To Belong to the Lord 

  “For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14: 8) 

   If I do not belong to God in this world, I cannot belong to Him in the next.  Once I take my last breath, salvation is no longer an option.  I must give my life to Him so that I may be with Him throughout eternity.

   I must die to self and my self-centered wants and desires, seeking only God and His will for me.  Though I know that I will fail in those efforts, I must try and keep trying to do better.  I believe that my honest, hard-fought struggle against sin pleases Him.  He knows that I can never achieve perfection in this life; but I can offer Him a sincere desire to be perfect and give my best efforts to reach that goal.

   To live for God means that I must die to this world and all that is in it.  It means that I must strive for perfection though I know that perfection is unattainable.  I must offer all I am to God and pray that He will do what I cannot, make me holy. 

I am a sinful man.

But I want to live for You.

I offer my life to You.

Make me holy, I pray. 

Amen