Young People’s Blog

Wasted Time

“That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15).

As a young person I wasted a lot of time! I did things that, while not wrong in themselves, had no eternal value. Time is something that can never be reversed or recovered once it is past. That is one reason we are told to, “Walk in wisdom…redeeming the time” (Colossians 4:5). In other words, we are to use the time we have wisely for the Lord’s glory and the blessing of others. We are to use our “now”because they quickly become our “past” and then it is too late.

The only time we have is whatever time is left before the Lord comes. We can, and should use that time carefully. Peter exhorts those of us who have wasted time in the past, and says, “That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God” (1 Peter 4:2). What will you do with the rest of your time?

 

Prayer Meeting

The great scientist, Michael Faraday (1791-1867), reputed to be the father of modern electronics, was lecturing to a large audience in London. After the applause had subsided, the Prince of Wales arose and proposed a motion of appreciation and congratulation to the lecturer. But when they looked around to find him, they found that he had already left the hall immediately after concluding his lecture. Only his closest friends knew where he had gone, and that the hour of the weekly prayer meeting had arrived. He had always maintained that he could not afford to miss the prayer meeting. This was the man believed by many to have had the most massive intellect that ever existed in the world.

What does the prayer meeting mean to you? In Acts 12 There was a prayer meeting on behalf of Peter who was in prison. “Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him” (Acts 12:5). At that prayer meeting there was a young person by the name of Rhoda (Acts 12:13). God allowed it so that she was the one who went to the door when Peter arrived, having just been miraculously delivered. That night she learned the value and power of the prayer meeting.

 

Tears

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4).

As young people we are not immune to sorrows and tears in our experiences of life. Sorrow comes to young and old alike, and tears are no respecter of age.

Some years ago an older brother wrote to a young sister who was going through some real sorrow. Here is an excerpt from the letter:

“May you know the joy of having the Lord Jesus wipe away the tears from your eyes, and know that it is more blessed to have Him wipe away your tears, than to have no tears to wipe away.”

The Lord never forgets one tear that has been shed by one of His own. David said, “Put thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?” (Psalm 56:8). Every tear you have ever cried is carefully preserved in His bottle, and recorded in His book. Someday those tears will be brought to our remembrance, and He will show us the purpose of blessing and comfort He had in letting us shed each one. Then we shall never cry another tear for all eternity.

 

First

My mother had an old saying, “First things first.” It is certainly true, that we always make time for the things that are important to us. That’s why we need to check our priority list from time to time and make sure we have things in the right order. Recently I saw the following quote on a billboard outside a local church building. It read:

“You always have time for the things you put first!”

This statement made me think of what the prophet Elijah said to the widow of Zarephath, who was gathering sticks for a fire to bake one last cake for herself and her son with the little bit of flour and oil that she had left in her home. He said, “Make me thereof a little cake first” (1 Kings 17:13). What a test of faith that must have been! However, because of her obedience and putting God first, we read in verse 16: “And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.”

When we put the Lord first, and make time for His work and His interests we will never be disappointed.

 

Dear Young Christian:

As the month of June draws quickly to a close we consider that give or take a few days, the year is half over. This is a good time to reflect and assess our spiritual progress so far, for 2015. Here are some questions we might ask ourselves in this regard.

1. Have we grown in our appreciation of the person and work of Christ?

2. Has our appetite for the Word of God increased?

3. Is our prayer life consistent?

4. Has our personal testimony grown brighter over the past 6 months?

God wants us to have spiritual growth and maturity in our Christian life. The last words that Peter penned by inspiration were, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).

How much growth have you experienced this year?

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Many or Few?

 “The desire of our soul is to Thy name, and to the remembrance of Thee” (Isaiah 26:8).

Are there just a few believers where you go each first day of the week to remember the Lord? There were some in the city of Troas many centuries ago. Here is what the Bible says about their weekly habit: “And upon the first day of the week…the disciples came together to break bread” (Acts 20:7). Were there many or few on those occasions? Scripture doesn’t tell us, because that is not what really mattered. What really mattered, and what was important to the believers in Troas was that they had the privilege of breaking bread every Lord’s Day with the Lord Jesus in their midst. His presence was what made it so real and special to them.

Is that what really matters to us? I love to see a young person, who really looks forward to the remembrance meeting, and being where the Lord has promised His presence. He has said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Will you be there today?

 

Battle With Self

Epitaph’s on tombstones are often very interesting and insightful as to the person who is buried beneath them. In the city of Chichester, in West Sussex, South-East England, there is such a marker. It reads:

Here lies an old soldier whom all must applaud;
He suffered much hardship at home and abroad;
But the hardest engagement he ever was in
Was the battle with self, for the conquest of sin.

Yes, there is a powerful enemy, Satan, who does not want us to be saved. And after we are saved he does not want us to be happy. “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

However, we can win the victory through Christ. The Apostle Paul said, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14). Whether it is coming to Christ for salvation, or living a victorious Christian life, we can overcome self and sin, through Christ…there is no other way to be TRIUMPHANT!

 

Monthly Question Page

Q. Who is the “host” or “innkeeper” in Luke 10:35 a picture of?

A. The Samaritan in this story is a picture of the Lord Jesus coming in grace to meet our need as sinners, pictured by the man in the ditch who had fallen among thieves. The “innkeeper” then is a picture of the Spirit of God. Often in the Bible the unnamed servant or man is used in this way. For example, Abraham’s servant sent to get a bride for his son Isaac, in Genesis 24; the servant sent to compel souls to come to the feast, in Luke 14; and the man who was carrying the pitcher of water, in Luke 22.

The “innkeeper” was instructed: “Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee” (Luke 10:35). So, the Lord Jesus said, “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16-17). The Spirit ministers to our needs in the absence of the Lord, who is now in heaven.

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

The 11th Commandment

Archbishop Usher (1581-1655) was once wrecked on the coast of Ireland, and almost destitute of clothing he wandered to the house of a local preacher. The preacher was quite wary of this stranger at his door, and somewhat coldly asked, “How many commandments are there?” This he did thinking to detect and expose an imposter.

“I can at once satisfy you that I am not the ignorant imposter you take me for,” replied the archbishop, “for there are most certainly eleven commandments in the Bible.”

“No,” was the sneering reply, “there are but ten commandments in my Bible. Tell me the eleventh and I will give you the help you need.”

The archbishop asked for a Bible. “There it is,” he said pointing to the verse, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34).

This so smote the conscience of the preacher that he did all he could for the comfort and help of the stranger at his door. Let us never forget to practice the eleventh commandment.

 

Monthly Scripture Reading

Genesis 2

2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.