Young People’s Blog

Noise – Part 1

“In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).

Everywhere they can be seen, heads bobbing, shoulders pointing, toes tapping, fingers drumming. They come in all sizes, shapes, and styles. Male or female, young or old, they can be found almost anywhere, jogging in the park, sitting in the airport, on the way to school, or just gazing out there somewhere. They have one thing in common, those little earphones, attached by a thin wire to a miniature MP3 or CD player fastened to a belt or tucked in a pocket.

Their musical interest may vary from Brahms to the
rowdiest beat of hammering rock. Of course there are spiritual songs and even the beauty of the spoken Scriptures to be heard by this device, so it can’t be all bad — can it?

Elijah discovered the need for quietness. He had won a great victory at Carmel and the fire from heaven testified who was the true God and who was His servant. Then there was Jezebel, who threatened the prophet with death on the morrow. The record states, “and when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life” (1 Kings 19:3). The Lord met Elijah at Horeb and called him to stand on the mount.

Continued…

 

To Whom Shall We Go?

“From whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord” (Psalm 121:1-2).

Lord Jesus, to whom shall we go,

In all of the struggles of life,

With all of our questions and woe,

With all of our fears and our strife?

Lord Jesus, to whom shall we go,

None other can counsel like Thee?

No greater a refuge we know,

All wisdom and safety’s in Thee.

Lord Jesus, to whom shall we go?

No, never another shall be,

So glorious and sweet, while below,

Our source and supply Thou shalt be.

Lord Jesus, to whom shall we go,

Till gathered in heaven with Thee,

Thy fulness and rest we shall know?

No, none but Lord Jesus, to Thee!

 

Dear Young Christian:

As another week begins, here is a good verse to consider: “The Son of Man…gave…to every man his work” (Mark 13:34).

Do you think that you don’t have any service for the Lord? This verse says otherwise. He gave to every man his work. You have a niche to fill this week that only you can fill. No one else can fill it quite as well as you can. Don’t shirk your responsibilities. You have been chosen (and at some time you will go through God’s school of preparation) to do a very necessary work for the Lord. You may not think it’s much — others may not even know about it — but you need to do it anyway. Keep serving!

The time for serving the Lord is now, and you won’t have that privilege in heaven. Make sure you use the opportunities while you can, and that you fulfill your ministry, so that in the end the Lord can say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Four Sacrifices

“Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor” (Ephesians 5:2).

“By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15).

“But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased”
(Hebrews 13:16).

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

As we consider the supreme sacrifice of the Lord Jesus at Calvary, it will create the sacrifice of praise in our hearts and on our lips, and will motivate us to sacrifice our temporal means, and to give ourselves as a living sacrifice for the Lord’s glory and for the blessing of others.

 

Good or Bad News

“Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth”
(Luke 21:26).

I like to keep up on what’s going on in the world. I read the newspaper when I get a chance, and listen to a newscast from time to time. However, it must be very depressing for people who are constantly reading, listening to or watching the news, hour by hour, day in and day out.

There is so little good news in the world today. In fact it seems to me that there has never been a time in history when the above verse has been more true of the masses of humanity than the day in which we live. The Lord pointed it out as a characteristic of the end times, and certainly these are the end times.

What amazes me is that in a world of bad news, people are so slow to listen to or accept the good news of the gospel. Paul said, “We declare unto you glad tidings” (Acts 13:32). Thankfully there is still the good news that, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Have you received and believed it?

 

Monthly Question Page

Q. Are “sign gifts” applicable to the work of the Holy Spirit today?

A. As we noted in last month’s question “sign gifts” were given to confirm the Word spoken, not to believers, but unbelievers. “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not” (1 Corinthians 14:22).

There is no promise in the Bible that these gifts would continue. “Whether there be tongues, they shall cease” (1 Corinthians 13:8). The gifts that will continue are given in Ephesians, “And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11). We don’t have apostles and prophets alive today, but we have their inspired writings, and we certainly have evangelists and teachers. Ephesians 4:13 tells us that these gifts are given until the Lord comes, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”

Do you have a question? Email us at [email protected]

Don’t Give Up

“Continue Thou” (2 Timothy 3:14).

There are times when we get disheartened and are tempted to give up. There may be a spiritual reason for this, or perhaps the reason is physical.

A bottle of medicine will do good sometimes, but there are undoubtedly occasions when it is more needful to shake the patient than shake the bottle.

When David spoke to Solomon concerning the building of the temple, he said, “Be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed” (1 Chronicles 22:13).

The task before Solomon was a great one so David said again, “Arise therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee” (1 Chronicles 22:16).

The Word of God is full of exhortation to continue, even when the task seems hopeless. As we approach the end of another month we need to realize that it was the Lord that brought us to the beginning of the month and the Lord who has enabled us to continue. Let the fact of His help given thus far stimulate us for the future. Hesitancy and weakness are only found in us, never in Him.

 

Monthly Scripture Reading

Luke 22

13 And they went, and found as He had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.

14 And when the hour was come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.

15 And He said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:

16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

17 And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:

18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

19 And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me.

20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you.

21 But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth Me is with Me on the table.

 

Success

I had some medical tests done at the Centre for Successful Aging in southern New Jersey. It made me think of how the Lord defined the word “success,” when speaking to Joshua. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8).

Only as we read, meditate, and obey the Word of God, can we claim to be successful in life. God does not measure our success by the good grades we get, how much money we make, or how well we take care of our bodies. It is important to work hard, provide for our temporal needs, and not neglect our physical being of course, but more important is our obedience to the Word of God, and our spiritual life and walk of faith with the Lord Jesus. This is how success will be measured when we get to heaven, the final tally is in, and “everyone of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

 

Dear young Christian:

I am writing this calendar page while staying as a guest in a home where there is a scripture text over the living room doorway, with the words:

“WE LOOK FOR THE SAVIOUR.”
Philippians 3:20

It has made we think of some other verses that tell us that we should not just be waiting for the return of the Lord Jesus, but that we should be watching or looking as well. Here are a couple of verses that came to mind:

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

“Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching” (Luke 12:37).

Will we be truly looking for the Lord Jesus this week? So often I lose sight of the fact that He may come at any moment. As a result I get weary and discouraged. Don’t let it happen to you. “Look for the Saviour” every day!

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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