Young People’s Blog

Life Is Short

Yes, Life is very short! It may be shorter than you think. That is why it is so important to be saved and ready for the life hereafter. Listen to what these Bible characters said about the brevity of life … 

Jacob at 130 years of age said to Pharaoh:

“Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been” (Genesis 47:9).

Job declared:

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle .… Also as a shadow” (Job 7:6; 14:2).

Ethan the Ezrahite affirmed:

“Remember how short my time is” (Psalm 89:47).

Isaiah said:

“All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth” (Isaiah 40:6-7).

James wrote:

“For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14).

 

Monthly Question Page

Q. How is the word “usury” used in the Bible?

A. The word “usury” in Scripture has a slightly different meaning than the context in which we use it today. Webster’s Dictionary defines it as, “the practice of lending money at a rate of interest that is excessive or unlawfully high.” However, it seems in the Bible it is more just the thought of “interest” not the rate, be it low or high.

In the Old Testament, under the law, they were only allowed to extract usury from a stranger, not one of their own brethren. “Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury” (Deuteronomy 23:19-20).

In the New Testament we only have it mentioned in connection with the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:27, and Luke 19:23. The men who were entrusted with responsibility in the absence of the Master, were required to give an account on His return, as to whether they had used what was entrusted to them wisely or not.

We will continue with this question next month.

 

Soul Food

The Word of God is not just food for thought, it is food for the soul! It is a living book, and in fact the only book in the world that is living. Agur the son of Jakeh, said, “Feed me with food convenient for me” (Proverbs 30:8).

The believer possesses a new life. It is the very life of Christ; it is a perfect life. It is the same life that we will have in heaven and for eternity, and yet it is a dependent life. Just as our natural life must be sustained through good food and nourishment, so our spiritual life must be sustained through spiritual food and sustenance. Job said, “I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). We must eat to keep healthy. Are you a healthy Christian or a spiritually starved one? Here is a good prayer to pray every day in this regard:

I will feed on God’s Word every day,

I will meditate on it and pray!

My new life, I will let it sustain,

That spiritual growth may attain,

Then fruitful and happy I’ll be,

Till in heaven, Lord Jesus, with Thee.

 

Monthly Scripture Reading

Proverbs 8

1 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?

2 She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.

3 She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.

4 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.

5 O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.

6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.

7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.

9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.

10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.

 

Selective Hearing

“When I called, ye did not answer; when
I spake, ye did not hear” (Isaiah 65:12).

When I was growing up my mother often told me that she was sure I had what she termed as selective hearing. In other words, I only heard what I wanted to hear. Yes, I am sure, to some degree at least, she was right. I only heard and responded to the things I wanted to, the rest I ignored. Not good! Often it was because of self-will and rebellion.

When God speaks, we don’t want to be like those to whom Isaiah was writing. We want to be more like Samuel who said, “Speak; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:10). What God has to say to us is not just important, but extremely vital. Often we find ourselves in trouble and in compromising situations because we didn’t listen and heed some warning or entreaty. What is He saying to you today through His Word the Bible, some circumstance or someone you know? We need to remember His admonition earlier in Isaiah’s prophesy, “Listen … unto Me; and hearken” (Isaiah 49:1). Are you listening?

 

Dear Young Christian:

I was recently somewhere and I saw a billboard with the following question:

“What do you do when no one is looking?”

That’s a good question for all of us, and especially with the realization that although there may be no other human looking, yet there is One from above who sees us even when we are alone. That One of course is the Lord Jesus. We are reminded in the Bible, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).

So, what do you do when you are alone and no one is looking? What do you read, and what do you watch? What websites do you click on? You don’t have to answer to me, but you do have to answer to the Lord. “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). Let’s be aware this week, that we are never really alone and that we are always under the watchful, loving eye of our Saviour. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Praise

“I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all Thy marvellous works.”
(Psalm 9:1).

“I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation” (Psalm 111:1).

“I will praise thee with my whole heart” (Psalm 138:1).

David praised the Lord a lot. He was a man who appreciated very much what the Lord had done for him. And yet King David really didn’t understand about forgiveness of sins, a home in heaven and all the things we know as a result of Christianity and through the teachings of the New Testament. He never knew the Lord Jesus Christ as a man, or God as his Father in the same way we do. How much more, then, we should be able to praise the Lord for everything He has done for us. He died to save us. He shed His blood to wash away our sins. He has prepared a wonderful home in heaven for us, called the Father’s house. He’s coming again to take us there. Surely we have every reason to praise the Lord with our whole heart.

 

A Friend Of God

There are many beautiful examples of friendship in the Bible. Here is just one of them:

Three times Abraham is referred to as the friend of God:

“Abraham Thy friend for ever” (2 Chronicles 20:7).

“Abraham My friend” (Isaiah 41:8).

“Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the friend of God” (James 2:23).

They had a relationship of respect and obedience. This does not mean that Abraham was sinless, but he trusted God to lead where he was supposed to go. When God spoke to Abraham he immediately obeyed. Even though he was obedient to God, the Bible makes it clear that his salvation was not earned by works, but through faith in the promise of God for a Saviour. “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans 4:13).

Are you counted as one who is a friend of God? “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5).

 

Wisdom

WISDOM: The skill for living.

In its Scriptural context, I thought this short definition was very relevant and helpful to consider. King Solomon was a man who was given special wisdom from God, and he tells us, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom” (Proverbs 4:7). He further tells us, “For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it” (Proverbs 8:11).

What do we really want in life? Like us all, Solomon had choices. Here is what he chose when God asked him what he desired at the beginning of his reign: “In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said unto God .… Give me now wisdom and knowledge” (2 Chronicles 1:7-8, 10). What a wonderful choice, and God certainly granted him his request. That same wisdom is available to us today simply for the asking. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5).

 

Jacob’s Twelve Sons — Benjamin

He was the youngest son of Jacob by his most beloved wife Rachel who, as she was dying in child birth, named him Ben-oni, signifying “son of my sorrow.” However, his father named him Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand.” He is a picture of the Lord Jesus as the exalted one, as the name his father gave h im signifies.

When Moses prophesied concerning the 12 tribes of Israel, we read, “And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders” (Deuteronomy 33:12).

Very little is recorded of his personal life. It was the smallest of the tribes except Manasseh in the numbering of Numbers 1:37. He was also the father of 10 sons: “The sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard” (Genesis 46:10).

The Apostle Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin. He says, “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin” (Philippians 3:5).