“Only One Life, 'Twill Soon Be Past"

By 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 Judgment 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.

Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.

The Parable of the Shed

There was once a man who built a shed. He purchased blueprints, materials and with hand tools he crafted it for his own unique purposes. From the foundation, to the walls and roof, every detail was thoroughly thought out, even to the doors, windows and shelves. When the project was complete he invited a friend over to show him what he had done. The friend was so impressed that he desired to build one of his own. The man offered to build it for him as a friendly gesture, but needed to know what exactly his needs were.

“No need for that,” the friend quickly interrupted, “I really need to get started.”

“At least let me help you,” the man said. “We can work side by side as partners to get this done for you.”

“That won’t be necessary,” the friend abruptly explained. “I get what you are doing here. I have my own tools. Just let me get some measurements off of your shed, and I’ll build what I need.”

The man finally offered, “May I at least loan you the blueprints to guide you?”

“Keep your blueprints. I’m on my way. I’ll let you know how it goes.” The friend said this and left.

A great deal of time later, the friend invited the man to the inaugural celebration of the completion of the tenth shed. The friend said, “It is unbelievable what you have inspired! These sheds seem to be popping up everywhere since my first facsimile. I haven’t seen this one yet, but I’m sure you won’t believe what we have been able to accomplish.”

The friend was right, for when the man saw the tenth facsimile of the original, it not only had no resemblance to the inspiration, but the entire construction was perfectly useless. The edifice was a monstrous monstrosity. The foundation was unstable; the windows were gone; the doorway was too narrow to enter in; the roofline was so low a person could not comfortably work in it and finally entire facsimile was built as some sort of embellished ornate thing that it had lost all of its functionality and practicality.

The man questioned, “How did this happen?”

“I don’t know, but isn’t it a wonder,” the friend exclaimed! “It really doesn’t matter. This shed alone is worth ten times ten of what your old pathetic little utility shed is worth.”

“Well, at least my shed still serves me well,” the man said, as he walked away in disappointment.

(Excerpt from my new book, "Identifying the Believer", Chapter 9, "We are the Church")

HIMSELF

by A. B. Simpson

Once it was the blessing, Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling, Now it is His Word.
Once His gifts I wanted, Now the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing, Now Himself alone.

Once 'twas painful trying, Now 'tis perfect trust;
Once a half salvation, Now the uttermost.
Once 'twas ceaseless holding, Now He holds me fast;
Once 'twas constant drifting, Now my anchor's cast.

Once 'twas busy planning, Now 'tis trustful prayer;
Once 'twas anxious caring, Now He has the care.
Once 'twas what I wanted, Now what Jesus says;
Once 'twas constant asking, Now 'tis ceaseless praise.

Once it was my working, His it hence shall be;
Once I tried to use Him, Now He uses me.
Once the power I wanted, Now the Mighty One;
Once for self I labored, Now for Him alone.

Once I hoped in Jesus, Now I know He's mine;
Once my lamps were dying, Now they brightly shine.
Once for death I waited, Now His coming hail;
And my hopes are anchored, Safe within the vail.

House by the Side of the Road

by Sam Walter Foss (public domain)

There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the place of their self-content;
There are souls like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze the paths
Where highways never ran-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner's seat
Nor hurl the cynic's ban-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I see from my house by the side of the road
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife,
But I turn not away from their smiles and tears,
Both parts of an infinite plan-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead,
And mountains of wearisome height;
That the road passes on through the long afternoon
And stretches away to the night.
And still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice
And weep with the strangers that moan,
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish - so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat,
Or hurl the cynic's ban?
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

This was a favorite poem of my Grandma Ellison who faithfully served the Gospel Center Rescue Mission in Stockton, CA for over 20 years, and founded the Haven of Peace Woman's Shelter in French Camp, CA (1959). If you can help these ministries today, thank you.

