Young People’s Blog

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).

“The breaker is come up before them: they…have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it” (Micah 2:13).

There is a well-known story of a farm boy who was asked a math question in school. His teacher asked, “If there were twenty sheep in a field, and six of them jumped the fence, how many would be left?” His answer was, “None!” The teacher scolded him for his poor math, but he answered her respectfully, “Teacher, you don’t know sheep; if one escapes, the rest all follow.” The first one to go is the “breaker,” as we get in our second verse. As we sometimes say, the first one “makes a break for it.” Then all the rest follow.

That is the way it is with you and me, for when our first parents, Adam and Eve, sinned, we all inherited sinful natures, and we all followed them in sin. Our first verse emphasizes this; ALL of us have gone astray.

However, the wonderful news is that if we accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior, all those sins can be forgiven. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior?

“And He [the Lord Jesus] came to Capernaum: and being in the house He asked them [the twelve disciples], What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And He…saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all” (Mark 9:33-35).

An older brother, now with the Lord, used to say, “Self likes to be served, and thinks itself to be great; love serves, and is great.” Our natural hearts want to be somebody; we want to be recognized, respected, honored, and looked up to. But the Lord Jesus always took the low place, for He “made Himself of no reputation” (Philippians 2:7). Rather, the Lord Jesus was constantly serving, and doing the will of His Father. He never defended Himself, unless the glory of God His Father was involved.

In this the Lord Jesus was a good example for us. As He said to His disciples, the one who wanted to be first was to be the last of all, and servant of all. That is not the way of this world, for the world tells us to take the highest place so that we will be honored. But for now, you and I are to take the low place. There will be plenty of time for honor and glory when the Lord takes us home.

“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).

We all know that when the Lord Jesus was here on earth as a man, He was poor in material things. He could say that He had “nowhere to lay His head,” and He had to ask to see a penny when He wanted to use it as an illustration of something. He graciously accepted it when others helped Him with His everyday living expenses. However, the poverty in our verse today went much deeper than not having money.

Even though the Lord Jesus did not have much money, His being poor in this way would never have put away our sins or saved us from going to hell. No, the poverty spoken about in our verse was the awful judgment of God that the Lord Jesus suffered during the three hours of darkness. During that time He became poor in a way that we will never understand, for He was “made sin” for us. It was only through this poverty that we were made rich, for it was through His sufferings that our sins were put away, and that we were able to receive a new life in Christ. We can appreciate His material poverty, but let us never forget His deep poverty that put away our sins.

“And He [the Lord Jesus] began to teach them, that the Son of Man must suffer many things…and be killed, and after three days rise again…and Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him…but…He rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind Me, Satan” (Mark 8:31-33).

Only a short while before this, Peter had boldly confessed Jesus as the Christ—the Messiah. But now, when the Lord Jesus started to tell His disciples that He must suffer and die, Peter could not accept that, and actually began to rebuke the Lord Jesus! He was so sure that the Lord Jesus would set up His kingdom at that time that He tried to tell the Lord Jesus that He should not die on the cross.

Then the Lord Jesus had to rebuke Peter, saying, “Get thee behind Me, Satan.” The Lord Jesus knew that Satan was behind what Peter was saying, for Satan is always trying to go against the will of God. If the Lord Jesus did not go to the cross and die, there could be no salvation for us. It was the only way that sin could be put away.

Because this world has rejected the Lord Jesus, the kingdom has been postponed, and will not be set up until after the Lord’s coming for us. Those who follow the Lord Jesus today must be prepared to follow a rejected Christ.

“He that hath knowledge spareth his words; and a man of understanding is of a cool spirit” (Proverbs 17:27 JND).

The word “cool’ is quite common among young people today, and to do something right is considered to be the “cool” thing to do. It can also mean that we are not all worked up about something, but are at peace in ourselves, and can act in the right way.

In our verse today we find that someone who has real understanding is of a “cool” spirit. That means that a person who really is wise, and understands the situation, does not need to get angry or “lose their cool” over a difficulty. A Christian should always be of a cool spirit; we should be able to approach life’s difficulties in the fear of the Lord, yet trusting Him to lead and guide us.

Also, someone who has knowledge does not need to talk a lot. Everyone today seems to want to express their opinions, and everyone seems to feel the need to say what they think about a particular question. Here we find that those who really know what they are talking about do not need to use a lot of words. They can listen to others, and then express themselves in a few words. It is good advice for all of us to remember.

