{HSCRC12} Hymn #14, Take My Life and Let It Be

Hymn Challenge #12: Take My Life and Let It Be
Words Written by: Frances R. Havergal
b. Dec. 14, 1836; d. June 3, 1879

Frances Ridley Havergal was a poet and hymn writer. She was born in Astley, England, and her father was a priest in the Anglican church. Frances began reading at the age of 3 and was able to read adult books and the Bible at age 4. Frances' mother died when she was 11 years old, and her father remarried when she was 16 years old.  Her many poems were printed in three books entitled "Ministry of Song," "Under The Surface," and "Under His Shadows." This particular hymn she used for her own devotions and prayer. Miss Havergal said:

"Yes, it was on Advent Sunday, December 2, 1873, I first saw clearly the blessedness of true consecration. I saw it in a flash of electric light, and what you see you can never un-see. There must be full surrender before there can be full blessedness."

Frances Havergal died at the young age of 42 of peritonitis. There is a lot of information regarding Frances Ridley Havergal on the web. If you want to read a very detailed account about her life, please click here. I hope you enjoy it!

The opening line of this hymn says:

"Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee; Take my moments and my days, Let them flow in ceaseless praise, Let them flow in ceaseless praise."

So, what does "consecrated" really mean? Dictionary.com says:

"to make or declare sacred; set apart or dedicate to the service of a deity; to devote or dedicate to some purpose: a life consecrated to science."

The above definition says "consecrated to science." Well, how about your life? Is your life set apart or consecrated to the Lord?

I was involved in an online discussion this week with believers, unbelievers, atheists, etc. The unbelievers could not understand why people say "praise the Lord" and give God the glory. They couldn't understand dying to self and living for the Lord or being consecrated to the Lord. I know God's Word says that unbelievers will not understand because they do not have spiritual discernment.  They are not filled with the Holy Spirit thus they cannot understand God's Word.

1 Corinthians 2:13-15 "This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment."

I truly wanted to help these unbelievers understand but I was like a mouse on a wheel just spinning and spinning. I pray that God will use the words shared to draw someone to Himself. But it also made me think about how much this world needs God! How are you living so that the world sees Him? Are your hands dedicated to the Lord and doing things for Him? How about your tongue? How are the words you say to people you come in contact with dedicated to the Lord? Are you surrendering your entire 'self' to Him or just the parts you want to give to Him? I love this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say."

Look at the remaining verses to this hymn. Each verse talks about how we are to consecrate ourselves to Him. Think about how you are using your hands, your voice, your money, your will, and your love for the Lord. How are you setting your life apart for Him and His glory?

Verse 2: "Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love; Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee."

Verse 3: "Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King; Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee."

Verse 4: "Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold; Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose."

Verse 5: "Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine. Take my heart; it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne."

Verse 6: "Take my love; my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store. Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee."

We need to continue sharing and living our daily lives for the Lord because you never know what seeds you are planting or when someone will accept Christ. Will you completely consecrate your life to the Lord each and every day even in your thoughts, your decisions, your entire being? And why not use this hymn as your own prayer as Miss Havergal did?

Hebrews 12:14 "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."

1 Thessalonians 4:7 "For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life."

Romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will."

Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

Below you will find the sheet music to "Take My Life and Let It Be." 

You can click here to listen to this beautiful hymn.

For my 6x6 page today, I used washi tape with the days of the week. Even though I could not fit on all 7 days, it is still a reminder to me to live for Him daily. The scripture I chose was the Hebrews 12:14 verse from above. If I am not consecrated to the Lord daily, then how will anyone see Him in me?

Papers: Memory Box mango distressed dots, Bo Bunny Country Garden
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz black soot
Embellishments: Probe card, Making Memories tiny alpha, Distress Stickles walnut stain, Tim Holtz tiny attacher, Prima wood buttons, Paper Trey ink buttons, Basic Grey writer's block tag, May Arts black twine, misc. washi tape, sewing machine

Remember to use Keyword HSCRC12 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. Blessings to each of you!