Young People’s Blog

Monthly Scripture Reading

Revelation 22

16 I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star.

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

 

Humility

“God…giveth grace to the Humble” (James 4:6).

Humility is one of the loveliest flowers that springs in the garden of the believer’s heart. We are all inclined to pride and vanity by nature. When the Spirit of Christ possesses us, we will display that lowliness and meekness which always characterized our blessed Lord. He said: “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:29).

Where this lowly spirit prevails, it is easy to extend forgiveness to those who have offended us. To many this seems like the bondage of slavery, but it is the very opposite. Greatness is evidenced by one’s readiness to deny self and to serve others for the sake of the one of whom we read, “The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). We cannot share in His atoning or redemptive work, but we can and should follow Him in His life of patient service for the blessing of a needy world.

 

Dear Young Christian:

“I hope to get a lot accomplished this week!” How often have we said these words, and sincerely meant it? Yet at the end of the week we’re frustrated because we didn’t get done what we had hoped to do. Maybe it was laziness, or neglect; maybe interference from others; or maybe circumstances beyond our control. But whatever the reason, we were unable to accomplish all that we had hoped and planned.

Hope and plans connected with this life are uncertain at best. That’s why it is important and vital to have hope in God, and in Christ. The Psalmist said, “That the generation to come…might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God” (Psalm 78:6-7). So as you take up the tasks of life this week and set your hopes and goals for whatever needs to be done, remember, as believers, whatever happens, and however much we may fail in reaching our weekly expectations, our God is the same and our hope in Him will never fail.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Sacrifice

“Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God” (Hebrews 10:7).

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

A sacrifice for the sins of the world was needed. Man was hopeless and helpless, lost and away from God. Who could come to do the will of God? Who could bear the great burden of sin that had to be dealt with? Christ was the only one, and in our verse we see He responded to the will of God, and we read, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). No one else was capable. No one else loved that much. Let’s remember today as we gather around the Lord Jesus that His love was so strong that death could not quench it. He willingly offered Himself without spot to God in order that we might go free. He was the only perfect sacrifice, and as a result we have free access to heaven through faith in Him.

 

Perfect

The Gospel presents to us…

A perfect work!

“I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do” (John 17:4).

By a perfect person!

“Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him” (John 13:31).

To give us a perfect standing!

“If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him” (John 13:32).

As loved with a perfect love!

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18).

To bring us to a perfect day!

“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (1 Corinthians 13:10).

 

Communion

The news report read something like this:

On the 22nd of June 1983 a little after 8 o’clock, a train entered Tokyo station, but for some unexplained reason the doors remained closed, imprisoning 2,500 travellers. A detailed inspection revealed the fact that the guilty party was an insect 3 millimetres long in the electric circuit of the train.

Young people, let us learn a lesson from the incident! Our communion with the Lord can be interrupted by little things which seem to us quite insignificant. A sharp word, a little twisting of the truth, a little dishonesty, a little lack of purity…these may be the insects which prevent us from having sweet communion with our Saviour and Friend. The doors cannot be opened without self-judgment in the light of the Word of God. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Have you judged the little sins in your life today?

 

The Twelve Apostles – Part 9

Bartholomew

“And when it was day, He called unto Him His disciples: and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles…Bartholomew” (Luke 6:13-14).

His name appears in each list of the disciples (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13). Other than this we know little about him from Scripture. Some scholars have equated him with Nathaniel, but there is no scriptural basis to back this except by the inference given in John 1:45-46 when he is called by Philip, and in John 21:2, when he joined Peter and others in their fishing expedition, and the Lord appeared to them in resurrection the next morning.

It is interesting and instructive to see the different roles that each of the twelve disciples played. They must have been so different from one another in personality, temperament, and certainly in upbringing and background. But the Lord had a special and unique place for each one in His work and service, both while he was here on earth with them, and after He ascended back to heaven, and left them to carry on the work of making known the gospel.

 

Finger Work

“This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19).

Egypt’s magicians had to admit, “This is the finger of God.” The whole teaching of Scripture leads us to see that God’s finger is more powerful than man’s fist.

The language of the Bible is often figurative but even more forceful because of the figures used. Listen to this from the pen of David, who wrote, “When I consider Thy heavens, the work of  Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man?” (Psalm 8:3-4).

When the threatening fist of man is raised, then look up to the heavens and remember the finger of God. When the finger of God is raised, all hostile fists must fall, and when the finger of God writes, it makes an indelible and unalterable impression.

The Lord said: “But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you” (Luke 11:20). If the finger of God is thus described, how safe are they who are in His hands.

 

Bumper Stickers

I find bumper stickers intriguing. Here are a couple of interesting ones I noticed recently:

The God who holds the universe…
is the God who holds our hand.

Here is how the inspired writer in the Old Testament expressed it: “Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand” (Psalm 73:23).

The New Testament writer, the Apostle Paul said, “The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing” (Philippians 4:5-6). In other words, the Lord is right there! Do we feel His presence? The conscious warmth and strength of His hand is what will give us courage to move forward in the struggles of life and the heat of spiritual battle.

I saw another bumper sticker that had a similar message. It said:

Fear will leave us
when we remember that
Jesus is with us.

 

Dear Young Christian:

I just received word today that a sister in Christ, whom I have known for many years, died last week, and is now, in the language of Scripture, “Absent from the body, and present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

The thing that is so striking about it is, that she went from the poorest of circumstances to the glory and wonder of heaven. As a young girl, because she was crippled, she was abandoned by her parents and for the rest of her life lived in a facility in one of the Caribbean islands. This facility defies description, along with the heat, the bugs, and the smell. It was hard for me to visit there, although I often did it for her sake.

Imagine going from one extreme to the other. Imagine the joy and ecstasy of the presence of the Lord Jesus, and never to leave it again. Soon we will all be there. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump” (1 Corinthians 15:52). I, for one, can’t wait!

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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