Author: BTP

Monthly Scripture Reading

1 Corinthians 3

4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

The Slothful

“The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain”
(Proverbs 15:19).

Difficulties and seemingly insurmountable obstacles abound in the mind of the slothful person. His way seems hedged in by thorns, and he has all manner and number of excuses for not acting at once according to what he knows is right and suited.

On the other hand, the upright, learning his duty and calling, presses on, and in spite of what may stand in the way finds his way made plain before him as he takes one step after another, in the light of the Word of God. What a beautiful example we have in David, who said, “For by Thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall” (Psalm 18:29). And whose prayer was, “Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies” (Psalm 27:11).

If God commands, I have simply to obey His word. He makes Himself responsible to clear the obstacles from my path, or else to give me the ability to overcome them.

Dear Young Christian:

As you start out this week, remember, you don’t have to pray for new blessings, or the second blessing, or more blessings. The New Testament plainly and indisputably declares, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). We have it all, by His grace, and through the work of Christ on the cross. We are rich, rich in Christ! “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

However, what we do need to pray is that God will give us the spiritual understanding and purpose of heart to grasp these blessings, to make them our own, to rejoice in them, to live in the light of them, and to walk in the power and good of all that is ours in Christ. We often go through life as spiritual paupers when all the time we are wonderfully blessed with “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

The Blood

“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe”
(John 19:34-35).

Prior to William Harvey’s discovery of the circulation of the blood in 1628, little had been known about its real value. In fact, blood was thought to be the source of sickness and disease rather than life and its defense. The sad truth is that the sick were often bled to get rid of illness. George Washington’s death is said to have been hastened by the practice of what was known as “blood letting.”

How much value do we as believers place on the life-giving blood of Jesus and its cleansing power? Is it precious to our hearts? “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold … but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19). May the blood of Jesus Christ become more precious to us today, as we consider and remember that great sacrifice of the Lamb of God at Calvary.

Live to 100

“Want to live to 100?”

So asked the question on the front of the health magazine. Yes, there are many cures and preventions that offer to give you a long life, but not one of them says, “Do you want to live forever?” Yet this is the offer that God Himself is making. “The gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23).

It isn’t that God intends that you should live forever in this sad and sinful world. No, He has another world full of love and joy and peace and glory. At the very center of that world is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One who died on the cross, bearing the sins of all who will come to Him. He, and He alone, makes us fit for that bright world where He is.

But no one can come there who has not had their sins forgiven. If we repent of our sins, God will forgive every one of them because His Son has paid the price. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The Lord Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Fruit

“If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29).

Someone I know writes the following account:

“I had been anxiously waiting the first sign of fruit from my young apple tree. One day – there it was. A large round green thing in my tree. I called my wife to share in the joy of the first fruit, but I soon became the laughing stock of my family. My apple turned out to be a pumpkin growing on a vine that had climbed the tree and begun bearing fruit. It has proved true so many times: if you meet someone who is a real Christian, he will act like one. If you meet someone who tries to act like a Christian but really is not one, he is like my “pumpkin tree” — the fruit is from below, not from above.”

This most interesting and applicable account reminded me of the Lord’s own words when He said, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). How are you known in your home, your school, at work, in your neighbourhood, and among those who know you best? Are you real? If you are, there will be real fruit for Christ.

Practical Applications
of God’s Word

Part 4 — The Word of God

“For the Word of God is … powerful” (Hebrews 4:12).
“The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”
(Ephesians 6:17).

The Bible is a powerful book. When the Lord was “led by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Luke 4:1), to be tempted, He answered Satan each time by simply saying, “It is written” (Luke 4:4, 8, 10). When we use the Word of God in communion with the Spirit it becomes a powerful and effective weapon against the enemy, as Ephesians 6:17 indicates.

This is illustrated by David taking “five smooth stones out of the brook” (1 Samuel 17:40). The brook is a type of the Spirit of God (as running water often is), and the stones taken and put in his shepherd’s bag a picture of the Word of God taken in the power of the Spirit and appropriated for oneself. In other words, it is the Word enjoyed personally and made good by the Spirit of God. Having taken these stones and carried them with him, he was then able to use one of them to meet and overcome Goliath, an apt picture of our enemy the Devil. We too can utilize this power in our day-to-day life.

Endurance

“Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame … For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds”
(Hebrews 12:2-3).

Think of what the Lord endured at the hands of man, and in those hours of darkness on the cross when He “bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24).

Then consider what He has called us to endure in the path of faith and service.

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation” (James 1:12).

“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3).

“For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully” (1 Peter 2:19).

“If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons” (Hebrews 12:7).

“But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions” (2 Timothy 4:5).

Focus

We were driving through Georgetown Guyana when I noticed a bumper sticker on a truck beside us. This was the message:

My main focus in life is to remain focused!

At first this sounds good, but then the question arises, what am I focused on? It is good to have focus, as long as it is in the right direction. Many are focused on worldly pleasure, business, money, sports, and a host of other pursuits. But for the believer, our focus is to be Christ and to follow Him. Paul had focus when he said, “For to me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21). He went on to say, in the same epistle, “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).This was real focus! Everything in his life was Christ-centered, and in view of eternity.

What is your focus in life? Is it simply to have a good time and to be successful in this world? Or is it Christ and what will count for eternal gain and reward?

Dear Young Christian:

This morning I was sitting with my Christian friend in the principle’s office of a high school on the island of Dominica. As we waited for the young people to assemble so that we could speak to them and give a short gospel message, I noticed a poster on the wall. This is what it said:

3 D’s To Success

1. Desire

2. Discipline

3. Dedication

It made me think of some verses from the Bible that teach us how we can have and enjoy spiritual success.

1. “Desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Do you have this Desire?

2. “Exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7). This takes Discipline.

3. “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).This is Dedication.

 Your Christian Friend,

 Jim Hyland

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