Young People’s Blog

Monthly Scripture Reading

Exodus 12

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,

2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.

5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

 

Service

“Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:13-15).

In the first 17 verses of John 13, Jesus set us a perfect example. Certainly we have to admit how many times we fall short! But He has not made the example impossible to follow because we have the Spirit in us that gives us the power to succeed. Try today to follow Jesus’ example. He cared for His own and washed their feet to refresh them and clean them after a day of walking the dusty streets of the city and getting ready to meet Him in the upper room. You too can refresh other believers by encouraging them with the Word of God. What you enjoy in letting the Lord refresh and encourage you from His Word, you can then share with others. In doing this we will be happy Christians in our interactions and relationships with one another. At the end of the example the Lord said, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17).

 

Dear Young Christian:

Are you looking for equity and justice in the world? Are you expecting fairness in the court system and other levels of government and society? You won’t find it! Not until the Lord comes back to earth to reign during the time we refer to as the millennium. This evening my wife and I were reading Psalm 67 after our evening meal. We particularly noticed the fourth verse: “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.” We looked up the verse in another translation and found the word, “righteously” translated “equitably.” This Psalm looks forward to the time when there will be equity executed on planet earth by the Lord when He reigns as “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16). Malachi explains it this way: “But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2). In the meantime we are to “live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you. Send your comments or questions to [email protected]

Desire

“And He said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15).

“The desire of our soul is to Thy name, and to the remembrance of Thee” (Isaiah 26:8).

In these two verses we have His desire and our desire.

The Lord’s desire for Jews was that they would keep the memorial of remembrance that was given to them the night they left Egypt and slavery. They were never to forget what had happened and how they were redeemed and delivered by the blood of the passover Lamb. Once a year they were to have a fresh reminder.

For us in Christianity, our memorial is the Lord’s Supper — that which the Lord Himself instituted and explained when He said, “This do in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). This is His present desire for each believer now. For us it is not just once a year or on a special occasion, but “as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till He come” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Is your desire to fulfill His desire today?

 

Confession

On March 18, 2013 a most remarkable story appeared in the newspaper. In brief this is what it said:

“In Hastings, Michigan a burglar, expressing guilt about stealing $800 from a store 30 years ago has repaid the money, plus some interest.” Remaining anonymous, he sent $2,000 in $100 bills to the county sheriff’s department, confessing that he had robbed a certain store, giving the date, which the former owner confirmed as being correct.

The robber sent a note asking that the money be returned to the rightful owner. Part of the note read, “I did a very bad thing that I am ashamed of and have lived with this guilt too long. I can’t begin to say how sorry I am … If you find him please tell him how foolish I was.”

The letter was unsigned and had no return address.

This news item reminded me of the verse that says, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). The Lord Jesus as the Saviour of sinners, desires that we would come, admitting that we have sinned, and receive His forgiveness and salvation.

 

Christian Service

“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness” (Romans 6:22).

Christian service is toward God. We were once the slaves of death and hell. We were once doing Satan’s bidding, Satan’s work. But now, in Christ Jesus, we are servants to God. “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you … For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness” (Romans 6:17,20).

Our fruit is fruit unto holiness. A Christian enjoying fellowship with God will bear fruit — more fruit and much fruit, because that’s what God expects and has equipped us to do. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing .… Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples” (John 15:5,8).

 

Jacob’s Twelve Sons — Judah

“Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise” (Genesis 49:8).

He was the fourth son of Jacob and Leah and his name means “praise.” Judah advised the selling of Joseph rather than killing him (Genesis 37:26-27), and his descendants, the Jews, delivered the Lord into the hands of the Gentiles.

He sinned in the matter of Tamar his daughter-in-law, and was ready to have her punished till it was shown that he also was guilty. Thus is traced the terribly corrupt history of the family of whom came King David and a long line of subsequent kings. The Lord was born of this tribe, and is referred to as “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5).

Though not the eldest son, he took a chief place amongst his brothers, and was even able to persuade his father to let Benjamin be taken to Egypt. When appeals were made to Joseph, Judah was the one who made them. When Jacob blessed his sons it was clearly shown that the tribe of Judah was to be of the royal line of Israel. Jacob declared, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Genesis 49:10).

 

Diligence

The following verses from the book of Proverbs, penned by Solomon so long ago, show how God encourages diligence in every aspect of our life.

“The hand of the diligent maketh rich” (Proverbs 10:4).

“The hand of the diligent shall bear rule”
(Proverbs 12:24).

“The substance of a diligent man is precious”
(Proverbs 12:27).

“The soul of the diligent shall be made fat”
(Proverbs 13:4).

“The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness” (Proverbs 21:5).

“Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings” (Proverbs 22:29).

“Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds” (Proverbs 27:23).

Whether it is our personal life, our family life, our school or business life, in practical matters or certainly our spiritual life, God never encourages laziness. No, the way of blessing is always DILIGENCE.

 

A New Family

Maybe there is a reader today whose parents aren’t happy that you are a Christian. They themselves have no love for the Lord Jesus, and are disappointed that you want to follow Him. If you are suffering some reproach from your family, here is a good verse to remember: “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up” (Psalm 27:10).

Remember too, that you have been brought into a new family. When Peter got to thinking about what he left behind, the Lord reminded him, “There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30).

We have a wonderful Heavenly Father, and brothers and sisters in Christ. “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ … if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another” (1 John 1:3,7).

 

Dear Young Christian:

Light does not change things, rather it exposes things. The believer in Christ is referred to as “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). Another Scripture reminds us, “Ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).

We are not here to change the world; we are here to shine for Christ and point others to Him. The world is under judgment, and the Bible shows us that things on planet earth are going to get worse and worse, not better and better. We are further told, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

As we start another week, let’s step out into the world again with our “lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord” (Luke 12:35-36). Who knows what a testimony it will be, and the blessing that will result in the lives of others. Light does not make any noise, but it does show the way, and gives comfort and guidance.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you. Send your comments or questions to [email protected]