Tag: 1 Peter 2:9-10

What if we could all see our whole selves only through God’s eyes? Can you or I contemplate how different we would act and feel? 1 Peter 2:9-10

1 Peter 2:9-10 Amplified Bible

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a  [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

On my mind today is formulating A Prayer to See Myself Through God’s Eyes.

Am I praying for revelation from God of the very final digit of the value of Pi?

105 trillion digits

Pi calculated to 105 trillion digits, smashing world record. A U.S. computer storage company has calculated the irrational number pi to 105 trillion digits, breaking the previous world record. The calculations took 75 days to complete and used up 1 million gigabytes of data. For trivia buffs that number is 6 six.

What is the 300 trillion digit of pi? For Trivia fanatics that digit is 5 five.

Will pi ever be solved?

The number π is an irrational number, meaning that it cannot be expressed exactly as a ratio of two integers, although fractions such as 22/7 are quite commonly used to approximate it. 

Consequently, its decimal representation never ends, nor enters a permanently repeating pattern.

It is a transcendental number, meaning that there cannot be a solution of an algebraic equation involving only finite sums, products, powers, and integers.

So, I guess then, that to expect a revelation from God; A Prayer to See Myself Through God’s Eyes; will not occur any time soon, if at all – perhaps the very exacting last moment of Eternity? But by then, where will be to recognize it?

If we could see ourselves through God’s eyes, can we imagine how light we would feel?

What a weight would be lifted. All the burdens, condemnation, and judgment would be gone.

We can be so hard and judgmental on ourselves that we believe God thinks the same way towards us.

That’s why I’m reminding you that God sees us through Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross.

Remember, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and his ways are not our ways.

Isaiah 55:6-9 Amplified Bible

6 
Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call on Him [for salvation] while He is near.
7 
Let the wicked leave (behind) his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion (mercy) on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
9 
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts higher than your thoughts.

It is so easy to doubt our salvation and dismiss our righteousness, forgetting it is our own.

The first is a gift, and the other was imputed to us through Jesus’ sacrifice.

When God looks at us, He sees that our debt has been paid in full, He sees the righteousness we wear through Christ, He sees we are chosen by Him, royal priests, a holy nation, and His very own royal possession.

The sacrifice of Jesus was so complete and perfect that no one is able to pluck us out of God’s hands. Once we belong to him, we are His forever.

Our God doesn’t do half jobs; what he starts, he absolutely completes.

In God’s eyes, even before the world began, before Jesus chose to be the sacrificial lamb, the Godhead saw our worth. They wanted to give humanity a way out because we were all destined to a Christ-less eternity.

That is when Jesus chose to die for us.

When parents are blessed with a child, whether through adoption or biological birth, we see those children as beautiful.

The way they smell, their complexion, down to their tiny toes, is just perfect.

God saw us vulnerable, helpless, and destined for hell and chose to love us and save us. When we see ourselves through God’s eyes, we see ourselves as loved.

Not on a surface level, but unconditionally. Whether we love him back or not.

If we mess up after we trust him, he still loves us.

His loving gaze towards us is steadfast, unchanging, and unfailing.

Where we fall short is when we think of God as merely human.

We would write off those who treat us unjustly, but God is not a man that he should lie.

John 3:16 is very true.

God loves us.

When he looks at us, we have been forgiven.

Our sins have been cast into the sea of forgetfulness, never to be used against us again.

The Bible says as far as the east is from the west, so far has our God removed our transgressions.

Knowing that when God looks at us, he is not looking at us in condemnation should cause us to give him praise.

It makes me want to worship, sing, dance, and magnify the name of the Lord.

I stand in awe of his mercy and grace and thank God that I get to love him back and praise Him.

I also want to share my faith with those outside the fold.

Sin separates us from God, so seeing myself through God’s eyes motivates me to live a holy life. It doesn’t cause me to want to sin but encourages me to resist temptation so I can continue to enjoy the sweetest fellowship God and I share.

In the name of God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit ….

Praying ….

Psalm 27

By David.

1 Yahweh is my light and my salvation.
    Who is there to fear?
    Yahweh is my life’s fortress.
    Who is there to be afraid of?

