Young People’s Blog

Dear Young Christian:

Sometimes we talk about a person getting cold in their soul, and in contrast we say that someone is, on fire for the Lord. Which are you? The Lord says, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot” (Revelation 3:15). He doesn’t want lukewarm Christians.

Here is an interesting excerpt I read earlier today that brought this to mind: A musician was tuning his instrument before beginning to play, and the onlookers noticed that he held it to the heat for a few seconds. In reply to their enquiry, he said, “I can’t get any music out of a cold instrument.”

There is an interesting application in this for us as believers. If we are cold and indifferent to the Lord and His Word, we are not going to be the harmonious testimony that He wants us to be. The world is not going to hear the sweet music of Christ in our lives, which is only obtained by walking in the warmth of His love and being on fire for Him. Let’s warm up this week, by keeping close to the Lord.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

The Ascension

“And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen” (Luke 24:50-53).

The disciples watched the Lord Jesus go up into heaven, as He had told them on a number of occasions that He would. During the previous three-and-a-half years they had come to know Him as the Son of God, sent to earth by His Father. They had seen Him die on the cross. They had witnessed Him in a resurrection body for forty days. And now they had seen His glorious ascension back to heaven. No wonder they worshipped Him. No wonder their hearts were full of joy and praise. Even now, almost two thousand years later, our hearts should be full of praise and worship as we consider the Lord’s birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, and His soon return to call us to Himself.

 

Value

I have been up the Eiffel Tower in Paris on more than one occasion. It is interesting to see the city from this vantage point, especially at night. Paris is indeed “The City of Lights.”

The Eiffel Tower was designed, and its construction engineered by Gustave Eiffel for the world’s fair in 1889, and to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Eiffel was a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In 2012 The Eiffel Tower was designated as the world’s most valuable monument, at a price tag of 546 billion dollars. It also holds the record as the world’s most visited, paid monument…and from the crowds I’ve seen there I can believe it.

But what about the Cross of Calvary? It is perhaps the most despised and forgotten monument in the history of the world. And yet, as to value, it is beyond any price that earth could give it. The great question is: what does it mean to you? Can you say, like Paul, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14)? Is the cross of Christ precious to you? Do you know its value?

 

First Things

“And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, gather of it every man according to his eating…And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating…And they gathered it every morning” (Exodus 16:15-18,21).

What are the first things you do in the morning just after you get out of bed? Our first pursuits in the morning generally indicate where our hearts are. The children of Israel had to gather their daily food first thing in the morning, or they would be too late. If a believer can rise from his bed, and go about the business of life before he has looked up to the Lord, and turned to the Scriptures, it is more than probable that his heart has grown cold and gotten away from the Lord. Nothing can possibly make up for a lack of food, for “Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11).

 

Tranquilizer

Our tongues are what so often get us into trouble! They speak hasty, angry, spiteful words, that can never be taken back or erased from memory.

Recently I saw the following quote in a book called, Facts of Life and Bits of Wisdom.

“There is no tranquillizer in the world more effective, than a few kind words.”

It reminded me of this verse from Scripture: “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).

How many times have we caused problems, or added to a bad situation, by saying things that should not have been said? A few kind words uttered in the proper spirit and with the proper attitude can often calm someone who is upset or against us, and smooth out an otherwise volatile circumstance. Let’s learn to give “soft answers,” rather than “grievous words,” which only compound a problem instead of helping it.

 

How Often?

“Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways” (Isaiah 58:2).

Here are some interesting statistics published by a well-known Christian organization on how often Christians read their Bibles:

19% read daily

25% read a few times a week

14% read once a week

22% read a few times a month

18% never read

Even if these statistics are only somewhat accurate, they are appalling and certainly worth considering. The real question of course is, which category do you fit into? If it is anything other than “read daily” let’s try to raise the percentages by becoming more diligent with our Bible reading. Let’s be like those from Berea, of which we read, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).

 

Take a Moment

“My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up” (Psalm 5:3).

Will you take a moment Christian,
From your busy life today,
To read a little Scripture,
And to meditate and pray?

Will you stop and thank the Father,
That He sent His only Son?
Will you thank the dear Lord Jesus,
For the victory that He won?

Will you take but just a moment,
At the start of every meal,
To say a word of thank you,
And to tell Him how you feel?

And when the day is over,
Will you kneel in prayer tonight,
And ask for care and mercies,
While you sleep till morning light?

Young Christian take a moment,
Just a moment of your time!

 

Dear Young Christian:

“Fools make a mock at sin” (Proverbs 14:9).

Here is a verse to consider as we head out again into a world where sin is made light of, and not only practiced, but preached and glorified.

The unbeliever thinks very lightly of sin, laughs at sin, participates in sin, and as the Bible states, enjoys “the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25).

Yes, sin has its momentary pleasures, but that is as far as it goes…momentary and fleeting at best! Let’s be careful that we don’t get caught up with the spirit of the world, where sin seems to be one big joke. God does not look lightly on sin and neither should we. David said, “Take not the spirit of Thy holiness from me” (Psalm 51:11 JND). In other words, Don’t let me get used to sin. The only way this will happen will be in staying close to the Lord and in reading His Word. Otherwise we will become desensitized to sin and lose a sense of what holiness really is.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Precious

“Unto you therefore which believe He is precious”
(2 Peter 2:7).

There was a time in our life, before we were saved, when we saw no beauty in The Lord Jesus. “And when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2). Then after we were saved we saw Him differently. Now we say, “He is altogether lovely” (Song of Solomon 5:16).There are innumerable reasons why He is so precious to us. Here are just a few:

1. He loved us. “The Son of God, who loved me”
(Galatians 2:20).

2. He died for us. “He laid down his life for us”
(1 John 3:16).

3. He redeemed us. “I have redeemed thee”
(Isaiah 43:1).

4. He cares for us. “He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

5. He is coming for us. “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself” (John 14:3).

What a wonderful, precious Saviour we have. Let’s worship and praise Him today, and every day of our life.

 

Emptiness

“Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness” (Proverbs 14:13).
“And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour…And, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit
under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11).

Do these verses describe your life? Empty! I hope not! But if they do, there is good news for you. The empty joy that comes through living for self and indulging in all the pleasures and activities of the world all the time can be exchanged for real, genuine, and lasting joy. This is by knowing Jesus and trusting Him as your Saviour. He is the healer of broken hearts and lives. When you know the Lord and live for Him, “Your joy no man taketh from you” (John 16:22). Later John wrote, “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full” (1 John 1:4). Do you know this “fulness of joy”? (Psalm 16:11).