Young People’s Blog

“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

Today we have one final verse that tells us how we should behave toward others. We learned from other verses (in the last two days) how we should not take revenge on others who do wrong to us, but rather do our best to live peaceably with them. But here we are told to do something positive.

Whenever we have the chance, we are to do good to everyone, and especially to other believers. If we see someone else having a problem, it is easy to say, “Let them look after it themselves!” But you will remember the story of the good Samaritan, and how he helped the man who had been robbed and beaten up. The Lord Jesus told this story because it is a good example for us. We are to be ready to help others whenever we can, and especially other believers.

Also, when we help unbelievers, it gives us a good chance to tell them about the Lord Jesus. Many people have been saved in this way.

“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18).

Here is another verse that tells us how we should act in this world, in getting along with other people. When we go through this world, whether at school, at work, or in our spare time, we will encounter all kinds of people. Some people are easy to get along with, even though they are not believers. But with others, it may be very hard to have a good relationship with them. Some people are very unhappy in their lives, and seem to take pleasure in being irritable and grouchy.

As Christians, we are to do our best to get along with everyone, even if they make it difficult for us. Many unsaved people in this world are very unhappy, and their lives are not going well for them. They may have family troubles, troubles at work, money problems, etc. They often react by being difficult and hard to get along with. You and I are to do our best not to provoke them, but rather to live in peace with them. This may not always be possible, but we are not to be hard to get along with!

“Recompense to no man evil for evil…for it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:17,19).

When someone does something wrong toward us, the first thought in our natural hearts is to think of some way to do something in revenge to them. That is why we see so much “road rage” on the highways today. That is why fights break out between people. That is why there are so many shootings today, especially in North America. Someone feels disrespected or wronged, and they fight back.

But our verses for today tell us not to do this. Rather, we are to remember that it is the Lord’s job to take vengeance on people who do wrong; it is not our job. The Lord sees all the wrong done in this world, and He will punish those who have wronged others. Our job as Christians is to show grace and love, and to tell them about Christ.

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

This is a wonderful verse, for it tells us that if we call on the name of the Lord, we will be saved. On one occasion when this verse was being discussed, one Christian commented that it was important to call on the Lord in the right way. But then another believer answered and said, “If your son was drowning in a lake or a pool, and he called out to you for help, I am sure that you wouldn’t pay much attention to the kind of language he used. It you saw that he was drowning, you would immediately go out and help him, however he called out to you.

It is the same with God. Yes, it is good to address God in the right way, but if we recognize who He is, and call upon Him, He will hear us and save us.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:35).

Here we have another question with the same answer as yesterday’s question. Yesterday we saw that if God was for us, no one could be against us. Today we see that no one can separate us from the love of Christ. The Lord may allow many difficulties in our lives, in order to test and strengthen our faith. But His love never changes. His ways with us may change, for we have many things to learn. But His love is always the same.

It is sad when we sometimes hear a husband say to his wife, or a wife say to her husband, “I don’t love you anymore!” This can happen, but the Lord will never say this to us. Even as Christians, sometimes we behave very badly, and the Lord has to speak to us by allowing difficulties in our lives. But let us always remember that if we repent and confess our sins, we will find that His love is still the same. What a wonderful comfort this is!

“If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

I have heard people comment on this verse, saying that “it is good to have God on our side.” However, I would suggest that this is not the right way to look at this verse. Rather, we should make sure that we are on God’s side. Sometimes we make our own plans, and then ask the Lord to help us carry out those plans. However, the Lord cannot help us in our plans, if those plans are not according to His will.

Rather, we should first of all ask the Lord to show us His will. Then we can go ahead with confidence, for in the pathway of His will, all His power is with us. Can anyone oppose the Lord? No, for the Lord is able to help us overcome any difficulty in our lives, when we are in the pathway of His will. No one can be against us if we are walking with the Lord. Satan may cause difficulties for us, but he cannot win against the Lord.

“For even Christ pleased not Himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached Thee fell on Me” (Romans 15:3).

When the Lord Jesus came into this world, He did not come to please Himself. In fact, if you read through the four gospels, you will never find one occasion where the Lord Jesus did something for His own pleasure. He was the only one who had the right to do as He pleased, for He created this world, but He always did the will of His Father. All His acts were for the glory of God and the blessing of others.

More than this, when people in this world reproached (or rejected and spoke against) God, it was the Lord Jesus who bore that reproach, for He showed people exactly what God was like. This world did not want God, and they did not want the Lord Jesus.

However, all this reproach and rejection did not stop the Lord Jesus from going to the cross, and dying for us. All this shows how much He loved us!

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

This is an absolute statement; there are no qualifications with it. God says “all things,” and does not make any exceptions to this statement. Sometimes some very sad things happen in our lives, even as Christians, and we may find it very hard to think that they are working for our good. But the Lord says so. How can something tragic or sad work for our good? It is because God teaches us important lessons through the difficulties and problems in our lives, and perhaps we learn things through troubles that we could not have learned any other way. Earlier in this same chapter, the Apostle Paul says that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18). So let us remember that everything that happens in our lives is allowed of the Lord, even if someone else causes the trouble. The Lord is going to use it to “work together for good.”

“And being in the house He [the Lord Jesus] asked them, 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” (Mark 9:33-34).

In our verse today we see the real problem with the disciples. Instead of wanting to see God glorified, they were concerned about themselves, as to who should be the greatest. If they had been in God’s presence by prayer and fasting, they would have realized how wrong this attitude was, and they would have confessed it as sin. But when they wanted the glory for themselves, the Lord Jesus would not give them power over demons.

Sadly, this same attitude is sometimes a problem among Christians today. We want to be important before others, instead of realizing that we are called to be like the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus had to remind those disciples that the one who wanted to be first should be the servant of all. That is what the Lord Jesus did when He was in this world; He was the Servant of all. We should always be thinking of God’s glory, not our own.

“And when He [the Lord Jesus] was come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And He said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:28-29).

While Jesus, along with Peter, James, and John were up on the mount of transfiguration, the man with the son who took fits had evidently come to the other disciples, asking them to cast out the demon. But the disciples were not able to cast him out. Previously (Mark 6:7,13), the Lord had given his disciples power over demons, so that they should have been able to cast this demon out. But when they asked the Lord Jesus why they could not do it, He simply said that there needed to be prayer and fasting. What did He mean?

Perhaps you can think about this a little, and tomorrow we will see why the disciples had no power to cast out the demon.