Young People’s Blog

Dear Young Christian:

The other day I left my calendar book and agenda at the Bahamas Air ticket counter. I didn’t realize it was gone until the next morning when I got an email informing me of the situation. I went back to the airport, but nobody seemed to know where it was. After some frustration I finally left a local contact number and committed it to the Lord. Later, after several calls, I got in touch with the lady who had found it. I then returned to the airport that afternoon to pick it up.

It wouldn’t have been a big deal except that there was a blank check in the inside pocket, and several other things that made the situation vulnerable. There was also a good bit of information I didn’t want to lose.

What a world we live in! But it is wonderful to have one who knows everything…past, present, and future. So often I find help in the verse, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5). If I could just learn to do it more, and without worry.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Son of the Father

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth…No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him” (John 1:14,18).

As man, Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of Abraham, but He is eternally the Son of God, the Son of the Father. As Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, God the Father announced that Jesus was His beloved Son. “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

Jesus was ever the Son of the Father’s love (John 17:24). He had come from God the Father (John 13:3; 16:27-28). He did not become the Son at some point in a past eternity, nor at Jordan, nor at His incarnation; He is eternally the Son which is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18). As the Father eternally delighted in His Son, so He would have us to delight in Him as well, and contemplate Him in every way in which He is presented to us in Scripture.

 

An Obituary

He brushed his teeth twice a day.

He had a doctor’s check up twice a year.

He wore his boots when it rained.

He slept with the windows open.

He got at least eight hours sleep a night.

He stuck to a diet with lots of fruit and vegetables.

He never smoked, drank, or lost his temper.

He had his tonsils out when he was young.

He had a regular exercise program.

He was set to live to be a hundred.

The funeral will be held Wednesday. He is survived by 18 specialists, four health institutions, six gyms, and numerous manufacturers of health foods and antiseptics.

* * * *

His One Mistake

He forgot God, and lived as if time and this world was all that there was. He is like the man of whom the Lord sadly said, “One thing thou lackest” (Mark 10:21). He lacked the thing he needed the most. He lacked salvation.

 

Yielded

“Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6:13).

Being yielded to God is the normal condition of a healthy, holy and happy Christian life.

Not being yielded to God is the reason for much of the fearfulness and faltering and the failure of many who profess to be the followers of Jesus Christ.

Not being yielded to God accounts for indifference to the claims of God, the lack of love towards others and the loss of joy and peace and power that often is evident in our own individual lives.

What does it mean to be yielded to God? Someone has said that it is to “Let go, and to let God.” In other words, it is to let go of self and self-will, and to let God have full control of our life. To be under the full control of the Spirit of God, is to be completely yielded to God. It also means that we will be completely happy! “Walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:4).

 

M.Y.O.B.

“Let none of you suffer…as a busybody in other men’s matters” (1 Peter 4:15).

Mind Your Own Business! We’ve all said it at some time or other. Maybe we used the initials cited in the title of this page to make our point.

How easy it is to gossip; to stick our nose into someone else’s affairs. We are responsible to the Lord for the things we allow in our own life, not what we try to find out and pass on about others. Rather, let others know you as someone that can be trusted to keep their confidence, to provide a sympathetic listening ear. The only business we should have our nose into is our own business that the Lord has given us to do. David said: “The king’s business required haste” (1 Samuel 21:8). Daniel said: “I rose up, and did the king’s business” (Daniel 8:27).

When I was a young person and went to summer camp, there was a motto on the dining room wall with these words:

“A gossip is a person with a sense of rumour.”

Is that you, or do you M.Y.O.B?

 

Dismal Deputies

“And He said unto them, Where is your faith?”
(Luke 8:25).

Faith must take no holiday, but there are always times when it seems to be at least temporarily absent.

We know too, that there are always deputies ready and willing to step in. Mr. Doubt, Mr. Fear, Mr. Anxiety, Mr Hopeless, and their many companions. These are fellows of long experience, and will act at any time. If faith takes a vacation, some most undesirable substitute will take over the vacancy. Faith must be on duty every moment of every day.

In times of trial, when the storms of life are high and the going hard, Satan will suggest that faith needs a holiday, or even just a break. But don’t let it happen. This is just the time when faith needs to stand guard, for there is such a thing as “the work of faith” (2 Thessalonians 1:11). It was when fear had usurped the position of faith that Jesus inquired of the disciples while in the boat on sea He had just calmed, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25).

Is He asking us the same question today?

 

Forever

“I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”
(Psalm 23:6).

We have been speaking this week of “the house of the Lord,” and now we notice that this well known verse from the Shepherd Psalm is something yet future.

Not only did David delight to be with others in the presence of the Lord here on earth and to walk every day, individually, in the presence of the Lord, but he anticipated the time when he would dwell in “the house of the Lord forever.” What a hope he had!

What a hope we have too! For us we know “the house of the Lord” in a far more intimate way. The Lord spoke of it as “My Father’s house” (John 14:2). This is the final and eternal home of every believer in Christ. Let’s not lose sight of this wonderful hope and home.

So, to sum up the past three days, we have collective and individual enjoyment of the Lord’s presence, and the future joy of being with all the redeemed in His house, with Himself, for eternity.

 

Dear Young Christian:

Yesterday we mentioned David’s delight in being invited by others to enter the House of the Lord. Here is another instance of David’s use of that same expression: “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).

David didn’t just want to enjoy the presence of the Lord on special occasions, and with others, but he wanted to individually enjoy the company of the Lord every day of his life.

Wow! What a desire! Is that your desire as another week begins? The Lord is always with us. He has said, “Lo, I am with you alway” (Matthew 28:20). The question is, do we walk in such a way that we feel and enjoy His presence all the days of our life? Let’s make a real effort to dwell consciously in His presence this week.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

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

Let Us…

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1).

David was glad for an invitation to enter with others into the House of the Lord. Notice the word “us.” This is plural…this is with others…fellow-believers…those who have the same desire, and that is to be together collectively in the Lord’s presence. To be where He is, and where He desires that His own would gather.

Just as David had this invitation and privilege, so do we on another Lord’s Day. Are we also glad? Do we look forward with joyful anticipation to being with those of “like precious faith” where the Lord is in the midst, and to partake of the “Lord’s supper” at the “Lord’s table”? He has promised, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

As we come into His presence, may our hearts be overflowing with gladness, thanksgiving, praise, and most of all worship.

 

Peace Child

“We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

How vital it is to have peace with God!

Some time ago I read a book entitled Peace Child. In the book the author, Don Richardson, gives a moving account of how the Sawi people of Irian Jaya came to understand the way of salvation through Jesus Christ.

For many months he and his family tried to find some way to communicate the gospel to this tribe in a way that they would understand. Then they discovered the key for which they had been praying.

All demonstrations of kindness expressed by the Sawi were regarded with suspicion except one act. If a father gave his own son to his enemy, his sacrificial deed showed that he could be trusted. Furthermore, everyone who touched that child was brought into friendly relationship with the father. The Sawi were then taught that in a similar way God’s beloved Son could bring them eternal peace. “For He is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14).