Young People’s Blog

“But Jonathan…put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened” (1 Samuel 14:27).

I am very fond of honey, and particularly a real honeycomb, where the wax is there with the honey. A few days ago my wife was shopping in a special store, and knowing how much I like honeycombs, she bought one for me. I am still enjoying spreading it on my toast!

Here in our verse for today, King Saul’s son Jonathan was fighting in a battle, and since he had had nothing to eat, he was feeling a bit faint. When he found some honey made by some wild bees, he took some, and immediately felt better.

But do you and I realize how much work goes into making honey? The so-called “worker bees” in a beehive work hard gathering nectar from flowers, bringing it back to the hive, and making honey. They also have special glands that enable them to make the wax that contains the honey. A common estimate is that one worker bee in its lifetime makes only 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey! To make a pound of honey, it takes 1230 worker bees! The Lord has made them this way, so that they can make honey, not only for themselves, but for us too. In a couple of days, we will discuss the meaning of honey in the Bible.

“Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward” (Psalm 127:3).

As we saw yesterday, the birth of a baby is a very serious event, for a new life has come into the world, and it will live as long as God lives. Yet it is a happy occasion too, for human birth is a real miracle. For a number of months, that baby has been growing in the womb of its mother, and at a given time, that baby is born, and starts living its life outside of its mother’s womb. Of course it needs plenty of care and help until it is able to look after itself, but it is being prepared to live on its own.

We must remember that when a baby is born, it is a gift from the Lord. According to our verse today, it is an inheritance from the Lord, and a reward from Him. It is important for parents to recognize this, and to seek to raise that child for Him, and to honor Him.

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).

Yesterday we had the privilege of holding in our arms, for the first time, our first little great-grandchild. She was three weeks old and of course we thought she was a most beautiful little girl! We were reminded of what my wife’s aunt wrote to us on the birth of our first child (this baby’s grandmother). On her card she put the words, “Another little life, born to live as long as God lives.”

What a solemn thought this is! When a tiny baby is born, it has a never-dying soul. We pass through this life, and some of the days in your life may seem very long to you, as young people. The years until you can achieve some of your dreams may seem far away! But our life is like a puff of smoke carried away on the wind. It is brief, but so very important. In the short time we have in this world, we have to make the most important decision of our life. Where will you spend eternity? You have a choice, and in His love, the Lord Jesus is holding out His nailed-pierced hands, inviting you to spend eternity with Him.

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord…that He has counted me faithful, appointing to ministry him who before was a blasphemer and persecutor, and an insolent and overbearing man” (1 Timothy 1:12-13 JND).

“But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children” (1 Thessalonians 2:7).

In both of these verses, the Apostle Paul is talking about himself, but what a big difference between the two verses! In the first verse, Paul is referring to himself before he was saved, and he was not a very likeable man then. Not only did he persecute Christians, but he was also rude and disrespectful. But then, when he wrote to the Thessalonians, he described himself as gentle, like a nurse who looks after children. What made the difference?

It was knowing the Lord Jesus as Savior, and having a new life in Him. As he came to know the Lord Jesus more and more, he became more like Him, and was quite a different man from what he was before he was saved.

The Lord wants to change us too. We all have old sinful natures, but God wants that new life in Christ to display itself in our lives. If we walk with the Lord, we will become more like Him.

“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” (1 Thessalonians 2:19).

Yesterday’s verse spoke about our Lord’s coming for us, to call us home to be with Him. Today’s verse refers to a different coming of the Lord, when He will come back with us, to display Himself, and us too, to the world. When the Lord Jesus comes back to call us home to be with Him, the world will not see Him. The event will happen very quickly, in “the twinkling of an eye,” according to 1 Corinthians 15:52. The dead in Christ will be raised, and those who are alive at the time will be changed—all in less than one second!

However, after a period of at least seven years, sometimes called the tribulation period, the Lord Jesus will come back to this earth, to act in judgment and to set up His kingdom. When that happens, we will be with Him, and He will display us to this world as His bride.

