Psalm 51:1-17 - The Message

Psalm 51

1-3
Generous in love—God, give grace!
Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I've been;
my sins are staring me down.

4-6
You're the One I've violated, and you've seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
I've been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you're after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

7-15
Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don't look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don't throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I'll let loose with your praise.

16-17
Going through the motions doesn't please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don't for a moment escape God's notice.


The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Magdalena: Released from Shame

I previewed this film last night. Mary (Magdalena) introduces her friends to Jesus through her own story and the stories of other women whose lives he touched by his love and grace.

(Click on the title of this blog to go to the Magdalena website.)

Go Big Red!

Behind dominating performances from its middle blockers, the top-ranked Nebraska volleyball team claimed the 2007 AVCA Showcase crown with a 30-23, 22-30, 30-18, 30-21 victory over fifth-ranked UCLA in front of an event record-crowd of 11,076 at the Qwest Center.

I was one of the 11,076 and it was a great evening of college volleyball! The match between Utah and Tennessee that preceded the Nebraska-UCLA match was a nail biter, too. I was wiped out by the time we got home just after midnight -- but with no regrets!

And here's one of the things I love about the athletic program at the University of Nebraska: the athletes are STUDENTS. One of these women -- (#9 Sarah Pavan -- a 6'5" senior from Canada) is carrying a 4.0 in microbiology.