Young People’s Blog

Sin

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11).

Are you struggling with sin in your life? Are there bad habits and temptations you can’t seem to conquer? How much time do you spend reading your Bible? A daily diet of God’s Word brings blessing to the Christian. Neglecting it spells disaster.

Martin Luther once said, “This Book will keep me from sin, or sin will keep me from this Book.” If you are allowing something in your life that is hindering you from reading your Bible because of a bad conscience or lack of heart for the Word of God, get into the presence of the Lord and confess it. Have it out with the Lord, and don’t let sin keep you from the daily reading of that which will keep you from sin.

Remember too, it is not just reading but hiding the Word in your heart, that is going to have the proper results. We have a powerful defence against sin, make sure you use it! It is the “Sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17). Read it, hide it, and you will be “kept by the power of God” (1 Peter 1:5).

 

Threefold

“Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 John 3).

Mercy……………………….. saves us from hell.

Grace……. gives us heaven and takes us there.

Peace………………………………… is the result.

“To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (2 Timothy 1:2).

“To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour” (Titus 1:4).

What a wonderful, threefold resource of strength we have for our Christian life. It makes me think of the words of Solomon, “A threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). If we avail ourselves of these three things, we will be preserved in the path of faith and service.

 

Watch & Pray

Continued from March 4

Come ye saints in every place,

Come and seek the Saviour’s face,

Come ye to the throne of grace;

Watch and pray!

There each child of God can find,

Joy of heart and peace of mind,

Respite from the daily grind;

Watch and pray!

Watch and pray…Watch and pray…

What a privilege sublime,

Just to spend a little time,

And our prayers and praises chime;

Watch and pray!

There is mercy rich and free,

There is strength and help for thee,

With requests and needs then flee;

Watch and pray!

“Take ye heed, watch and pray” (Mark 13:13).

 

Dear Young Christian:

“Be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

For many of us it may be hard to start a job and then stick to it. There is a word used in the business world that denotes being able to keep at something until it is finished. The word is stick-to-itiveness.

When Hudson Taylor, the pioneer missionary to China, said goodbye to his wife as she died by his side, he knelt down and thanked the Lord for their many years together and for taking her home to be with Himself in heaven. He then asked the Lord to help him carry on the work he had begun in china. His love for his wife was exceeded only by his love for, and devotion to, the Lord Jesus.

Are you letting something hinder your service for Christ? Has something come up that has detracted or derailed some work He has given you to do? Get back on track today. Follow through, and you will have His “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]

First Day

This is the “first day of the week” (Acts 20:7), and the first day of another month. What better way to start than by taking time to praise the Lord, worship Him and spend time in His presence. The rest of the quoted verse tells us that it was on the first day of the week that the early Christians “came together to break bread.” It was their joy, their privilege, their priority. They came together for the express purpose of breaking bread…eating of the loaf, and drinking of the cup. They had other privileges that day too, but first and foremost was the remembrance of the Lord.

What will your priority be today? Will it be to meet with other believers who love and honor the Lord Jesus, and to partake of the Lord’s Supper at the Lord’s Table? Can you truly echo the words of the Old Treatment prophet, when he said, “The desire of our soul is to Thy name, and to the remembrance of Thee” (Isaiah 26:8)? Is that your desire?

The Lord has promised, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). He will be there today, will you?

 

Ransomed

In March of 1987, eight-year-old Marco Fiora was kidnapped at gunpoint. For seventeen months he was held in a mountain hideout in Italy, his captors demanding a two-million-dollar ransom. When police got close to where he was held, his captors placed him on a trail with the order: “Walk!”

The national news media carried coverage of the boy’s recovery, and many rejoiced. However, the mother’s joy was dampened when her returned son looked at her without any emotion in his eyes and asked, “Why didn’t you pay the ransom? You don’t want me back, do you?”

The kidnappers had told the boy that his parents didn’t love him because they were not willing to pay the ransom. The ransom sum demanded was beyond what his parents were able to pay, but the kidnappers had repeated their lie to the boy so many times that he believed them.

The question, “Why didn’t you pay the ransom?” can never be asked of God, for He paid the supreme ransom for our sakes. We cannot doubt His love, because of the cost of that ransom. “Redeemed…with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

 

Question Page

Q. What does the Bible say about dreams and the significance that they have in our lives?

A. In the Old Testament we find that God often spoke in dreams. Some examples are, Jacob (Genesis 28), Joseph (Genesis 37), and Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2). God spoke in various ways through these dreams since the written word, the Bible, had not been completed yet. Even in the New Testament God used dreams and visions. Pilate’s wife said to her husband, concerning the Lord Jesus, “Have thou nothing to do with that just Man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him” (Matthew 27:19). The Lord also spoke in a vision to Peter. “While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee” (Acts 10:19).

While it is true God can, and still does, speak through dreams, it is less likely today. God speaks in many ways: dreams, circumstances, weather, natural disasters, other humans, etc. I have heard cases of God using dreams in recent time, but generally He speaks through His Word the Bible. This book is the complete revealed mind of God.

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

Answered Prayer

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15).

The young mother called out to the missionary, “Come quick! My baby’s dying!” Gale Fields was in Irian Jaya helping her husband Phil translate the Bible into Orya, a tribal language. They also provided medical help whenever possible. Gale looked at the malaria-stricken child and realized she didn’t have the right medicine to help the infant.

“I’m sorry,” she told the mother, “I don’t have any medicine for babies this small.” Gale paused, then said, “I could pray though.”

“Yes, anything to help my baby,” answered the mother.

Gale prayed for the baby and then went home feeling helpless. After a little while, she again heard the mother cry out, “Gale, come quickly and see my baby!”

Expecting the worst, Gale went to the baby’s side. This time though she noticed improvement. The dangerous fever was gone. Later, Gale would say, “No wonder the Orya Christians learned to pray. They know God answers.”

 

Monthly Scripture Reading

John 19

14 And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!

15 But they cried out, Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

16 Then delivered He Him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.

17 And He bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

18 Where they crucified Him, and two other with Him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.

20 This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.

 

The Divine Ability

“He is able” (Hebrews 7:25).

It was with a lamentable voice that king Darius called into the den of lions, “Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?” (Daniel 6:20). The voice of Daniel was a complete answer. “My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt” (Daniel 6:21-22).

We might do well by seeking out in the Scripture the references to what God is able to do. It will encourage us. It is worth more than a passing thought that God never said, “I will,” only to say later, “I can’t.” What He has promised He is able also to perform.

While we may find in men a willingness to help, we also discover so often that their willingness is greater than their ability. The lions may roar, and the Christians tremble, but it remains blessedly true that our God is able, as Daniel declared, to “shut the lions’ mouths.”