2 Evildoers closed in on me to tear me to pieces.
    My opponents and enemies stumbled and fell.
3         Even though an army sets up camp against me,
            my heart will not be afraid.
        Even though a war breaks out against me,
            I will still have confidence in the Lord.

4 I have asked one thing from Yahweh.
    This I will seek:
    to remain in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life
        in order to gaze at Yahweh’s beauty
            and to search for an answer in his temple.
5 He hides me in his shelter when there is trouble.
    He keeps me hidden in his tent.
    He sets me high on a rock.
6 Now my head will be raised above my enemies who surround me.
    I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy in his tent.
    I will sing and make music to praise Yahweh.
7 Hear, O Yahweh, when I cry aloud.
    Have pity on me, and answer me.
8 When you said,
    “Seek my face,”
        my heart said to you,
            “O Yahweh, I will seek your face.”[a]
9 Do not hide your face from me.
    Do not angrily turn me away.
        You have been my help.
            Do not leave me!
                Do not abandon me, O Elohim, my savior!
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
    Yahweh will take care of me.
11 Teach me your way, O Yahweh.
    Lead me on a level path
    because I have enemies who spy on me.
12 Do not surrender me to the will of my opponents.
    False witnesses have risen against me.
        They breathe out violence.
13 I believe that I will see the goodness of Yahweh
    in this world of the living.

14 Wait with hope for Yahweh.
    Be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
    Yes, wait with hope for Yahweh.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

For Grace to Grow Up: What is God’s Greatest Desire for Us and Our Lives? Psalm 139:13-18

Psalm 139:13-18 Amplified Bible

13 
For You formed my innermost parts;
You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb.
14 
I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was being formed in secret,
And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.
16 
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were appointed for me,
When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].

17 
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 
If I could count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Finding God’s Purpose for My Life

I can remember being a young teenager, on summer vacation at my family’s country place. 

A lot of time was spent in the back of my Dad’s old 1968 International Pick Up truck, staring out into the vast fields and meadows and trees and ponds beyond wondering: WHAT my purpose in life was. 

I fully knew that God created me for a reason, but I couldn’t understand what he wanted me to do with my life. 

I was so busy trying to think my own way to live my own life, not finding God’s purpose for my life, that I had basically immobilized myself in that idyllic place.

It was naïve of me to think at that time that this feeling of uncertainty would disappear as I got older and smarter and wiser and I thought far more mature. 

“It’s only teenagers who struggle with the big life questions,” I thought to myself – adults [Mom and Dad] have it made in the shade with their careers.

After – all, Mom and Dad had bought this great 40 acre place in the country.

I laugh now, thinking about how much I had to learn then. 

Now, as a 60 plus year old adult, I find myself thinking and praying through so many of life’s biggest questions I never thought to ask myself then. 

A lot of those questions, I’m no more certain of the answer now than I was as a teenager. 

But I am more confident in God’s word, and I’m able to rest in that more than I did back then.

God’s word has been the biggest answer for me on my quest to finding God’s purpose for my life.

Does God Have a Purpose For Me and My Life?

If you’re asking yourself this question, I know from experience that it’s likely causing you some stress. 

I want you to know that God wants you to rest in the knowledge of something beautiful:

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you , for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” – Psalm  139:13-14

Does that sound like a God who wants you to live in stress and toil away about missing your purpose? 

It certainly doesn’t sound that way to me. 

The God described in that beautiful psalm (my personal favorite psalm) is an intricately and intimately involved God. 

That is not the kind of God who doesn’t have a plan for us, or is content to let us waste away our remaining days in the worry of being unsure of your purpose.

Life Makes Sense: God’s Story of You

Psalm 139:15-16Amplified Bible

15 
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was being formed in secret,
And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.
16 
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were appointed for me,
When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].

We love stories, but it’s surprising how easily we can end up missing the stories God has written for our lives.

Winston Churchill once famously claimed that history was simply “one big years long collection of one thing after another.”

In other words, he was claiming there was no “just one” story behind our experiences in life, only a years long weaving of numerous series of events.

Few things are more deadening to your soul than thinking that your life ulti­mately means little more than we live through several one thing after another.

Yet that’s how we often find ourselves feeling – no matter how old we are in life.

On many days we view our jobs or careers or families as where we have “ended up” in life.

