Good For The Soul

Maybe you, like me, have stood at the back of the store staring at the latest version of HDTV. The detail and color are riveting. Fascinating. And I wonder if maybe I've fallen into an Alice in Wonderland world where everything is sharper, clearer, faster than real life?

Although I'm very content to be inside (my favorite childhood summer was spent reading 70-odd books and listening to Tchaikovsky), I made my way outdoors this afternoon and at one point I heard myself say, "This is very good for my soul."

And it was then that I realized I was living in high definition--it's what so many people want and don't have. It's why resolution and megapixels appeal to us. We need, we want, to experience life. But life is so hard. We want the GREAT parts of life, the FUN parts, the YUMMY, GORGEOUS, SPECTACULAR parts of life without the mundane, sad, difficult, not-so-great parts of life. We don't want to go to the same job, wear the same clothes, eat the same food, pay the same bills (or struggle to pay the same bills). We don't want to listen to children whine, wash dishes, put (blank) away, fold laundry, mow the yard, fix the plumbing, get on the same bus, work with that difficult person.... need I go on?

And yet, as I felt the weight of apples from the tree drop in my picking bag and watched the chickens at work below, there was a sense of satisfaction. There was joy in doing what needed to be done; in seeing and enjoying the world at work. When dust blew in my eyes as I charged over uneven blades of grass and cars whizzed by on the highway, I said, "This is good."

I have noticed in the quiet, mundane, difficult, and trying moments of life, I pray. I think of others. I am aware of my need and sin and forgiveness; of grace, mercy and justice. I hear my thoughts and my heart speaks. God listens, knows, and reveals. When I'm not writing or planning or being entertained, there is a moment to whisper, "This is good for my soul."

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness  for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23 ESV)

Good News Club--12 Years In

I have been asked to share what Good News Club has meant for myself, our school and community.

 

 

After praying and waiting for 3 years, I discovered Beth Lamb, our Child Evangelism Missionary, who helped me contact local administrators and get things rolling. That was 12 years ago. Since then, I can’t tell you how many children we’ve ministered to or how many salvation decisions have been made. I wish I could, but that’s a couple computer’s worth of material that’s been lost or misplaced (!).

What I do know is that the gospel has been presented and children have responded. We promote Good News Club at our annual Children’s Festival and reach a couple of hundred children and parents each fall. We have chosen to teach an Old Testament series every fall and a New Testament series each spring.

The majority of the people in our community are Hispanic, but the gospel, through Good News Club, transcends race, culture, language, age, and church affiliation. We sing, “Yo Tengo Un Amigo Que Me Ama.” We send home information, Wonderbooks and Bibles in both Spanish and English. We pray for brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents and pets. We know Jesus was sent to die for our sin and rose again; that His Spirit lives in and through us and we are united in Christ. We teach and model what it means to tell others and share the good news of God’s love through Jesus.

One of the joys of being at school is overhearing children in the hall ask one another or their teachers, “What’s Good News Club?” Just being there and putting up our sign each week gives others the opportunity to share the Good News—our clubbers, parents, even teachers and staff!

Now that we have been part of Good News Club for twelve years, our “clubbers” are graduating high school. The gospel has united us. We greet children and parents at school and community events, ask how they’re doing and how we can pray. Some are attending college. One is a professional boxer. We have been invited to quinceaneras and street dances with a mariachi band.

We have walked children home, met their grandmas and pets, shared stories, laughter and tears.
If we had time, I would tell you about the children we've watched grow up before our eyes, the girl who left class and how it gave me an opportunity to share the gospel with her mom. I would tell you about the child who said, “That sounds too good to be true!” or the questions, “What color will we be in Heaven? Like green? Or pink? Or blue?” and “Did Jesus have a grandpa?”

We are active volunteers in other areas of our school district and our own children attend the public schools. Like Jesus, we feel public ministry is vital to transparency and discipleship. In John 18:20 He said, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret.”

We have a reputation and relationship with the students, parents and community. We don’t expect to see all the results until we get to Heaven, but we are blessed by the opportunity to share Christ, build relationships, plant and harvest as God allows. One way He has done that is through Good News Club and we are blessed.

To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:8-21)
 

A Challenge for the Day

 

A humble person is grateful person.

So how many thank-you's can you say in a day?

If Brother Lawrence trained himself to practice the presence of God in a kitchen, surely each of us can use the events of our daily lives.

