iChristian

I began to read the Holy Scriptures upon my knees

(George Whitefield)

My mind being now more open and enlarged, I began to read the Holy Scriptures upon my knees, laying aside all other books and praying over, if possible, every line and Word. This proved food indeed and drink indeed to my soul. I daily received fresh life, light and power from above. I got more true knowledge from reading the Book of God in one month–than I could ever have acquired from all the writings of men!


“I went to my room and locked my door, and putting the Bible on a chair, I went down on my knees at the chair. There I remained for several hours in prayer and meditation over the Word of God; and I can tell you that I learned more in those three hours which I spent in this way, than I had learned for many months previously.” George Muller

“Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long!” Psalm 119:97 

Too wise to err–and too loving to be unkind!

(Arthur Pink, “The Sovereignty of God”)

Because God is righteous–His judgments fall upon those who rebel against Him.

Because God is faithful–the solemn threatenings of His Word are fulfilled. 

Because God is omnipotent–none can successfully resist Him, still less overthrow His counsel. 

Because God is omniscient–no problem can master Him, and no difficulty baffle His wisdom. 

Faith endures “as seeing Him who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27) Faith endures the disappointments, the hardships, and the heart-aches of life–by recognizing that all comes from the hand of Him who is too wise to err–and too loving to be unkind. 

So long as we are occupied with any other object than God Himself–there will be neither rest for the heart, nor peace for the mind. But when we receive all that enters our lives as from His hand–then, no matter what may be our circumstances or surroundings–whether in a hovel, a prison-dungeon, or a martyr’s stake–we shall be enabled to say, “The lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places!” (Psalm 16:6). But that is the language of faith–not of sight or of sense.

There is no higher aspect of faith, than that which brings the heart to patiently submit unto whatever God sends unto us; to meekly acquiesce unto His sovereign will; and to say, “Shall I not drink the cup of suffering which my Father has given me?” Faith when it reaches the pinnacle of attainment declares, “though He slays me, yet will I trust in Him!”

“Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine!” Luke 22:42 

The Scriptural view of sin!


ALLEINE: O miserable man, what a deformed monster has sin made you! God made you “little lower than the angels”–but sin has made you little better than the devils!


BEART: There is a certain infiniteness in sin, because it is against an infinite God, which therefore brings a punishment of infinite duration, because it cannot be atoned for by finite creatures.


BROOKS: Did God leave us to act according to our sinful natures–we would all be incarnate devils, and this world would be an absolute Hell!
  There is no little sin–because there is no little God to sin against.


EDWARDS: You contribute nothing to your salvation–but the sin which made it necessary!
  Never did God so manifest His hatred of sin, as in the death and suffering of His only begotten Son.


FLAVEL: Christ is not sweet–until sin is made bitter to us!
  If God should damn you to all eternity–your eternal sufferings could not satisfy for the evil that is in one vain thought! O the depth of the evil of sin!


HODGE: Original sin is the only rational solution of the undeniable fact of the deep, universal and early manifested sinfulness of men in all ages, of every class, and in every part of the world.


JAMES: The torments of the bottomless pit are not so dreadful a demonstration of God’s hatred of sin, as the agonies of the cross!


LOVE: Sin is worse than Hell, because sin made Hell to be Hell.


MANTON: Sin is sweet in commission, but bitter in its wages!
  The more affected we are with our sinful misery–the fitter we are for Christ’s marvelous mercy.


MASON: Sin digs graves for bodies, and kindles Hell for souls!
  A man can never leave sin thoroughly, until he loathes it heartily.
  Go to Golgotha and see what sin did there!
  Christ did not die for sin, that we might live in sin.
  The sins of the wicked anger Christ, the sins of His people grieve Him.


NEWTON: The more vile we are in our own eyes–the more precious Christ will be to us!
  Sin cannot be hated for itself–until we have seen the malignity of it in Christ’s sufferings!


