Young People’s Blog

“Daniel…kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God” (Daniel 6:10).

Yesterday my wife and I were on a long flight, on an airline based in a country in the Middle East. It was interesting to us to read one of the rules of the flight, prominently displayed on the screen in front of every seat, saying that those who wished to pray must do so while sitting in their seat. This was obviously for those on the flight who were Muslims, and who are expected to pray five times a day, kneeling on their prayer mat.

We thought how sad it was that while Muslims had to be told to pray in their seats, we would never see such a rule displayed in a western airline. Muslims pray because they are told to do so, but we Christians have the privilege of praying at any time, and are told to “pray without ceasing.” (See if you can find this verse in your Bible.) Of course, there are times when we cannot kneel down to pray, but it is good always to be in an attitude of prayer, and to be ready to turn to the Lord at any time, either to thank Him, or to ask for help. It is also good to be like Daniel, who had a definite time every day when he prayed, and thanked the Lord.

Prayer expresses our dependence on the Lord, and brings His power into our lives.

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30).

People often say that Christianity is just another religion, but it is different from every false religion in this way. Christianity is a religion of four letters, while all others have only two letters. Christianity is characterized by the word “DONE,” while every false religion is characterized by the word “DO.”

In our verse for today, the Lord Jesus said, “It is finished”—there was nothing more to be done. But every false religion says “Do”—you must do something to earn your salvation. But we cannot earn God’s salvation; we must accept it as a free gift from God.

Nothing either great or small—
 Nothing, sinner, no;
Jesus did it, did it all,
 Long, long ago.

“It is finished!” yes, indeed,
 Finished every jot:
Sinner, this is all you need—
 Tell me, is it not?

“They think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you” (1 Peter 4:4).

Yesterday we saw that we are strangers and pilgrims in this world, and today we find out that the world will not understand us. Because we have a new life in Christ, we have different desires, different goals, and we enjoy things that this world cannot enjoy. When we do not want to do the same things as people who are not saved, they do not understand, and as our verse says, they will speak evil of us.

But as we said yesterday, we should not be surprised at this, or wonder why they do not understand us. People who are not saved have only an old sinful nature, and their idea of a “good time” is generally to do something that is satisfying the old sinful nature. Things like wild parties, drinking, immoral conduct, and other sinful things are usually part of what is called a “good time” by this world.

But you and I, as believers, have a new life that wants to please the Lord. We are also indwelt by the Holy Spirit. That new life has new desires, and the Holy Spirit wants to give us the enjoyment of Christ in our hearts. People in this world do not know anything about this, and cannot understand it. We should be kind and loving to those who do not know the Lord, but we should not be surprised when they do not understand us.

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims” (1 Peter 2:11).

As I write this in the country of Australia in February, 2023, I am constantly reminded that I am a stranger here. Although Australia is a modern country, many things are different from Canada, where I normally live. For one thing, here in Australia they drive on the left side of the road, while in Canada we drive on the right. Here in Australia most houses are built of brick and concrete, while in Canada there are many houses built of wood. Here in Australia the trees, flowers, and other plants are also different from Canada, although some are similar.

As Christians we are also strangers in this world, for we do not really belong here. Heaven is our home, and the whole course of things in this world is “foreign” to a true Christian. We do not really “fit in,” for we do not live the same way as worldly people do.

However, we are also pilgrims. A pilgrim is one who is in a strange land, but who is going somewhere for a real purpose. He is not moving about aimlessly, but has a goal before him. You and I, as Christians, are here for a purpose, and we also have a goal before us. We are not expecting to be here indefinitely, for we are waiting for the Lord to call us home. Also, we are here to live for the glory of Christ, and to be like Him, for a testimony to this world. So we are both strangers and pilgrims, and we should not be ashamed of this. We are not to be strange or weird, but the world around us should recognize that we are different from them.

“Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Yesterday we saw that the Lord Jesus told His disciples that there were many mansions in His Father’s house, and that when He left this world, He was going to prepare a place for them. However, the Lord Jesus did not often refer to the place where He was going, nor did He tell His disciples and others much about the place. Rather He said that He was going to be with the Father, and that when He came back again to this world, it would be to take all true believers to be with Him.

Heaven will be a wonderful place, and it will be beyond anything in this world to be in the Father’s house, but what will make it our home will be that the Lord Jesus is there as a Man. This is what it means, “I go to prepare a place for you,” in yesterday’s verse. His presence in heaven as a Man who has died for us and is risen is what makes heaven prepared for us. By being in heaven as a Man, the Lord Jesus has prepared the place for us.

In today’s verse, the Lord Jesus was speaking to a thief who was crucified with Him. The thief asked the Lord Jesus to remember him when He, the Lord Jesus, came into His kingdom. The Lord’s answer was that the thief would be with the Lord Jesus in paradise that very day. The Lord Jesus died, and the thief died shortly after. Both were together in paradise that same day.

