Young People’s Blog

“For ye have the poor always with you; but Me ye have not always” (Matthew 26:11).

If you read the short story in Matthew 26:6-13, you will see that a woman who loved the Lord Jesus poured some very expensive ointment on His head. Some thought that this was a waste of the ointment, and that it should have been sold and used to help the poor. But the Lord Jesus pointed out that they would not always have this opportunity to honor Him in this way. Yes, there are poor people in this world, and in spite of all the government programs to try to help them, there are always poor people that need help.

However, the Lord Jesus is worthy of all our honor and praise, and this woman wanted to show her appreciation for all that He was, and all that He was going to do. She knew that He was going to the cross to suffer for sin, and she gave her most precious possession to show how much she valued Him. The Lord Jesus greatly appreciated it, and did not consider it a waste of the ointment.

In the same way, the Lord Jesus has asked us to remember Him in His death every Lord’s day. It is a time when we come together to give, not to receive. It is a privilege we should greatly value, and it is never a waste of our time. He is worthy of our praise and worship.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10).

As I write this in September, 2023, yesterday was Lord’s day. A brother with a large van was picking up children for Sunday school, and was stopped by the police. They had seen a number of children getting into his van, and they wanted to make sure that they were all safe, and were not being kidnapped by the brother in Christ. After speaking to him for a few minutes, they were satisfied and let them go on to Sunday school.

In today’s world, there are many evil people around who want to harm children. It is a wonderful thing to be safe, and it is good to avoid situations where we might not be safe. But the Lord is the only one who can keep us completely safe. If we trust in the Lord, and ask Him to look after us, we can be sure that He will hear us, and protect us from those who may want to harm us.

“Those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:4-5).

Tragic events are happening with increasing frequency in our world, as I write this in September, 2023. Recently a strong earthquake caused widespread damage in the country of Morocco, in West Africa. Thousands were killed and many more injured. Then, within two days, a massive flood killed thousands of people in Libya, on the Mediterranean coast of Africa, and left even more homeless, as homes, buildings, roads, and other structures were swept away by the water. As I write, Hurricane Lee is approaching the east coast of North America, and is expected to cause a great deal of damage.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Lord Jesus pointed out that those affected by such events were not necessarily sinners above all men. Rather, God is giving warnings to this world of coming judgment. God never brings judgment on this world without adequate warning, and we are getting more and more of these warnings today.

God is giving a “wake-up call” to any who are not saved, but He also wants those of us who are saved to realize the serious times in which we are living. Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior?

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat” (Genesis 3:6).

Eve, and eventually Adam too, went through a temptation similar to what our Lord Jesus went through. They were tempted in the very best of circumstances, for they were in a beautiful garden with everything they could wish. The Lord Jesus was out in the desert and had had nothing to eat for forty days. Eve saw that the fruit was good for food; it was not sour to the taste, or poisonous. It was also nice to look at. We like fruit that looks nice. Today those who process apples in a big way have “color sorters” that tell whether an apple has the right amount of red and green in it. Those that are not just right are used for apple sauce and baby food. Finally, Satan had told Eve that the fruit of that tree would make her wise.

All these things appealed to her, and she disobeyed the one commandment God had given to her and Adam. Satan has used these three categories of temptation on people ever since, and they are named in 1 John 2:16—“the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” You and I can avoid those temptations in the same way that the Lord Jesus did—by following the Word of God.

“And Jesus…was…forty days tempted of the devil. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he [the devil] departed from Him for a season” (Luke 4:1-2,13).

Before He started out on His earthly service, the Lord Jesus was tempted by Satan in three different ways. Satan was trying to get the Lord Jesus to sin by tempting Him with the same kind of temptations that he uses on us. Some people would say that this was to see if the Lord Jesus would sin, but it is more accurate to say that this was to prove that He could not sin. If the Lord Jesus had had a sinful fallen nature (as we do), He could have given in to these temptations. But our Lord simply quoted Scripture, and Satan was defeated. The temptations proved who He was—the Son of God.

There are some dear believers who would say that the Lord Jesus was capable of sinning, but did not. This is a blasphemous thing to say, for if He could have sinned, then He would have had a sinful nature. Then He could not have died for us, and we would have no Savior. But, blessed be His name, “He did no sin” (1 Peter 2:22), “In Him is no sin” (1 John 3:5), and “He [God] hath made Him [the Lord Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). In every way the Word of God guards the Person of the Lord Jesus.