So what are you grateful for?
On your mark.... Get set....

Go!

 

Thoughts on Suffering

One of the certainties of life is suffering. There is flooding in Texas. In my personal world, a young woman is fighting cancer and treatment is uncertain. Friends lost their 25-year-old brother unexpectedly. Our world is one of pain, grief, loss, disappointment, failure, betrayal, and anxiety. No one is exempt. It may come in different forms, but suffering is certain.

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1368215/images/o-GRIEF-MANAGEMENT-facebook.jpg

Job's suffering was unexpected and devastating. He lost material wealth, his children, and his health. Like some of us, this is how others responded:

1. Relief at all costs: “Curse God and die.” This was Satan’s goal. If Job’s relationship with God was dependent on his circumstances, he would love God when life was good and curse Him when life was bad. Job’s wife, unfortunately, was on Satan’s team for this one. Isn’t it interesting that of all the things Satan asked to take away from Job, his wife was not one of them.
2. Experience is the solution: “I’ve seen this. It happened to ____.”  Job’s friend, Eliphaz, related Job’s suffering to his own experiences. We may have seen, heard, or experienced things in our lives but that is a) not a comfort someone who is suffering and b) not an accurate measure of who God is or how He works.
3. Traditional practice is the solution: “If you’d done this (name it) this (name calamity) wouldn’t have happened.” We may not come right out and say it, but it’s easy to carry the same undertone as Zophar ‘s message: “We’ve always done it this way.” In other words, it’s your fault for not following the accepted pattern. “What did you do to bring this on yourself?”
4. Rules or legalism is the solution: “You can fix this by ____.”  Bildad professes a health, wealth and prosperity doctrine: If you do such and such, you can make it go away. This is another form of, “It’s your fault” with the added burden of changing the circumstances.

None of them were helpful. In fact, they made things worse. On top of external forces, Job battled his thoughts, emotions and the untruths of his "friends."
 

These friends were focused on why Job was suffering. If they knew why, they could escape, avoid, or control suffering in their own lives. They pointed the finger, “It’s your fault” as another way of saying, “As long as I don’t do what you did, I’m safe.” There is something threatening about suffering—something ominous, dangerous, and unpleasant—we want to avoid. In reality, we can't. And we won't.
 

What about Job? In the face of disaster and calamity, who, like him, doesn’t want to talk directly to God?(7:20, 10:2, 13:3, 15, 22; 16:21; 23:4, etc.)
 

Once they ran out of arguments--Job included--Elihu, the youngest, silent observer spoke. Unlike the others, Elihu persisted in presence with a listening ear and keen thoughts. Because he escaped God's criticism, we would do well to listen to his words and attitudes.

In humility, he admitted his own failures. He found common ground with Job and proved it by sitting through this entire discourse (7 days of silence plus 28 chapters' worth of discussion). He did not lay blame, tell Job what to do, or criticize him harshly. He practiced what Dr. Bob Kellemen calls, "climbing in the casket." And after lying in that dark, despairing place with Job, he provides perspective: don't forget God's grace and generosity, look for God's hand and purpose even in suffering, if God controls the lightning, wind and wild beast, He is able to care for you, and remember, God cannot be moved or manipulated by the works of man.
 

God, in His goodness, wisdom and sovereignty approached Job in chapters 38-41, but not to answer Job's “why?” Instead, God assured him that He saw, knew, controlled, and governed in might, goodness and wisdom.

Job's reply?
 

“I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
 

‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’

Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
 

‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:2-6)
 

Then the Lord spoke to Eliphaz (how terrifying!), “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has” (42:7). They offered sacrifices, Job prayed, and they were forgiven. The Lord returned Job’s wealth and “blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning…” (42:12)
 

In our suffering—in suffering with others—we may never know why, but we can always know Who.
 

Behold, the Lord God will come with might,

With His arm ruling for Him.

Behold, His reward is with Him

And His recompense before Him.

¹¹ Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,

In His arm He will gather the lambs

And carry them in His bosom;

He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
 

¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,

And marked off the heavens by the span,

And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,

And weighed the mountains in a balance

And the hills in a pair of scales?

¹³ Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,

Or as His counselor has informed Him?

¹⁴ With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?

And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge

And informed Him of the way of understanding?

¹⁵ Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,

And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;

Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

¹⁶ Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,

Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering.

¹⁷ All the nations are as nothing before Him,

They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.
 

