Young People’s Blog

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.

Dear Young Christian:

I am writing to you this morning from the desert. I am in Yucca Valley, California, visiting a brother in Christ for a couple of days. As I sit at the desk in my room and look out at the early morning dawn, I am reminded of what the Lord said to the disciples after they told Him of the death of John the Baptist. “He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). How gracious of the Lord to draw the disciples aside for a few moments of personal fellowship and refreshment with Himself. They were no doubt burdened and perplexed with what had just happened to John, and the Lord knew that they needed some time alone in His presence.

Maybe you are starting the week with a troubled heart. Perhaps you dread to face what you anticipate will happen. Take time to slip away and be alone with the Lord, even if just for a few minutes at a time. Maybe on your lunch or coffee break or between classes. And don’t forget to spend some time with the Lord at the beginning of each day.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

He Gave His Life

“Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost” (Matthew 27:50).

This loud cry came as the Lord dismissed His spirit at the end of the three hours of darkness when He had finished the work of bearing “our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). In another gospel we read the very words He spoke at that time, saying, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit” (Luke 23:46).

This was not the weak whisper of a dying man succumbing to death, but a strong cry of victory. Never think that the death of the Lord Jesus was the result of physical decline caused by the sufferings of the cross, severe as these were. The Lord Jesus was not overcome by death, because death had no claim upon Him. He had already said, “No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father” (John 10:18). We also read, “He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). What a Saviour! What love!

Live To Be 100

Magazine publisher, J.I. Rodale, a zealous advocate of health foods, claimed at the age of 72 that he would live to be 100. The same week his prediction appeared in The New York Times, he was being interviewed for a televison program, claiming that his bones were as strong as ever. Moments after making his boast, he died of a heart attack.

The reasonable person knows that there are no guarantees when it comes to life. Long ago Job declared, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not” (Job 14:1-2). Centuries later, James wrote, “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (James 4:13-15). This is why it is so important to be saved and ready for eternity. When we leave this world it is too late to prepare for the next world. Do you have ETERNAL LIFE?

Monthly Question Page

Q. What does it mean, “redeeming the time” (Ephesians 5:16)? How do we do this?

A. To “redeem the time” is literally to “buy up every opportunity.” That is, we are to use every opportunity for Christ and to serve Him. The exhortation is given in view of the fact that time is short and often, sad to say, there is a shortness of spiritual energy on our part. In the previous verse we are warned to “awake” from a state of spiritual sleep and laziness and to walk circumspectly and wisely.

There is no shortage of opportunities to serve the Lord every day. When we get up in the morning, it is not so much a question of asking the Lord for opportunities, but praying that we would be in a watchful state of soul and in the path of obedience, so that we would avail ourselves of the opportunities and open doors as they present themselves. So often we squander our time and opportunities rather than buying — or “redeeming” — them.

There are only a few more moments of service for Christ left. Are we using our time wisely? We will have to give an account of our allotted time when we get to heaven. What excuse will we be able to give the Lord then?

Settled

“Continue in the faith grounded and settled” (Colossians 1:23)

I live in Canada. The name comes from the Iroquois Indian word “kanata,” which means “settlement.” The early pioneers were glad to arrive on the shores of a new land and be able to settle into what they hoped would be a better life and a better country than what they had left behind.

As believers in Christ it is good for us to be “settled” as well. Not “settled” down in this world, but “settled” in our souls as to our salvation, our eternal security and all that is ours in Christ. “The faith” referred to in the above verse is not the individual faith of believers, but the truth of God as revealed in the Word of God. It is what Jude refers to when he writes, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for THE FAITH which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3).

An unsettled believer is an unhappy believer, with no rest of soul or peace of mind. The more you prayerfully read your Bible, the more “settled” you will become.