In fact, it can seem a bit overly presumptuous to think there’s only one master plan and master planner behind whatever situation you and I are in right now.

But the Bible tells us that the events of our lives make sense because they are part of a much larger story.

The struggles of last month or the victories of yesterday that we may claim in the next few weeks are not simply chance occurrences.

They are part of a intricately weaved story line that is going somewhere.

The work you do, the people you share life with, the abilities you have, and the weaknesses you struggle with are all part of a collection of ele­ments intended to make for a really good story—the story of you – that’s really God’s story of you. 

Do you believe this?

What Does God’s Living Word Say About Purpose?

I want to share a couple more Bible verses about purpose with you. 

I’m sharing them in a specific order as it’s going to help round out the edges of this devotional, and I pray will truly help you to be able to say with confidence,  “God has a purpose for my life.”

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

God has a plan for your life… and what’s better, it’s a good plan.  There’s nothing in that plan that says God intends harm or unhappiness for your life.  God KNOWS the plans he has for you, and that includes plans to prosper you, keep you safe, give you beautiful hope, and the promise of a future.

Now, I want you to keep that knowledge and promise in mind as we read the next couple verses together.

“I know you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” – Job 42:2

That verse is referring to God, not us. 

God can do all things. 

His plans cannot be thwarted. 

So when you’re trying to find your God-given purpose, take comfort in the fact that there is NOTHING that can ruin God’s plans. 

Not even your own indecision, or fear, or pride… NOTHING. 

I want you to whisper that to yourself and pray thanks to God for that fact. 

God has a purpose for my life, and God has a purpose for your life.  

There’s absolutely, positively nothing we (or our circumstances can do) to ruin, or destroy or ever erase that purpose.

Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed.” –Acts 13:36

There’s a couple really interesting things in this Bible verse about purpose.

As I’ve struggled through finding God’s purpose for my life, I’ve forgotten a couple key things that this verse makes very clear:

  1. We are serving God’s purpose... not our own.  Did you notice that in the verse above?  It says David had served God’s purpose in his life.  I think often (whether innocent or not), we end up searching for and serving our own purposes instead of God’s.  This is something we need to avoid.
  2. The other thing I want to pull out of that verse is that David didn’t pass away until he had fulfilled God’s purpose in his life.  So when you think about fulfilling your God given purpose, know with confidence that the purpose is actually God’s, and he’ll keep you on this earth until that purpose is fulfilled.

How to Know God’s Purpose For Our Lives

“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” –Colossians 1:16

This Bible verse about purpose, like the one above about David, is also helpful as I find myself, along with you, on the journey of finding God’s purpose for my life.

This verse makes it clear again, that the purpose is ultimately God’s, and not our own. 

This doesn’t mean we are devoid of purpose… in fact, our purpose is FOR him.

We were created through him and for him. 

This is where the lights, for me, started to come on while I was finding God’s purpose for my life.  

Check out this next Bible verse about purpose:

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” –1st Peter 2:9

Isn’t that beautiful? 

If we know Jesus as our Savior, we are chosen, royal, holy… his special possession.  

And why do we get this privilege? 

So that we can declare his praises!  Bingo! 

Right there we have uncovered and discovered our main purpose for God.

We do each have different and unique ways of living out our purpose.

Down at the root of it all, as Christ followers, our main purpose is to glorify God and to declare his praises and to point our neighbors to Christ through our love.

If you seek to do this in everything you do… you won’t miss out on fulfilling your God given purpose.

Identifying Your Unique Purpose

16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers; 17 [I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son]. 18 And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the [a]hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the [b]saints (God’s people), 19 and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength 20 which He [c]produced in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion [whether angelic or human], and [far above] every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and world but also in the one to come. Ephesians 1:16-21 Amplified

God’s Desire and Purpose: Our Growing in Wisdom

Growing in wisdom is about cultivating a character that is Christlike.

If we want that wisdom, then the words of Ephesians 1 are a great discovery and and an even greater source of divine encouragement.

What is striking about these verses is how they tell us we don’t have to figure this all out on our own.

It’s not a project for which God gives us a textbook and tests us with a final exam at the end of life.

God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is absolutely never a “hands off” teacher.

