Surrender Challenge Day 1

Romans 12:3
“For I say, through the grace given to me,
to everyone who is among you,
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think,
but to think soberly,
as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Romans 12:16 “Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.”

1 Peter 5:5-6 “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time."

1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Psalm 138:6 “For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.”

Proverbs 6:16-17 “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood."

2 Chronicles 34:27 “Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God ... and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord.”

1 Samuel 2:3 “Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.”

Challenge Day 1:

When I am tempted to think of myself more highly than I ought to think, I will chose to STOP and think what is true, PRAY that God would give me grace to be humble, and SING the hymn 'make me a servant' to my King and DO whatever I am completing, aware of His presence with me, and to His standard of perfection.

Make Me A Servant

Make me a servant-
Humble and meek,
Lord let me lift up-
Those who are weak,
And may the prayer-
Of my heart always be-
Make me a servant,
Make me a servant,
Make me a servant, today.

Make me compassionate-
Toward all I meet,
Pour out Your love through-
Words that I speak,
And may I not-
pray for personal gain,
Make me more like You,
Make me more like You, today.

Make me unashamed-
of You, Your Name,
Lord, let me speak out-
Your truth proclaim,
Give me the boldness-
Your Spirit provides-
Make me outspoken,
Make me take action,
Make me Your champion, today

Make me a warrior-Of things yet unseen,
Praying with passion-
And insight that's keen,
Enabling others-
To tell of Your love,
Make me be faith-filled,
Make me consistent,Make me pray with your will, today

Make me a servant-
Humble and meek,
Lord let me lift up-
Those who are weak,
And may the prayer-
Of my heart always be-
Make me a servant,
Make me a servant,
Make me a servant, today.

Is My All On The Altar? Is Yours?

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” Matthew 6:33

"God needs those who are ready to lay down their very lives to lead others into true soldiership

 and a true following of the Crucified."  Amy Carmichael

The curtains dance in the wind coming through the screen and from the fan overhead. My baby sister flops over, sound asleep. Like I should be. The covers come off. Here in the dark with the soft breathing of the other girls drowning out the sounds of the road nearby, here is my ‘searching place.’  

Did I act in a way that pleased Jesus today?

Where did I go wrong?
What can I do better tomorrow?

And slowly, the realization comes. I have a pattern of failure. What is it? Where is it coming from? What wrong thinking am I acting on?

Tonight the answer comes back:

“Yes, But what was your attitude?”

Shameful tears come.

“Where is your love for me? Don’t you realize I am watching you? With you?”

I’m listening Lord Jesus.

“I have asked you one thing. Just one. And that is that you seek me with everything you have.

Every thought you have should about Me, connected to Me, and given My approval.

Every desire should be for Me first above all else. You should be hungry for the things I love.

Every activity you do should be with the conscientious knowledge that you are doing it to please me, because I’m right here with you.

Where is your passion and love for Me?

Show it by doing the things I love!”

I pray a lot about this. I cry over this. I check myself against this standard and fail. Miserably.

 To quote my journal:

"The crux of the matter is:

Am I giving all that I have for Jesus Christ and serving Him to the very best of my ability every day? My conscience is cringing with shame, whispering, "Be honest. The answer is 'No!’… matter of fact… you’re not even close. "

But I want to!!!! I want to serve the Lord Jesus wholeheartedly, unabashedly, with every single thing I do all day long every day!
Why don't I do it?
Do I see what I am doing as serving my King?

 If I cannot serve my King while I am doing it, should I be doing it at all? 

Did I start my day by seek Him to receive the right heart attitude? Was I faithful to do my part? 

Do I honestly believe that God cares about every single part of my day, what my attitude was, and how well I did it? 

Is that just my intellect assenting to theology, or do I believe it?  

Am I lazy? Am I just not thinking and doing what I know to be right?"

Can we help each other?

Can we keep each other accountable please?

I have developed a habit. A strange, but I hope God glorifying habit … One that helps me be able to visibly see myself grow and change to be more like Jesus. As God shows me that I need changing, I find the scripture that tells how to cure it, and then come up with a project for each day of the week, or month, or three months, or however long it takes for this to become a habit on this level, ‘til God brings it back around again at the next level.

Let’s sharpen each other and mutually encourage each other to fight and win this one.

I’ll post a project each day for the next week, from Wednesday the 17^th to Wednesday the 24^th.

I will respond at the end of the day with how I won or lost that day, and you can respond with how your day went.

