Young People’s Blog

“Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase” (Proverbs 3:9).

I was saved when I was very young, and I am thankful that even at a young age, my parents taught me that whenever I earned some money, or someone gave me money, I should be willing to give some of it to the Lord. It was a good start in doing what our verse today says, and since I got used to doing this as a boy, it was easy to continue to do it all my life.

In the Old Testament, under the law, the Israelites were compelled to give one-tenth of all that they received, but in Christianity we do not have any definite percentage named. It is all a matter of our hearts, and our love for the Lord. If we know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, it ought to give us great joy to use some of what we have specifically for Him, for it is He who gave it to us in the first place. The Lord really values the response of our hearts to His love!

“And I [the Apostle Paul] will very gladly spend and be spent for you” (2 Corinthians 12:15).

Paul was glad to “spend and be spent” in the service of the Lord. To “spend” means to use our resources—money, time, etc. in service, but to “be spent” means more. It means to give up our own desires and ambitions, and to “give of ourselves” in order to serve others. The Apostle Paul certainly did this in his life of service for the Lord.

Today’s date reminds me that this is an anniversary that probably none of you remember. It is the anniversary of the ascension of the late Queen Elizabeth II to the throne of England, back in 1952. Her father King George VI died of lung cancer that day, and his daughter Elizabeth automatically became queen. One of her mottos was, “To serve is not a burden, but rather an honor.” I do not know whether she was saved or not, but she certainly heard the gospel.

The Lord Jesus served while He was down here, and will remain a servant forever. What an example for us!

“And now I [Gamaliel] say unto you…if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought” (Acts 5:38).

While Gamaliel was the one voice that brought some common sense into the Jewish counsel, everything he said was not strictly true. What he said about God’s work not being able to be overthrown was true, but everything that is “of men” does not always “come to nought” (nothing). Men have started false religions, such as Buddhism and Islam, and both have flourished in this world. Both religions have many followers today. Violent and immoral men have risen to power in this world, and have managed to prosper. In His ways with this world, God sometimes allows wrong things to go on; they do not always fail.

However, we know that in the end, truth will triumph, for God is over all that goes on in this world, and will eventually deal in judgment with sinful men. But for the moment, evil may go on, and God may not immediately interfere.

“And now I [Gamaliel] say unto you…If this counsel or this work…be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, lest haply [perhaps] ye be found even to fight against God” (Acts 5:38-39).

At this time in the early church, the Jewish leaders were determined to prevent the apostles from preaching in the name of the Lord Jesus. But God had worked some outstanding miracles, including the healing of the crippled man in the temple, and then sending an angel to let the apostles out of prison. Although there is no record that Gamaliel was a true Christian, he had some common sense, and realized that God’s power was working with the apostles. He realized that the Jewish leaders might be fighting against God, and counseled them to leave the apostles alone.

Although we may not see such remarkable miracles today, yet God is still working with His people, and His work cannot be overthrown. God’s purposes will always be accomplished, for His power is behind them. There are some today who want to overthrow God’s work in this world, but God will see to it that this does not happen.

“Verily, verily, I [the Lord Jesus] say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life” (John 6:47-48).

“As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me” (John 6:57).

Throughout man’s history in this world, bread in some form or other has been a staple of food. During World War II, one of the large cities in Russia was surrounded by the enemy, and many people were starving. One woman said, “If only I could have one piece of bread and butter, I would be happy.” She wanted some bread more than anything else.

The Lord Jesus presents Himself to us as the “bread of life.” First of all, He gives us new life in Him, but then, after we are saved, that new life needs food. Once again, the Lord Jesus is our bread on which we should feed continually. We feed on Him by reading His Word and learning more about Him. Did you read your Bible today?

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).

During a recent trip that we made, we had the opportunity of sitting in a number of airports, watching the people walk by. Quite a few wore T-shirts with slogans printed on either the front or back of them. Some of these read, “I’m NOT sorry,” “Born for greatness,” or “I need my space.” All of these slogans conveyed a message that the person wanted to communicate about himself or herself.

But then, on one occasion, we had arranged to meet a Christian young man whom we had not met before. When he approached us in the lobby of the hotel, his T-shirt had a Bible verse across the front. We knew instantly that he was the person we were supposed to meet. His “slogan” did not give a message about himself, but rather about his Savior—the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we are baptized, we put on the name of Christ. In our everyday lives, do we give others a message about Christ, either by what we wear, or how we act?

“For in truth against Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou hadst anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the nations, and peoples of Israel, have been gathered together in this city to do whatever Thy hand and Thy counsel had determined before should come to pass” (Acts 4:27-28 JND).

All the world was against the Lord Jesus, for this world did not want Him. He was the light of the world, and that light reminded man that he was a sinner before God. Man crucified God’s Son, and must bear the responsibility for it.

On the other hand, God was behind the scenes, working out His will, and what man did to the Lord Jesus only accomplished God’s purposes. This does not in any way relieve man of his responsibility for rejecting the Lord Jesus, but we know that His death, blood-shedding, and resurrection were all necessary, if any of us were to be saved. At the time that man did his very worst, the love and grace of God shone out the brightest!

“And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:1-2).

“And he [Abraham] said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

If you read the account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, you will see that Lazarus was a believer, and the rich man was not. Later on, the Spirit of God records a conversation between the rich man in hell, and Abraham, who, with Lazarus, was with the Lord. The rich man pleaded with Abraham to send Lazarus back to earth, to speak to his five brothers, and to warn them about going into a lost eternity. Abraham tells him that if they would not pay attention to the Scriptures, they would not believe, even though someone rose from the dead.

Our first verse (from Acts 4) today proves this. The Jewish leaders rejected the Lord Jesus before He died, but even when the proofs of His resurrection were so clear, they still would not believe. Even an outstanding miracle of healing (Acts 3) did not convince them. Only a work of the Spirit of God can bring lost souls to repentance.

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Almost forty years ago I was visiting India with a Christian friend of mine, and in a restaurant we met a man from Switzerland who was interested in some false religious teaching that is contrary to the Bible. When I quoted today’s verse to him, he replied that this was arrogant and proud of me, to say that there was only one way to be saved. I reminded him that it was not I who was saying it, but that it was God’s Word. He promptly said that he did not believe it, and that in his opinion there were many ways to be saved.

However, God’s Word stands, whether men believe it or not. God honors His beloved Son, and it is only through Him that you and I can be saved. Every false religion is based on works—what we should do in order to please God. But God tells us that as lost sinners, we cannot do anything to please Him. We must first of all come to Christ, repent of our sins, and then receive forgiveness and a new life in Christ. Only then can we do those things that please God.

“It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus” (Luke 1:3).

“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all things that Jesus began both to do and teach” (Acts 1:1).

We do not know who Theophilus was, but his name means “lover of God,” or “loved by God.” He was evidently really interested in knowing all about the Lord Jesus, and Luke undertook to write, first of all, the gospel of Luke, and then later the book of Acts. They were written for this man Theophilus, but God saw fit to include both books in His Word. The word treatise simply means an article or paper written about a particular subject.

Luke was a Gentile, and also a medical doctor, and it is interesting that he was the only Gentile whom the Lord used to help write the Bible. The book of Luke tells about the Lord Jesus during His time on this earth, while the Acts tells us what He did after He had risen and ascended back to heaven, and had sent down the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts does not teach us doctrine, but it tells us a great deal of how the Lord worked, first of all to form the church, and then how things were done in the early days of the church.