“The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing” (Psalm 34:10).

Normally we would think of lions, and especially young lions, as being strong enough to find their prey and get food without any problem, but there are times when they do lack, and are hungry. Here in our verse for today we have the Lord’s assurance that they who seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. What does this mean?

It means that when we look to the Lord, He is able to provide for us even when it is naturally difficult. It means that we can trust the Lord in any problem, even if there seems to be no way for the problem to be solved. However, we must remember that the Lord may test our faith; He may not give us what we need all at once. Also, He may not give us whatever we ask for, but we will not lack anything that is good for us. This is very reassuring.

“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him” (Psalm 25:14).

This is a very good verse to remember along with yesterday’s verse. Yesterday we pointed out that the Lord wants us to commit our way to Him, and that He is willing to show us the right path in our life. However, today’s verse shows us that it is those who are walking with the Lord who will be able to hear the Lord’s voice and to know His mind for them. We cannot walk in a careless, sinful or worldly way, and then suddenly go to the Lord and ask Him for His guidance in some difficulty. We are used to getting answers to almost any question very quickly on the internet, but we cannot “google” the Lord. We must know Him as Savior first, and then have a happy relationship with Him in order to have His guidance in our life.

I remember a woman who told me that when she asked the Lord for guidance, He did not answer her. She was a true Christian, but she was very angry at the Lord because of the difficulties she was in, and almost blamed Him for them. Until she submitted to what the Lord had allowed in her life, she would not get any guidance. She needed to get back to the Lord, confess her sin of being angry, and then ask Him what to do. The Lord wants our company, and a happy state of soul and guidance from the Lord go together.

“Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5).

Here is one final verse from Psalm 37, and it reminds us to commit our way unto the Lord. Another good translation of the Bible says, “Roll your way upon the Lord, and rely upon Him.” Sometimes we are not sure of which way to go in our lives, and at other times, when perhaps we think that we have everything worked out nicely, something comes along to upset our plans. This can be very difficult for us, but then it is good to remember that the Lord wants us to roll the problem onto Him. In fact, sometimes He allows something to upset our plans so that we will have to trust Him. It is worthwhile having our plans upset so that we can see how He can help us, and work everything out. He wants to carry our burden for us, for He knows the right way for us to go, and if we ask Him, He will show it to us. We do not need to be anxious or worry about what to do; the Lord is with us, and we can rely on Him. As our verse says, “He shall bring it to pass.”

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed” (Psalm 37:3).

Back in February we enjoyed two other verses from this psalm, but this one is particularly good to remember. At the time I am writing this, the war between Russia and the Ukraine is heating up, and just about everyone is worried about where it will end. It is a good time to be reminded to trust in the Lord!

The verse refers to the nation of Israel and their earthly blessings, but you and I can apply the verse to our spiritual blessings, and our enjoyment of them. No matter how difficult life may get in this world, nothing can touch the heavenly blessings we have in Christ. To “dwell in the land” pictures to us living in the enjoyment of all that Christ has given us, while being fed pictures to us the feeding of our souls from God’s Word.

However, we can also trust the Lord for our needs in this world. He knows that we need food, clothing, and shelter, and we can count on Him for these things too. He has promised to look after us all the way home.

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10).

The world calls this day St. Patrick’s Day, and many people wear green to celebrate the day. But which is more important to you and me—the fact that today is St. Patrick’s Day, or the Lord’s Day? St. Patrick lived in Ireland, back in the 5th century A. D., and supposedly was the one who brought Christianity to Ireland. But how much better it is to remember our Lord Jesus Christ, and to use the Lord’s Day for Him!

The one who wrote the words in our verse for today was the Apostle John, and at the time he had been banished to the Greek island of Patmos because he was a Christian. He did not likely have any Christian fellowship there, but he valued the Lord’s Day, and was “in the Spirit” on that day. This means that he was enjoying the Lord on the Lord’s Day, and devoting his thoughts to the Lord’s things, rather than something else. Perhaps he was not able to remember the Lord with other Christians as he would have liked, but his thoughts were on his Lord and Savior.

The Lord appreciates it when we use the Lord’s Day for Him, and for His interests. It is the one day in the week that reminds of the Lordship of Christ over us.