Declare His Praises!

“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. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” -- 1 Peter 2:9-10

You and I are God's special possession! He has chosen us and made us holy. He has made us holy! And He has done this so that we may declare his praises. He has brought us out of darkness. He has made us -- who were nobodies -- to be the very people of God. So let us declare His praises! Let our lives declare His praises through love and purity and mercy. Let our voices declare His praises through adoration and worship and prayer and proclamation. He is so worth it! Jesus must be praised by us! This is more central to who we are than anything else. We are chosen and made holy and shown mercy for this very reason. That Jesus may be glorified through us.

And I want to add that He is being glorified through us. As we love one another, as we remind each other of the Good News, as we pray and worship and celebrate the Lord's Supper together. Jesus is being glorified. As we gather together, not for our own benefit, but for His and His people's. As we sacrifice something to serve another. As we forgive and overlook offense. As we make choices that honor Him. As we repent when we've gone the wrong way. As we battle temptation.

I am so grateful for you, and how I see Jesus being praised through the life we share. Thank you. Please, keep it up. If you're discouraged, know that you are part of something bigger -- the very praises of God. If you're happy -- know that it is only Jesus. If you're confused or struggling or confident or overwhelmed or doubting or full of faith or just pushing through, Jesus is being praised. So let's persevere in this. Let's keep going. Together.