OWEN: The seed of every sin–is in every heart!
  Christ’s blood is the great sovereign remedy for sin-sick souls!
  I do not understand how a man can be a true believer–in whom sin is not the greatest burden, sorrow and trouble!

PRICE: We drown our sins in the Red Sea of Christ’s blood!


RYLE: Christ is never fully valued, until sin is clearly seen.


SIBBES: The depths of our misery–can never fall below the depths of God’s mercy!
  Sin is not so sweet in the committing of it–as it is bitter in the reckoning of it. 
  It is evident that our conversion is sound–when we loathe and hate sin from the heart.


SPURGEON: If Christ has died for me–then I cannot trifle with the sin which killed my best Friend!
  What sin is worth being damned for?
  If you have lived like the wicked–then you will die like the wicked, and be damned like the wicked!
  Look to the cross, and hate your sin–for sin nailed your Well-Beloved to the cruel tree!
  Sin is self-damnation!
  As salt tinges every drop in the ocean–so does sin affect every atom of man’s nature!
  There is no cure for the love of sin–like the blood of Christ!


WATSON: Sin has the devil for its father, shame for its companion, and death and damnation for its wages!

The life-buoy!

(Charles Spurgeon, “Christ Is All”) 

Whatever trials you have, my dear brother, Christ is all in all to meet them. 

Are you poor? He will make you rich in your poverty by His consoling presence. 

Are you sick? He will make your bed in your sickness, and so will make your sick-bed better than the walks of health. 

Are you persecuted? If it is for His sake, you may even leap for joy. 

Are you oppressed? Remember how He also was oppressed and afflicted; and you will have fellowship with Him in his sufferings. 

Amidst all the vicissitudes of this present life, Christ is all that the believer needs to bear him up, and bear him through. No wave can sink the man who clings to this life-buoy; he shall swim to glory on it!

Jesus is all I need!  Jesus is . . . 
  the living water to quench my thirst, 
  the heavenly bread to satisfy my hunger, 
  the snow-white robe to cover me, 
  the sure refuge in times of trouble, 
  the happy home of my soul, 
  my food and my medicine, 
  my solace and my song, 
  my light and my delight. 

The believer can say, “Christ is mine!” No emperor is half as rich as the beggar that has Christ! He who has Christ, being a pauper, has all things. And he who has not Christ, possessing a thousand worlds, possesses nothing for real happiness and joy! 

Oh, the blessedness of the man who can say, “Christ is mine!”

Your salvation makes amends for all His sufferings!

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(Samuel Davies, “The Sufferings of Christ, and Their Consequent Joys and Blessings“)

“He shall see His seed! He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied!” Isaiah 53:10-11 

Jesus is now exalted to His throne in the highest heavens; and from thence He takes a wide survey of the universe. He looks down upon our world–and beholds kings in their grandeur, victorious generals with all their power, nobles and great men in all their pomp. But these are not the objects that best please His eyes. “He shall see His seed!” He sees one here, and another there, bought with His blood, and born of His Spirit; and this is the most delightful sight our world can afford Him. Some of them may be oppressed with poverty, covered with rags, or ghastly with famine; they may make no great figure in mortal eyes; but He loves to look at them! He esteems them as His children, and the fruits of His dying pangs!

“He shall see His seed! He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied!” Isaiah 53:10-11

But there is a condition

(J.R. Miller, “In All Your Ways!“)

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 

We all need direction in our life paths. 

We turn to our friends for counsel, but human wisdom is inadequate. It is short-sighted and cannot certainly know what is best. It is ignorant and may mislead unwittingly. Wrong advice, though meant for good, has wrecked many a life destiny! Human guidance is not enough; we need something truer, wiser, safer–something infallible; and that is just what we have assured to us in this promise of divine direction.

