I Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession,
that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Psalm 96
1  Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
2  Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3  Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4  For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5  For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
6  Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7  Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
8  Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9  Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
10  Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
11  Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12  let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13  before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.

How can you proclaim those excellencies to the LORD and to the nations
if you don't study them (study Him)?

Perhaps you don't study His excellencies because you don't delight in them (in Him)?

Psalm 111
1  Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2  Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
3  Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4  He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5  He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
6  He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7  The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
8  they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9  He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!

And, if you aren't studying His excellencies (studying Him),
can you truly praise and give thanks to the LORD with your whole heart?

Isaiah 5
8  Woe to those who join house to house,
who add field to field,
until there is no more room,
and you are made to dwell alone
in the midst of the land.
9  The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
“Surely many houses shall be desolate,
large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
10  For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”
11  Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
that they may run after strong drink,
who tarry late into the evening
as wine inflames them!
12  They have lyre and harp,
tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,
but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD,
or see the work of his hands.
13  Therefore my people go into exile
for lack of knowledge;
their honored men go hungry,
and their multitude is parched with thirst.
14  Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite
and opened its mouth beyond measure,
and the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude will go down,
her revelers and he who exults in her.
15  Man is humbled, and each one is brought low,
and the eyes of the haughty are brought low.
16  But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice,
and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.
17  Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture,
and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.
18  Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood,
who draw sin as with cart ropes,
19  who say: “Let him be quick,
let him speed his work
that we may see it;
let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near,
and let it come, that we may know it!”

If I petitioned for famine to cease,
If I prayed for worldly prosperity,

Would you come to yourself?
Would you fall to your knees?

Would you hunger and thirst
For Christ's righteousness first?

Would you mourn and lament?
Confess your sin and repent?

Prodigal son, my dear seed,
How for thy soul shall I plead?

If I petitioned for famine to cease,
If I prayed for worldly prosperity,

Would you remain by sin bound?
In death's crypt, lost never found?

Would you wear the robe, shoes, and ring?
Watch me frolic and hear me sing?

Would you ever know my embrace?
Mingle joyful tears on my face?

How for thy soul shall I plead,
Prodigal son, my dear seed?

[See Luke 15]

My little child, in my prayers I labor
That you might feast upon the Lord's favor

Isaiah 57
14  And it shall be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people's way.”
15  For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16  For I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
and the breath of life that I made.
17  Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,
I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
18  I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
19  creating the fruit of the lips.
Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the LORD,
“and I will heal him.
20  But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
21  There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

"That could have been me!"

My senior year of high school I missed my period, and not long afterwards, I drove out of town to the nearest Planned Parenthood.

But I couldn't get an abortion in state because my parents would have had to be notified.

Along with my boyfriend, an out-of-state trip was planned – under the guise of a college visit.

The night before we were scheduled to take that trip, my grandmother asked if I were pregnant (a mystery as to why she asked me that, except the good hand of God was upon my unborn child and me!), and my family offered support whatever I ended up choosing.

Not long afterwards, she and I visited an ob/gyn, and I can't explain this, except once again it was the grace of God protecting my unborn daughter and myself through the words of that doctor, since I ended up opting to have the baby out of fear of the pain of the abortion procedure!

Several months later, after a not-so-fun time of extended labor, I held my daughter and looked at her, and wondered how I could ever have aborted her.

A few years later I moved to Madison (a.k.a. - "78 square miles surrounded by reality") and ended up joining the National Organization for Women (N.O.W.).

I signed up to be part of the Reproductive Rights Task Force.

One of the things we did was to sit in the student union and write letters to Congressmen and Senators to "Keep Abortion Legal."

I also wore a coat hanger necklace, the reminder of "Never Again" to back-alley abortions that had allegedly killed thousands of women.

I even went to the N.O.W. National Convention that fall.
(That was the road trip I was on, the night I was praying to God, which I described in my testimony here.)

Then by the grace of God, I was saved by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Not long afterwards, I went to a monthly N.O.W. meeting and explained I'd become a Christian. I told the women there I didn't know if I could remain involved with the group.

I continued reading the Bible and soon realized I couldn't continue to support abortion rights as I had.

My friends, the world remains in darkness, under the rule of the god of the world, the evil one.

As Christians, let's never forget that:

... we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).

And let's pray that Sandra Fluke and other women like her would have their eyes opened as God graciously opened mine.

 II Corinthians 4:4  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5  For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Here's a little video introduction to Trip Lee's song, "Beautiful Life," followed by the song itself.