Month: March 2017

Songs In The Night

While thumbing through a book of Christian quotes and anecdotes, I came upon the following statement: “Some of the sweetest songs have been wrung out of life’s bitterest trials. Many a song that is sung in the sunlight was composed in the darkest night watches” (JBN).

It brought to mind a hymn we used to sing, the first verse and chorus of which, is as follows:

What though the way be lonely

And dark the shadows fall;

I know where’er it leadeth,

My Father planned it all.

         Chorus:

I sing through the shade and the sunshine,

I’ll trust Him whatever befall;

I sing for I cannot be silent — 

My Father planned it all.

It also brought to mind a couple of verses from the Psalms: “In the night His song shall be with me” (Psalm 42:8). “I call to remembrance my song in the night” (Psalm 77:6). How good it is for us to learn to sing and give thanks no matter what the circumstance.

Dear Young Christian:

I was a guest in the home of a Christian couple, and the first morning I woke up to notice a text hanging by the bed.

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path”

(Psalm 119:105).

 This of course is a very familiar verse of Scripture, but seeing it like that, first thing in the morning, made me realize the importance of having divine light from God for our pathway at the beginning of every new day. It is there and available, but do we open the Word and read it? You might have a very good flashlight, but you have to take it out of your bag and turn it on if it is going to guide you along a dark path. You might have a lantern, but if you do not take time to light it and hold it tight, it will be useless in showing you the way on a stormy night. So, with God’s Holy Word, we need to take time each morning, and then ask Him for grace to walk in the light that has been shown to us.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

This Day

“And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever” (Exodus 12:14).

This day was a special day for the Jewish people. A lamb’s life was taken, his blood sprinkled on their front door posts and lintel to protect them from the destroying angel that passed over the land of Egypt that night. The Lord wanted them to remember that day forever after. They were never to forget God’s provision and that wonderful redemption and great deliverance from Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

So we as Christians have a special day that we remember, although it’s not so much the day as it is what happened on that day. We remember the death of the Lord Jesus because through His death we have been set free from eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Because of the blood He shed at Calvary, our sins have been washed away. So what we remember is the cost of our salvation. Never let us forget what it cost God to make us fit for heaven.

The Clock Of Life

“To everything there is a season, and a time… . A time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).

We were distributing Bibles and gospel tracts on the Grenadine Island of Canouan. A headstone in a cemetary caught my eye. The granite marker had an engraving of an alarm clock. Underneath was the following inscription:

“The clock of life is wound but once!”

This is a line taken from a poem which reads:

The clock of life is wound but once,

And no man has the power

To tell just when the hands will stop,

At late or early hour.

To lose one’s wealth is sad indeed;

To lose one’s health is more;

To lose one’s soul is such a loss

That no man can restore.

What about the “clock of life” for you? When will the hands stop? Will it be “at late or early hour”? Who can tell? Are you prepared for the next life where there is no time or clock? Remember what the Bible says in Hosea 10:12. “It is time to seek the Lord.”

Thoughts

“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11).

A well-known evangelist once made the following statement: “God has not promised to bless my thoughts, but He has promised to bless His Word.”

Often we preface our remarks on some verse of Scripture by saying, “I think … ” This is all fine and well as long our thoughts are in line with God’s thoughts as revealed in the Bible. “Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Remember, when we present the truth, whether in the gospel to the lost, or to encourage our fellow-believer, it is not expressing our thoughts that will bring blessing, but quoting and sharing the Scriptures. It is the living Word that the Spirit of God can use for the blessing of souls we are seeking to reach.

Gates of Nehemiah — The Old Gate

“The old gate repaired Jehoiada” (Nehemiah 3:6).

This gate would suggest the thought of watchfulness to walk in the old paths of truth as they have been set out for us in the Word of God. Earlier in their history Jeremiah had encouraged and warned the people with the exhortation: “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” The sad thing is, that they responded to His entreaty in a very negative way, as the verse concludes. “But they said, We will not walk therein” (Jeremiah 6:16).

Timothy was given a similar exhortation in the New Testament. “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them” (2 Timothy 3:14). Many were turning away from the foundational truth that Paul and others had been given and were seeking new things. Paul was really telling Timothy to hold fast to old paths and not look for a new revelation or a different slant or application of things. Growing up I often heard it said, “If it’s new it’s not true, and if it’s true it’s not new.” There is a lot of wisdom in this.

Youth — Part 2

“For Thou art my hope, O Lord God: Thou art my trust from my youth … O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth” (Psalm 71:5, 17).

There is a great blessing in giving the Lord the best days of our lives.

In your youth give yourself to God for His service and honor. In your youth be out and out for Christ, be a good soldier for Him. Do not say in your heart, “Why shouldn’t I enjoy the world and its joys (pleasures) as others do?” Jesus, the Son of God beckons you to a nobler, more fulfilled life; He call us to self-sacrifice and devotion, in which you shall have joys beyond all that this world ever gave its servants.

Dear young Christian, the truly happy life is the one that is given to the Lord. There are more joys found in the service of Christ than in all the pleasures of the world. The appeal is to you now in your youth to devote yourself to Him. The Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy in this regard when he said, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

Youth — Part 1

“I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth”
(1 Kings 18:12).

What a wonderful statement by Obadiah! Solomon said: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). If we start our Christian life with this realization our path will be a happy one in serving Him.

A brother in Christ once said to a group of young believers: “You dear young people, in all the freshness and bloom of youth remind me of a very beautiful bouquet of flowers. Suppose you desire to present a very beautiful bouquet to a good friend. You purchase it, and it is so beautiful that you wish to keep it. But the third day you notice it is beginning to wither, and you hasten to give the faded bouquet to your friend. Do you treat the Lord this way? Give yourselves to Him while in your vigor and strength. Serve Him with your whole heart. Remember what He has done for you.”

How little do Christian young men and women appreciate the blessing of giving God their young — their best days — the strongest and heartiest time of their short life.

Dear Young Christian:

While speaking in a school in the Bahamas I noticed a large text hanging in the auditorium; this is what it said:

“I have more understanding than all my teachers:

for Thy testimonies are my meditation”

(Psalm 119:99).

Interesting isn’t it, that the administration of a public school realizes that there is something more important than the learning acquired through the textbooks of men.

What is really going to make us wise, and give us the understanding for living in this world, is to read, meditate on, and obey the Bible. It is God’s guide book for the Christian life. Education is necessary and has its place, and we can, and should do our school studies for the Lord, and to the best of our ability. But don’t forget the most important study of all. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

This Man

The Lord Jesus “took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). There is much to meditate on as to His person and work as a man, both past and present. Here are just a few Scriptures to get you started on this Lord’s day, as we remember what He has done for us and the wonderful results of the work of Calvary.

“THIS MAN receiveth sinners” (Luke 15:2).

“Truly THIS MAN was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39).

“I find no fault in THIS MAN” (Luke 23:4).

 “Away with THIS MAN” (Luke 23:18).

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through THIS MAN is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 13:38).

“THIS MAN, because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood” (Hebrews 7:24).

“THIS MAN, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12).

“Man of Sorrows!” what a name,

For the Son of God who came.”-Philip Bliss