by David Gibson<\/p>\n
For years, I have taught that the balanced Christian life includes these four things:<\/p>\n
And for even longer, I have sung the classic hymn “Take Time to Be Holy.”<\/p>\n
But then it dawned on me that this song includes all four of these essential qualities of the healthy Christian life:<\/p>\n
Just as a car must have all four wheels on the ground to make progress, all four essential elements of the Christian life must be there if we hope to move onward and upward.<\/p>\n
In the hymnal we use in our congregation, under the title “Take Time to Be Holy,” is this passage: “Be holy in all you do<\/em>” (I Peter 1:15-16 NIV, 1984).<\/p>\n Though W. D. Longstaff penned this hymn in 1882, it is as relevant today as ever. May we not only practice what we preach but also practice what we sing, making sure we faithfully maintain all aspects of the life God has called us to live.<\/p>\n Taking time for each of them.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by David Gibson For years, I have taught that the balanced Christian life includes these four things: prayer, Bible study, fellowship with Christians, and involvement in the Lord’s work. And for even longer, I have sung the classic hymn “Take Time to Be Holy.” But then it dawned on me that this song includes all…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[913,253,1543,1026,1531],"class_list":["post-96144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-bible-study","tag-fellowship","tag-good-works","tag-holy","tag-prayer"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":84069,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/steadfast-persistence\/","url_meta":{"origin":96144,"position":0},"title":"Steadfast Persistence","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores Luke 11 includes an event in which Jesus' disciples ask Him to teach them to pray. He instructs them in what we commonly call the Lord's prayer (although technically, it's the disciples' prayer since Jesus taught it to them) and follows it up with the famous saying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25960,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-all-the-fuss-about-grace-fellowship\/","url_meta":{"origin":96144,"position":1},"title":"Why All the Fuss about Grace-Fellowship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Aubrey Belue, Jr. via Gospel Guardian, August 15, 1974 In recent months, much writing --\"pro\" and \"con\" (but mostly \"con\") -- has been done on the \"grace-fellowship\" issue. Due to the misdirection and \"side issues\" that now obscure the scene, wisdom requires us to seek a clear definition of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17066,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-christians-help-support-the-salvation-army\/","url_meta":{"origin":96144,"position":2},"title":"Can Christians Help Support the Salvation Army?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Danny Pettus Christians are at liberty to support many things other than the church of our Lord, but false doctrine is not one of those things. You may have had someone come to your door selling this or that for a certain denomination. You might go to a store\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/bellringer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24655,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fellowship-a-word-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":96144,"position":3},"title":"Fellowship: A Word Study","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Becky Rene It is essential at this point that we understand how our spiritual fellowship is expressed. So we will take the time to examine the noun \u201cfellowship\u201d (koinonia) in all the contexts in which it appears. Some of the verses are difficult to understand because the translators have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/fellowship.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":89868,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-problem-with-an-attendance-problem\/","url_meta":{"origin":96144,"position":4},"title":"The Problem with an \u201cAttendance Problem\u201d","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Joey Sparks Worship attendance can be a sensitive issue for Christians. Some are satisfied with coming only on Sunday mornings. Or Sunday evenings. Or for long enough to take the Lord's Supper. Some are content with worshiping only on holidays. 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