Young People’s Blog

“The assembly of God, which He hath purchased with the blood of His own” (Acts 20:28 JND).

God the Father loves the assembly, even though there was nothing in us to draw out that love. He loved us so much that He bought us with the blood of His Son. Can you and I think of any higher price to pay for something than that? God was willing to give up His beloved Son in order to buy you and me, and to make us part of His assembly—His church. What a privilege it is to belong to that assembly, and to have been chosen to be there!

It is a privilege to come together on Lord’s Day, and to remember how much the Lord Jesus suffered in order to bring us back to God, and to make us part of the church.

“Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And…they believed Philip…and…they were baptized…Then Simon himself believed also: and…he was baptized” (Acts 8:5,12-13).

Here we find another example of a man who believed with his head, but not in his heart. He was a man who used sorcery, which means that he impressed people with Satan’s power. But when he saw the power of the Holy Spirit exhibited by Philip, he realized that this was a greater power than he had. People were healed of their diseases, and were filled with the Holy Spirit by the laying on of Philip’s hands.

But then Simon offered money to the apostles, asking them to give him the power to lay his hands on people and have them receive the Holy Spirit. This showed clearly that he was not really saved, and Peter addresses him very faithfully, pointing out that Simon was in the “bond of iniquity.” This simply means that he was not saved, but still in his sins. We do not know whether he eventually got saved or not, for we do not hear of him again. We hope that he did repent and come to the Lord Jesus.

“Now when He [the Lord Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them” (John 2:23-24).

At first glance, we may feel that it was a good thing for some to believe on the Lord Jesus, when they saw the miracles which He did. But then we read that the Lord Jesus did not commit Himself unto them. Why was this?

It was because it is possible for us to believe with our heads, yet not with our hearts. These people were impressed with the Lord’s miracles, for they saw divine power in those miracles. However, they did not realize that they were sinners and needed a Savior. They did not really recognize the Lord Jesus as the Son of God. Many thought that He was only a great prophet.

In the same way there are people today who know about the Lord Jesus, and who believe that He came into this world to save us. Yet they have never really come to Him and accepted Him as their Savior. Many people celebrate Christmas and sing Christmas carols, yet do not really know the Lord Jesus. How important it is to come to Him, not only because of His power to perform miracles, but because He is ready to save us!

“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12).

This verse was spoken by the prophet Samuel, more than 3,000 years ago. He was reminding the children of Israel how the Lord had looked after them in the past, and would continue to look after them. It is the same for us today; He has looked after us in the past, and will continue to lead and guide us all the way home.

I am going to tell you all something personal now. I thought of this verse today because it is our wedding anniversary. As I write this in 2022, it is 52 years since we were married. We can truly say, in the same words Samuel used, “Hitherto (up until now) hath the Lord helped us.” We can also trust Him for whatever amount of time is left to us in this world.

Most of you who read this calendar are probably not even married yet, although some of our readers may be a bit older, and already have had some wedding anniversaries. But wherever we are in our lives in this world, we can look back and be thankful to the Lord for His help. We can count on that same help for as long as He leaves us here in this world.

“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

Three days ago we mentioned that in the New Testament we learn that God is light and that God is love. We also said that while these things were known to some extent in the Old Testament, yet they were not known in the same way as they are made known in the New Testament. In our verse for today we see that the Old Testament was characterized by law, where God was testing man, to see if there was any good in him naturally. God knew, of course, that there was no good in sinful man, but His testing proved it to man.

Then God sent His Son into the world, and grace and truth came by Him. Grace is the undeserved goodness of God to us, and we all like that. It is always nice to get something good that we do not deserve. But truth also came by Jesus Christ, and man did not like the truth. Man did not want to hear that he was not only a sinner, but a helpless sinner. He did not want to hear that he could not save himself, but must come to God, and accept His offer of mercy. But grace and truth cannot be separated; they go together.

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).