The passage:

Romans 12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

³ For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. ⁴ For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. ⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; ⁷ or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; ⁸ he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁹ Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; ¹¹ not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;¹² rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; ¹³ distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. ¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”^[a] says the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”^[b]

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

For the encouragement of everyone, please don’t just think about responding. Do it.
Can we do this together? For the Glory of our King?

See you tomorrow! 

Walking With God

Oh! for a closer walk with God, 

A calm and heavenly frame;

 A light to shine upon the road 

That leads me to the Lamb! 

Where is the blessedness 

I knew When first I saw the Lord?

 Where is the soul-refreshing view 

Of Jesus and His Word? 

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed! 

How sweet their memory still! 

But they have left an aching void, 

The world can never fill. 

Return, O holy Dove, return! 

Sweet the messenger of rest! 

I hate the sins that made thee mourn 

And drove thee from my breast. 

The dearest idol I have known, 

Whate'er that idol be, 

Help me to tear it from thy throne, 

And worship only thee. 

So shall my walk be close with God,

 Calm and serene my frame; 

So purer light shall mark the road 

That leads me to the Lamb.

 

William Cowper, Olney Hymns

I'm Ready to Be Married!!!!! Or Am I?

"Somewhere it is written that "A mother is only a woman, but she needs the love of Jacob, the patience of Job, the wisdom of Moses, the foresight of Joseph, and the firmness of Daniel." But a mother not only has to have all these things, she must have them all at once, often when she is quite young and too often when she has had not previous training of any kind for the marvelously varied duties she has to perform. Before she marries, a young lady does not imagine herself facing the difficulties of managing the complicated working of a household. Untried responsibilities come upon her as soon as she does marry. And, perhaps, just as she is grasping the situation, her first child is born. Then, not only her own health but that of another's depends on how she manages her life. Another child is born, and another. Her attention is given up to the various aspects of maintaining a happy, well-managed home. There are holiday celebrations to arrange, extended family parties and visits, church functions, occasions for neighborly hospitality, etc. In the center of it all is one little woman---wife, mother, mistress all in one! Is it a wonder she feels overspent in her efforts to be dietitian, laundress, nurse, hostess, teacher, taxi driver, wife, mother and mistress?"(from A Wise Woman Builds her Home)

In our American culture there comes a time in a girl's life when she sits down and thinks:

I've been to college. 

I'm over 23. 

I hold a steady job.
I've lived my dreams.

 I'm ready to be married! 

Or am I? 

Am I prepared for Wife and Motherhood?
     How do I respond to diaper blow-outs, a burnt dinner, or a cranky brother or father? Am I patient? Kind? Self-controlled? What do I do when I am offended? Mad? Had a bad day? When I've been yelled at? Accused? When I've done wrong? Said the wrong thing? When someone doesn't agree with me? Or I don't get my way?
     Can I keep my relationships with others healthy when I am busy? Tired? Hurting? Sick? Long distance? When we run out of things to talk about? Do I listen to and care about only myself? Am I a hot-and-cold, Love you today, hate you tomorrow friend? How many friends do I still have from my childhood, and what kinds of friendships are they? What kinds of people do I seek friendships with now? Have I forgiven and dealt with the hurts of the past so they will not hurt the relationships in my future?
      Do I know what to do with a baby who won't stop crying? (I can't help answering this one :) think: hungry, dirty diaper, needs burping, is teething) Can I occupy a child productively for hours, and yet get my work done? Can I teach a child so they will understand?  Am I willing to allow(and enjoy) having a child to help me do EVERYTHING (make the beds together, brush our teeth together, cook together, clean together, shop together, nap together, talk with my friends together, be shadowed everywhere I go, and answer the question "Why mommy?" a million times per project)
      Do I know how to run a household? Can I throw out the germ-a-phobe in me and clean the base of a toilet and scrub mold off a shower ceiling?Can I plan a balanced meal? Can I serve two people three hearty meals a day on $45 per week for groceries? Do I know how to use coupons? Do I know how much tax is? Can I compute which bulk items, half off prices, or two for one items are more expensive than their regular, shelf price partner?
      Can I cook simple things like spaghetti, clumsy things like thanksgiving turkey and delicate things like angel food cake? Can I get a whole meal with all the different dishes all hot and ready to serve at the same time?(I mean without burning something, or reheating something ... and not in two hours either!)
      Do I know how to remove grass and blood and tomato and ink from the family laundry?
     

Am I ready to be a wife and mother? 

No. 

Is anyone ever ready?

No.

Can I start getting ready now so it won't be so hard later?