But there is a condition–we must acknowledge the Lord in all our ways. The “all” is emphatic. Most of us acknowledge the Lord in some of our ways. We turn to Him in the time of great trials, or in great and sore dangers. Even scoffers and atheists have been known, in the moment of peril, as in a storm at sea–to fall upon their knees and call upon God for help. The worst people, when alarming sickness is on them, or when death stares them in the face, want to take hold of the hand of God. There are none of us who do not at certain times crave divine direction and help. 

But the promise reads, “In all your ways”–that is the condition of the promised direction.

We are very willing to acknowledge God while He directs us in the paths in which we are inclined to go–paths that are pleasant and agreeable to us. We can easily submit to the sweet will of God, when it is indeed sweet to our natural taste. But how is it when God directs us to go the way we do not want to go–to do the thing that is unpleasant, and will cause pain, or require sacrifice or loss? 

How is it when the voice of God, answering to our request . . .
   bids us to take the path which leads to a cross;
   bids us to turn away from the pleasant thing that we crave;
   bids us to give up the dear friendship, which is drawing us away from Him; 
   bids us give into His hand, the child or loved one we so desire to keep with us?

“In all your ways” means the hard ways–as well as the easy ways; the thorny path–as wall as the path of flowers. Yet we are continually coming to points at which we hesitate. We say: “In all but this, dear Lord–I can take Your way and do Your will.” Still the answer comes, “In all My ways, My child.” 

There must be no reserve, no withholding, no exception. 

The beloved sin must be given up–though it seems only a little one, though giving it up is like cutting off a right hand or plucking out a right eye. 

The hard path must be taken–though it leads among thorns that pierce the feet, over the sharp stones, and through fire and flood. 

The painful duty must be done–though it costs us popularity, ease, or position; though it leads to poverty, suffering, or homelessness. 

The bitter grief must be accepted–though it seems to take all, and leave nothing.
It must be accepted sweetly, lovingly, cheerfully, with unquestioning surrender. 

The lesson is plain. Nothing must be withheld from God–whether it be in obedience, or in submission. 

The darling sin must be given up. 

The rough path must be walked over. 

That hard duty must be accepted. 

We must acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, if we would have Him direct our paths.

Looking at the world through the cross!

(Octavius Winslow)

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Galatians 6:14 

Jesus could accomplish man’s redemption in no other way than by crucifixion. He must die–and die the death of the cruel cross. 

What light and glory beam around the cross!

Of what prodigies of grace, is it the instrument, 
of what glorious truths, is it the symbol, 
of what mighty transforming power, is it the source! 

Around the cross gathers all the light of the Old Testament economy: 
  it explains every symbol, 
  it substantiates every shadow, 
  it solves every mystery, 
  it fulfills every type, 
  it confirms every prophecy, 
of that dispensation which had eternally remained unmeaning and inexplicable, but for the death of the Son of God upon the cross. 

Not the past only–but all future splendor gathers around the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It assures us of the ultimate reign of the Savior, and tells of the reward which shall spring from His sufferings. And while its one arm points to the divine counsels of eternity past–with the other it points to the future triumph and glory of Christ’s kingdom in the eternity to come! Such is the lowly yet sublime, the weak yet mighty instrument, by which the sinner is saved and God eternally glorified. 

The cross of Christ is . . .
  the grand consummation of all preceding dispensations of God to men;
  the meritorious procuring cause of all spiritual blessings to our fallen race;
  the scene of Christ’s splendid victories over all His enemies and ours;
  the most powerful incentive to all evangelical holiness;
  the instrument which is to subjugate the world to the supremacy of Jesus;
  the source of all true peace, joy and hope;
  the tree beneath whose shadow all sin expires, all grace lives. 

The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ! 
What a holy thrill these words produce in the heart of those who love the Savior! 
How significant is their meaning, how precious is their influence! 

Marvelous and irresistible, is the power of the cross! The cross of Christ has . . .
  subdued many a rebellious will; 
  broken many a marble heart; 
  laid low many a vaunting foe; 
  overcome and triumphed, when all other instruments have failed; 
  transformed the lion like heart of man, into the lamb like heart of Christ! 

