Young People’s Blog

Our Responsibility — Part 4

“Freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

When we think of what we have been freely given by grace, it ought to motivate us to tell others of God’s wonderful gifts and blessings through Christ and the work of Calvary.

May the Lord help us to be sensitive to the need of the lost and perishing people all around us. May we wake up and realize the truth expressed by the four lepers in the days of Elisha; “This is a day of glad tidings, and we hold our peace” (2 Kings 7:9)?

The time is short. The coming of the Lord is near! Soon the day of grace will be over, and there will be no more opportunities to speak a word for Christ or to have compassion on the lost souls around us. Let’s pray that the Lord will help us to be faithful in the responsibility that He has given to each one of us, so that we will have the joy of hearing from His lips these words: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21).

 

Our Responsibility — Part 3

Not only is it the responsibility of the Christian to spread the gospel to the lost, but it is a privilege that should be motivated by love for Christ. “For the love of Christ constraineth us” (2 Corinthians 5:14).

If we really have a genuine love for Christ and if our hearts are really occupied with Him, then we will not be able to keep from reaching out to others in some way. When the authorities forbade Peter and John to preach the gospel, they replied, “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).

If we have been with the Lord and have enjoyed His presence, our hearts will overflow to those around us. Jesus said to His disciples, “Ye shall also bear witness, because ye have been with Me” (John 15:27). It is a wonderful thing to enjoy the Bible for ourselves; but let us also in love share what we have with others lest we become stagnant in our Christian life. The Dead Sea is dead because it has no outlet. It always receives but never gives. It has no overflow to start a little stream in the desert around it.

 

Our Responsibility — Part 2

Many souls are headed for a lost eternity in hell. Should we as believers be indifferent to the needs of those about us? If a child were to step out into a busy street, certainly we would try to rescue it! If our neighbor’s house were on fire and he were asleep inside, would we not do everything in our power to try to warn him of his danger? Yet many of our neighbors and friends, and perhaps even family members, are in greater danger than that of being on a busy street or in a burning house. They are asleep in their sins, indifferent to where they are going when they leave this world, and are in danger of losing their souls for eternity! It is indeed our responsibility to faithfully and lovingly warn them of their lost condition!

The Apostle Paul could say, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (2 Corinthians 5:11).

He also stated: “For necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16).

What are we doing about our responsibility?

 

Our Responsibility — Part 1

What a wonderful thing it is for believers to know that their sins are forgiven and that they have a home prepared for them by the Lord Jesus. Also, what a wonderful hope we have in knowing that at any moment we may hear the “shout” and be caught away from this world to meet the Lord in the air, and to be forever with Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout…and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

But why is it that God has chosen to leave us here instead of taking us to heaven the moment we get saved? It is because we are left to represent Christ in this world where He was rejected and crucified. We are left to worship and glorify Him, and left to shine as lights, and to be ambassadors as we wait for His return. “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). He has given us a message to deliver to precious souls that He loves, and we are responsible to go to them with this message of salvation that they need so much.

 

Dear Young Christian:

I am sitting in the Portland Oregon airport waiting for a flight to Phoenix Arizona this morning. From Phoenix, I hope to fly on to Oakland California, and after a few days’ visit there, fly to Chicago, then Philadelphia, and finally to Binghamton, New York. It is amazing how we can zigzag around the world in this day of fast, modern transit, but what I am really looking forward to is that last and final flight to the Father’s house.

That final boarding call, “Come up hither” (Revelation 4:1), will be the best boarding announcement of all. It will take me nonstop to meet the Lord Jesus in the air. It will be a one-way flight to heaven, with no baggage and no delays. This flight might be today or this week, and for those of us who know the Lord as Saviour it should be the anticipation of our hearts.

In the meantime, keep Christ before you as the object and the goal, and, “Rejoice in the Lord alway” (Philippians 4:4).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Distracted

“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3).

Often when we come together to worship the Lord our minds are distracted easily with other things. What we did or didn’t do this past week: What we need to get done this week: that school project that is due…the work project that is almost finished…problems in our life…and so on.

It is wonderful when we meet to remember the Lord, and there don’t seem to be the distractions. I love to be at a meeting where the leading of the Spirit of God is really felt and experienced, and where there is worship and praise to God the Father and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. It is wonderful when distractions don’t seem to be a problem. The Lord loves to encourage us and those times are a closer glimpse of Himself and a little foretaste of heaven. As you meet to remember and worship the Lord today ask Him to help you not to be distracted. Let’s be like the Psalmist, who said, “I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation” (Psalm 111:1).

 

Ten More Minutes

“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 2:2).

Prince Napoleon, son of Napoleon III, served with the British army in Africa. One day he left camp with a troop of soldiers on an exploratory mission. Far from camp they stopped to rest and eat. It was a dangerous area and one of the men said uneasily, “We had better turn back, and if we don’t hurry we may be overtaken.”

Prince Napoleon’s reply was, “Just ten more minutes.”

However, before ten minutes were up they were overtaken and overpowered, and the Prince lost his life.

Upon receiving the news of his death, his grief-stricken mother exclaimed, “It was a great weakness from childhood. He never wanted to go to bed on time, or get up when he should, he always wanted ten more minutes.”

Prince Napoleon died because he believed he had ten more minutes. But there are many who are going into a lost eternity because they believe they still have time. We have no promise of any more minutes, but this present one — this fleeting NOW! The Bible says, “Make haste, and come…” (Luke 19:5).

 

Monthly Question Page

Q. When we pray, who are we to address? Is it always God the Father?

A. “And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you” (John 16:23). This verse teaches that we usually address the Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Lord was on earth the disciples could come directly to Him and make request, but after His ascension they would have the privilege of going directly to the Father.

However there are times when it is appropriate to address the Lord in prayers as well. For example, He is “the head of the body” (Colossians 1:18). As such we look to Him as members of His body, for guidance and direction, and those things that affect the body of Christ (His people here on earth) as a whole.

Another time we address the Lord directly is in connection with His being Lord of the Harvest. “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:38).

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

Guidance

“Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in Thy truth: unite my heart to fear Thy name” (Psalm 86:11).

Discerning the Lord’s mind is largely a question of the state of soul. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.” (Psalm 25:14). Is my eye single? Do I desire only His will? Am I not blinded through self-interest or self-will in some way? Do I refer all to the Lord, and wait on Him, to know His will? If so, He will guide. We do not expect any revelation, or anything extraordinary, but He, by laying on the mind what is pleasing to Him, or by some providential way, will indicate His will. This may be so distinct that it virtually amounts to a certainty in the mind, though we may not be able to prove it to another. The great thing is nearness to the Lord and a subject mind, with the desire, “Teach me Thy way” (Psalm 27:11). He sets before us an open door, with something to indicate that we may enter. We see His hand in it, recognize it, and act accordingly.

This is something we have to learn experimentally. It is not easy to teach it to another, because it is not a mere mental or intellectual operation.

 

Monthly Scripture Reading

John 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through Him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.