William Longstaff would not have thought of himself as a hymnwriter. In fact, he may have only written one poem in his life. But that poem was titled take time to be holy. It appeared once in a newspaper and was soon forgotten until years later when a Gospel composer remembered it and set it to music. That’s how the hymn we know as take time to be holy was born. This beautiful hymn gives us some great directions on how to manage our time. Just listen to the first verse:
Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord.
Abide in Him always and feed on his word.
Make friends with God’s children.
Help those who are weak.
Forgetting in nothing,
His blessing to seek.
Remember Mr. Longstaff’s advice and take time to be holy if you want to redeem the time.
Rick Grubbs is best known as the host of “Redeeming the Time,” a one-minute radio program featured on hundreds of radio outlets around the world. He has spoken thousands of times on Biblical time management in all 50 states and 26 other countries. He is the author of the book “Morning Momentum: God’s plan for launching an unstoppable day”. He and his wife Carrie live in Salisbury NC with several of their 12 children.