¹⁸ To whom then will you liken God?

Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

¹⁹ As for the idol, a craftsman casts it,

A goldsmith plates it with gold,

And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.

²⁰ He who is too impoverished for such an offering

Selects a tree that does not rot;

He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman

To prepare an idol that will not totter.
 

²¹ Do you not know? Have you not heard?

Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

²² It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,

And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,

Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain

And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

²³ He it is who reduces rulers to nothing,

Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.

²⁴ Scarcely have they been planted,

Scarcely have they been sown,

Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,

But He merely blows on them, and they wither,

And the storm carries them away like stubble.

²⁵ “To whom then will you liken Me

That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.

²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high

And see who has created these stars,

The One who leads forth their host by number,

He calls them all by name;

Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,

Not one of them is missing.
 

²⁷ Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord,

And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?

²⁸ Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth

Does not become weary or tired.

His understanding is inscrutable.

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary,

And to him who lacks might He increases power.

³⁰ Though youths grow weary and tired,

And vigorous young men stumble badly,

³¹ Yet those who wait for the Lord

Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40) 

 

 

 

 

Ah-hah's of the Creation Account

There is more than one way to use the Bible. It can be read, studied, memorized, listened to, and meditated on. That sounds self-evident, but the purpose of each will make a difference in one's spiritual walk.

Many of us study the Bible to teach a class or make a presentation. Studying the Bible is a great way to learn because we know who gets the most out of it--the teacher. Another way to use the Bible is to read, think about and pray it in fellowship with God with a desire to enjoy time in His presence, get to know Him, and ourselves, better.

My daily fellowship time has varied over the years--I've kept journals, made spreadsheets, hand-written Scripture, looked for patterns, and gone on rabbit trails. Yesterday I started on a chronological tour from the very beginning.

Here is an "ah-hah" from the first chapter of the Bible. (Since it's an ah-hah for me, that means it's  obvious and may make you say, "duh." I apologize for needless enthusiasm.)

Each part of creation follows the same pattern:
1) God said
2) "Let there be _____" for _____
3) and there was
4) God called ______, ______
5) God saw
6) it was good.

This is the basic pattern for light, waters above and below, land, sky, plants, stars/moon/sun, fish, birds, animals, man (with variation for man, but the same basic concepts).

In a world gone made with identity and self-fulfillment, these stood out with clarity. This entry is not intended to be a response to people or culture, it is a response to the Word of God. Take it personally or not; that's not my motivation.

1) God is the source of every good thing
2) God created specifically, completely, and with purpose (earth to sprout vegetation; plants to give seed and fruit, lights to separate night from day, etc.)
3) It happened the way God said it would (and nothing has changed)
4) God determined creation's name and identity
5) God was not absent from His creation, but present
6) God makes things well.

How does this affect my life today? Malachi 3:6 tells us that God does not change, so the truths of who God is and how He works carry over. Here are some implications for today:

1) God is the Giver of every good gift (James 1:17). When we accept Jesus' payment for sin in our place, God begins the transforming work of recreating us in righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:24).

2) God made man to image, or reflect, the Godhead. He determined creation's purpose--all of it, each part.

3) Everything happens according to God's will and plan. "Truly I have spoken, truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it." (Isaiah 46:11)

4) God is the source of identity. He was then, He is now.

5) God continues to be present. It may not be evident in our circumstances or emotions, but it is a fact. "The Lord is near." (Philippians 4:5)

6) God does all things well (Mark 7:37).  We may struggle and suffer and sin, but we can trust that God who originally designed and created all things continues to work out His plan and purpose with wisdom, patience and goodness.

And above all, as we endure suffering and sin, we know Jesus has suffered for us. He took our final judgement and we are free from condemnation through faith in Him (Romans 8:1-2). He is our advocate and has given us His Spirit as a guarantee and Helper. For that reason, it is well (1 John 2:1-2).

