All of Me?

Last night at BCM, I was throughly convicted. I am not living my life 100% for God. I mean, I'm a good person. I try to be the best friend that I can be. But I've been just cruising through life for a while. I know that give some of my time to God, but I've failed to really examine my life and see how much time I'm not giving to Him. The truth is, He wants all of me. Not 25%. Not 50%. Not even 98%. He wants 100%. Here are just a few thoughts that I jotted down at BCM last night.


I am a failure.
I am a hypocrite.
I will never to be perfect.

But none of that matters, because no matter how bad I may be, God still loves me.

God sent His son to die for me.
He created me in His image.
He saved me and has wonderful plans for me.

I owe my life to Him.
He bought me for price.
I am not my own anymore.
I am His.

Who am I to try and find my own way?
Who am I to not listen to His voice?

I am nothing of myself, but EVERYTHING through Him.


Bear with me. I'm going to type these verses in the King James Version and the New International Version because I think that they are both necessary to understand the meaning here.
Romans 7:14-25 (KJV) - For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I now; what what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Romans 7:14-25 (NIV) - We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, what what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

I guess the most important thing that I've learned is that I need to be open to God's direction in my life. I need to think about my actions and my words every moment of every day to make sure I am doing and saying what God wants me to in every situation. It's not enough to only be a 2-day a week Christian. It's not enough to be a 5-day a week Christian. I need to be an every day of my life Christian. God deserves that from me. Well... actually He deserves a lot more than I would ever be capable of giving Him, but all He asks for is that I live my life for Him. All of me. All of the time.
I know that I'll mess up, and I will inevitably fail. But it is at those times, God is trying me and molding me into the person that He wants me to be. And no matter what I do, or how far off the path I may travel, He will always take me back. He loves me with more love than I could fathom and He created me to be His hands and feet. So that is what I will try to do.
I hope that maybe you will join me in leading a Christlike life for Him. We have an example. He sent His son to this earth not only to die for our sins, but also to live a perfect life. A life that we should all strive to live.

God Bless,
Taylor