Read Psalm 38:1-8

Nobody can deny there is pleasure in sin. If there were no pleasure in sin, nobody would fall into temptation. The Bible speaks about the pleasures of sin for a season. What season? The season of sowing. The pleasure of sin comes when we sow, but the pain comes when we reap. This is why David gave such a vivid description in Psalm 38 of what we suffer when we sin. “O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!” (v. 1). He went on to say that God’s arrows were piercing him and His hand was pressing down on him. All of his bones hurt. His iniquities had gone over his head as if he were drowning in a sea of sin. “My wounds are foul and festering,” David said. “I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long” (vv. 5, 6).

Why did God put this description in the Bible? Why does David compare the consequences of sin to being pierced by arrows, being pressed by His hand, sickness, a heavy burden, drowning, smothering and no peace? Because God wants us to hate sin. If for no other reason, the consequences of sin ought to warn us against sinning. The next time you’re tempted, look past the pleasure to the pain and learn to say no. Remember what David says in this Psalm. You say, “I’m a Christian. I can sin.” No, you can’t, because you’ll reap the same consequences. God chastens His own, for He wants us to walk in holiness. (By Dr. Warren Wiersbe)

Christ came to serve and to give, and God desires the same for us. “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister” (Matt. 20:27, 28).

The finest model of serving, except Christ Himself, was the Apostle Paul. Almost without exception he begins every one of his epistles with words to this effect: “Paul, a servant….” or “Paul, a bond slave….” He was indeed an apostle, but he conducted himself as a servant.

Very few of us want to be known exclusively as a servant. We want to be known as a servant and a great preacher, or a famous missionary, or an outstanding elder, or a well-known business man. What we fail to realize is that true servanthood does not have hidden aspirations to be great in the eyes of men.

When we think of our relationship to Christ, can it be said of us that we want only to serve Him?

Although his religious philosophy was questionable, Albert Schweitzer was a man willing to abandon a great career in order to serve his fellow man. In 1913, he sailed for Africa, having turned his back on fame, money and prestige. His first hospital was an old abandoned hen house and his first operating table an old campboard.

On a trip to the United States, a reporter asked, “Dr. Schweitzer, have you found happiness in Africa?”

“I have found a place of service,” he replied, “And that is enough for anyone.”

This does not represent the feelings of many of us who are members of the church. It is not sufficient to simply have a place of service. Many of us want a place of recognition and a road to fame.

All of us need to do some serious thinking and praying about this matter of being a servant.

We need to make this prayer ours: “O God, help me to be the master of myself, that I may be a servant of others.” (Copied)

Mr. Sankey tells the story of his boy who was with him, when a little fellow, in Scotland, and for the first time he possessed what in that country is known as a top-coat. They were walking out one cold day, and the way was slippery. The little fellow’s hands were deep down in his pockets. His father said to him: “My son, you had better let me take your hand,” but he said you never could persuade a boy with a new top-coat to take his hands from his pockets. They reached a slippery place and the boy had a hard fall. Then his pride began to depart and he said: “I will take your hand.” and he reached up and clasped his father’s hand the best he could. When a second slippery place was reached, the clasp was broken and the second fall was harder than the first. Then all his pride was gone, and raising his little hand he said: “You may take it now”; and his father said: “I clasped it round about with my great hand and we continued our walk; and when we reached the slippery places,” said he, “the little feet would start to go and I would hold him up.” This is a picture for the Christian. I am saved not so much because I have hold of God as because God has hold of me, and He not only gives me shoes with which I may walk and which never wear out, but Christ holds my hand in His and I shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck me out of His hand.(By Wilbur Chapman)

Why does the world reject the Savior of the world?
Why do they abhor Him who is altogether lovely,
and hate Him who is the best Friend of mankind?

O men of the world! what good can you desire which
is not in Christ? The excellencies of earth are but His
footstool; the excellencies of heaven are but His
throne! How excellent, then, must He himself be!

His treasures are infinite–and open for you!

In Jesus are . . .
riches–if you are poor;
honor–if you are despised;
friendship–if you are forsaken;
help–if you are injured;
mercy–if you are miserable;
joy–if you are disconsolate;
protection–if you are in danger;
deliverance–if you are a captive;
life–if you are mortal;
and all things–if you have nothing at all.

Time and eternity are His! He can give
you all the glorious things of eternity!

Moreover, He can deliver you . . .
from all your fears;
from sin–the worst of all evils;
from self–the most hurtful of all companions;
from death–the most dreadful of all changes;
from Satan–the most subtle of all enemies;
from hell–the most horrible of all prisons; and
from wrath–the most horrifying doom of all sinners!

Now, where will you find such a one as Jesus?

Why, then, refuse life, and seek after death?

All heaven is enamored with His beauty!

The longer we look on ‘created gaieties’, the leaner
and less lovely they grow; so that, by the time we
have viewed them forty, fifty, or sixty years–we
see nothing but vanity in the creature! But when
ten thousand ages are employed in beholding the
perfection and beauty of Jesus–He still appears
more and more lovely–even altogether lovely!
(By James Meikle, 1730-1799)

“I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: Which in time past was to thee unprofitable , but now profitable to thee and to me” (Phile. 1:10, 11).

I don’t know who Keith Robinson is, but he gives us plenty to think about in the comments below:

 

 

“What use am I in the world? Has my life really made a difference in anything? Would anything be appreciably different if I were not here? What is the old saying about putting your hand in a pail of water and withdrawing it: the hole that remains is how much you will be missed when you are gone! I am not pessimistic, depressed, or tired of living, but in reality, I have to recognize that my life has not made much of an impact on the world, certainly nothing like I had intended when I was 18 years old. But I am encouraged by the fact that human worth is not measured only in terms of fame, fortune, and sociopolitical influence. Perhaps the greatest measure of our value is how much we are needed by some other human being. John Mark was important because Paul needed him in a time of extreme anxiety and distress. The once useless Onesimus became ‘useful’ to Paul and to Philemon.

“When the final books are balanced and closed, the greatest tribute anyone could receive would be: They were useful! Someone needed them! And what greater ambition could a person entertain than to be needed, to be useful. My input is not desired or needed for the Mid-East peace talks. It is doubtful that those involved are indispensable. But I fill a need in the lives of a few people that cannot be filled by anyone else. If there is someone who needs my love, if there is someone who looks forward to my presence, even if I can be nothing much more than just the object to someone’s love, then I am not worthless. My life is not in vain. My existence is not futile. I may not be much, but I can love someone and make them feel needed. I can be the object of someone else’s love and thus fill their needs and mine. No one is useless unless they give up on life and love.

” ‘Onesimus’ means ‘useful.