More than that, the Lord Jesus will give out rewards, and Paul will have the joy of seeing those Thessalonian believers as his joy and “crown of rejoicing.” It will be Paul’s delight to see those dear ones displayed then, as those to whom he preached the gospel.

“Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

The Apostle Paul and those with him did not get a very nice reception when they went to Thessalonica to preach the gospel. They had been there only three or four weeks when the Jews raised up persecution against them, and they had to leave (read Acts 17:1-10). But during that short time some had been saved, and a short time later Paul wrote to them to encourage them.

In particular, he brought before them the Lord’s coming for them, and he mentions this in our verse for today. Previously they had worshiped idols, but now they knew the true God, and His Son Jesus Christ. They were saved, and were waiting for the Lord to come. Just think; they were waiting for the Lord to come nearly two thousand years ago, and still He has not come. But He will come very soon, and this is the proper hope of all those who know Him as Savior.

“Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession” (1 Timothy 6:13).

Humanly speaking, the Lord Jesus stood before Pilate under very difficult circumstances. He had been kept up all night without any sleep and had been abused by the chief priests and scribes in a number of ways. Then He was taken over to Pontius Pilate early in the morning. During the course of His time with Pilate, He was scourged—a most awful punishment. Yet the Lord Jesus stood firm, and in the end, it was Pilate who was afraid, not the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus submitted to Pilate and his authority, yet reached his conscience as to what he was doing. He reminded Pilate that all his (Pilate’s) authority ultimately came from God, and that he was thus responsible to God. He also reminded Pilate that if he wanted to know the truth, it could be found only in the Lord Jesus.

We may not be called upon to give up our lives for Christ, but as we face the opposition of this world, we too can witness a good confession, and honor the Lord Jesus.

“Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14).

Yesterday we saw that the Lord Jesus Christ is both God and Man in one Person, and that He is able to guide us in every way in our Christian pathway. However, we see from today’s verse that the Word of God is very balanced. Knowing that the Lord Jesus can guide us in every way is good, but we can still get help from other brothers and sisters here in this world. It is always good to ask for advice and help from someone older and wiser than we are, and often their counsel is very valuable. Older ones especially have had experience for many years, and can help us by drawing on that experience.

Also, we see from today’s verse that it often helps to ask more than one person for advice. However, we must be careful when we do this, for sometimes we keep asking different people for advice, hoping that one of them will tell us what we want to hear. Sometimes we make up our own minds about what we want to do, and then try to find someone who will support our own thoughts. Rather, we should carefully think about any advice we get, and ask the Lord whether it is right for us, or not. If we really want to know the Lord’s mind for us, He will show us.

“In Him [the Lord Jesus Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him” (Colossians 2:9-10).

Our first verse today is a short sentence, but it is a most profound statement. We may read it quickly, but it is an amazing fact. The Lord Jesus became a man, but at the same time He was fully God. He was just as much God as He was before He became a man. We cannot understand this; it is a secret that we humans cannot fully “wrap our minds around.”

Yet, when we know the Lord Jesus as Savior, and when we are united to Him as His body and His bride, we are “complete in Him.” More than this, we do not need anything else in order to live for God’s glory in this world. In the verse before this, the Apostle Paul talks about things like philosophy and the traditions of men, and sometimes we are tempted, as Christians, to get our advice and direction in life from these sources. But nothing can compare to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is not only a man, but also God Himself. He can guide us much better than anyone else in this world.

“When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:3-4).

People may not have a Bible, and they may not have dreams or visions from the Lord, but when they look out at the sun, the moon, and the stars, they are looking at the wonders God has created. If man is honest with himself, he realizes that someone must have created all this. It all runs in perfect harmony and according to divine laws that God has established. Yet some people persist in believing that all this happened by chance, and without any Creator.

Through astronomy, which is the study of the stars and the universe, we are learning more and more about God’s creation. The more we know about it, the more wonderful it seems to us. For example, from what we have discovered about the stars up until now, we know that there are 10,000 times as many stars as there are grains of sand on this earth. That is hard to believe, yet it is true! When we know this, it should make us want to know more about the God who created it all. Also, it should make us realize our responsibility to God, who made us as well.