When lifted up in its own bare simplicity and inimitable grandeur–the cross of Christ has won and attracted millions to its faith, admiration, and love! 

What a marvelous power does this cross of Jesus possess! It changes the Christian’s entire judgment of the world. Looking at the world through the cross–his opinion is totally revolutionized. 
He sees the world as it really is–a sinful, empty, vain thing. 
He learns its iniquity, in that it crucified the Lord of life and glory. 
His expectations from the world, and his love to the world, are transformed. 
He has found another object of love–the Savior whom the world cast out and slew. 
His love to the world is destroyed by that power which alone could destroy it–the crucifying power of the cross. 

It is the cross which eclipses, in the view of the true believer, the glory and attraction of every other object. 

What is the weapon by which faith combats with, and overcomes the world? What but the cross of Jesus! 

Just as the natural eye, gazing for a while upon the sun, is blinded for the moment to all other objects by its overpowering effulgence; so to the believer, concentrating his mind upon the glory of the crucified Savior, studying closely the wonders of graceand love and truth meeting in the cross–the world with all its attraction fades into the full darkness of an eclipse. 

Christ and His cross infinitely better than the world and its trinkets! 

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Galatians 6:14 

We shall not always live in this poor, dying, trying, suffering, sinful state! 

(Letters of John Newton)

“Now I know in part–then I shall know fully.” Soon we shall see cause to number our sharpest trials, among our choicest mercies! Then we shall say, “He has done all things well.”

Our trials are but for a season. We shall not always live in this poor, dying, trying, suffering, sinful state! Yet a little while, and all our sorrows will be left below–and this poor earth will be exchanged for a glorious Heaven!

Our present troubles will soon be to us–as the remembrance of a dream when we awake!

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen–but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary–but what is unseen is eternal!” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 

An immense ocean of everlasting love!

(Letters of William Romaine, 1714-1795)

Dear friend,
May Jesus be yours–all that He is, and all that He has. Then you will be as rich as an archangel!

May He captivate you more with His infinite beauty and enable you to live more blessedly upon His infinite fullness, that He may keep His royal court in your soul!

The more you are acquainted with Him, the more you will grow in love to Him; for He is altogether lovely, an immense ocean of everlasting love! The loveliness of the whole world is but a drop compared to His immeasurable love. What must Heaven be, where His love is to be fully manifested and enjoyed forever! There we shall see Him! Oh, for that day! 

But even along our pilgrim way, He walks with us and makes our hearts burn within us. These sweet foretastes of His love draw us on and whet our appetite for Heaven. A few more of these foretastes, and we shall get to the fountainhead and drink rivers of pleasure forevermore! 

To His precious dear heart’s love, I commend you and yours, and am for His sake your friend and servant,
William Romaine

When she kisses you!

(Francis Quarles, 1592-1644)

Do you think, my soul, to be made happy by the smiles of the world–or unhappy by her frowns? 

When she fawns upon you, she deludes you. 

When she kisses you, she betrays you. 

Like Jael, she brings the milk in a lordly dish, and bears a hammer in her deadly hand. 

Trust not her flattery, O my soul–nor let her malice move you. 

Her music is your enchantment, and her sweetness is your snare! 

She is the highway to eternal death! 

“Worldliness is the most thronged road to everlasting ruin!” J.A. James

“The spirit of the world is eating out the very heart and life of true godliness!” George Everard 

“Refined worldliness is the present snare of the Church of God!” Horatius Bonar

“The world is a sea, where we are tossed upon the surging waves of sorrow, and often in danger of shipwreck! The world is a wilderness, full of fiery serpents!” Thomas Watson 

Who shall have the glory–the worm or Jesus?

(Letters of William Romaine, 1714-1795)

I received your letter, and think you overlook our ever adorable Jesus, in setting any value upon a poor, dirty worm such as myself. 