“He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8).

“Keep My commandments, and live; and My law as the apple of thine eye” (Proverbs 7:2).

In both of our verses for today we have the expression “the apple of his eye” or “the apple of thine eye.” This expression occurs in three other places in the Bible; see if you can find them. But what does it mean—the “apple of his eye”? It is an old English expression that simply refers to the pupil of the eye, or sometimes even the whole eyeball. The translators used it in our English Bible because the expression was in common use at that time. It has come to mean something (or someone!) very precious to us.

In our first verse today, we realize how much the Lord cares for us, and how much He feels it when someone tries to harm us. But then in the second verse, we are told to value the Lord’s commandments in the same way. We are very careful to guard our eyes from injury, and the Lord protects us in this way. Let us remember to give His commandments the high honor and respect they deserve.

“As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste” (Song of Solomon 2:3).

I am sure that all of you enjoy eating an apple, and especially at this time of year, when it is apple harvest season. Perhaps you have a favorite type of apple that you specially like, but did you know that apples are mentioned a number of times in the Bible? Apples have been grown for thousands of years, and probably originated in the country of Kazakhstan, which is in central Asia, and borders Russia, China, and a few smaller countries. There are thousands of different kinds of apples, and they are probably the most widely eaten of all the kinds of fruit in the world.

I grew up on a fruit farm, and many times I have sat down under an apple tree and enjoyed eating an apple. In our verse for today, we find that the bride compares her Beloved (a picture of the Lord Jesus) to an apple tree. She sits down under the tree, appreciates the shade it gives, and finds His fruit sweet to her taste.

But there is a spiritual lesson here for us too. If we really know and love the Lord Jesus, we enjoy His company, and He gives us the enjoyment of all that He is. When we read His Word, we find that it is food for our souls, just as eating an apple is food for our bodies. Being in His company is like sitting down under a shady tree, and then He provides something for our enjoyment and nourishment.

“I lay down My life, that I might take it again. 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 10:17-18).

As a divine Person, the Lord Jesus did not only have power over the life and death of others; He had power over His own life. While on the cross, He did not die as others died from crucifixion. Others died from weakness and the inability to lift themselves up and take another breath. But just before He died, the Lord Jesus cried with a loud voice, and then voluntarily dismissed His spirit. No other human being could do that. People can commit suicide by various means, but none can dismiss their spirit by an act of will. That is why the centurion was so amazed when the Lord Jesus died. Doubtless he had seen others die from crucifixion, but none of them, at the point of death, had the strength to cry with a loud voice.

More than this, the Lord Jesus had the power to raise Himself from the dead. He had the power to take back his human spirit and rise from the dead. He did this on the third day, and in a calm and orderly way. He took the time to fold up the napkin that was about His head, and place it by itself. All of this was in keeping with His glory as the Son of God.

“Whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die” (John 11:26).

In this verse, the Lord Jesus is speaking to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, who had died. Although he had been dead four days, the Lord was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. However, He uses the occasion to teach Martha something that had not been known before. In this verse the Lord Jesus makes one of the early references to His coming to take all His own home to be with Himself in heaven. Martha did not understand this, but later the Lord Jesus plainly told His disciples that He had to go away from them. But then He reminded them that He would come back again. Our verse today tells us that those who believe on the Lord Jesus, and are alive when He comes, will never die.

All of the human race is subject to death because of sin, but because of the Lord Jesus’ death on the cross, and the value of His precious blood, those who believe on Him have eternal life. If we are alive when the Lord comes, we will never have to die. What a wonderful hope this is!

“It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2).

As I write this on September 12, 2023, an event is fresh in my mind. On Saturday, two days ago, I attended the funeral of a good friend and brother in Christ. He had suffered from a chronic illness, and finally was taken home to be with the Lord. I was thankful to be at his funeral, for the one who took the service read today’s verse at the beginning of his talk, and reminded everyone very plainly about their need to be saved.

Many people do not like to go to funerals, for it is a reminder that one day they too will die. Deep down inside, I believe that everyone knows that they will have to meet God someday. The Word of God is very clear about this, and tells us that death is not the end of all things. People would rather go to a happy occasion, like the “house of feasting” that is mentioned in our verse. But in the presence of death, all are solemnized, and are compelled to think about eternal matters. There is nothing wrong with feasting: it has its place in our lives. But we all need to be reminded that sooner or later, all of us must face death. However, there is one exception to this, which we will discuss tomorrow.