Polycarp was the pastor of the early church in Smyrna. He was asked to renounce his faith in Christ and offer a pinch of incense to Caesar. He refused and said, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and in nothing hath He wronged me; and how, then, can I blaspheme my King, Who saved me?” When they heard that, they clamored to burn him at the stake. They brought their wood and heaped it around his feet. And then Polycarp prayed, ““I count it a blessedness to be thought worthy of a place among the martyrs of Jesus Christ.” And when that fire was kindled around his feet, he was heard singing and praising the Son of God.

Most of us will not die at the stake, be carried to the wall and shot, or be imprisoned for the Lord Jesus Christ. We may not have a chance to die that way, but can we not die to this vile world?  Can we not die to our plans and our ambitions?  And can we not say that Jesus Christ is Lord?