home in heaven and all the things we know as a result of Christianity and through the teachings of the New Testament. He never knew the Lord Jesus Christ as a man, or God as his Father in the same way we do. How much more, then, we should be able to praise the Lord for everything He has done for us. He died to save us. He shed His blood to wash away our sins. He has prepared a wonderful home in heaven for us, called the Father’s house. He’s coming again to take us there. Surely we have every reason to praise the Lord with our whole heart.

 

A Friend Of God

There are many beautiful examples of friendship in the Bible. Here is just one of them:

Three times Abraham is referred to as the friend of God:

“Abraham Thy friend for ever” (2 Chronicles 20:7).

“Abraham My friend” (Isaiah 41:8).

“Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the friend of God” (James 2:23).

They had a relationship of respect and obedience. This does not mean that Abraham was sinless, but he trusted God to lead where he was supposed to go. When God spoke to Abraham he immediately obeyed. Even though he was obedient to God, the Bible makes it clear that his salvation was not earned by works, but through faith in the promise of God for a Saviour. “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans 4:13).

Are you counted as one who is a friend of God? “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5).

 

Wisdom

WISDOM: The skill for living.

In its Scriptural context, I thought this short definition was very relevant and helpful to consider. King Solomon was a man who was given special wisdom from God, and he tells us, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom” (Proverbs 4:7). He further tells us, “For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it” (Proverbs 8:11).

What do we really want in life? Like us all, Solomon had choices. Here is what he chose when God asked him what he desired at the beginning of his reign: “In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said unto God .… Give me now wisdom and knowledge” (2 Chronicles 1:7-8, 10). What a wonderful choice, and God certainly granted him his request. That same wisdom is available to us today simply for the asking. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5).

 

Jacob’s Twelve Sons — Benjamin

He was the youngest son of Jacob by his most beloved wife Rachel who, as she was dying in child birth, named him Ben-oni, signifying “son of my sorrow.” However, his father named him Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand.” He is a picture of the Lord Jesus as the exalted one, as the name his father gave h im signifies.

When Moses prophesied concerning the 12 tribes of Israel, we read, “And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders” (Deuteronomy 33:12).

Very little is recorded of his personal life. It was the smallest of the tribes except Manasseh in the numbering of Numbers 1:37. He was also the father of 10 sons: “The sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard” (Genesis 46:10).

The Apostle Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin. He says, “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin” (Philippians 3:5).

 

Let Your Light Shine — Part 2

“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; holding forth
the Word of life” (Philippians 1:15-16).

Letting our light shine for the Lord is not necessarily by speaking, although, as our verse indicates, we are to hold “forth the Word of life.” In other words, we are to speak for the Lord as He gives us opportunity.

But remember, light shines without making any noise. It just illuminates the darkness, and gives comfort, guidance and warmth. This is what we who know the Lord Jesus as our Saviour are to do in this morally and spiritually dark world. We are to let our light shine by what we do perhaps even more than by what we say.

When the Lord walked on earth He said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). However, the Lord is no longer here in this world the way He was back then. Now the word to us is, “Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

 

Let Your Light Shine — Part 1

A missionary many years ago told of a time when a simple act on his part unconsciously saved another’s life. He was on board a ship when one night in his berth, he heard that cry — so awful to hear at sea — “Man overboard!” He arose at once from his bunk, took the swinging lamp from its bracket and held it to the window of his cabin. He could see nothing, but the next morning, he was told that the flash of his lamp through the port revealed to those on deck the missing man clinging to a rope. He could hardly have held on another minute. The light of the lamp shone just in time to save the man’s life.

Have we let our light shine today? Here are the words of the Lord Jesus: “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). As Christians we have the privilege and responsibility to shine for Christ. Who can tell what a blessing this will be to others or how many floundering souls will be saved from perishing on the sea of life … just because you let your light shine!

 

Dear Young Christian:

In a shop selling electronic gadgets in Trinidad, I saw the following advertising slogan:

EAR TRAFFIC CONTROL

While I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to what they were advertising, I am assuming it was head phones and equipment for blocking out sounds we don’t want, or need to hear. Anyway, it made me think of what the Lord said when he was here on earth: “Take heed what ye hear” (Mark 4:24). Are we careful to listen to those things that encourage and edify us in the Lord? There’s lots of noise in the world today and lots that the Devil wants to pour into our ears. Let’s be careful what we listen to this week. Let’s maintain Ear Traffic Control!

Above all, lets have ears tuned to the voice of the Lord. Let’s be like Samuel who said, “Speak; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:10).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

A New Song

Our God loves to hear us sing, and we have a song to sing that is only for those who are redeemed. Today, we can lift up our voices in song — individually, first of all …

“Sing unto Him a new song” (Psalm 33:3).

“He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God” (Psalm 40:3).

“I will sing a new song unto Thee, O God” (Psalm 144:9).

We can also lift up our voices and sing collectively with others who are redeemed as well … 

“Sing unto the Lord a new song, and His praise in the congregation of saints” (Psalm 149:1).

Then we can anticipate that time when we will sing together with all the redeemed around the Lamb in the Father’s house … 

“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy … for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

Let’s learn to sing the new song here on earth, while waiting for the time when we will sing it perfectly in heaven.

 

Three R’s

Here are three things that begin with the letter R that are important elements of salvation:

Repent:“Repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

“Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).

Rejoice:Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20).

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).

Rest:“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).

Repentance is simply a change of mind. It is to realize that I am indeed a sinner as God has stated in His Word, and to turn from those sins. This will then bring about rejoicing when I realize that those sins are gone forever as a result of the work of Calvary, and in the end there will be complete rest of soul and peace of heart and mind.

 

Jesus In Prayer — Part 2

As we noted yesterday, Luke portrays the dependence of the Lord Jesus as a man in the path of faith and service. Here are three more times we have Him in prayer in Luke’s Gospel:

At His Transfiguration:

“And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, He took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray” (9:28).

To encourage His disciples to learn to pray:

“And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples” (11:1).

As the hour of His greatest trial (the cross) approached:

“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed” (22:41).

If the Lord Jesus as the perfect man could feel the need of prayer, how much for you and me. I am reminded of the verse, “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).