Young People’s Blog

“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till He come” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

There are some things that the Lord has told us to do until He comes, and this is perhaps the most important of them. Before He went to the cross, the Lord Jesus showed His disciples how to remember Him, using a loaf of bread and a cup of wine. Later, the Apostle Paul was given a further revelation, telling us that when we remember the Lord, we “show the Lord’s death,” and that we are to do this until He comes. This is a real privilege for all of us to do.

We show the Lord’s death to this world, and because we show His death, we give witness to the fact that He is risen. We cannot show the death of someone who is dead, for they are dead. But we show (or announce) the death of one who died, but who is now alive.

Also, we are to do it until the Lord comes. Surely the Lord will make this possible for us, and provide for us a place where we can remember Him in the way that He has asked us to do.

“Wherefore ye shall make images of…your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure He will lighten His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land” (1 Samuel 6:5).

When Israel sinned against the Lord, the Lord allowed the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle, to be captured by the Philistines. But then the Philistines attributed the victory to their heathen god Dagon, and because of this, the Lord allowed a plague of mice to overrun the land of the Philistines.

Mice multiple very quickly. One female can produce a new litter every 3-4 weeks, all her life, and each litter can have as many as 6-8 little mice. If the conditions were perfect, one pair of mice could multiply into more than 5,000 mice in one year. Can you imagine that many mice? They are sometimes rather interesting little creatures, and they are a major part of the diet of birds like hawks and owls. Coyotes and wolves also eat them. but most people do not like them, for they tend to invade our homes, and cause a lot of trouble. About this time of year, when the weather is getting colder, they often look for a warmer place to live, and end up in garages, or even in our houses.

Eventually the Philistines sent the ark of the covenant back to the land of Israel, together with some golden mice in it, as a present to the Lord. They hoped that then the Lord would stop the plague of mice that were running all over the land of the Philistines.

“Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4).

Yesterday we talked about a tree that was rotten on the inside, although no one could see it until the tree was cut down. Sometimes you and I may be feeling like that tree—discouraged, sad, and really burdened by the situations in our life, yet pretending that everything is all right. When people ask us, perhaps we say that we are fine. I knew a Christian man who often asked people how they were doing. If they said, “Fine,” he would say, “Now tell me how you really are!” Then sometimes people would open up and tell him their problems.

When we feel “down” and under a heavy burden, it is good first of all to tell the Lord about it. He can comfort us better than any other. But let us not hesitate to tell someone else, and especially if we know that he or she is sincerely interested in helping us. We are told in Galatians 5:2, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” If we are feeling a particularly heavy burden, it is good to speak about it to those who can help.

“Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

A few days ago we had some trees taken down around our home, not because we did not like trees, but because they were growing out so much that you could hardly see the house during the summer, when the trees are leafed out. One of the trees, a large maple, was strong and healthy (or so we thought). But when the tree cutters took it down, they found that the core of the upper half of the trunk was rotten. In a strong wind it could easily have come down on the house. We were thankful that it was taken down before that happened.

According to our verse today, we are sometimes like that tree. We can put on a good appearance before others, but spiritually we may not be healthy at all. Naturally, we are all sinners before God, and God’s eye can see our hearts. We may pretend before other people, but God sees our wicked hearts. The only way our hearts can be cleansed is through the blood of Christ.

Even as Christians we can pretend to be living for the Lord, while perhaps we are allowing wrong things in our life that only the Lord knows about. But He notices, even if we pretend before others.

“But avoid foolish questions…and contentions…for they are unprofitable and vain” (Titus 3:9).

Sometimes, when we speak to unsaved people about the Lord Jesus, and the importance of being saved, they may try to dodge what we say by bringing up foolish questions. Yes, sometimes they have honest questions, and we should answer those questions from the Word of God. But many times their questions are foolish, so that they can avoid having their conscience reached by the Word of God. All they want is a good argument.

In these cases, we need to avoid those questions, and rather stick to the important point. We need to ask, “Are you saved”? Do you know where you are going when you leave this world? Do you realize that you will have to answer to God for your sins someday? The important thing is not to get into a difficult discussion, but rather to reach their conscience. As someone has said, and it is true, “Whenever we speak from the Word of God, the other person’s conscience is on our side.”