Some people have beautiful homes, but what makes a home is not the beauty of the building, but rather who lives there. We will spend eternity with the Lord Jesus!

“In My Father’s house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

As I write this in January, 2023, it is exactly 200 years since an American named John Howard Payne wrote the song, “Mid pleasures and palaces though you may roam, be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.” An Englishman named Henry Bishop wrote the tune for it, and it became very popular. Almost all of us can relate to the words of the song, for we can associate happy memories with our home, even though we may like to travel.

However, some people have only unhappy memories of their home, for they were not treated very well at home. Others perhaps have no home, and long for a place where they can find rest, fellowship, comfort, warmth, and shelter. John Howard Payne spent much of his time in Europe, and often did not have a home to which to go. On one occasion on a damp, cold evening, he sat huddled outside a wealthy home in London, England, cold and friendless, and inside the house heard the people singing around the piano. They were actually singing the song that he had written, while he was outside with no home!

How wonderful it is to know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, and to know God as our Father! Then we can look forward to spending eternity in the Father’s house, for that is our home. Most of us probably have a comfortable home to which to go, but to look forward to being in the Father’s house is beyond anything we can experience in this world.

“Be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

A few days ago, I was on a long plane flight, and took a quick look at the airline magazine that was in the pocket of the seat. Among other things in it was an advertisement for travel, and the words in large print were, “There’s no place like somewhere else.” That is the attitude of this world, for the heart of man is never satisfied with anything down here. No matter what we do, no matter what we have, or where we go, we get tired of it after a while. Then we want to go somewhere else, or do something different.

When I was younger, most people in my generation wanted to get things, such as a house, a car, furniture, nice dishes, etc. Of course, people also liked to travel, but it was not so important. Today many younger people would rather have a passport full of foreign stamps than a house full of things. But it is all part of the same mentality—we are never satisfied.

Our verse for today tells us to be content, for the Lord Himself has said, “I will never leave thee.” He is able to fill and satisfy our hearts when nothing in this world will satisfy us. Then we can be content with whatever He has given us in this world, for He gives us joy in our hearts that nothing in this world can give us.

“The Jews answered him [Pilate], We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid” (John 19:7-8).

Yesterday we saw that moral power is always greater than physical power, and today we see this in the life of the Lord Jesus too. He was standing before Pilate, the powerful Roman governor, who had the power to release Him, or to crucify Him. Yet it was not the Lord Jesus who was afraid; rather, it was Pilate who was afraid, and the longer the trial of the Lord Jesus went on, the more afraid Pilate became.

No doubt Pilate knew about the life of the Lord Jesus, and all the miracles He had performed. He knew very well that the Lord Jesus was no ordinary man. When he found out that the Lord Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, Pilate was afraid. Yet sadly, Pilate’s political ambitions were more important to him than believing on the Lord Jesus, and he eventually gave the order to crucify the Son of God. He was afraid of the Lord Jesus, yet he was more afraid of losing his position and influence in the Roman Empire.

“Never man spake like this Man” (John 7:46).

The Jewish leaders were anxious to arrest the Lord Jesus, and at one point in His earthly ministry, during the feast of tabernacles, they sent officers to take Him. However, the officers returned without Him, and when the Pharisees and other leaders asked them why they had not brought Him, they said, “Never man spake like this man.”

The Lord Jesus was so impressive in His speech that even the officers who came to arrest Him were unable to do so, and had to return without Him. The same thing happened in the Old Testament, when King Ahab wanted to arrest Elijah. But when Elijah went to meet him, Elijah had such moral power that Ahab did what Elijah said. Moral power is always greater than physical power. You can read about this in 1 Kings 18.

This does not mean that we will never be persecuted, but it does mean that if we walk with the Lord, those who oppose us will not be able to answer us, when we speak with them. There will be moral power in what we say, and the consciences of others will feel it. We will see tomorrow how this happened in the life of the Lord Jesus.

“Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles” (Proverbs 21:23).

“The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity…it defileth the whole body” (James 3:6).

We all know how much trouble can be caused by what we say. A careless word can cause hard feelings in others, and result in difficulties that may be very hard to straighten out. A harsh or insulting word can cause a fight, or perhaps an exchange of strong words that puts people at a distance from one another for many years.

Naturally speaking, nothing can keep the tongue from doing this, and each one of us knows how hard it is to control what we say. If we are upset or provoked, it is hard not to say something, or perhaps to say the right thing instead of the wrong thing. Yet here in Proverbs we are told that we are to keep our mouth and our tongue. How can we do that?

We can keep our tongue only when we walk with the Lord, and when we depend on Him for help. He will help us keep our tongue under His control, so that we do not dishonor Him in our talk.