If His grace raised this poor, dirty worm from a dunghill and set it upon a throne with His princes, who shall have the glory–the worm or Jesus? Shall any of His due praise be given to the worm? God forbid!

As vile and base as I am–yet He lets me approach Him and converse with Him freely. 

He condescends to admit me into fellowship with Him; and He opens His treasures and says, “All these are yours. I bought them for you with the price of My blood, but I give them to you as a free gift!” 

Where is there a more sinful spot to be found upon our guilty globe?

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   ~  ~  ~  ~ 

(Samuel Davies, “The Justice of God–and the Sins of Our Country” 1755)

“When disaster comes to a city–has not the LORD caused it?” Amos 3:6

It concerns us all to seriously reflect upon our own sins and the sins of our land, which have brought these calamities upon us.

We and our countrymen are sinners, aggravated sinners! God proclaims that we are such:
  by His judgments now upon us,
  by withering fields and scanty harvests,
  by the sound of the trumpet and the alarm of war! 

O my country, is not your wickedness great, and your iniquities infinite? Where is there a more sinful spot to be found upon our guilty globe? Pass over the land, take a survey of the inhabitants, inspect into their conduct–and what do you see? What do you hear? 

You see the gigantic forms of vice bidding defiance to the God of Heaven–while true religion and virtue are forced to retire to avoid public contempt and insult! 

You see herds of drunkards swilling down their cups, and drowning all morality within them! 

You hear the swearer venting his fury against God–trifling with that Name which prostrate angels adore, and imprecating that damnation, under which the hardiest devil in Hell trembles and groans!

You see avarice hoarding up her useless treasures, 
dishonest craft planning her schemes of unlawful gain, 
and oppression unmercifully grinding the face of the poor! 

You see prodigality squandering her stores! 

You see luxury spreading her table! 

You see vanity laughing aloud and dissolving in empty, unthinking mirth–regardless of God, of time and eternity! 

You see sensuality wallowing in carnal pleasures, and aspiring, with perverted ambition–to sink as low as her four-footed brethren in the stalls!

You see cards more in use than the Bible; 
the backgammon table more frequented than the table of the Lord; 
novels and romances more read–than the history of the blessed Jesus! 

You see trifling, and even evil diversions and amusements, become a gigantic business! 
The outcome of a horse-race is more anxiously attended to–than the concerns of eternity! 

And where these grosser forms of vice do not shock your senses–you often meet with the appearances of a more refined impiety, which is equally dangerous!

You hear the conversation of reasonable creatures, of candidates for eternity–engrossed by trifles, or vainly wasted on the affairs of time! These are their important subjects of conversation, even at the threshold of the house of God!

You see swarms of prayerless families all over our land! You see ignorant, wicked children, unrestrained and untaught by those to whom God and nature have entrusted their souls! 

You see the holy religion of Jesus–abused, neglected, disobeyed, and dishonored by its professors! 

You see crowds of professed believers, who are in reality, practical atheists! 
These nominal Christians are really unholy heathens! 
They are abandoned slaves of sin–who yet pretend to be the servants of the holy Jesus!

You see multitudes lying in a deep sleep in sin all around us! You see them eager in the pursuits of the vanities of time–but stupidly unconcerned about the important realities of the eternal world just before them! So few are concerned what shall become of them–when all their connections with earth and flesh must be broken, and they must take their flight into strange, unknown regions! So few lamenting their sins! So few crying for mercy and a new heart! So few flying to Jesus! 

The only effectual reformer of the world!

(Samuel Davies, “Serious Reflections on WAR” 1757)

“When He comes–He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment!” John 16:8

The Holy Spirit is the only effectual reformer of the world! If He is absent–
  legislators may make laws against crime; 
  philosophers may reason against vice; 
  ministers may preach against sin; 
  conscience may remonstrate against evil;
  the divine law may prescribe, and threaten Hell; 
  the gospel may invite, and allure to Heaven; 
but all will be in vain!

