Young People’s Blog

“ … Be Done … ”

“Let all things be done unto edifying”
(1 Corinthians 14:26).

“Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).

“Let all your things be done with charity (love)” (1 Corinthians 16:14).

The above are three very important principles to guide us in our relationships with other believers, who, as we learn from the epistles to the Corinthians, are fellow members of the body of Christ.

First, all is to be done in view of “edifying” or “building up.” Everything we do and say is to contribute to the life and growth of the body of Christ.

Second, all is to be done “decently and in order.” Everything is to be governed by the Word of God so that there is no confusion when we come together, for worship, ministry, prayer, etc.

Third, all is to be done in “love.” This the bond of perfectness, and every believer is to serve one another with no other motive than the motive of divine love.

Our Companions

“Evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

Our companions will either be a help and encouragement for our blessing, or a hindrance and discouragement for our detriment, in our Christian life. Let us be very careful as to the company we keep! How sad to see young Christians, who once had a desire to please the Lord, led away into the world and seeking its pleasure, its achievements, etc., because of the company they chose.

Of course we must brush shoulders with the world at school, at work, and so on, and we must be kind and friendly if we are going to be a testimony for the Lord. We are exhorted in the Bible: “Do good unto all men” (Galatians 6:10). But I am speaking of those that we have as our closest companions. They will indeed have an influence on our life, whether for good or bad. Let’s be ever so sure that our most intimate friends have the same desire to please and follow the Lord. Let’s be like those in the early days of Christianity, of whom we read, “And being let go, they went to their own company” (Acts 4:23).

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Jonah

“Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9).

“Behold, now is the day of Salvation”
(2 Corinthians 6:2).

Jonah was in the fish, down in the sea;

He called upon the Lord to set him free.

His prayer in heaven was heard —

“Salvation’s of the Lord.”

To land he was restored,

By God’s own Word.

“Salvation’s of the Lord,” He is the Way!

“Salvation’s of the Lord,” be saved today!

Do not His love reject!

Do not His call neglect!

Salvation now accept,

Through Christ the Lord!

“Salvation’s of the Lord,” come and believe!

“Salvation’s of the Lord,” come and receive

Eternal life, so free —

His blood, sin’s remedy!

Heaven, your home will be,

With Christ the Lord!

Dear Young Christian:

Here we are starting out on another year, and there will be, no doubt, many new lessons to learn in the school of God. Some of them will not seem so pleasant, and there will probably be some tears as well as joys. Someone has said that there are two great lessons that God is seeking to teach us while here in this life:

The first lesson is, “The flesh profiteth nothing” (John 6:63). We should never trust the sinful flesh, since it is corrupt and incurable. The Lord said to Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6). Remember, “He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.”

The second lesson is, “God is faithful” (1 Corinthians 1:9). Whatever He does with us, and whatever He allows in our lives this year, remember this great truth. “He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

If we can learn, at least in part, our own nothingness and God’s faithfulness we have done well in God’s school.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

The Cup

“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but Thine, be done” (Luke 22:41-42).

This cup that the Lord was referring to was the cup of suffering at the hand of God. It was that judgment against sin which came directly from God in those three hours of darkness when He “bare our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). In Luke’s gospel, the Lord Jesus as a man, shrank from the awful reality of what was ahead, and prays in the Garden of Gethsemane asking the Father if there was any other way possible for His will to be accomplished.

However, in John’s gospel, where we have the Lord presented as the Son of God and the burnt offering, we do not get His agony in the garden. He has before Him the accomplishment of the Father’s will and simply says, “The cup which my Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?(John 18:11). No, there was never a hesitation on His part. He came to do the will of the Father, and could cry at the end of those hours of darkness, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

Forgiven

On New Year’s Eve, a headmaster of a private boys’ school invited the students to a party. When they arrived they found that he had already lit a huge bonfire in the middle of the playground. After he was sure everyone had arrived, he produced a large book. It was “The Detention Book.” In it were the names of all who had failed to complete their lessons or who had misbehaved in some way or other over the past school term. With great ceremony he held up the book for all to see and then cast it into the flames, saying, “This is the last day of the year; all the past is going to be forgiven and blotted out.”

How wonderful that we can have the forgiveness of sins, and the record of our guilt eternally erased from God’s book, because of the work of the Lord Jesus at Calvary, and the blood that He shed there for sinners. When we are saved, the assurance of the Bible is, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). We also read: “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). As this calendar year ends, we trust and pray that all our readers have experienced God’s forgiveness.

Monthly Question Page

Q. Could you explain the following statement? “Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife” (Philippians 1:15). How can a person preach in that way?

A. It seems that there were those in the time of Paul who were jealous of him for one reason or another. Perhaps it was because of his apostleship, or the prominent work and place the Lord had given him. Whatever the reason, it is evident that their hearts were out of communion with the “Lord of the harvest” (Luke 10:2). Instead of being glad that Paul was being used mightily of God they tried to make things hard for him, hoping, as he says, “to add affliction to my bonds” (Philippians 1:16). What a sad and awful motive for preaching the gospel.

It is nice to see Paul’s reaction and attitude in this regard. “What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice” (Philippians 1:18). Paul knew that the Word of God would have its powerful effect no matter how it was spoken. And knowing this, he was content with any way that the gospel was propagated. The rest he left with the Lord.

Necessity of Prayer

“Praying always” (Ephesians 6:18).

Are you a prayer warrior or a prayer worrier?

It is interesting to see how much of the Bible is occupied with the subject of prayer, either in providing examples, enforcing precepts, or pronouncing promises. We scarcely open the Bible before we read, “Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord” (Genesis 4:26). Then, just as we are about to close the Book, the “Amen” of an earnest supplication meets our ear: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

In God’s Word we find Daniel who prayed three times a day, David who with all his heart called upon his God. On the mountain we see Elijah; in the prison dungeon we see Paul and Silas, and many more. All men of prayer!

These examples teach us the importance and necessity of prayer. We may be certain that whatever God made prominent in His Word, He intends to be conspicuous and prevalent in our daily life. He has said much about prayer, and this is because He knows that we have much need of it. So deep are our necessities that until we are in heaven we must not cease to pray. “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Monthly Scripture Reading

Daniel 6

6 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.

7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.

8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.

9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.

10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

Lonely

Have you ever been alone? I mean, really lonely? I suppose all of us from time to time, even in our Christian experience, have felt alone.

But this need not be the case. There is One who is always with us. It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He has promised, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:20). Later in Scripture we read a further statement by the Lord. “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). The next time you feel that you are all by yourself, just remember what the Psalmist said: “Nevertheless I am continually with Thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory” (Psalm 73:23-24). Nothing can change that! If we do not enjoy His company it is not His fault but ours. We need never feel lonely!

I often feel lonely,

When I forget the Lord:

When I neglect my Jesus,

And fail to read His Word.

But when my heart remembers,

And hand in hand we walk,

I never feel lonely,

With Jesus I can talk.