Young People’s Blog

Worship

“And Abraham said unto his young men … I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you” (Genesis 22:5).

Abraham and Isaac went to perform the highest act of worship that a father has ever been called upon to perform — to offer his own son in sacrifice to God. This was Abraham’s ultimate test of faith. Would he go through with it? We know from Scripture that he did. Abraham, who acted in faith all his life, seemed to know that somehow God would give Isaac back. And He did!

“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure” (Hebrews 11:17-19).

A substitute was found! But there was no substitute for God’s beloved Son. “He … spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all” (Romans 8:32).

Doesn’t that produce worship in our hearts today?

 

Ready

“Be … ready” (Matthew 24:44).

Please regard this as a personal appeal! Rest assured you must meet God. Are you ready? In comparison to this question all others sink into utter insignificance and before it all others problems and dilemmas pale.

You may be a brilliant student, a good worker, healthy in body and mind; you may be religious and respected by your friends and family. But there is a solemn unanswered question raised by the Lord when He was here on earth. It is just this: “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

To be ready to meet God requires more than material success, more than good health, and more than religion and respectability. It requires God’s salvation through the Lord Jesus based on the work of Calvary and the blood of Christ.

Are you ready? Can you say, “Yes I am!” with a glad confidence? Have you experienced “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21)?

 

The Armor

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil … Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:11,13).

If we were to hear the shouts of war, the groans of death and destruction, and the clanging of swords all around us we wouldn’t casually ignore the action. We would be on high alert and ready and watchful for whatever came our way.

Our enemy in spiritual things, the Devil, uses cleverness and subtlety to disguise the conflict of spiritual warfare and to lull us to complacency and sleep. God instructs us to have our armor on at all times until we can finally relax in the Father’s house with Himself, and the battles of this life are forever over.

As long as we are in this world there will be conflict. However, all has been provided so that each believer can win every battle, and live for the glory of God and the honor of the Lord Jesus, who is referred to as “the Captain of their salvation” (Hebrews 2:10).

 

The Best — Part 2

“And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in
that day when I make up My jewels” (Malachi 3:17).

When the diamond cutter struck that blow, he did the one thing which would bring out that gem to its perfect shapeliness, radiance and splendor. That blow which seemed to ruin that superb precious stone was, in fact, its perfect redemption. From those two halves were wrought two magnificent gems that the skilled eye saw hidden in the rough, uncut stone as it came from the mine.

Sometimes, God lets a stinging blow fall upon your life, and the soul cries out in agony. The blow seems to you an appalling mistake. But it is not, for you are the most priceless jewel in the world to God, and He is the most skilled gem cutter in the universe.

Someday you will blaze in the diadem of the King. As you lie in his hand now, He knows just how to deal with you. Not a blow will be permitted to fall upon your shrinking soul but that the love of God permits it, and works out from its depths blessing and spiritual enrichment, unseen and unthought of by you.

 

The Best — Part 1

The following story illustrates how our God knows best what is needed in each of our lives.

Many years ago there was found in a South African mine a most magnificent diamond. It was presented to Edward VII, King of England, to blaze in his crown of state. The King sent it to Amsterdam to be cut by an expert. What do you suppose the expert did with it?

He took the gem of priceless value and cut a notch in it. Then he struck it a hard blow with his instrument, and the superb jewel lay in his hand, cleft in two. For days and weeks that blow had been studied and planned. Drawings and models had been made of the gem. Its quality, its defects, it lines of cleavage had all been studied with minutest care. The man to whom it was committed was one of the most skillful diamond cutters in the world.

Was that blow a mistake? No! It was the climax of that man’s career! We have one who created us, and knows us through and through. Job said, “Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:9-10).

 

The Eagle

The eagle soars above it all,

He has a heavenly view;

And we with wings of spiritual power,

Can rise above it too.

The runner may have many things,

To block his goal from view;

But we, with Jesus as our source,

Our strength He will renew.

Although we may not soar or run,

Though walking be our lot;

Still, we can forward move each day,

To faint, our hearts need not.

“Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:30-31).

 

Dear Young Christian:

For many of you with summer holidays, often the beginning of August marks the halfway point or even later. As we turn the page of the calendar to another month we shake our heads and wonder where the time has gone.

Halfway points are also a good time to stop and assess how wisely we have used our time, energy and other resources. There is a time coming when we will have to give an account of how well we managed those resources. “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). What will your account of the first half of the summer of 2016 be like when you stand before the Lord? Will He be able to say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful” (Matthew 25:21)?

No matter what has happened in the past few weeks, we can make the rest of the summer count. Not that we shouldn’t relax and enjoy a little summer recreation, but let’s make sure that whatever we are doing, we are seeking to “do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

God’s Satisfaction

The following verses show us God’s satisfaction with the work of His Son at Calvary, and where He has placed Him now as proof of that satisfaction.

“He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:20-22).

“God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9).

“Thou crownedst Him with glory and honor, and didst set Him over the works of Thy hands” (Hebrews 2:7).

As we consider the results of the work of the cross and the exaltation and glorification of Christ, what worship it will produce in our hearts! We will fall at His feet and “worship Him that liveth for ever and ever” (Revelation 4:10).

 

Questions

“What shall I do then with Jesus which
is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22).

“What think ye of Christ?” (Matthew 22:42).

Questions make things very personal, and your honest answer to these two questions will determine whether you are really a true believer or not.

Often we have questions as well. In the book of Acts there was a man who asked a sincere question, received a simple answer, and believed it for the salvation and blessing of his soul and others of his family. We refer to him as the Philippian jailor. He asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They immediately responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30-31). The result was that he “rejoiced, believing in God with all his house” (Acts 16:34).

God asks you questions, and maybe you have questions too. Your responses to God’s questions and your responses to His answers can have great and eternal consequences.

 

Monthly Question Page

Q. What does the word “sanctification” mean?

A. To be “sanctified” is to be set apart. “Ye are sanctified” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Every believer is sanctified by the work of the cross of Calvary. “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

However, to enjoy and walk in the good of this truth may be quite another matter. We are exhorted to live in separation from this world and with moral purity. “That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor” (1 Thessalonians 4:4). This is practical sanctification.

In the measure in which we walk in separation from that which is contrary to the Word of God we will be “a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21).

Peter exhorts us to, “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts” (1 Peter 3:15). This is to have Him before us as the exclusive object of our affections, and to give Him the first place in our lives.