The strongest arguments, the most melting entreaties, the most alarming denunciations from God and man, enforced with the highest authority, or the most compassionate tears–all will have no effect–all will not effectually reclaim one sinner, nor gain one sincere convert to righteousness! 

Paul, Apollos, and Peter, with all their apostolic abilities, can do nothing, without the Holy Spirit. Paul may plant the seed–and Apollos may water it; but God alone can make it grow! “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything–but only God, who makes things grow!” 1 Corinthians 3:6, 7

Never will peace and harmony be established in this jangling world–until this Divine Agent takes the work in hand.

It is He alone, who can melt down the obstinate hearts of men into love and peace! 

It is He alone, who can soften their rugged and savage tempers, and transform them into mutual benevolence! 

It is He alone–who can quench those lusts that set the world on fire, and implant the opposite virtues and graces. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, are mentioned by Paul, as the fruit of the Spirit, because the Spirit alone is the author of them. And if these dispositions were predominant in the world–what a serene, calm, peaceful region would it be, undisturbed with the hurricanes of human passions!

Oh, how much do we need the influence of the blessed Spirit . . .
  to break the heart of stone,
  to enlighten the dark mind, and
  to comfort the desponding soul!

The only system adapted to his case!

(William Nicholson, “Pearls of Great Price!” 1855)

Viewing man as a fallen, sinful creature–the gospel is the only system adapted to his case!  
The more he contemplates it, the more he perceives its precious adaptation to his dreadful state. 
The gospel is . . .
  light, for the darkness of his reason; 
  peace, for the tumult of his conscience; 
  joy, for the anguish of his mind; 
  hope, for the gloom of his despair. 

Is he guilty? The gospel presents . . .
  an all-sufficient Savior,
  an all-atoning sacrifice,
  and an all-forgiving God. 

Is he impure? The gospel opens up for him a fountain for sin and for uncleanness–a hallowed flood supplied from the Redeemer’s cross, where the vilest sinner may wash from his heinous pollution. 

Is he alienated from God–at an infinite distance from the only source of happiness and forgiveness? The gospel is a medium of approach, a way of access to the thrice holy God. Here the Alpine mountains of his guilt are leveled to the dust. Here the prodigal returns, is freely received, fully forgiven, elevated to a place in his heavenly Father’s family, and never lost from his heavenly Father’s heart. 

Is he the victim of ignorance and error? Here he receives the lessons of a heavenly prophet–the Spirit of God becomes his kind instructor. Here the untutored savage is made wiser than the learned sage, “wise unto salvation!”

Does he feel himself the subject of passions that lead him continually astray from God? 
The same Spirit becomes the inhabitant of his bosom . . .
  to subdue his passions, 
  to curb his lusts, 
  to control his will, and 
  to sanctify the nature He has first renewed, and which shall finally be glorified with Christ. 

In every point of view, the gospel meets his case!

Is he a sinner? The gospel offers pardon!

Is he a debtor? The gospel grants him full payment of his dept! 

Is he a captive to sin and Satan? The gospel gives him liberty. 

Is he fallen into utter depravity? It elevates him to God’s throne, and constitutes him “a king and a priest unto God.” 

Is he thirsty? The gospel is a river of life. 

Is he weary? It is a sweet repose. 

Is he ignorant? The gospel is a divine instructor. 

Is he spiritually diseased? It is immortal health and vigor to his soul. 

Is he dying? The gospel is eternal life. 

Yes, in the gospel . . .
  the law is fulfilled,
  justice is atoned, and
  the divine perfections are harmonized in man’s redemption.

The cultivation of an insignificant life

(J.H. Jowett)

It is possible to evade a multitude of trials by the cultivation of an insignificant life.
 

Only One Life!

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 days 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 Your word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife, 
Pleasing You 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 You, and You alone, 
Bringing You pleasure on Your 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, “Your 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!
        Author unknown
 

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you.
 Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you
 know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58