Call To Worship January 1 2017
“Bartimaeus was blind in body, but not in soul…Let us strive and pray that we may have like precious faith. Like Bartimaeus, we are not allowed to see Jesus with our bodily eyes. But we have the report of His power, and grace, and willingness to save, in the Gospel. We have exceeding great promises from His own lips, written down for our encouragement. Let us trust those promises implicitly, and commit our souls to Christ unhesitatingly. Let us not be afraid to repose all our confidence on His own gracious words, and to believe that what He has engaged to do for sinners, He will surely perform. What is the beginning of all saving faith, but a soul’s venture on Christ? What is the life of saving faith, when once begun, but a continual leaning on an unseen Savior’s word? What is the first step of a Christian, but a crying, like Bartimaeus, ‘Jesus have mercy on me?’ What is the daily course of a Christian, but keeping up the same spirit of faith? ‘Though now we see Him not, yet believing we rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.’ (1 Peter 1:8.)” (J.C. Ryle, Mark: Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Banner of Truth 2012, pg. 175-176)