Month: November 2016

The Word — Part 1

“O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).

With almost every kind of machine goes a book of instructions. The Bible is the instruction book that comes with man. Think of it! Sixteen or so waking hours every day to travel the highway of life, and no time to read the Guide Book! No wonder so many go astray — no wonder there are so many “wrecks” strewn along life’s road!

William Gladstone (1809-1898), England’s great prime minister and statesman, often came home from the British Parliament late at night. But no matter how late he went to bed, he rose at 6:30 in the morning and gave the first hour of every day to reading the Word of God. He said, “Talk about the questions of time! There is but one question — how to bring the truths of God’s Word to the minds and hearts of all classes of people.”

If we neglect to read the Bible, we are missing the best things in life. The Bible is the Book of the heart. Satisfaction in life is found by reading and receiving the Word of Life into our hearts.

Bible Algebra

O+S=H

O bedience and  S ubmission to the Word of God, and to His will in our lives, is the one and only way to be a truly H appy Christian.

Here are some verses from the Bible that confirm this:

“Blessed [happy] is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law
doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2).

“The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart” (Psalm 19:8).

“Blessed [happy] are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart” (Psalm 119:2).

“If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17).

It is not enough to know what God says, but we must learn to obey and submit if we want to have joyful, fruitful lives. That’s why we are told, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).

Now and Then

In this world the Lord Jesus … 

Was born in a manger … 

Grew up in a carpenter shop … 

Sat on a well … 

Slept in a boat … 

Rode on a donkey … 

Prayed in a garden … 

Hung on a cross … 

Rested in a tomb.

But Jesus will come again!

He will sit on a throne … 

Ride on a white horse … 

Wear many crowns … 

 … not only as King of the Jews, but as “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).

What a day that will be when we reign with Him! We follow a rejected Christ now, but soon we will be associated with Him in His kingdom. As followers of Christ we should not expect better treatment than He received, but remember, “If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:12).

Dear Young Christian:

I am in southern California this morning, and outside my bedroom window a hummingbird is enjoying the sweet liquid in the feeder that my host and hostess keep for its kind in their back garden. What tiny creatures these birds are, and yet, what an intricate wonder of God’s creation.

Do you ever feel small and insignificant, even forgotten or forsaken? Remember, there is a God who says, “Ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:7). You have a Father of whom we read, “Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls … and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things” (Luke 12:24,30). You also have a Saviour who says, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). Just as the Creator is sustaining and caring for the tiny bird outside my window, so our Heavenly Father is caring for us. Don’t forget to thank Him every day this week.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Our Passover

“Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover” (Exodus 12:21).

“Then came the day of unleavened bread, when
the passover must be killed” (Luke 22:7).

“For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

The Passover lamb was the basis for Israel’s redemption and deliverance from the slavery and the bondage of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. If God was going to come in on their behalf for blessing it needed to be in a way that made them feel their guilt and His provision for them.

The New Testament leaves us in no doubt as to what the Passover foreshadows. In the mind and heart of God it looked forward to the time when the Lord Jesus would go to the cross and be offered up as that supreme sacrifice. The Passover lamb was but a feeble, yet precious foreshadow of this. Thus today, we are never to forget that mighty sacrifice, just as Israel was to never forget the ground of their redemption and deliverance from Egypt. The Lord says, “This do in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24).

Grace

I dreamed death came the other night,

And heaven’s gate swung wide,

With kindly grace an angel came,

And ushered me inside.

And there to my astonishment

Stood folks I knew on earth,

Some I considered quite unfit,

And some of little worth.

Indignant words rose to my lips,

But never were set free,

On every face stood stunned surprised…

Not one expected me.

This poem was shared with me recently and reminded me of the verse, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). All who are saved and enter heaven are saved by the grace of God. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Thankfully this grace and salvation is available to all who will receive it by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11). Does that include you? It can, if you receive Christ as your Saviour while there is still opportunity.

Tribulation

On June 10, 1770, British navigator and explorer James Cook’s ship hit a reef off the northeast coast of Australia. He sailed the ship out into deeper waters only to hit the reef again, and this time the collision almost sank the boat. That day he wrote in the ship’s log: “The north point was named Cape Tribulation, because here began all our troubles.”

Maybe you are experiencing a Cape Tribulation in your life. It just seems no matter where you turn there is one disaster and problem after another. Remember, our God and Father loves us and knows all about it. The Bible says, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4). All is in full control and ordered by the One who knows best what we have need of. There are many lessons to learn as we continue on in our Christian pathway, and He has promised to see us through and to provide all the grace that is needed in every situation. Almost 400 years ago Samuel Rutherford wrote, “Faith grows best in the winter of trial.”

The Truth in Love

“Speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

Do you ever feel discouraged and ready to give up? I do! In fact today I am rather discouraged and downcast. Yesterday someone spoke rather harshly to me, and it really upset me. What they said may have been true, but the way they said it hurt. I felt as if someone had whipped me.

It got me thinking about Job and his three friends in the Old Testament. “Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite” (Job 2:11). Many of the things they said to Job were true, but the way they said them and their spirit and attitude in talking to Job was anything but a help. In fact, Job finally said to them, “Miserable comforters are ye all” (Job 16:2).

Let’s be careful, not only what we say, but how we say it. We may speak the truth, being clear as ice and just as cold. It is good to be faithful with our friends, but let’s make sure it is in a way that not only speaks to the conscience but also warms the heart.

Our hearts

The Lord wants our heart’s affection. He says to each of us, “My son, give Me thine heart” (Proverbs 23:26). The children of Israel were instructed, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). However, grace does not buy hearts — it wins them. That’s why “it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace” (Hebrews 13:9).

The Lord Jesus went to the cross and died, not merely to save us from hell, but to win our hearts’ affections. When we consider His great love for us — all that He has done to prove that love, all that He is doing for us now, as well as all that is ahead and waiting for us when we arrive in the Father’s house of joy — it will indeed win our hearts and draw out our affections for Himself. The Apostle John enjoyed the fact that he was “the disciple, whom Jesus loved” (John 21:20). Later on he wrote, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:18-19). Has the Lord won your heart?

Live For Christ

“That he no longer should live the rest of his time in
the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God” (1 Peter 4:2).

To live for self is sorrow,

To live for Christ brings joys;

To live in sin brings only grief,

Our happiness destroys.

“For me to live is Christ,”

Said the Apostle Paul;

It was his heart’s desire,

To give his life…his all!

When he got converted,

On the Damascus way,

His life was turned completely,

On that momentous day.

So live for Christ young Christian,

For this is life indeed;

Experience the peace He brings — 

From sin and self be freed.