I am the Lord's

Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. This one will say, 'I am the LORD's,' another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel."
Isaiah 44:2-5

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."
Revelation 14:9-11

Look at your hands. You have one of two names written on them. Either "The Lord's" or "The Beast's." You serve one of two masters. You cannot serve both. You are either blessed of the Lord or cursed of the Beast. There is no middle ground. You have a constant stream of water or an unquenchable fire. You have the Spirit of the Lord or the wrath of God. You will either drink the abundance of God's grace or the dregs of God's wrath. Look at your hands.

The innocent and righteous blood of Christ paints our hands crimson. Does it cleanse your hands of all guilt and unrighteousness by Christ's redemptive work upon the cross, saving you from sins, the torments of hell, and God's everlasting wrath, allowing you to enjoy and glorify God forever sustained by His perpetual grace and love? Or does it stain your already bloodied hands, adding to the blood of countless brothers slain to feed your insatiable pride and sinful passions? Look at your hands.

Whose work do you now attend to? Do your hands bear the scars of the Lord's work or the mark of the beast? Which master's name is written on your hand? Do you serve the loving voice of a Heavenly Father or the deceitful, lying forked tongue of the Beast? It is not hard to determine. Look at your hands.

I am the Lord's. I serve Him who came to perfectly serve our Heavenly Father. I serve the King of Kings. I serve the Lord of all. I serve my master by faith. I serve a gracious and loving Father. I serve the Lord, Jesus Christ, and I am so blessed to have His name written on my hand!

Some say that serving the Lord is foolishness. Christianity is a religion based upon the myth of a very moral man that died two thousand years ago. It is better to live a life full of self pleasure. They say:

"Worship the beast you have become! Embrace it with open hands. Love yourself and the sinful nature that taints you completely and destructively. Why place the straitjacket of Christianity on your life, forfeiting your pleasure and desire? How can something that feels so good be wrong? There is nothing beyond this life, and you mine as well live it up as long as you have it. Once it's over, it's over. There is nothing else."

But wait...

[If] there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
1 Corinthians 15:13-19

Pity me not. I have the most beautiful name of all placed on my hands. I serve Him who first came to serve me as my Holy Savior. I do not believe in a religion. I do not believe in a set of doctrines. I do not believe in a mere man. I do not believe foolishness. I believe in the resurrected Christ, God incarnate, by divine revelation. Christ has risen and He has placed His name upon me, effectually calling me by the Holy Spirit. By His grace I have been saved from sin, received forgiveness of sin, been redeemed in communion with the Heavenly Father, and received the name above all names placed upon me. I have become a fellow heir of the Lord of Lords. I am the Lord's.

I may be pitied in this life for seemingly selfless sacrifices made on the alter of "being a good person." I am not a good person. I am clay molded by the craftsman. I am the product of a gracious salvation, a dim but radiant glimpse of glory to come, and a hope everlasting in the completed work of Christ. I may be a sojourner throughout my life, unable to go home for a time, but I will be home in the presence of our most Holy God soon enough. I may seem foolish for believing in what cannot be seen, hoping in what cannot be proven, or resting and finding joy in constant struggles and woe. It is not my own will or my intellect that leads me along this path. I sacrifice nothing because a perfect and perpetual sacrifice has been made on my behalf on the cross by the perfect, unblemished lamb. The Lord Jesus has done the work, the name has been placed upon me, and I am now a recipient of His free grace, His abundant love, His perfect righteousness, His radiant holiness, and His everlasting inheritance.

You may say I waste my life away. I say I have gained my life back. I am the Lord's. To live is Christ, to die is gain. Look at your hands this day. Which master will you serve? Which name is placed upon you? Do you serve the Lord God almighty or the beast? Will you drink of the abundant fountains of life in Christ the Lord or the dregs of God's wrath and everlasting torment, darkness, and death in the beast?

Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
Psalms 100:2-5

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:15