Young People’s Blog

Christ Rejected

“When the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours” (Luke 20:14).

The husbandmen in this parable, told by the Lord, referred to the Jewish nation, and perhaps more particularly its religious leaders. The one they saw coming was the Lord Jesus, their Messiah, and their response was to kill Him. Yes, Jesus, the Son of God, was not wanted when He came to earth and was rejected by His own people, the Jews.

Thanks be to God though, that by His rejection the way to heaven has been opened, and you and I can go in. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:11-12).

The truth of this should fill our hearts with worship, praise and thanksgiving. Because He was rejected, we are now accepted. “Accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Accepted in Christ because of Calvary!

Where?

I remember Aunt Bernice very well. She was a quiet lady who lived simply, and for the Lord. She was saved as a teenager, and exhibited godly piety all the years of her life.

I will never forget standing by her bedside as she gently drew her last breath, a smile crossed her lips, and I knew she was safe home. “Absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

As I stood there, I thought of another soul who had passed into eternity earlier that week in the same hospital ward. He was a man who had been a fine, upstanding citizen in the town I live in. His reputation as a husband, father, business man and philanthropist was impeccable. But he was not saved. The wails that filled that hospital ward I will never forget. He was in agony, not so much physically, but emotionally, as he realized he was facing eternity.

What a contrast! I don’t believe the man was ever saved, and as far as we know went into a lost eternity. What about you? Remember Job’s question: “But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?” (Job 14:10). Where will you be?

Plots and Prayers

“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Daniel prayed while his enemies plotted against him. Great and many were the powers assembled to bring about his downfall.

He was well aware of the hatred of his foes, yet he did not seek to raise a petition to the king. He did what believers are exhorted to do — he took it to the Lord in prayer.

No threat of danger could move him from the course which he knew was right. The Lord said to Jeremiah when he, too, was confronted with opposition, “Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee” (Jeremiah 1:8).

Are you aware of hostile forces, human or satanic, which are plotting your downfall? Then do as Daniel did. He made the whole affair a matter of constant prayer. “He kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime” (Daniel 6:10).

His faith was wholly vindicated, for God’s handling of the matter brought destruction to his enemies and deliverance to him. Don’t forget, you have the same God that Daniel had!

The Twelve Apostles – Part 11

James the Less

We have this Apostle, with his description, mentioned in connection with his mother, as she, with other women, observed the Lord on the cross. “Mary the mother of James the less” (Mark 15:40). He is also referred to simply as James in Matthew 27:56, Mark 16:1 and Luke 24:10. Each time he is mentioned in these four scriptures, it is in connection with his being the son of Mary.

His mother must have been a woman of real faith and piety, and must have had a great deal of godly influence on her son, who it is commonly thought wrote the Epistle of James. Those of us who have had godly, Christian mothers should be very thankful for such a heritage and
upbringing.

James was a common name and is found also among the brethren of the Lord. But James the Less may have been the same person as “James the son of Alphaeus” (Luke 6:15).

According to tradition he later preached in Palestine and Egypt. Little is known about him, but he seems to have been a man of strong character and conviction, and eternity will declare the fruit of his faithful labors for his Master.

Do Not Disturb

“Let us alone” (Luke 4:34).

Doubtless we have all seen a notice with the words, “Do Not Disturb!” Often this sign is pinned on the door of someone that is so busy that he wants to be left alone, or so tired that he wishes to rest or sleep in quietness and without interruption.

It is a fact that in reality none of us likes to be disturbed. We like to go about our various duties unmolested and uninterrupted.

It was a demon possessed man who cried out, “Let us alone.” Controlled by an evil spirit he said, “Don’t disturb.” Yet we see how necessary it was that he should be disturbed. Christ disturbed and drove away the demon out of the man, who then knew a freedom he had never known before.

In reality, nothing is worse than for God to leave us alone. How sad is the Old Testament passage, “Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone” (Hosea 4:17).

It is a great mercy, not always recognized immediately, that God sometimes jolts us out of our complacency.

I Belong to Him

“Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory”
(1 Peter 1:7-8).

Off the coast of Greece the fishing boats were setting out to sea. On the shore a crowd was watching, and saying goodbye to the sailors. A few young girls were waving, each one with a white scarf around their head. As soon as the boats were out of sight the girls took off their white scarves and put on black ones. “Why?” asked a visitor of Kristina, one of the girls.

“I wear the black scarf to show that my lover is at sea,” she said. “I want everyone to know that I belong to Paulos.”

So, Kristina, like the other Greek girls, wore her black scarf to show that her heart was with her loved one.

Our beloved is the Lord Jesus, whom we cannot see as yet. Are we as true to Him as those Greek girls were to their loved ones? We have a Saviour whom the world has refused. Let’s be faithful to Him during the little while that we have left us down here.

Dear Young Christian:

Do you really love the Lord? The writer of Psalm 116 begins with the statement, “I love the Lord.” He then goes on to give a reason why: “Because He hath heard my voice and my supplications.”

What a multitude of reasons we could give for loving the Lord Jesus. We love Him for what He is, the eternal Son of God. We love Him for what He became, a perfect, sinless man. We love Him for what He has done for us, by dying on the cross, and we love Him for what He is doing as our living Saviour now.

Like the Psalmist, we love Him for hearing our supplications; we love Him for His grace and for His mercy. We can say with John “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19), and we can say with Peter, “Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee” (John 21:15-17). How much do you love the Lord? Really think about it this week.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Bethel

“And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God…Then Jacob said unto his household…Let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God” (Genesis 35:1-3).

Bethel means “the house of God.” Jacob had a desire to respond to God’s request in the first verse of the chapter to go to Bethel to worship. The Lord Jesus has asked us to go to the house of the Lord today to worship Him. What a privilege it is to respond to His request and remember Him in His death. There’s something really simple about salvation…the word is, BELIEVE. There’s something really simple about what to do as a Christian…the request is, REMEMBER. Are you going up to Bethel today?

David said: “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1). Are we glad for the opportunity and privilege of going into the presence of the Lord with other believers at the beginning of another week?

Daily – Part 5

“They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required” (Ezra 3:4).

The burnt offering always brings before us what the person and work of Christ means to the heart of God the Father. It speaks of His delight in what His beloved and only begotten Son has accomplished to His glory and satisfaction when He “offered Himself without spot to God” (Hebrews 9:14). It is the ground of all our blessing and acceptance before God, and by faith we need to lay hold of this wonderful and vital truth.

Do you know the value of the work of Christ? Does it mean something to your heart, and are you basing your hope and eternity on what was accomplished there at the cross?

The person and work of Christ is precious to the heart of God every day, and it will never lose that value and preciousness.

May it be precious to us as well, from the moment we are saved, and more and more every day of our life.

Daily – Part 4

“Exhort one another daily” (Hebrews 3:13).

Here is instruction to speak of Christ and His Word to our fellow Christians, and to seek to be a help and encouragement to them on a daily basis. Another translation puts it this way: “Encourage yourselves each day.”

We need one another. There is so much to discourage us every day as we live in a world that hates Christ, and we face an enemy, Satan, who is opposed to everything that is of God. The Apostle John exhorted the Christians at Sardis to “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain” (Revelation 3:2). This is a good word for us in these days when so many real Christians are feeling the pressures of life and giving up. Try every day to be an encourager. Remember, many of your fellow young people are discouraged and distressed. The prophet said, “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall” (Isaiah 40:30).

Don’t forget your daily responsibility to exhort and encourage. Not only will others be blessed, but you will too.

Continued…