DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
O Lord, you are emptying us from vessel to vessel. You are letting us see the dregs of our depravity and the violence of our nature; and we loathe ourselves until we are ready to cry, “Bury my dead out of my sight!” Yet this we do know, that in Christ we are lovely, and comely, and you see no sin in Jacob, neither iniquity in Israel. You delight yourself in your people; you have loved them with an everlasting love, therefore you have drawn them; therefore you draw them still; and therefore you will draw them until you have drawn them to perfection in yourself, to dwell with you forever
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)
The old life is dead. You are dead to it. You will not be consumed by it, you cannot be controlled by it. You have a newer and higher life. Let it have full scope.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
What does it actually look like to have new life in Jesus?
Today we prayed, acknowledging that our lives are completely empty. We have nothing good to offer God on our own. And in today’s verse of the day, God’s design for our lives is that we would die with Jesus and be raised up with Jesus. This sounds really great… but what does it actually mean?
A really great, practical book to help you understand what it means to die and rise with Jesus is J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life by Paul Miller. This book describes how our suffering and trials in this life are God’s plan to help us grow: We die to ourselves and are risen up to new life.
This book will help you understand your suffering and sin. It will fill you up with hope to know that God hasn’t given up on you (and he never will).
I know this book will encourage you and help you grow, so I hope you’ll grab a copy today.