Young People’s Blog

“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.

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [hades] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works” (Revelation 20:13).

Today’s verse is one of the most solemn verses in the Bible. Once again we have hades and death mentioned, but this time in connection with unbelievers who have died. When they died their bodies were buried, although, as our verse recognizes, some were in the sea, because the people drowned. Others in our day might have been cremated. According to Luke 16, their souls are now in a place of torment.

But in a coming day, at the judgment of the great white throne, God is going to raise up those bodies, reunite them with their souls and spirits, and then judge them. Hades delivers up the soul, and death delivers up the body. No matter how or where they have died, God knows how to raise those bodies, and to bring them up for judgment. What a solemn thought! No believers will be at the great white throne, but only those who have died without Christ. Do you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior? If you die without Christ, it will be too late to cry for mercy at the great white throne. God’s time to be saved is now.

“I [the Lord Jesus Christ] am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [hades] and of death” (Revelation 1:18).

On the Humber river, near Deer Lake, Newfoundland, Canada, apparently there is a phone out in the forest, protected by a wooden box, and it is not hooked up to anything. It is an old dial-type phone, and was apparently put there by the town of Deer Lake, so that people could go out into nature and supposedly communicate with their dead relatives or friends. Of course, they cannot hear anything on this phone, but many say that they have obtained real comfort in this way.

Satan will do almost anything to deceive man, including a device like this that pretends to communicate with the dead. But our verse for today tells us that there is only One, the Lord Jesus, who has the keys of hades and death. Hades is the condition of a soul without a body, while death applies to the body. No one on this earth today can talk to the dead, but Satan, who has always been a liar, wants to deceive people in this way.

How wonderful it is to know that if our loved ones who have died knew the Lord Jesus as Savior, they are with Him in heaven. We cannot communicate with them, but we know that they are in the full enjoyment of His presence. How much better this is than a dead phone, into which people can talk, but never get an answer!

“He [the Lord] made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel” (Psalm 103:7).

Here we find what David said about Moses, by inspiration. There is a difference in knowing what someone does, and knowing why they did it. The children of Israel saw all the wonderful works of the Lord—His power in delivering them from Pharaoh’s cruelty, His way of providing food for them in the wilderness, His way of bringing water out of the rock, and many other things. But Moses knew the Lord as a friend, and One whom he knew “face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10). It is a wonderful thing to know the Lord in this way, and it is worth all the wealth and power in this world. You and I can know the Lord in this way too, for in this time of God’s grace we are in a much closer position to the Lord than even Moses. We know God as our Father, and we are united to His Son Jesus Christ as His bride.

Let us not spoil that wonderful relationship by going after the things of this world, and neglecting the wonderful privilege of knowing the Lord in an intimate way.

“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (Hebrews 11:24).

We all know the story of Moses, and how his mother put him in a little basket in the Nile river, when she was not able to hide him any longer. Then Pharaoh’s daughter saw him, and raised him as her own son. Moses was probably raised in luxury in Pharaoh’s court, and could easily have decided to live his life that way.

However, Moses did not look at his life from the viewpoint of this world; he looked at it in the light of eternity. When he was old enough to make up his own mind, he refused to be regarded as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Rather, he identified himself with Israel, the people of God. He knew that the pleasures of Egypt would last only for this life, but living for the Lord would be rewarded for all eternity.

Perhaps you have a good opportunity before you, but it is most important to look at our lives in view of eternity, and not only for this world. Moses gave up Egypt, but then was able to lead the people of God out of Egypt to the land of Canaan. He knew the Lord in an intimate way, and in a way that few others did. We will look at this in more detail tomorrow.

“The ant…provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest” (Proverbs 6:6,8).

In our verse today, we see that the ant, who is always busy, puts food aside in the summer and fall, so that there will be food to eat in the winter. Those of us who live in northern climates with cold winters know that you never see ants running around in the snow or on the frozen ground. No, they are probably busy underground, but they put away food of various kinds when the weather was warm, so that there would be food in the winter.

This is another good example for us. The Lord Jesus told His followers not to be anxious about the future, and not to worry about what they would eat. However, it is important to plan for the future, and to put aside food for the winter. In northern climates farmers harvest grain, corn, potatoes, and other crops in the fall, and store them for the winter. Those of us who are not farmers should always spend less money than we make, and put some aside for the future.

“And after this Joseph of Arimathaea…besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus…and there came also Nicodemus…then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury” (John 19:38-40).

“Men appointed His grave with the wicked, but He was with the rich in His death” (Isaiah 53:9).

When once the work of redemption was complete, God did not allow wicked hands to touch the body of His Son again. He provided true believers—Joseph and Nicodemus, to bury the Lord Jesus. More than this, they were rich men, and Joseph had a new tomb, hewn out of the rock, ready no doubt for his own burial. But he willingly gave that tomb for the Lord Jesus. Also, they buried Him with one hundred pounds of spices—a tremendous amount, and very costly too. God saw to it that His Son was given a rich man’s burial, because of who He was. No doubt Pilate and others would have buried the Lord Jesus in a common criminals’ grave, but God had said otherwise in Isaiah, hundreds of years before. God’s prophecies are always fulfilled!

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6).

Ants are one of the most interesting animals in the world. They are by far the most numerous of all animals in this world, and together, all the ants in the world outweigh all the wild birds and mammals. All the ants in the world weigh as much as more than 1.5 billion human beings.

Ants are a good example to us, for you never see a lazy ant. They survive in almost any climate, and are always busy. But the Word of God is very accurate, for it says, “Consider HER ways, and be wise.” Why does the Bible say “her ways”? It is because the so-called “worker ants” are all female, and they are the ones who look after the young ants, who go out looking for food, and who fight against predators. What a wonderful book the Bible is!

Ants are a good kind of creature to follow, for they keep busy, instead of sitting around doing nothing. God says that those who consider the ant, and her ways, are wise. On Monday we will see something else that ants do which is very important.

“A man’s pride bringeth him low; but the humble in spirit shall obtain honor” (Proverbs 29:23 JND).

The first part of our verse today might seem rather strange, for normally a proud person expects to be honored and given a good place. Yet here in our verse it tells us that pride will bring a man low. Why is this? It is because a proud person usually thinks much more highly of himself than he should. Sooner or later he makes a big mistake, and then is brought low.

On the other hand, someone who is humble in spirit realizes that there is much that he does not know, and that he is willing to learn. That kind of a person often is honored, for he learns from others.

In the world of today, we might say that there is almost an epidemic of pride; people are prouder than ever before. God tells us this in 2 Timothy 3:2, where we read that in the last days, men shall be “boasters,” and “proud.” As a result, more big mistakes are being made, because people think they know more than they do. Let us be humble, and be ready to learn.

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward” (Hebrews 10:35).

The Jewish Christians, to whom the book of Hebrews was written, were suffering a lot of persecution for their faith in Christ. Sometimes it was easy to get discouraged, as they occasionally lost their property and other possessions. But God was pleased with their continuing confidence, for as it says in verse 34, they knew that they had in heaven “a better and an enduring substance.”

It is nice to lead a peaceful life in this world, but all down through the ages, Christians have been persecuted for their faith, and sometimes driven from their homes. Even today this is happening in some parts of the world. Then we need to remember that this world is not our home, and that everything down here is temporary. Our real home is in heaven, and we can be thankful for a place where nothing will ever wear out, and where nothing can ever be taken away from us. More than this, God will richly reward those who retain their confidence, and continue on faithfully for Him.