Young People’s Blog

Doing or Done?

“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do
to inherit eternal life”? (Luke 10:25).

What shall I do? No words can more plainly show the ignorance of a fallen sinner who does not understand his lost, fallen, helpless condition. When man could do nothing, Jesus came to him where he was. What a journey of love! He came to do all for the sinner, and He has done it — it is finished! My reader, do you know Jesus? Are you resting on what Jesus has done on the cross? Have you been brought to know your utterly lost condition? Have you, by faith, seen Jesus taking your place on Calvary’s cross, and now giving you His place in spotless purity forever?

If you seek to earn eternal life by doing, you are rejecting and despising Jesus Christ. But if you know and believe the love of God in sending Jesus to die for you and rise again, you have eternal life. It is the gift of God. Let your doing now be to show forth the praises of Him who saved you. The Bible says of the believer, “that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Monthly Question Page

Q. In Revelation 6 there are four horses instead of seven. Why are there only four, since seven is a number often used in Revelation? (Part 1).

A. While seven is God’s perfect number, four is God’s universal number, particularly in connection with creation and the earth. It is used many times in the book of Revelation. For example, “Four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth” (Revelation 7:1).

The symbol of the horse is often used in connection with God carrying out His purposes in the earth, whether in judgment or blessing. The prophet Zechariah was told, concerning the horses that he saw in his vision, in chapter 1:8, “These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth” (Zechariah 1:10). The four horses in Revelation 6, represent powers or forces on earth, and the riders, those who control them, such as imperial powers and their leaders. They are that which God uses in, what we often refer to as providential judgments. There are four of them, showing the judgments are universal … global … worldwide. (Continued next month.)

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

By Example

I came across this old poem I remember from my youth:

I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day;

I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.

The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear,

Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear;

And the best of all preachers are the men who live their creeds,

For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.

I soon can learn to do it if you’ll let me see it done;

I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.

And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true,

But I’d rather get my lessons by observing what you do;

For I might misunderstand you and the high advice you give,

But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.

“Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

Monthly Scripture Reading

Proverbs 8

23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.

25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:

26 While as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.

27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there: when He set a compass upon the face of the depth:

28 When He established the clouds above: when He strengthened the fountains of the deep:

29 When He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment: when He appointed the foundations of the earth:

30 Then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him;

31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth; and My delights were with the sons of men.

Our Tower

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10).

I am told that in Tokyo Japan there is a tower 2,080 feet high and strong enough to withstand the earthquakes that often rock that area of the world. Engineering technology allows it to sway with the most violent shocks and absorb them without cracking. The tower is called Sky Tree.

King David had many problems and shake-ups in his life. But he could say, “The Lord is … my high tower” (Psalm 18:2). And also, “Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy” (Psalm 61:3).

We live in difficult times when many of God’s people around the world are going through appalling troubles and sufferings. When such come upon us (and even as young people none of us are immune), we need to run to the Lord, our strong tower. Trials and suffering may reel and rock us, but if we are trusting Him, and finding our refuge in Himself we will not snap or crack. How grateful we should be for the Lord, who is for His people a strong tower of refuge. Are you going through a shake-up? Run to that strong tower today!

Dear Young Christian:

Prayer is a wonderful provision of God to ease our burdens, tensions and fears, and restore peace to our hearts and minds. The value of prayer as a vital factor of peace and happiness can never be overestimated. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). The invitation to bring our requests to God doesn’t necessarily mean long hours spent on our knees. While quiet times are important, we cannot overstress the importance of constantly talking to God about everything during our daily activities. This is what is meant when it says “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and “praying always” (Ephesians 6:18). Habitually referring everything to God our Father in the midst of our daily routine keeps us in touch with Him so that His peace can keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Christ’s Universality

Here are seven names or titles by which Christ will be known universally in a coming day, when “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord” (Habakkuk 2:14).

KING OF KINGS (Revelation 19:16).

LORD OF LORDS (Revelation 19:16).

KING OF GLORY (Psalm 24:9).

SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (Malachi 4:2).

PRINCE OF PEACE (Isaiah 9:6).

WORD OF GOD (Revelation 19:13).

LORD GOD ALMIGHTY (Revelation 21:22).

What a wonderful day that will be. In the meantime we remember a rejected Christ, who loved us and died for us at Calvary. He is still, “despised and rejected of men” (Isaiah 53:3), but in that day, “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee” (Psalm 22:27). As we wait that time let’s give Him the worship and honor He is so worthy of here and now.

Prince, Lord, King

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).

The Child that was born in Bethlehem is the Son of God whose sacrificial death has provided a way for all men, to be eternally set free from the bonds that enslave them, and to have “peace with God” (Romans 5:1).

He is the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), because He came in submission to His Father’s will and proclaimed peace to all on the basis of His shed blood.

He is the “Lord of peace” (2 Thessalonians 3:16), because He gives peace that passes understanding to all who keep in prayerful fellowship with His Father with thankful hearts.

He will reign as the “King of peace” (Hebrews 7:2), over the whole earth when He has put all enemies under His feet.

Do you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour? Has He filled your heart with peace? He desires to give you a peace that the world can never give. Trust in Him today!

Faint

“If thou faint in the day of adversity,
thy strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10).

It is the hour of trial and the day of adversity that clearly shows whatever strength we really have, and what or who we are trusting in. To faint, or become disheartened then, is to show that we have not been truly counting upon God for help and deliverance. The time of difficulty and opposition will only find the trusting person more confident still, for he knows where the source of all power is to be found.

When Elijah was threatened by Jezebel he became afraid and fled for his life. “Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life” (1 Kings 19:2-3).

In contrast we read of another Old Testament man of faith, “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). Which are you?

Practical Applications
of God’s Word

Part 6 — Comfort

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope”
(Romans 14:4).

As we go through life we all need comfort. There are tears, loneliness and a host of other problems that we face in this world. When you need comfort, turn to the Bible. There you will find the three persons of the Godhead (the Trinity), ready to supply comfort through the living Word of God.

“The Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:13).

“Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

“The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost” (John 14:26).

Whenever you need comfort, turn to the Scriptures. There is no shortage of consolation there.