The Lost Coin

I recently finished teaching a series on “Kingdom Parables”. A few weeks ago I was meditating on the parable of the “Woman & the Lost Coin” (Luke 15:8-10). This is one of the lost-and-found parables of Jesus. There is truly more joy in heaven when a lost soul is restored to faith in Christ. But something else occurred to me from this story. Practically speaking, what did the woman really loose? One coin out of the ten was probably equal to a day’s wages. I suppose that could stress a person out. But I think there was something deeper in her panic. The tenth coin that she lost was her tithe! And, according to Malachi 3 with the tithe goes the blessing.

Now, I understand that tithing is a controversial subject. I don’t see tithing as a command to new covenant believers. The New Testament command is to love – God, you, believers, neighbors and enemies. That encompasses just about everybody, don’t you think? Tithing is an expression of love for God and everyone else! The servant of the Lord owns nothing. Everything belongs to the Master. Regular, consistent tithing supports the local church that provides ministry to your family and others. Giving the tenth portion of our increase is a guideline that expresses we understand that all we have is our trust of the kingdom of God, and that we are answerable to Him for how we manage 100% of these kingdom assets. In the new covenant the tithe is an expression of commitment and faithfulness to the Lord. Whether Old or New Testament, God rewards expressions of faithfulness!

Then the next question to be answered is this. Where did she lose her tithe? If she can find it, the blessing of God can be restored to her. I suppose, when she retraced her steps, she realized the tenth coin was lost in her house. Now, I have heard people say they can’t afford to tithe; that is to make a commitment to regular consistent giving to the kingdom of God through the local church. Truth be told, I will be the first to admit, we have made just about every financial mistake in the book, but we have always made a concerted effort to maintain the tithe as an expression of our faith toward God.

When I started to think about losing the tithe in the house, the thought occurred to me how wasteful the American Christian is. We leave the lights on, waste gas, through food away, over eating, over spending, pay exorbitant interest rates on credit cards. Not to mention that we are gluttons for entertainment and high tech gadgets. Ask yourself, “Could I find the tithe, if I removed the movie channels from my cable subscription, or cut the cable all together? Could I find the tithe, if I planned my meals and ate out less? Do I need to keep the gym membership, if I don’t go? Etc.” We need to get back on a reasonable household budget until we find the tithe again. Try paying your tenth first, than live on the rest. And don’t forget to save for your financial future.

When the woman in the parable found the tithe, she had a party! There will surely be a party in the house of God when 100% of the believers give 100% of the tithe! The local church is struggling today with only 20-30% of the membership faithfully contributing. Think of what we can accomplish for the kingdom of God when all believers bring the entire tithe into the “storehouse”. When we prove ourselves to be faithful with the little that we have now, God will be able to trust us with more. Would you count it an honor to garner our Lords trust?

Compressed Time Frames

I think I remember someone saying, “We are living in a period of compressed time frames.” I shared with our Business Men’s Fellowship today that it feels like we are running to catch up to jump onto a moving train that’s picking up speed. I don’t know if it’s true for the rest of the world, but for the kingdom of God the times and the seasons are gaining momentum. Our labor in the Lord is also becoming more concentrated, and we are experiencing greater result for the effort.

I’m reminded of the parable of the farmer in Matthew 20, who hired laborers for the vineyard. He went to the marketplace in the early morning, late morning, noon, early afternoon, then finally late afternoon, always finding able bodied workers for the field of harvest, standing around, unemployed in the square.

The parable doesn’t say harvest, but I assume it from Jesus comment in John 4:35, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and [then] cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” Since the time of Jesus, the field of the earth has been ripe for the picking.

The farmer paid each man as agreed. (That’s another lesson.) But I asked the Lord once, “Why the urgency? What was the big hurry?” All I could imagine were billows of dark clouds looming over the horizon. An ominous storm was brewing, and the farmer knew the harvest had to come in that day, for by tomorrow whatever was left in the field would summarily be destroyed by the oncoming weather front. It was no longer a matter of skill, or resources, or money. This was a last days ingathering or nothing!

Jesus lived life with this sense of urgency, and expressed it when he said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). This life is our one shot, and this may be the last generation to have the opportunity to labor in the harvest field while it is yet day. “…Behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation” (II Cor.6:2).

May this be our prayer while we are working. Yes, working and praying at the same time. “The harvest truly [is] plenteous, but the labourers [are] few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Mat 9:37-38).