In Ephesians 1 Paul explains that he prays for people to have wisdom, and he asks God to be involved in the process—because that is what God promises. Paul goes on to mention “the Spirit of wisdom,” and he isn’t asking only for the Spirit to help us; Paul asks that the Spirit of wisdom be given to us.

Why? So that we may know God better.

Suddenly this matter of gaining wisdom is not just about anyone or everyone learning some Christian way of living.

It is about an interactive God who wants to live in interaction with and within us and be the absolute most vital part of our faith growth by becoming part of us.

We can simplify all that to this: God wants us to have wisdom.

So we can make this prayer our own, saying, “I want to have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation because I absolutely want to know my God better.”

God’s Desire For Us: Eyes Open, Mind Illuminated

Ephesians 1:18-21Amplified Bible

18 And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the [a]hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the [b]saints (God’s people), 19 and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and  unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength 20 which He [c]produced in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion [whether angelic or human], and [far above] every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and world but also in the one to come.

What a blessing it is to read this prayer of the apostle Paul!

He asks that God will open, or enlighten, the eyes of our hearts.

Why?

That we may “know him better,” have “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” and know the hope of all that God promises to us.

With hearts open to the wonder of all that God has done, we are empowered by his Spirit to live faithfully and purposely and wisely for him, as Jesus did.

When we are open to God’s working in and through our lives, we are like a blank page on which he writes his poetry, a blank empty canvas on which he works his artistry, softened clay with which he molds, shapes and transforms his vessels.

Perhaps the right combination is openheartedness and singlemindedness—our heart and mind, hands and feet, equally devoted to the God of infinite wisdom.

Lent is an excellent time to have the eyes of our hearts opened and our ears and our minds illuminated to absolutely all of that our Lord has done, all that he can do in our lives, and all that we can look absolutely look forward to in sure hope.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

God of ALL truth, sometimes I not sure if I’m actually hearing your voice, or if it’s just my own thoughts or even another spirit. Sharpen my spiritual hearing, Lord, so I can recognize your words when you are speaking to me. Help me know it’s really you, with no doubt or second-guessing. When I’m asking for your guidance in important decisions, give me your peace that surpasses understanding with your answer. Help me remember that your words to me will never go against your written word in the Bible. Give me a clear mind and push out all my confusion. Savior Jesus, encourage us in the single minded pursuit of being open and opened up to your greater wisdom and your working and your desires and purposes in our lives. In your name we live.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Loved by and Belonging to God, the Giver of Law and the Giver of Liberty. Exodus 20:1-2

Exodus 20:1-2 Complete Jewish Bible

20 Then God said all these words:

א 2 “I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

The Ten Commandments are some of the most recognizable words in the entire Biblical Canon, yet they are often among the most misunderstood.

How has the coming of Jesus transformed these ancient laws?

Do these commandments still matter to Christians today in 2023?

What does it look like to obey them in today’s world?

What do they tell us about God and His Love for His beloved Children?

In this devotional message we see in verses 1-2 three truths about the Law: it’s given by God, it follows the Gospel, and it’s the path of freedom.

Loved By and Belonging to God

Adonai, The Lord who claims our allegiance is God, our Creator and Savior.

God delivered Israel when he brought them out of Egypt.

They had been slaves there for hundreds of years.

Faithful to his covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:13-21; Exodus 3), God called this people his own and continued his work of making them into a nation through which all other nations would be blessed.

Then, many years later, through Jesus, a descendant of Abraham, God brought salvation to the world—and today God includes all who believe in Christ as his people, his worldwide family.

So if we believe in our Savior Christ, we belong to God, and we are His alone.

1 Peter 2:9-10 Complete Jewish Bible

9 But you are a chosen people,[a] the King’s cohanim,[b] a holy nation,[c] a people for God to possess![d] Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; before, you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.[e]

1 Peter 2 puts it, we are a holy nation set apart to be “God’s special possession.”

From the beginning, it was love that created us and has bound us to God.

And since our relationship with God is based on love, God’s law is not a burden but a means of unconventional liberty towards showing love to our neighbors.

God, The Giver of Law and Liberty

Exodus 20:1-2King James Version

20 And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

To faithfully read and respond to the Ten Commandments, we must first make a diligent effort to pray and study them, understand what they are and are not.

We find clarity in the truth that lies at their head: “I am the LORD your God.”

