Only One Life

Only what's done for Christ will last.

Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life's busy way;

Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;

Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;

Then, in 'that day' my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat;

Only one life,'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice

Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God's holy will to cleave;

Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;

Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;

Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score;

When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;

Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;

Faithful and true what e'er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;

Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn;

Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;

Only one life, "twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say,"Thy will be done";

And when at last I'll hear the call, I know I'll say "twas worth it all";

Only one life,'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

By C.T. Studd

Psalms 39:4 “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, how fleeting my life is."

Growing Big Faith - Practical Teaching

Apply practical teaching to help you grow big faith.

Matthew 7:24-27  "Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock."

25  "Though the rain comes in torrents and the flood waters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock."

26  "But anyone who hears My teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.  27  When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash."

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Jesus was surrounded by the crowds that came to hear him teach, they probably didn't realize that they were in for a long sermon that day, he taught about the lifestyle of those that follow him. Some of the things that he told them in this famous sermon was that they should be meek and humble, they should store up treasure in heaven and love their enemies.

Jesus ended the sermon with a parable, he told the crowd that "anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise," he didn't want his audience to just know more he wanted them to do something with what they learned.

It’s one thing to know a lot about weightlifting and another thing to actually lift weights. It’s one thing to know a lot about nutrition and another thing to eat healthy. You can have every book on nutrition and weight loss, you can have a bunch of gym memberships, you can have the best looking work-out clothes but it isn't helping you one bit if you don't apply it to your life.

The Religious leaders of Jesus day proved that knowledge can easily puff up your ego and you can overlook the fact that the things that you know need to be put into action. It’s one thing to know a lot about the Bible and another thing to actually live out what it teaches.

Luke 11:28  Jesus replied, "But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice."

That’s why the Christian life isn’t just about knowledge. It’s when our acts of faith intersect with God’s faithfulness that our faith grows. From Jesus’ parable of the wise and foolish builders, we discover that hearing and learning are not enough. There has to be application because it’s obedience that makes all the difference.

Apply what you know.

James 1:22-25  But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.  23  For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.  24  You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.  25  But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

The Sermon on the Mount is a great big list of things to do but there isn't any value in knowing all these things if you are not going to apply them and put them into action. Being in church every Sunday doesn't have any value if it doesn't affect the way that you live.

I shouldn't just read the Bible to know more, I need to study the Bible and look for practical application. If I go to the church and see myself in the mirror of God's word and then I walk away and ignore what I saw then I am just wasting my time and I could have stayed in bed.

Help me Lord to apply and live out what I know about you and your will for my life.

Decision Making For A Better New Year

Making decisions with eternity in mind.

John 11:40-42 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”

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The story about Lazarus sickness and eventual death before Jesus arrived to help him is a well know story to a lot of us. I hadn't realized the ideas about time management and decision making that are an integral part of the story until I saw this Bible study by Stephen Cole at Bible.org.

Sometimes our thoughts turn to how short our time is here on earth and we begin to wonder how well we are using each moment. These thoughts usually pop up when we have to open up a new calendar to begin a new year or sometimes it is a death of a family member or friend that makes us think about the importance of using our time wisely.

There are so many options that are pulling at us to use up more and more of our time. In the old days we were concerned with our vocation eating our time but in our society the television, the internet and our cell phones are all on the list of things that are eager to consume large chunks of our time.

I wonder almost everyday if God is happy with the way that we use our time. I wonder how much my life should look like the people in the early church. I wonder if we should spend less time on day to day stuff that doesn't have much eternal impact. How much of a "fanatic" should a Christ follower be?  How different should he look from the rest of the world?

Looking at the story of Lazarus we see that Jesus puzzled the people that were around him, they blamed him for the tragic outcome of not taking action right away, his time management skills were being questioned. It turns out that Jesus has a different system for making decisions:

How Jesus did not make decisions:

1. Jesus did not make decisions based on the pressure of His friends (John 11:1-4).
2. Jesus did not make decisions based on the emotions of the moment (John 11:5-6).
3. Jesus did not make decisions based on the threats of His enemies (John 11:7-11).

How Jesus did make decisions:

1. Jesus made decisions based on what would glorify God (John 11:4).
2. Jesus made decisions based on walking in the light of God’s purposes (John 11:9-10).
3. Jesus made decisions based on helping others come to faith and helping them grow in faith (John 11:15, 25-26, 42, 45).

Jesus always kept his purpose in focus, everything that he did was to help us believe that he is the Messiah, he didn't allow anything to distract him from his mission. Jesus delay created an opportunity to help the disciples to grow in their faith and it helped prove his identity as the Messiah to those that didn't believe yet.

We use our time correctly only when we live in submission to God’s purposes for our life. Instead of a short sighted evaluation about how to use our time we should look at our use of time in light of eternity.

God’s glory takes priority above everything else. I need to make my life count for God's purposes and for his glory. I need to pray that I will do his will on earth so that others will come to know him and to help them grow deeper in their faith.