Young People’s Blog

Dear Young Christian:

I realize that quite a few of my readers are on holidays this week. Maybe some of you are attending a Bible conference, special meetings, or even a Christian youth camp. Whatever you are doing, remember, we should never take a holiday from following the Lord, reading our Bible or spending time in prayer. Let’s be like David who said, “I have set the Lord always before me” (Psalm 16:8). Every day, he sought to have one goal and object: to have the Lord as his focus and to live a life pleasing to Him. Sometimes he failed, got discouraged and allowed sin in his life. But when this happened, he soon came back to the realization that he needed to confess his shortcomings. He needed to refocus on what really mattered, what truly satisfied his soul and brought happiness and peace of mind.

The year is fast drawing to a close and this is the last personal letter I will write to our readers this year. If the Lord hasn’t come by the new year we look forward to keeping in touch once more.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

The Lord’s Day

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Revelation 1:10).

The Lord’s day, referred to in this verse, is the same day of the week the Lord rose from the dead. “Jesus was risen early the first day of the week” (Mark 16:9). It is also the day when He appeared to His disciples with a message of assurance and peace. “The first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you” (John 20:19). It was on this day that the Lord ascended back to heaven, and this day when the early believers in the city of Troas met for breaking of bread, fellowship and to hear the preaching of the Apostle Paul who was visiting at that time. “Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them” (Acts 20:7).

What does the “Lord’s Day” mean to you? John saw and heard wonderful things concerning the person of Christ because he was in tune with the Spirit of God on the first day of the week. Will this be your experience today?

Freedom

The “Four Freedoms” were goals set out by the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 6, 1941.

“Freedom from fear” for all mankind was one the “Four Freedoms” proclaimed in the Atlantic Charter by the President and other of the world’s great statesmen at the time. But none of the signers has lived to realize the ideal. In many countries millions still live in fear, as terrorism, disunity, unstable regimes, terrible armaments, and “wars and rumors of wars” (Mark 13:7), raise grave concern throughout the world. But millions more live only in fear of death, their consciences warning them that one day they must stand before God. This is by far the most serious prospect. And be assured it is real! “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

The question arises, “Is there no way of escape from judgment and from the bondage of fear?” The answer is Yes! The Lord Jesus came into this world to save us, and “that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Day By Day — Part 4

3. “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

We grow old! Every one of us, sooner or later, realizes that the body gets older and weaker. If we have aches and pains with our natural bodies, we know that as we feed the “inward man,” there is a daily renewal of spiritual strength. The more we feed the new life the more we are renewed.

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Ephesians 6:16). We need to take the shield of faith to stop the arrows of Satan, and to have the Lord as our resource “day by day.” There is a serious warning concerning Abraham’s nephew, Lot. “For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds” (2 Peter 2:8). There can never be the blessing of the Lord or power to meet the enemy while we are in such a situation as Lot. It is important for a Christian to walk in separation “and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). In this way we will be preserved “day by day.”

Day By Day — Part 3

2. “Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner” (Nehemiah 8:18).

Here we learn the necessity of a daily reading of the Scriptures. When we read our Bibles we learn to appreciate the practical truth of the verse that says, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily [day by day] loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation” (Psalm 68:19). Do you read your Bible on a day-by-day basis?

We also need to have fellowship with other believers, in the feast of remembrance that we have in Christianity. Like the early believers, of whom we read, “And they, continuing daily with one accord … and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart” (Acts 2:46). The Lord has asked us to do this until He returns. “For 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). This will strengthen us “day by day,” and Satan will have no space to put in his terrible doubts.

Day By Day — Part 2

In the young man Joseph we see a firm commitment to trust and obey, and “the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy” (Genesis 39:21). Do you also know how to act and what to say in such dangerous moments of life? Have you ever been in such a situation? How great is the Lord’s mercy. He gives us these stories in the Bible to encourage us to be faithful at all times. We honor Him very much, when we trust Him in faith and resist the temptation. The Lord gives us tools that we can use in the trials of “day by day” living. Here are just three of them:

1. “And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the Lord” (2 Chronicles 30:21).

Satan always wants to steal our joy in the Lord, and hinder our praises. This verse teaches us the need to live for the Lord seven days of the week, by keeping sin — of which leaven is a picture — out of our lives, walking in separation from the world and cultivating the habit of praise and thanksgiving every day.

Day By Day — Part 1

“And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by
day, that he hearkened not unto her” (Genesis 39:10).

In Genesis 39 we find Joseph in very special circumstances. His brothers had sold him as a slave into Egypt, and there he came into the house of Potiphar. We don’t know how long he stayed in the house of this important man, but we know that he was in a responsible position, and Potiphar’s house prospered because of Joseph. But after some time a very dangerous problem started. Potiphar’s wife became a tool in the hand of Satan, to try and cause Joseph to sin. Satan knows human nature very well, and so he used this woman as a tool to tempt him, “day by day.” However Joseph said, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). Satan never gives up. If something “day by day” is pressed on us, we become worn down and vulnerable. Amidst all this Joseph was steadfast, and the time came when he “fled, and got him out” (Genesis 39:12).

In our lives the Lord uses these things to test our faith and obedience to Him and His Word.

Dear Young Christian:

Here is a question for you as your start your school or work week: How contented a person are you? Here is what Solomon wrote on the subject: “Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith” (Proverbs 15:16).  This is a simple couplet that makes a lot of sense. Why is the first part so much better than the second? Which would you rather have: peace and a happy heart, or trouble, trouble, trouble? I think we would all pick the first. And we can have it, if we make the Lord our primary object.  The Apostle Paul said, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11).  He also records, “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6).  The book of Hebrews tells us why we should be content: “And be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).  With Christ’s presence to satisfy our heart and His loving care and protection all along the path, what more could we really want?

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

A Finished Work

At the end of His perfect pathway of faith and service to God His Father, The Lord Jesus could with confidence confirm, “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do” (John 17:4). Then at the end of the three hours of darkness, after He had made atonement by bearing the punishment of God against sin, and just before He laid down His life, He could affirm, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

What a work … complete, done, finished and accomplished to the glory and eternal satisfaction of God. Nothing left undone. Not like in the Old Testament where the priests had to offer the same sacrifices over and over again. Now by faith we see Him, seated at the right hand of God as a proof that God is so satisfied that He will never, and could not, require another sacrifice for sin. “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:11-12).

Paid in Blood

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold … but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Hank saw a flashing red light in the rearview mirror, and then a police officer firmly stated the infraction, “You were exceeding the speed limit by 10 miles an hour. This ticket stipulates you pay the fine in money, or in blood, to the Red Cross.”

The offender eventually presented his ticket to the police station. Across it had been written in red ink, “Paid in blood.” The Lord Jesus Christ shed his precious blood in order to pay our debt of sin and redeem us to Himself. Is your debt of sin “paid in blood”? Hank was thankful that his debt was paid by donating blood, but it cost the Lord Jesus His life. We read, “When they came to Jesus, and saw that He was dead already, they brake not His legs: but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John19:33-34). Have you believed it and freely received eternal forgiveness and salvation?