Young People’s Blog

Priests

“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

All believers in the Lord Jesus, whether male or female, young or old, are priests. In other words, we have been given the privilege of being able to come into the Lord’s presence to offer sacrifices of praise to Him.

“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). We can all do this. It requires no gift. Only certain ones of the Jewish religion were allowed to offer sacrifices. But in Christianity we can ALL do it — because of the work of Christ. Let’s praise Him today. “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:5-6).

 

Sides With God

“For true and righteous are His judgments”
(Revelation 19:2).

Susannah Wesley, the mother of 20 children, spoke seriously to her son John, about his need of salvation, and he responded glibly and indifferently, “Why mother, you could not be happy in heaven if you knew I was in hell.”

She was equal to the occasion however, replying, “Son, if you go on rejecting Christ as you do and end up in hell, I will fully take sides with God against you for eternity.” This struck him hard enough that he had no rest and peace of soul until he finally submitted to the Lord Jesus. After that he was used greatly by the Lord in declaring the precious gospel of God for many years, in many places, with the result that great numbers were saved.

What a serious thing it will be to have family and loved ones standing with the Lord Jesus at the Great White Throne, as the lost are judged and cast into the Lake of Fire. Those who have prayed for you on earth and begged you to turn to the Saviour will fully take sides with God in your eternal banishment to hell.

 

Service

“By love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).

Someone has said: “True greatness is not attained by giving orders, but by serving.”

We all love to give orders and to feel like we are in charge. In fact I have been accused of being a drill sergeant.

However, Scripture teaches that love delights to take the humble place and to serve. We have the perfect example of the Lord Jesus, who could say, “I am among you as He that serveth” (Luke 22:27).

If we love, we will serve. And this is the way of true greatness. The Lord said to His disciples: “Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:26-27).

Those who are greatest in the Kingdom of God are those that serve. Let’s learn to serve as the Lord Jesus did…in love, unselfishly, without seeking personal gain, and for the blessing and well-being of others. “For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister” (Mark 10:42).

 

Getting What You Want – Part 2

Life doesn’t consist in the amount of material things we have! “For a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15). So we further read…“Seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye doubtful of mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things” (Luke 12:29,39).

The Lord Jesus also warned: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness” (Luke 12:15). One day we are going to leave it all behind. That’s when we’ll have more than we ever dreamed of. In the meantime, God promises to take care of all, yes, all our needs — no matter what the circumstances may be.

Remember, God has promised to supply all our needs, not all our wants. “Seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you…A treasure in the heavens that faileth not…For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:31,33-34).

 

Getting What You Want – Part 1

“My God shall supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19).

“I want it!”

In this day of easy accessibility to material things this seems to be our attitude, more than just the fact that,

“I need it.”

The prodigal son summed it up when he said: “Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me” (Luke 15:12). In this regard the following article recently caught my eye; in short this is what it said:

There is a popular idea floating around about how to get whatever you want. It’s called “the law of attraction.” Just think and feel what you want to attract, and “the law” will use people, circumstances and events, to magnetize you to it. This positive-thinking philosophy teaches that the “energy” of your dominant thoughts “attracts” your circumstances.

You won’t find that idea anywhere in the Bible! As believers, we have good reason to be positive in our thinking, but it’s because God our Father understands and meets our needs. Because He cares for us, we don’t have to be anxious.

Continued…

 

Fire Triangle

“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity” (James 3:5-6).

When I was in the fire protection business, I used to give seminars and demos on fire prevention and safety. One thing we always taught was the fire triangle, or the three things that it takes to constitute a fire, namely, oxygen, heat, and fuel. In fighting a fire you eliminate one of the three elements and the triangle is broken, and as a result the fire is extinguished. This usually means eliminating the oxygen by smothering, or the heat by cooling.

However, when it comes to the gossip spreading fires that the tongue ignites, it is the fuel that needs to be removed. “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth” (Proverbs 26:20). Let’s eliminate the fires of rumor and gossip that do such great damage by learning to hold our tongue…by removing the fuel.

 

Dear Young Christian:

I have been reading a book entitled Under A Thatched Roof. It is an account by Rosemary Cunningham her work with her husband as pioneer missionaries amongst the Cayapo, a savage tribe of Indians in the interior of Brazil. In reading of the darkness of heathendom, the awful power of evil spirts, and the witchcraft connected with Satan’s domain, it has once again made me thankful for the light of Christianity, the fact that I was born in a country where that light still flickers, and that I was raised in a home where it burned brightly.

I, too, have had opportunities to visit parts of the world, where spiritual darkness is unhindered by the light of God’s Word and Christianity. It is a darkness not unlike the physical darkness in Egypt in Moses’ time: “Darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt” (Exodus 10:21).

Often, in our youth, we don’t appreciate and value such an upbringing, but it is a privilege. Don’t waste it!

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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Deep Waters

“Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul…I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow Me” (Psalm 69:1-2).

What an agonizing cry of desperation! David, who penned these words, was feeling this pressure from God and so cried out for help. Little did he realize that in type, he was speaking and feeling what our Lord Jesus experienced in connection with Calvary. The awfulness of God’s wrath against sin was so terrible that Jesus felt as if He were drowning in a turbulent ocean.

Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the great fish included these sentiments: “The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head” (Jonah 2:5). He, too, is a type of the Lord going under the waters of God’s judgment in those three hour of darkness when He bore, “our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24).

We will never know the full extent of what Jesus suffered, but we can always thank Him for bearing it for us.

 

Evil Speaking

“Speak not evil one of another, brethren” (James 4:11).

“Let all…evil speaking, be put away from you…and be ye kind one to another” (Ephesians 4:31-32).

When was the last time you said something mean, bad, or nasty about another believer? I heard an interesting quote the other day concerning talking about a brother or sister in Christ. The quote was this…

“Ask yourself three things before speaking:

Is it true?

Is it kind?

Is it necessary?”

There is a fine line between gossip and godly concern. Sometimes things need to be discussed and warning given, but make sure it’s godly concern and not gossip. Make sure that no more is said than is absolutely necessary. Solomon gave God’s instructions when he wrote: “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

 

The Shout

“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Usually when we think of a shout or shouting it is in the context of something surprising or frightening, or having some argumentative connotation.

However, I want to tell you something very interesting about that word “shout” in the context of today’s opening scripture. Greek scholars tell us that this is the only place in the New Testament where the Greek word here translated “shout” occurs, and it does not mean a shout of terror, or a startling shout. No, it is a word that denotes encouragement. It is the word that was used in olden times to encourage the rowers manning the oars on the galleys. It is the shout of encouragement for the people of God, the word that calls them, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. The One who loves us, who has done so much for us, will be there on the threshold of the Father’s house, and will take us in. What a scene that will be! Perhaps we will hear that wonderful shout today…are you listening for it?