Young People’s Blog

Youth

Past:

With all the vim and vigor of youthful energy,

With all my strength and rigor, I lived so selfishly;

Then, Lord, Thy grace and mercy, saved me and made me free

Sin, self, the world, and Satan, now have no claim on me.

Present:

With all the vim and vigor of youthful energy,

With all my strength and rigor, Lord, may I follow Thee;

Use, Lord, my time and talents, whatever they may be,

All for Thy praise and glory, I give myself to Thee.

Future:

When all the vim and vigor of youthful energy,

When all my strength and rigor have waned and ceased to be,

Use still my time and talents, whatever’s left — for Thee;

All for Thy praise and glory, Lord Jesus, this my plea.

“I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalm 37:25)

 

Dear Young Christian:

Where I come from in eastern Ontario in Canada, there is now a chill of autumn in the air. I notice the birds are beginning to gather together on the telephone wires and the tree tops preparing for their migration south to a warmer climate for the winter. A few hardy ones will stay around and brave the cold wind, ice, and snow, but most will go.

It makes me think of our departure from this world where the moral and spiritual storms are worsening, it seems, every day. Our flight out will not be a long, hard migration to a warmer climate, and then a return trip in the spring, but a flight straight up to meet the Lord and be with Him forever in the Father’s House. “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). What an awesome, one-way migration that will be.

In the meantime, keep on for the Lord, and live for Him now. Like the birds, we will soon be gone.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Let Us

“Let us go forth therefore unto Him” (Hebrews 13:13).

The “us” in this verse denotes a collective aspect to the going forth. Together with other believers, we are to meet for worship and praise around Himself. Notice it is “unto Him.” Not unto a certain group of Christians, or where it is most convenient. Not simply because we like the people or their way of doing things, but “unto Him.”

When the Lord sent the disciples to prepare the passover, they said to Him, “Where wilt Thou that we prepare?” (Luke 22:9). As a result of following His instructions, we read, “And when the hour was come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him” (Luke 22:14). This then was the very spot where the Lord Jesus took a loaf and a cup and explained to His own how they were to commemorate Him after He had died, risen and returned to glory.

Today we still have the privilege of remembering the Lord Jesus with others of His own, and with Himself in the midst. He has said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). This promise still stands!

 

Grace

It is because of God’s grace, and only His grace that there is salvation and blessing for the sinner. Every sinner saved by grace will have nothing to boast in except that grace. Here are some verses from the Bible that confirm this truth:

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).

“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11).

 

Nigh — Part 2

“Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you” (James 4:8).

What does your weekend look like? Relaxing, sleeping in, a good book, just hanging out with a friend or family member, going to the mall … ? Whatever you do, remember the Lord is with you, as we were reminded yesterday. Don’t forget, whatever you do this weekend, and wherever you go, you will be taking the Lord with you. Some of the last words the Lord said to the disciples were, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:20). We can be thankful that He is with us, and for the promise, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

Our God is always nigh! The question is, are we keeping close to Him? To “draw nigh to God” is to walk in a way that lets nothing come between us and God to cloud or obstruct our enjoyment of His presence. As you move about this weekend, make sure you do it in fellowship with Himself. Don’t be like Jonah who “rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” (Jonah 1:3).

 

Nigh — Part 1

“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

“The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him,
to all that call upon Him in truth” (Psalm 145:18).

Both of the above verses were penned by David (notice the titles of these Psalms in your Bible). He was a man who valued the presence of the Lord and was thankful that He was always close at hand. Maybe you have had a sorrow in your life lately, and as a result you feel like your heart is irreparably broken. Don’t despair — there is One who is near, and will never leave you. Furthermore, He is the repairer of broken hearts. “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). All you have to do is “call upon Him” and He is there, ready and able to comfort, heal and bring blessing out of what seems tragic and hopeless. “The Lord is at hand .… Let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:5-7).

 

Faith

“This is the victory that overcometh
the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).

As a Christian there is only one way to overcome and that is through faith. We cannot live a life pleasing to God without it. God expects us to use faith, and He rewards us for using it. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

With faith we can remove tremendous obstacles and accomplish otherwise impossible things. The Lord said to His disciples, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20).

Are you finding that the world’s attraction is too strong? Are you struggling with difficult problems in your life? Try putting your faith into action and you will find that you can be an overcomer. The Apostle Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

 

A Battle

“For to will is present with me; but how to perform
that which is good I find not” (Romans 7:18).

In case you hadn’t figured it out, there’s a battle going on inside you. It is an ongoing struggle that takes place in every believer in the Lord Jesus most of the time. Satan wants at least equal time with the Lord. So as a master salesman he presents you with his wares every day. Some of these wares are very attractive, and presented so subtly that if we are not on our constant guard, we don’t even realize it.

At the same time the Lord whispers, “No, don’t buy it … don’t take it … don’t do it … don’t try it!” As a result you turn away. But then the devil comes back with a stronger sales pitch, and, sad to say, you fall for it.

Yes, the flesh and the new nature fight all the time. “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Galatians 5:17). We constantly need to trust the Lord to help us by the Spirit to resist the enemy and follow our Saviour’s leading alone.

 

Dear Young Christian:

King Solomon learned by experience, that “a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (Proverbs 15:13).

I knew an older Christian who used to remind us, “Self- occupation never made anyone happy.” Some of us have proved this by sad by experimentation. If we look within and get wrapped up in ourselves and the big I or Me, it is going to discourage us and keep us from enjoying the Lord and serving Him and His people and interests. I had a grandmother who lived to be almost 100, and for the most part took care of herself in her own home. As I look back, I really believe that part of her longevity can be traced back to her willingness to serve others and her happy, cheerful attitude and spirit. Solomon further wrote, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). What will you be occupied with this week? Or maybe better asked, who will you be occupied with … yourself or Christ?

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Divine Love

“We will be glad and rejoice in Thee, we will remember Thy love more than wine: the upright love Thee”
(Song of Solomon 1:4).

Divine love has provided a Saviour in God’s Son:

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9).

Divine love loves, even when there is nothing good in the object:

“God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Divine love never ceases to love:

“Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).

Divine love is consistent even when there is no response from the object:

“I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast Thou loved us?” (Malachi 1:2).

What will your response be to that great love today? If we really enter into His love, there cannot help but be an overflow of worship, praise and thanksgiving.