Yes! 

The answer is yes!

Yes! I can start as a daughter or sister to practice showing love, 

kissing owies,

and giving up what I want to do to help someone else! 

I can scrub down the fridge for my mom!

 I can rub my Daddy's feet after a long day at work!

I can learn these things and practice them now! 

And I'm excited about it!

Who will join me?

Joining the Ranks

“What is the secret to great living? Entire separation to Christ and devotion to Him. Thus speaks every man and woman whose life has made more than a passing flicker in the spiritual realm. It is the life that has no time for trifling that counts.” -Amy Carmichael

History is filled with amazing examples of stunning set-apart women, wholly devoted to Jesus Christ. Their awe-inspiring examples of radiant femininity put modern young women (myself included!) to shame. Here are two of my favorites:

Vibia Perpetua, one of the earliest Christian martyrs, was thrown into an arena among wild beasts and then killed with a gladiator's sword because of her faith in Christ. A beautiful young woman of high education and noble birth, she gladly gave up all worldly comforts and applause for the cause of Christ. The mother of an infant son whom she dearly loved, she could have obtained life and freedom simply by denying her faith in Christ. But as it says in Revelation 12:11, she loved not her life unto death. Vibia greatly rejoiced that she was counted worthy to suffer and die for her Savior, and she endured the wild beasts’ attacks while singing a Psalm and exhibiting a joyful, radiant countenance. She walked confidently toward death, as Christ walked to Calvary, and was given victory over her senses, feeling no pain but only a deep oneness with God. Just before she died, she exhorted her onlooking brother to stand fast in the faith. Like many other martyrs, Vibia’s blood became the seed of the early Christian Church. Because of her courageous spirit and sublime faith, the Church attracted countless people who could not ignore the hope and heroism displayed in the life and death of this radiant daughter of the King. 

Gladys Aylward was 25 when she met Christ and offered her life to Him fully and completely. He placed a heavy burden upon her heart for the suffering and unreached people of war-torn China. But she had no money, did not speak the language, and was unqualified to go alone to a dangerous and hostile land. Then one day she heard a challenge from her Lord, and she knew she had to go exactly where He was calling her. At the age of 26, she boarded a train to China with only a small handful of coins in her pocket and embarked upon one of the most extraordinary adventures of all time.

Over the next 20 years, Gladys preached the Gospel to thousands of Chinese men and women, tended to hundreds of wounded soldiers during the war, single-handedly stopped a deadly riot at a men's prison, cared for the sick and lepers, and adopted more than a hundred orphans, often going without food so that they could survive. During the Japanese invasion she was on the "Dead or Alive” most wanted list, and at times narrowly escaped pursuers seeking to end her life - her clothing riddled with bullet holes.

She led 200 orphans on a six-week journey across the mountains to bring them to safety, a journey so exhausting that she lapsed into a coma as soon as the task was completed. Gladys' life of complete abandon to Jesus Christ literally changed the face of a nation. At the end of her life, she wrote: "My heart is full of praise that one so insignificant, uneducated, and ordinary in every way could be used to His glory for the blessing of His people in poor persecuted China." Though ordinary and insignificant, Gladys lived one of the most spectacular displays of triumphant femininity this world has ever seen, all because she staked everything upon the faithfulness of her God.

The sacred call God placed upon these incredible women's lives is the very same call He has placed upon yours and mine. Only one question remains. Are we willing to lay down everything else and take up His set-apart commission? 

God's sacred intent for us goes far beyond just saving sex until marriage, wearing one-piece swimsuits instead of skimpy bikinis, or idolizing Christian bands instead of secular ones. It is not just making sure we tack on some Christian morality to our self-indulgent lives.

His sacred intent for you and for me is nothing short of absolute abandonment to Jesus Christ, entire separation from the pollution of the world, and ardent worship of our King with every breath we take. 

About the Author: 

A little peek inside the life of Leslie Ludy 

"First and foremost, I’m a wife and mother of four precious little munchkins. My husband, Eric, is the love of my life.  More than sixteen years ago, God scripted an amazing love story for us, and we’ve been in ministry together for most of our married life – writing, speaking, training, discipling, and experiencing the grand adventure of God’s amazing endless frontier. And more recently, we’ve tackled the adventure of raising four sweet little kiddos together – all under age six!  Our life – both at home and in our ministry world – is an exciting daily journey of leaning on the faithfulness and grace of our God!"

Yes! You are in the right place!