“Hast thou found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for thee” (Proverbs 25:16).

I think my favorite breakfast food is a big bowl of hot oatmeal. There’s nothing quite like it, although you may not all agree! It’s especially good with a nice drizzle of honey (or maple syrup!) on it.

Yesterday we arrived home from a trip during which we had been away from home for over a month. It was supper time when we pulled into the driveway, and we had no groceries in the house. The perfect time for my oatmeal. Soon we were seated at the table, and it was time to pour on a little honey. You may be able to guess what I found when I took the top off the honey pot! To my dismay, there were many large ants in there, some still struggling, and some that had long ago given up. They had been greedy and had dived right in, and of course could not get out again.

Our verse today cautions us to do things in moderation. Honey in Scripture is often a picture of natural sweetness in this life. Perhaps a holiday, or a nice meal at a restaurant, or something special that is an “extra” that is not sinful but needs to be taken in small amounts. If we dive right in, we may find that we’re stuck in that pattern and cannot get out. Then our usefulness to the Lord may be diminished as we drown in our pleasures. Let’s keep in mind what is “sufficient” or enough!

“If the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be” (Ecclesiastes 11:3).

We live in a wooded area, and today we are having some big trees taken down on our property, because they are beginning to crowd out the sun. Of course the men doing the work are cutting up the wood and taking it away, but in the forest, when a tree falls over, it stays wherever it happens to fall. Then, over a period of time, it will gradually decay and rot. But why does God remind us of this in His Word?

God is showing us that the way we live our lives will determine where we will spend eternity. If we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we will spend eternity with Him. Sadly, those who do not know the Lord Jesus will have to suffer God’s judgment for all eternity. But after we have died, there will be no chance to change our destiny. An old poem expresses it well—

As the tree falls, so shall it lie,
As a man lives, so shall he die,
As a man dies, so shall he be,
All through the ages of eternity.

“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:28).

Today’s verse is really only part of a verse, but very important for all of us. The previous verse (Heb. 9:27) reminds us that after we die, there is judgment to follow. There are those who try to tell us that when people die, they die just like an animal, and that is the end of their existence. But God’s Word tells us that we were created for eternity, not for time.

However, God is very quick to tell us that Christ was once offered (on the cross) to bear the sins of many. This is wonderful news, but we notice that it says, “the sins of many,” not “the sins of all.” All will not come and accept Christ as Savior, but all are invited to come. For those who accept the Lord Jesus, the judgment for their sins took place at Calvary’s cross. Sadly, for those who reject the Lord Jesus, the judgment is ahead of them. Which is it for you?

“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).

Today’s verse is very simple, yet it carries a depth of meaning that perhaps we do not always appreciate. Do we realize that because of our sins, we were “far off” from God? How far off were we? The Bible does not describe any specific distance, but when God uses the term “far off,” it must mean a long way! How could we get back to God? There is only one way, and that is through the blood of Christ.

That simply means that our sins that took us far away from God are completely put away by the blood of Christ, and now we are brought back to Him. However, all this does not happen automatically; we must repent of our sins, and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. Sadly, some people in this world do not want to be brought back to God; they prefer to carry on living in their sins. If they do not come to Christ, some day they will have to endure the awful judgment of God for their sins. How encouraging it is to know that we have been brought nigh (near) to God through the blood of Christ!

“According as He [God the Father] hath chosen us in Him [the Lord Jesus] before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4).

We have had this verse before, this year, but today I want to emphasize something different from the last time we used it. We are told that God chose you and me in Christ before the foundation of the world. How old is this world? We do not know for sure. But concerning the creation of this world, it says in God’s Word, “Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth” (Psalm 102:25). When God uses the word “old,” it surely must mean a long time ago!

Yet God knew about you and me, and He chose us in Christ before He even made this world. Think about that for a moment; it is so amazing that we cannot understand it. God could look down through the ages, and knew when we would be born. Then He chose us to be part of His church, and to be united with His beloved Son.

As we go about our daily lives, let us always remember that God loved us so much that He chose us that long ago—even before this world was made!