Skip to main content

Ct Studd: Only one life, twill soon be past

Photo Credit: Missionary Portal

Yesterday I closed with a Poem by C.T. Studd (1860-1931). He was a well-known Cricket player in England who turned to missions. He is remembered as one of the famous "Cambridge Seven" who responded to a call to missions from the encouragement of Hudson Taylor. Studd served in China, India, and Africa before his death. Here is his poem again:


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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Church's Ongoing Pandemic

Photo Credit  People don’t go to church for a lot of reasons, but a Christian without a church is a Christian in trouble. Sadly, the number of professing Christians is far larger than the number who attend weekly meetings. Many churches experienced an acceleration of this trend during Covid as well: professing Christians have returned to school, work, and leisure, but have not returned for regular church gatherings. Why? Everyone is a unique case in the specifics, but there are trends we see in the wake of the pandemic: people have elevated political and medical (mask & vaccine) opinions over faith commitments and demoted their faith so it is not the primary identity marker in their life. What does this mean for the church? Is it doomed? I don’t think so, but Christians need to rediscover that the church can have different political and medical opinions, but still love each other, be on mission, and gather for Jesus. Christians need to remember that the fact that Jesus died on th

May 2019, A Time of Transition

New & Exciting This May was the end of my 3rd year in Seminary! I am thankful the Lord has brought us this far, providing moment after moment of grace to get through classes, assignments, and finals for 6 semesters. I want to thank my Amber first for her continual support and care for me when I am discouraged, consumed, or exhausted because of seminary. She usually suffers most when I struggle through seasons. She is my best friend, wife, and chief supporter. She rocks. Amber finished her second year of teaching in May! She will not be returning full time next year, but she will do summer tutoring and continue in a part time role, Lord willing. She is relieved to be finished and is quite enjoying the break from the intense end-of-school schedule. With her free time she is picking up the hobbies of bar crawling and ax throwing. (Kidding!) Here is a picture of us at the church leadership appreciation dinner. (I was dressed up as from the 80's...or at least attempting to)

October - November 2019: Ministry, Finals, & Family Visits

October and November were filled to the brim with ministry, finals, and family visits. Here are the highlights! In October, we started out with a weekend retreat with the youth. The theme was "Love your neighbor [across the aisle]." We talked about how Jesus' ethic of love even applies to politics in the heat of political fervor. We had a photo scavenger hunt, ate too many snacks, and enjoyed each other's company on top of it all. Please pray that we would be a light in the upcoming dark season in America: presidential election season. Here is a game of chair basketball the kids got REALLY into. (Maybe even a little too much) Here's a photo of some strong high school youth  completing a "push up challenge" for the scavenger hunt. Also, Amber and I invested in some bird seed and feeders to enjoy birds on our deck. Here's some of the best photos we could snap: House Finches Sometimes you watch birds and sometimes birds watch you