    Welcome back to Fidelis Deus! You may be wondering why it no longer looks like the same blog you used to know and love. No worries! The content is just the same! But there are changes around the corner.
      Becca-Ellen and I have thought and prayed for almost a year about changing the name of our blog, and now the change is official. Welcome to:

A Little Space

The new name signifies something special,  the 'little space' that each of us occupies in our home as a daughter or sister, the little space we are called to brighten, beautify, and glorify our Master in. Our purpose here on this blog is to encourage you to be content in the 'little space' of time or place that God has you in right now, and to encourage you to serve Him to the utmost of your ability right where He has you.

As to the changes around the corner, we are looking forward to:

More Guest Posts!

Reviews of encouraging 'Girl Books' 

Some Giveaways

Introducing new-found resources 

One thing will always remain the same, and that is our passionate encouragement to you. 

"Serve the Lord!"

and

   

Reclaiming Beauty Seminar with the Botkin Sisters

Look what I just found!
Even though it is in the middle of the webinar, you can still join and receive links to past sessions!
I hope you will check it out!





What have you always wanted to know about beauty and beautification? Whether your questions are philosophical or practical, we’d like to invite you to throw them our way as we prepare for the “Reclaiming Beauty” webinar. We’ll be answering questions live during the webinar, but hearing your biggest questions now will help us make sure our sessions will tackle are all the major topics our listeners want to hear about. Just email us at damselsATvisionarydaughtersDOTcom, and let us know what you’d like to hear us address. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

Reclaiming Beauty: A Webinar

A New Look at How to Glorify God in Your Body

What is beauty?
Some say beauty fits in a size 0. Some say beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Some say beauty is only skin deep. Some say beauty is only a quality of the heart. Some say beauty is truth. Some say beauty is a lie. Some say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some say beauty is as beauty does. Some say Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly are beautiful. Some say everyone is beautiful. Some say beauty is divine. Some say beauty is corrupting.
From all this confusion, one idea emerges clearly: The world knows beauty matters. They talk a lot about it, write poetry and paint paintings celebrating it, and spend $160 billion dollars a year on it. But what’s equally clear is that they don’t know what it is. The question is: Do we?
Today’s young Christian women have grown up in the most image-obsessed generation in history, a generation that worships some of the most twisted ideals of beauty the world has ever seen. But whether we love them or hate them… they tend to shape our own perceptions of what beauty is. Some of us accept its ideals, and struggle to fit into its mold – others of us are repulsed by it, concluding that physical beauty itself is immodest, worldly, and unspiritual, and reject the realm of beautification completely. But when all we’ve ever seen is the counterfeit the world offers, we can sometimes forget that the world did not create beauty – God did. And though we all know the world has a lot to say about image, we sometimes don’t realize how much God does too.

It’s time to reclaim beauty. For thousands of years, believers, pagans, Gnostics, Humanists, Neo-Platonists, iconoclasts, and creators of culture have battled over this critical turf called “beauty.” Today, we have only to look at who designs the fashions, markets the beauty icons, rules the red carpet, adorns magazine covers, crowns Miss America, and designs clothes-and-makeup advertisements, to know who is currently holding the turf.
It’s time to take beauty back. When faced with an industry that runs on photoshop airbrushing, plastic surgery, starvation diets, grotesque catwalk styles, and billions of squandered dollars, our response can no longer be, “Beauty is not for us.” It’s time for our response to be, “Get your flag out of our ground.” It’s time for us to be a light in a culture that uses beauty as a weapon against God. It’s time for God’s ambassadors to make His principles – such as modesty and femininity – look as beautiful as they really are. It’s time for us to show the world: Ugliness is not beauty. Emaciation is not beauty. Androgyny is not beauty. Immodesty is not beauty. Unnatural distortion is not beauty. From Genesis to Revelation, God paints a different picture of the inner and outer beauty of a woman, and it’s time to show the world what it really looks like – one soul, one body, one face, one closet at a time.

