Young People’s Blog

Dear Young Christian:

This morning I woke up in Fenton, Missouri, and looked out the window on a grey, dull, rainy day. However, feeling a little blue and down-hearted, my attention was soon drawn to a robin on the front lawn of the home I was staying in. There he was, head held high and singing his heart out. It made me think of the verse, “The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come” (Song of Solomon 2:12). But more than this, it was a rebuke from the Lord and caused me to jot down the following lines:

I will sing in spite of rain,
In spite of life’s grey mists,
In spite of all the problems that appear upon my list.
For Jesus is my sunshine,
And naught my joy can dim,
When Jesus fills my vision and my delight’s in Him.

Remember, not every day is bright and sunny and not every day is easy. But it is all ordered from the good hand of our God who certainly knows what is best for us.

Your Christian Friend,

 Jim Hyland

Cruelty Brings Love

“One of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34).

For one last time an unbeliever was allowed to touch the Lord Jesus. From that moment onward He would say to His own, “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have” (Luke 24:39). And to Thomas, “Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side.” (John 20:27). But no man without faith was allowed to touch Him again. The final act of man’s hatred was for the Roman soldier to plunge his spear into the side of the Lord. It was too late to kill the Lord of life. He had already laid down His own life willingly. But that act of hatred immediately brought out the blood and water. It is that blood that makes an atonement for sin. That blood “cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). What cruelty, what a price was paid, but what great love superseded it all! We are now redeemed, forgiven, justified, sanctified, brought near, and made fit for Heaven through that blood.

Saved by a Fly

“Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).

“But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear” (Zechariah 7:11).

The story is told of a hardened unbeliever who went one day to see — but not to hear — the evangelist George Whitefield (1714-1770) when he preached outdoors to a great crowd.

When he arrived at the place and sized things up, he decided to climb a tree in order to have a good vantage point. Settling himself on one of the branches and putting his fingers in both ears, he began to watch the mighty preacher. Then a persistent fly lit on his nose. He shook his head, but the pesky fly wouldn’t move.

Just as he removed his hand from an ear to flick the fly away, Whitefield quoted the verse, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15). Then he spoke of the willful refusal of many to hear the voice of the Spirit of God striving with them. The unbelieving man was so impressed by what had happened that he not only opened his ears to the gospel, but also his heart.

What Is Faith?

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

“Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22).

Faith is something which people exercise in a hundred ways every day of their lives. Whenever you sit down on a chair, climb a ladder, or fly in a plane, it is an act of faith. You trust the chair, the rungs of the ladder, and the pilot of the plane. Faith is as simple as hanging your coat or hat on a hook. You trust the hook and depend on it to hold your coat or hat. The faith of which the Bible speaks is just as simple as that. Christ is its object, and to have faith in Him is to rely on Him or count on Him for that which your soul needs. The same thing is expressed in other ways in Scripture: “look,” “come,” “take,” “receive” — all these mean very much the same as “trust” or “believe.” You may feel your faith is small, but the great point is not how much faith you have, but does it rest on the right object? If so, though it may be small, yet it is faith of the right kind. “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you” (Luke 17:6).

Any Occasion

“Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God” (Daniel 6:4-5).

One hundred and twenty princes and three presidents (of which Daniel was first), ruled over the kingdom of Darius. They were undoubtedly some of the most gifted men in the world — outstanding, brilliant intellectuals and administratively able to make momentous decisions and carry them through.

Above all these stood Daniel, God’s man. Jealousy on the part of his colleagues spurred them to plot against him. The whole group, all 122 of them, set as their task to find fault with him. After sifting through his life with utmost scrutiny, all they could find fault with was his faithful prayer life and obedience to his God. If our lives were scrutinized, would this be all that our accusers would find? Would unbelievers that we know have to admit that the only thing they have against us is that we are Christian and faithful to our beliefs? That would be quite a testimony wouldn’t it?

Buy the Truth

“Buy the truth, and sell it not” (Proverbs 23:23).

The Lord is no man’s debtor. Whatever little price we may think we pay to be faithful to Him, He will repay. He promises, “Them that honor Me I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30).

However, I suspect that most of my readers today are not expecting to be imprisoned or killed for carrying a Bible, witnessing for the Lord, or attending a meeting of believers. Yet there will be a reproach and a price to pay if you are faithful. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). It may not be physical persecution, but there will be a cost in one way or another. Perhaps the cost is being shunned or misunderstood by family or friends … etc. Remember too, when we pay a price for something, we value it more.

The Cost

“Buy the truth, and sell it not” (Proverbs 23:23).

What does it cost you to walk according to the truth of the Bible? It has been often said that while the gospel is free, it costs us something to hold fast to the truth of Scripture.

For many of us it may be reproach and misunderstanding among our friends and perhaps even our family. Sometimes it is not just reproach from the unsaved, but from other believers who do not have the same understanding or desire to obey the Word of God. However, Many of our fellow Christians pay the price for their faithfulness to the Lord with imprisonment, torture, and death. The Bible exhorts us, “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body” (Hebrews 13:3). Many are paying the ultimate price and buying the truth at great cost. For them the promise is, “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

Dear Young Christian:

When I was young, I felt indestructible and as if nothing could stop me or get in my way. I could keep going and going. I could take risks, push myself to the limit. I felt like a steel beam, solid, powerful, strong! But as I have gotten older, I realize more and more how dependent I am on the Lord. Sometimes the Lord has to allow certain things in our lives to bring us to the realization of what He said to His disciples: “Without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

In recent times I have thought more about verses like this: “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept Thy Word … . It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes” (Psalm 119:67, 71). From these verses we learn that trials and sickness are often allowed to keep us walking in the path of obedience and faith and so we would learn more of what the Lord has for us. Even in our youth the Lord allows things to train us and draw our hearts out more to Himself. Don’t despise what He allows in your life. Learn and benefit from it.

Your Christian Friend,

 Jim Hyland

The Blood of Jesus

“The blood of Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:7).

The blood of Jesus is a theme that runs throughout the Word of God. It is a theme we often speak about and preach on, yet it never grows old or out of date. It is a theme we often have at the remembrance meeting, and a theme we often take up in presenting the gospel to the lost. It is the ground and basis for all our blessing and will be the theme of worship and praise in the Father’s house when we are gathered around the “Lamb as it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6).

Today we have the privilege of remembering the Lord Jesus and coming into His presence because of His blood shed at Calvary. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having an High Priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19-22).

May we never tire of this precious theme! The blood of Jesus will thrill our hearts for all eternity.

Come to Jesus

Jesus invites us to come to Him, not just for initial salvation, but for every need in our Christian life. Here are three great reasons to come to Him today:

1. Are you burdened and weary with the trials and difficulties you are facing today?

Jesus invites you:

“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

2. Are you feeling a spiritual thirst or drought?

Jesus can satisfy that need:

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink” (John 7:37).

3. Are you spiritually hungry?

Only Jesus can satisfy:

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

What a full and endless supply and recourse we have in the Lord Jesus! Come to Him again and again. He loves you and says, “Come unto Me.”