Month: July 2019

His Glory

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”
(John 1:14).
“Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3).
“The Son of Man shall come in His glory”
(Matthew 25:31).

What a glorious person we have to be occupied with today! This is the same one that John and others saw and companied with when He was here on earth. It is the one who is now seated at the right hand of God, and the one who is coming back to reign in power and righteousness. Let’s look up and get a fresh glimpse of this glorious person today. It will cause us to reflect something of His glories, while we wait for the time when we see Him face to face. “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). He is indeed, “A glorious Savior.”

Safety Bed

Did you sleep well last night?

I recently read of a man who has created a safety bed, which he claims will provide protection against hurricanes, tornados, thieves, kidnappers, and terrorists. The inventor’s website calls it, “The safest rest you’ve ever had.”

When a motion sensor detects a threat, the “Quantum Sleeper” automatically folds up around its occupant. Inside the bulletproof canopy, an alarm awakens the protected sleeper, who can spray tear gas on the intruder. Even so, I suspect that not even an armored bed can guarantee a good night’s sleep untouched by anxiety or fear.

It is only when we have full confidence in the Lord, and a good conscience before God and our fellow man that we can truly lie down at night and rest in peace. King David said: “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8). This is without a doubt the safest rest we’ll ever have!

David’s son, Solomon, made this observation: “When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet” (Proverbs 2:24).

Self-control

“And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”
(1 Corinthians 9:25).

Becoming a slave to habits that destroy body and mind has been the downfall of many a promising athlete. What a pathetic sight is that of a young person capable of doing great things, but handicapped by intemperate living, and lacking self-control.

To be able to say “Yes” or “No” at the right time is an indication of a Christ-controlled life in the power of the Spirit of God. “The fruit of the Spirit is … temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23).

The Apostle Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). We don’t have to give way to every desire of the natural man. All the power to live a godly, temperate life for Christ is at our disposal. “The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12). How much is this true of you?

Numbers in Scripture: #7

This number is God’s number of completeness and perfection, usually in a good and positive sense, but sometimes in an evil way, such as that which is in the heart of the natural man. “For there are seven abominations in his heart” (Proverbs 26:25).

There are seven days in a week. For the Israelite, every seventh day was a day of rest, every seventh year was a year of rest for the land, and every seven times seven years brought the jubilee. Creation was complete on the seventh day, God’s rest being the result. There were seven lamps to the golden candlestick. The blood was sprinkled before the Lord seven times.

In the New Testament, the number is used in connection with forgiving one another. “Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22).

Seven is used many times in the book of Revelation. Seven churches, seven golden candlesticks, seven spirits, seven seals, seven angels, seven plagues, and so on.

Profitable

“Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).

Here was a young man that the Apostle Paul recognised as being “profitable.” There are many young men and women who have, in self-sacrifice, given up their jobs and homes, and are serving the Lord full-time, either locally or on the foreign mission field. However, that is not the question here. The point is that every one of you who knows the Lord Jesus as Savior should be, and indeed can be, “profitable” to Him and in His work. Satan will try to bring other things into your lives so that you are not useful to the Lord. Ask the Lord sincerely in prayer to show you how you can serve Him today. It is not a question of where you are or what other daily responsibilities you may have, it is a question of being ready and willing to serve the Lord when and where He has put you. And also of judging and confessing those things that hinder our profitability.

We often speak of activities that are either profitable or unprofitable, but the question really is, “Are you profitable?”

Turn Again

“Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:40).

Are you a true believer, a true disciple of Jesus Christ? And have you recently turned away from following the Lord? If so, there is a way to turn around and start fresh. If you are going your own way, stop and think about the direction you are headed and the sorrow that it will bring in the end. No, you won’t lose your salvation, but you will lose the joy of the Lord and the peace and rest of heart that He wants you to have in your day-to-day life.

There are many unhappy, miserable Christians in the world, simply because they are going their own way and doing their own thing. They know what is right, but they choose not to obey and follow the One who loves them and desires their good and happiness. The Lord Jesus, when speaking to His disciples and explaining many things to them, concluded by saying, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17).

If you have been going your own way lately, search your heart, confess your self-will, “and turn again to the Lord.”

Dear Young Christian:

We’ve all sung the well-known hymn, “Jesus loves me this I know…” Recently I was staying in a home and noticed this embroidered saying,

Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!

I enjoyed the sentiment of this, and it reminded me of the words of David, who said, “O Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off” (Psalm 139:1-2).David was so very thankful that the Lord knew him, and we should be too. In fact, He knew us from a past eternity, and we were, “chosen … in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4).David goes on in that same Psalm to say, “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (verse 16).

It is wonderful to know the Lord, it is also wonderful to realize that the Lord knows us.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you.

Send your comments and questions to jhyland1959@gmail.com

In the Midst

To be IN THE MIDST is to be the focal point of something. Here are some verses regarding the Lord being the center or focal point. Look up their context, meditate on them, and you will be encouraged as to His desire to enjoy the company of His own, now and for all eternity.

“And it came to pass, that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting IN THE MIDST of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46).

“And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood IN THE MIDST of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you” (Luke 24:36).

“Where they crucified Him, and two other with Him, on either side one, and Jesus IN THE MIDST” (John 19:18).

“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I IN THE MIDST of them” (Matthew 18:20).

“And I beheld, and, lo, IN THE MIDST of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6).

“Know … ”

The words, “KNOW THYSELF!” are said to have been inscribed above the entrance to the temple of Apollo in Delphi. Whoever entered had to be prepared to hear the oracle of Delphi pronounce the truth about him, however hard it might be. The result was, correspondingly few people dared to enter.

It is a fact that we are generally not inclined to see ourselves as we really are. We do not like people opening our eyes to our faults. That is why so many people remain intentionally ignorant of God’s Word. In contrast to the oracle of Delphi, the Word of God is the truth; it tells us how God regards us. “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was” (James 1:23-24).

To acknowledge the light and truth of Scripture is the first step towards salvation. The second is repentance, and the third consists in receiving the Savior, Jesus Christ, who died to save us. It is important to know what we really are, and then to “know Him” (Philippians 3:10).

The Touch of The Master’s Hand — Part 4

“Ye call Me Master and Lord: and ye say well;
for so I am” (John 13:13).

A “mess of pottage,” a glass of wine,

A game — and he travels on.

He is “going” once, and “going” twice,

He’s “going” and almost “gone.”

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd

Never can quite understand

The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought

By the touch of the Master’s hand.

 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Yes, what a Savior and Master we have. Not only does He save us from hell and from our sins, but He is able to keep us pure and holy as we walk through this wicked, sinful world. “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).