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
² From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

³ When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
⁴ What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
⁵ Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
⁶ You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
⁷ All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
⁸ The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

 

⁹ O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

(Psalm 8)

Knowing God's Will

Last weekend our church teamed up to provide free furniture and household goods for international students at the University of Iowa. As I rode in the back seat of a pickup with Brother John, we  talked about what we've been learning lately. When I told him I've been thinking about God's will as singular, finished, and complete from eternity past to eternity future instead of a progression of events or series of circumstances, he said something like this:

"You know, I've given that some thought.... Our Savior prayed, 'Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven,' and on the night He was betrayed He prayed for God's will to be done, not His. That's God's will--that what it comes down to, God's will, not ours. It's what Jesus did. He emptied Himself--the kenosis--that Paul talks about in Philippians 2. John the Baptist said the same thing, 'I must decrease, He must increase.' And we're vessels, earthen pots in 2 Corinthians 4. Now if we were really empty of ourselves and what we want, and full of what He wants and who He is, that would really be somethin'....Then we'd know God's will, wouldn't we?"

All that in about 2 blocks' time. And I'm still thinking about it. Maybe you will, too.

Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread,
¹² and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:9-13 ESV)

 

And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”  (Mark 13:35-36)

 

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:5-7)

 

‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ ²⁹ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. ³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:28-30)

 

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.

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sword of Change

As I read my Bible this morning and thought through the ideas of justification (initial salvation) and sanctification (the working out of salvation), the word, "yield" came to mind.

The Bible word, "yield," is "to present: to place an another's disposal." In other words, it's to make one's self available, ready, useful. When I yield to my own desires, I do what I want to do. I use my resources--my body, time, money, energy--to reach a task or goal. It might be exercise, strawberry milk, time on Facebook, or lying on the couch. When I yield to God's desires, I give myself to do what He would have me do: help others, read His Word, take a difficult step of obedience.

The fabulous thing about God is that He doesn't leave us to ourselves. He has given us grace to obey, grace to yield, grace to walk in righteousness. That grace is primarily available in the Holy Spirit: "If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness." (Romans 8:10). The Holy Spirit gives me the want to and the to do (Philippians 2:13), but I must yield. I choose whom I will serve, what I will give myself to, where I will spend my resources, what I deem important.

And this is where the word, "wield," comes to bear. Wield is the opposite of yield. When we had small children, a voice came from under the bed one night, "My name is Gladys. My sword shall wield for me." We still laugh when we tell the story and remember our spinster friend, Gladys, who never wielded a sword in her life. But God's Word wields great power--it commands, takes charge, works on the offensive.

As we yield to God's Word and way in our lives, we will find He wields more and more influence over our hearts, desires, choices and character. Little by little, we will become like Him, "being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹ Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, ¹³ and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! ¹⁶ Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸ and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹ I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. (Romans 6:8-19 NASB)

Stopped in My Tracks

This blog serves two purposes--one greater than the other. It allows me to share God's work in my heart and life. More than that, I pray it encourages you. Although our circumstances, personality and geography are different, based on 1 Corinthians 10:13, I believe we share similar struggles and victories.

Today I am tired of being me. Knowing my personal struggles, I have been asking God to help me grow in identifying and addressing it. That itself was my prayer: Lord, please humble me and make me aware of my sin, teach me how to confess to others, and give me the willingness to walk in repentance. There was no glaring, hidden sin, no specific hole, but because I'm still in this process called, "life," sin is part of every day. He has answered my prayer. And I don't want to be me anymore.

Jerry Bridge's book, Transforming Grace, has been a textbook guide through Scripture. My conscience was pricked in numerous ways as I studied Marriage and Family Counseling this last semester. And, now, after attending Family Camp under sound biblical teaching, I have been brought to my knees. These last months accountability partners have walked with me in whether I'm addressing sin or pride and whether or not I've followed through, our local church has ministered regularly, and God has faithfully provided opportunities to practice.

And as I contemplated where to go from here, tired of being me, I wondered if doing nothing at all would be best. If I stopped doing I would be more aware of Jesus' finished work instead of my efforts. If I stopped serving I could avoid comments that feed sinful pride. If I stopped altogether....

But giving would still be self-dependent. It would be my idea instead of God's. It wouldn't require His enabling and empowering to endure. But. it. might. be. easier.

Instead, He calls me to receive His forgiveness and cleansing by faith (1 John 1:9). He chooses to restore and use me with a greater awareness of my failure and sin than before (like Peter after his betrayal in John 21:15-19). We all have faults--hidden and overt--and that's the glory of God. We can't do, won't do, life for His glory apart from Christ. And that's exactly the way it should be.

Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
³ For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
⁴ Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.

⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
⁶ Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
⁷ Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
⁹ Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.

 

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
¹³ Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

 

¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
¹⁶ For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

 

¹⁸ By Your favor do good to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar. Psalm 51 NASB