Truth for Life - January 18, 2015
January 18, 2015
Help Me to Serve You
How different will be the state of the believer in heaven from what it is here! Here he is born to toil and suffer weariness, but in the land of the immortal, fatigue is never known. Anxious to serve his Master, he finds his strength unequal to his zeal; his constant cry is, "Help me to serve You, O my God." If he be thoroughly active, he will have much labor; not too much for his will, but more than enough for his power, so that he will cry out, "I am not wearied of the labor, but I am wearied in it."
Ah, Christian, the hot day of weariness does not last forever. The sun is nearing the horizon; it shall rise again with a brighter day than you have ever seen upon a land where they serve God day and night, and yet rest from their labors. Here rest is but partial; there it is perfect. Here the Christian is always unsettled; he feels that he has not yet attained. There all are at rest; they have attained the summit of the mountain; they have ascended to the bosom of their God. Higher they cannot go.
Ah, toil-worn laborer, only think of when you shall rest forever! Can you conceive it? It is a rest eternal; a rest that "remains." Here my best joys bear "mortal" on their brow. My fair flowers fade; my dainty cups are drained to dregs; my sweetest birds fall before Death's arrows; my most pleasant days are shadowed into nights; and the flood tides of my bliss subside into ebbs of sorrow. But there everything is immortal. The harp remains in tune, the crown unfading, the eye undimmed, the voice unfaltering, the heart unwavering; and the immortal being is wholly absorbed in infinite delight. Happy day when mortality shall be swallowed up of life, and the Eternal Sabbath shall begin!
Family Bible reading plan
verse 1 Genesis 19
verse 2 Matthew 18
Prone To Wander
Confessing our sins might seem like a gloomy business—God already knows about them, so what's the point of dwelling on failure? But confession is more celebratory than we think. It does not simply remind us of our guilt, but points us to our great Savior, who has atoned for us and lovingly pursues us despite our wandering.
These prayers open with a scriptural call of confession, confess specific sins, thank the Father for Jesus' perfect life and death in our place, ask for the help of the Spirit in pursuing holiness, and close with an assurance of pardon.
Inspired by the Puritan classic The Valley of Vision, these prayers were developed for both personal devotions and church use.
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From Morning & Evening revised and edited by Alistair Begg copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.
