Scripture Reading:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” — Romans 12:1,2

At all times we should stand ready to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He has called us. Time is precious! Isaac Watts once said: “Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away.” Unlike eternity, everything in this life has a beginning and an end, as Solomon reminds us:

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die” (Eccl. 3:1,2).

In the natural course of things, life and death are in God’s control. But what takes place between these two monumental events will have a bearing upon us throughout eternity. Life is the dash that appears between the dates on every tombstone. And that little dash speaks volumes. For some it marks a conversion to Christ and all the spiritual benefits that come with it. But for others it is a chronicle of rejection and rebellion against God, with no hope of reprieve. Which is true of you? If the latter, there’s still time to trust Christ and flee the wrath to come.

The question is, what will we do with the remaining time that’s left before our dash is etched in stone? Paul says, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13,14).

This passage has always amazed me. After 30 plus years of serving the Lord, Paul was still pressing toward the goal. He refused to allow the past to influence his life — whether it was past failures or accomplishments. God has done a wonderful work here at BBS through the years, but we must not dwell upon past accomplishments or failures.

Like Paul, we must press forward toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God.

May it be our desire that we might “know Christ,” that is, more fully, and experience the power of His resurrection. There is still much to be done, but with your help, we can leave a legacy of grace that will be long remembered after we lie in the dust of the earth.

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

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