It is true that many did not believe on the Lord Jesus when He came into this world, but we can be thankful that some believed. God had worked in their hearts, and they recognized the Lord Jesus as the Son of God. When they believed on Him, as we see in our verse today, a wonderful thing happened. He gave them the power to become the sons of God! This is something that was never given in the Old Testament, even to those who believed, and were faithful to the Lord. But now God is not only showing mercy to us, but He wants to make us part of His family.

Those who now believe on the Lord Jesus have new life in Him, and are given the wonderful privilege of being sons of God. Perhaps you already know this, but do we think about what it means? In this world it is nice to be born into a good family, and some people in this world are born as a baby into wealthy families, but no one in this world is ever born into the family of God. No, God must adopt us into His family, and He gladly does so, in spite of the fact that we are sinners. He washes away our sins with the blood of Christ, and then makes us part of His family.

“Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:26).

What the Lord Jesus says in this verse will really happen after every true Christian has been called home to be with the Lord. But it seems that in the last few years the Lord has been allowing some events that are giving this world a taste of what will happen in the future. As I write this in 2022, the Covid pandemic is slowing down, but now the war in the Ukraine is creating big problems of a different kind. The prices of everything are going up, and the future is very uncertain. Many people are very afraid, and wonder where it is all going to end. Maybe you have met some people in your life who are afraid, as they see the condition of things in this world.

You and I, who know the Word of God, know where it will end, for God has told us. We should be serious about our life, and be diligent in telling others about the Lord. But there is no reason to be afraid, for the Lord is in full control of all that is happening. He knows just how to arrange things in this world to accomplish His plans.

“In Him was life; and the life was the light of men…that was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” John 1:4,9).

When the Lord Jesus came into this world, the world was in darkness. Yes, the sun was shining, for our verses today are not talking about natural darkness, but rather moral darkness. God had spoken through prophets and others in the Old Testament, but man was still in moral darkness. Then the Lord Jesus came, and His perfect life was a light that lightened every man. We would probably understand verse 9 better if we read it this way—“that was the true Light that, coming into the world, lighteneth every man.” Even if man did not want the Lord Jesus, and did not believe on Him, yet His presence in this world was a light, and men are now more responsible. Through the Lord Jesus, God has shone a light into this world, and has shown not only the truth that God is light, but also that God is love. These truths were given in the Old Testament, but not in the same way. Now God has shown His character through the Lord Jesus, and men are responsible if they refuse the light.

“The chief priests and the scribes came upon Him [the Lord Jesus]…and spake unto Him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? Or who gave Thee this authority?” (Luke 20:1-2).

The Lord Jesus had just finished cleansing the temple, and driving out the money-changers, with them who bought and sold things. Then the Jewish leaders dared to ask Him who gave Him authority to do this. Normally it is not wrong to ask someone about their authority to do something, but for several years the Lord Jesus had been doing miracles, and proving who He was. Yet the people did not believe on Him, and disputed His authority over the temple. Eventually they found a way to crucify Him, thinking they had gotten rid of Him.

It is much the same today in this world. All the proof of the truth of the Bible, and all the evidence of God’s love for lost sinners, does not persuade man to come to Christ. Only a work of God in the soul can bring men to repent, but by the Holy Spirit the Lord does work in hearts, to draw souls to Him.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

We have a bird feeding station outside our kitchen window, and love to watch the various birds come and go. There is also a bird bath there, where the robins and a few other birds who do not eat the seeds we put out, come just to refresh themselves on a hot day.

Yesterday I was sitting on our deck which is around the corner from the bird activity. But the deck has a glass panel instead of railings, and what goes on around the corner is reflected in the glass, even though it is not always sparkling clean! Suddenly I saw a flash of the most beautiful red as a bird settled on the bird bath. I couldn’t see it clearly, because the glass panel on the deck was dirty, but I could see just enough to know it was beautiful. Quietly I approached the corner and saw a bird called a scarlet tanager in all its beauty. I had never seen one before.

It reminded me of today’s verse. We look forward to seeing the Lord Jesus face to face, and we can enjoy and be happy in those thoughts. But what glory we will see when the darkened glass is removed, and we see His glory without any hindrance. Any day now!