A Webinar on Reclaiming Beauty
with Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin

This fall, the authors of So Much More and It’s (Not That) Complicated and producers of “Return of the Daughters” are launching an intensely practical, image-rich, 7-week webinar on the meaning and cultivation of beauty from the inside out. Join sisters Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin as they dive into Scripture for the answers to an issue of great importance and frustration to young women: personal image.
Is it OK to look pretty? Wear makeup and jewelry? Put effort into my clothes? Take care of my body? Do I have to care about how I look? Where can I find modest, classy clothes without spending a fortune? What should my attitude be toward the latest fashions? How do I figure out what looks good on me? What is appropriate to wear when? What in the world do I do with my hair?
“Reclaiming Beauty: A New Look at How to Glorify God in Your Body” will cover topics ranging from such practical issues as skincare, fitness, posture, voice, modesty, home-made beauty products, and color analysis… to subjects as penetrating as personal identity, insecurity, comparisons, worldliness, vanity, idolatry, our attitude toward others, and the state of our hearts before the Lord.
Discover:

• What it means to represent the Lord as His ambassadors to the world
• Where true beauty starts
• What the Bible says about beautification and adornment
• How we should respond to the world’s idea of beauty
• The history and philosophy behind the most popular garments
• The proper priority-level of beauty in the Christian’s life
• The biblical relationship between the physical and the spiritual
• What it means to be separate from the world
• What we can learn from the beauty industry
• What the beauty industry has gotten wrong

Get practical tips on:

• Clothing yourself better for a lot less money
• Making modesty and femininity look excellent instead of frumpy
• Making off-the-rack clothes modest
• Putting together great outfits with what you already had in your closet
• Using makeup tastefully
• Giving sloppy garments new life with minimum alterations
• Cultivating taste and style
• Getting out of a fashion rut
• Creating a minimum-time-and-effort plan for looking nice every day

A Webinar That’s Not Just Skin Deep

Webinar sessions will run every Tuesday evening, 7-8 PM Central Time, from September 25 to November 13 (excluding October 30). The seven sessions include:

#1. What God Says About Beauty and Beautification
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
#2: What Style Is Your Heart, Mind, and Soul?
Pardon Me, Ma’am, But Your True Identity is Showing
#3. Getting Your Temple in Order
The Physical Foundations of Beauty
#4. Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
How to Work with the Build, Coloring, and Natural Beauty God Gave You
#5: Putting Things Together
Composition, Style, Occasion, Accessories
#6: Acquiring New Pieces (and Revitalizing Old Ones)
How to Get What You Need with Minimum Time, Money, and Fuss
#7: The Focal Point
Being a Good Steward of Your Face and Hair

The webinar registration fee is $44 per family. It is recommended for young women 12 and up, although parents are encouraged to listen with their daughters.

Click Here to Register

Starting out as aesthetic ascetics and determined frumps who were clueless about beauty and fashion, Anna Sofia and Elizabeth have had to build their understanding of beauty from the biblical foundation up (a work still in progress). They have no beauty certifications whatsoever, though they do have experience dressing for everything from speaking engagements to political events to concert harp performances to good old dirty work around the farm, and each get everything they need (clothes, shoes, hair care, accessories, cosmetics, etc.) for around $130 a year. They’re also interested in reclaiming the biblical family, film, art, music, and politics, and work with their family’s ministry, Western Conservatory of the Arts and Sciences.

The Christian: A Living Sacrifice

How will I use my time today?

Why does it matter?

Can't I use my time the way I want?

After all.... It is mine.... isn't it?

     If I am Christ's, all I have belongs to Him.

And He calls, "present the things that you horde, find security in, and love more than your Lord to Me."

Why? Because He has given so much more, and there's so much more he wants to give. He is calling, "Give me your last drop of oil and flour... Give me your only son, oh Abraham, oh Widow, oh Hannah.  Give me your boat so I can teach you to walk on water; I am waiting for you to trust me, so that I can open up the windows of heaven."

What do you want me to give, Lord Jesus? 

What is it that I am keeping as my own, for myself?

      The answer comes back to me: Time.

Yes I can while away my time... if I have not given it as a 'living sacrifice' to my Savior.

Yes I can use my time how I want, spending it on me... if I can drown the hunger for a deeper relationship with my Lord. 
     But... I don't want to give up my time! Why? I know I won't get to be selfish with it if I give it to you Lord Jesus. But you are calling. Can I say "wait a little, I'll give it to you later"? With each passing minute it gets harder to say "yes," and by procrastination I prolong the pain of dying to myself. Oh Lord Jesus, I am not willing. But You can make me willing. Please make me willing to say 'yes' to You! 

What is Jesus calling you to give Him?

So The Little Minutes... humble as they be, make the mighty ages of Eternity!

One Minute

I have only just a minute,

 Only sixty seconds in it,

 Forced upon me, can’t refuse it.

 Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it,

 But it’s up to me to use it.

 I must suffer if I lose it,

 Give account if I abuse it.

 It is only just a minute,

 But eternity is in it.

 -Author Unknown

Only What's Done For Christ Shall Last

By Rev. C.T. Studd

“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. ”