Month: July 2018

There Is a God

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).

“Nobody talks so constantly about God as those who insist there is no God.” — Haywood Brown

Have you ever noticed how much time atheists and unbelievers spend trying to convince themselves and everyone else that there is no God, no life after death, and no such place as heaven or hell? Often they go to great lengths, talking on and on, and presenting argument after argument.

But the Bible, creation, and many other infallible proofs, establish beyond a shadow of a doubt the existence of God, and our responsibility to Him as our Creator.

Though we have sinned, and though there is the reality of judgment as a result, yet our God is a loving God and Saviour. “God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:3-6).

Is He your God and Saviour? If not, trust Him today! He is living and real, and able to save!

Thankfulness

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

It is sometimes difficult to witness for Christ in the daily routine of life and show ourselves to be different from the world. A very simple, but evident action, is to give thanks for everything. Do you start every meal with thanks to God, even in a crowded restaurant or school cafeteria with your friends present? Do you thank God for daily strength, for clothing, home, money and transport? Let us make sure that we give God our Father the thanks He deserves for giving us the daily mercies that we so often take for granted.

One of the characteristics of the times we live in, is unthankfulness. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be … unthankful” (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2). Let’s be careful that the spirit of the age does not affect us as believers. Our testimony to the world is often the fact that we have a thankful spirit no matter what the circumstances. “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

Practical Applications
of God’s Word

Part 7 — Cleansing

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy Word”
(Psalm 119:9).

There is a practical purifying effect that comes from daily reading of the Bible. It is “the washing of water by the Word” (Ephesians 5:26). This was the great spiritual lesson that the Lord was illustrating in a practical way, to the disciples in the upper room, when He washed their feet. The water of the Word removes those things that defile us and dull our affections. That is why He said to Peter, when he objected to the Lord washing his feet, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me” (John 13:8). We cannot enjoy fellowship with the Lord, without the cleansing of the Word.

When I was growing up there was an older brother who used to tell us, that in his working days when he came home from the office, he needed a good wash. He wasn’t talking about soap and water, he was talking about the water of the Word. He used to also tell us that a basket cannot hold water but running water through it will keep it clean. Let the Word of God have its cleansing affect on your life everyday!

Learning or Doing

There was a man in New York City who died at the age of 63 without ever having had a job. He spent his entire adult life in college. He had acquired so many academic degrees that they looked like the alphabet behind his name.

Why did this man spend his entire life in college? When he was a child, a wealthy relative died who had named him as a beneficiary in his will. It stated that he was to be given enough money to support him every year as long as he stayed in school. And it was to be discontinued when he had completed his education.

The man met the terms of the will, but by staying in school indefinitely he turned a technicality into a steady income for life — something his benefactor never intended. Unfortunately, he spent thousands of hours listening to professors and reading books but never “doing.” He acquired more and more knowledge but didn’t put it into practice.

The Bible says: “Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). If we read the Bible or listen as it is taught but fail to put to work what we have learned, we are as bad as that man with his string of degrees. His education was of no practical benefit to anyone.

The Lord’s Mind

Discerning the Lord’s mind is largely a question of the state of soul. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him” (Psalm 25:14). Never forget that important principle. The question is, is the eye single? Do I desire only His will? Am I not blinded through self-interest or self-will in some way? Do I refer all to the Lord, and wait on Him to know His will? If so, He will guide.

We do not expect any revelation or anything extraordinary, but by laying on the mind what is pleasing to Him, or by some providential way, He will indicate His will. This may be so distinct that it virtually amounts to a certainty in the mind, though we may not be able to prove it to another. The great thing is nearness to the Lord, and a subject mind with the desire, “Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path,” (Psalm 27:11). He sets before us an open door, with something to indicate that we may enter. We see His hand in it, recognize it and act accordingly. This is something we have to learn experimentally. It is not easy to teach it to another, because it is not a mere mental or intellectual operation.

Dear Young Christian:

Some time ago, due to heavy fog in Chicago, an airliner was kept in a prolonged holding pattern. As it finally touched down, the flight attendant’s voice was heard to announce, “I’d like to welcome you to O’Hare International Airport. That’s what I would like to do! Unfortunately, due to inclement weather we have just landed in Indianapolis.”

For the one who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ, there will be no such announcements at the gate of heaven. When the Christian arrives at that final destination there will be no mistake or change in route for any reason. Here is how it will happen: “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Perhaps today!

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Glorified

“Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him”
(John 13:31-32).

“Now is the Son of Man glorified.” This statement brings before us the infinite perfection of the Saviour. The reference is to the suffering of the Son of Man at the Cross. We see that in those awful sufferings the Son of Man is glorified. To be glorified is to have all the qualities that exalt a person brought into full display. At the Cross all the infinite perfections of the Son of Man were displayed in the highest degree.

In the first statement, “Now is the Son of Man glorified,” we learn the perfection of the Son of Man. In the second statement, “God is glorified in Him,” we learn the perfection of His work. In the third statement, “God shall glorify Him in Himself,” we learn God’s perfect satisfaction with that work. In summary, then, we have a perfect Saviour who has done a perfect work to God’s perfect satisfaction. Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Religions

“Dost thou believe on the Son of God” (John 9:35).

Man’s confused religions stand in opposition to God’s simple way to life. Man’s ways are the wide, tolerant, sin-ignoring way that ends in destruction.We are told, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

There is one sense in which it is true that what you believe doesn’t matter. What you believe, or what religious men have taught, does not change the truth of God’s Word! Just believing something doesn’t make it so. Jumping off the top of a skyscraper onto the street below will kill you, no matter how strongly you believe otherwise. Entering into eternity with the firm belief that there is no God, or that your beliefs or your works are good enough to merit His approval will not change the outcome: “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

Superstition

“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are
too superstitious” (Acts 17:22).

There are still some people like those long ago in Athens, who, rather than trusting the Lord, are very superstitious. Many have a real fear or paranoia when it comes to Friday the 13th. Although the origin of how this started is clouded, here is some interesting information on the subject:

The fear of the number 13 has been given a scientific name: “triskaidekaphobia,” and on analogy to this the fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia, from the Greek words Paraskeví, meaning “Friday”, and dekatreís, meaning “thirteen”).

In contrast we read: “On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness” (Esther 9:17). For the Jews it was a day of deliverance and rejoicing. For us, any day can be the same. Even on Friday the 13th we should remember: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Sleeping

The only record we have of the Lord sleeping is in the back of a fishing boat while seasoned fishermen toiled and feared for their lives due to a storm on the Sea of Galilee. “And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but He was asleep” (Matthew 8:24).

He slept while they worried and fretted; later the disciples slept while he agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane. “And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep” (Matthew 26:40).

He slept because there was no reason for Him to be awake. He knew that all was in control, and that they would safely reach the other side according to His word. The disciples slept when they had every reason to be alert, and He could rebuke them by asking, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour” (Matthew 26:40)?

While we appreciate His concern for us let us attend to the privileges and responsibilities that have been committed to us. We are exhorted, “Watch and pray … And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep” (Romans 13:11; Matthew 26:41).