This poignant reminder of who God is precedes the instructions that follow.

In other words, the I am of God’s person grounds the you shall of His commands.

He can command us because of who He is.

The psalmist further expresses this:

“Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his” (Psalm 100:3).

God created us, and His being our Creator grants Him rights and authority over His creation.

Regardless of the efforts of our world to reject the creational handiwork of God, thus His authority over our lives, His role as our Ruler remains unthreatened.

He has made us; we are His.

When we should remember who spoke the law, we are in a position to grasp the purpose of the Ten Commandments as well as to understand what they are not.

First, the commandments are not a formal list of dos and don’ts given to restrict our personal freedoms.

God is NOT the Ultimate Cosmic Killjoy

God is not the Ultimate cosmic killjoy.

In fact, if you wanted to provide a heading for the Ten Commandments, you could instead call them “The Ultimate Guidelines to Freedom and Joy.”

They do not restrict our freedom but rather give us a blueprint for joy, showing us how life works best.

Second, the commandments are not intended as a ladder up which we climb to attain acceptance with God.

No such ladder has ever existed!

God brought His people out of slavery—from Egypt in the exodus, and from sin and death at the cross—before He called us to obey Him.

So we obey God because we have been “brought out by God,” not in order for us to somehow believe we could ever persuade Him to do so on our own time line.

If that were the case, why then did the bondage last as long as it did despite all the years of crying, pleading by the generations of Israelites held in bondage?

Until Moses had been prepared by 80 years of life at the pinnacle of authority, then at the bottom of authority for His “Burning Bush” encounter with God.

Rather than being rules that save us, the Ten Commandments serve as a mirror in which we should see ourselves, revealing the depths of our sin and our need for a Savior—and they show how we can all live every day to please our Savior.

Third, the Ten Commandments have not been rendered anywhere near obsolete by the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

When Jesus said the two greatest commandments were to love God and love our neighbor, He was summarizing the Ten Commandments (Mark 12:28-31 AKJV).

28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

What does it mean to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength?

The first four commandments tell us. [Exodus 20 verses 3-11]

What does it look like to love our neighbor as ourselves?

The final six commandments flesh that out. [Exodus 20 verses 12-17]

Jesus, master teacher that He was, summed up the ten with the two.

When we see all this, we are ready to read the Ten Commandments and let them transform our lives.

We must see the sin that the commandments reveal and respond in repentance and faith in the only One who fulfilled the law and offers Himself as our Savior.

He, the Lord Jesus Christ, will ensure that this law is not merely etched into our conscience but also inscribed upon our hearts and upon our souls.

Give yourselves unto the Lord our God and His way, and His Truth and His Life you and I will find everlasting love, everlasting joy and His everlasting liberty.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit …

Let us Pray,

Psalm 40The Message

40 1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God.
    At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
    pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
    to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
    a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
    they enter the mystery,
    abandoning themselves to God.

4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
    turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,”
    ignore what the world worships;
The world’s a huge stockpile
    of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
    compares to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
    and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
    account for you.

6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
    that’s not what you’re after.
Being religious, acting pious—
    that’s not what you’re asking for.
You’ve opened my ears
    so I can listen.

7-8 So I answered, “I’m coming.
    I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I’m coming to the party
    you’re throwing for me.”
That’s when God’s Word entered my life,
    became part of my very being.

9-10 I’ve preached you to the whole congregation,
    I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that.
I didn’t keep the news of your ways
    a secret, didn’t keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
    I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth
For myself alone. I told it all,
    let the congregation know the whole story.

11-12 Now God, don’t hold out on me,
    don’t hold back your passion.
Your love and truth
    are all that keeps me together.
When troubles ganged up on me,
    a mob of sins past counting,
I was so swamped by guilt
    I couldn’t see my way clear.
More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
    so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

13-15 Soften up, God, and intervene;
    hurry and get me some help,
So those who are trying to kidnap my soul
    will be embarrassed and lose face,
So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable
    will be heckled and disgraced,
So those who pray for my ruin
    will be booed and jeered without mercy.

16-17 But all who are hunting for you—
    oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you’re all about
    tell the world you’re great and not quitting.
And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing:
    make something of me.
You can do it; you’ve got what it takes—
    but God, don’t put it off.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen

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