A Kingdom of Priests
January 27, 2026
Exodus 19:3-6 (NKJV)
3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and [how] I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 ‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth [is] Mine. 6 ‘And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These [are] the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
1 Peter 2:9-10 (NKJV)
9 But you [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own specialpeople, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once [were] not a people but [are] now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
It has been God’s plan from the beginning to have for himself a holy nation, a kingdom of priests. The problem is that we keep disappointing Him in not obeying His commandments. There is only one who has fully obeyed the Lord and obeyed all His commandments, that is Jesus, so those of us who put our faith in Jesus are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…” If we are a special people, we should act like it!
The world today needs to see what a kingdom people look like. They can see the sorrow and pain that come from living as the world lives. They need to see what it means to live in joy and peace.
Romans 14:17-18 (NKJV)
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace andjoy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things [is] acceptable to God and approved by men.
So today, strive to live as a holy nation, a kingdom of priests, to show the world what it means to live with true righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
The worlds theme song…
ReplyDeleteGloom, Despair and Agony on Me!
A Compilation of Lyrics from “Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me!”
From the TV Show “Hee-Haw” (1969 -1992)
Lyrics by Bernie Brillstein, Frank Peppiatt and John Aylesworth.
Recorded by Buck Owens and Roy Clark.
Chorus:
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
We figured she was rich, loaded to the hilt
And we figured she had class like the Vanderbilts
‘Cause we had heard for years how she was so well reared
How was we to know they meant the way she was built
My Wife was so unhappy she started to pack
But I figured that I could get us back on the right track
So I give her a weekly allowance, but you fellas know how that is
Tho’ she spent it before I had a chance to borrow it back
I knew a gal who lived high up on a hill
Every Friday night she’d give my heart a thrill
One night I came a-callin’, I ran down the hill a-bawlin’
Cause she’d run off with some old fart named Bill
I stand six foot eight when I’m completely unfurled
And to find a mate I’ve looked all over this world
Then a store downtown advertised everything for us tall guys
And they had everything except tall girls
This morning I got to speak to my very best friend Fred;
He called me on the telephone, and this is what he said:
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but we think your dog is DEAD!”
He got into a tiger fight, last night at lonesome Red’s!”
“You see, your dog Tycho, likes dog treats from the bar,
An’ when he gets to drinkin’, he sometimes goes too far!;
Well, last night there was somethin’ grand, a woman beyond compare!
And Tycho got to singin’ loud; and howling in the air!”
“That girl had a boyfriend who was the scariest one I seen!:
Some great strip-ed tiger man, with teeth, and looks so mean!
I think his name was Tony, and he was up from Battle Creek,
Tycho shoulda ate his Wheaties ’cause that Tiger’s strength was Grrrreat!
“Last thing I saw was Tony Tiger, laying down the law,
Giving Tycho such a what-for, Like nothing I ever saw!
Well I guess Tycho’s still alive, but you’d better come on down,
The Sheriff finally caught ’em and he put him in the pound!”
Ol’ Archie almost had to sell his home
till he started selling furniture by phone
now he gets to keep the house, but it ain’t fitting for a louse
cause the furniture I been selling is my own.
Gordy sure was relieved to hear what the doctor said
about something his wife had had since before they was wed.
On her neck was this ugly growth and the doctor said he couldn’t take it off,
but he said not to worry, not no, it’s just her head.
To have a weatherproof watch was Pat’s design,
and he was willing to pay 10 bucks or even higher.
So he bought one that was waterproof, wind ,and shock, and rust proof too,
Three days later the dang thing caught fire.
The preacher said something Sunday that sure did hurt.
Said man came from dust, and to dust he will return.
And I guess it’s no surprise that his message pleased our wives.
Well, ever since then they’ve been treating us like we was dirt.
I observe all protocol,
but there’s one problem I just cannot solve,
in this one situation, mouth to mouth resuscitation…
(quartet cracks up without finishing the stanza)
My wife made me go see this psychiatrist quack.
For two bucks an hour he viewed my head from front to back.
If you’re wondering why I’m threatened, when he finished, I was upsettin’,
He just looked sad at me and gave me my two bucks back.
I always thought I had the respect to my wife.
She learned me almost all I know in life.
As far as intelligence, she said I’d have a six sense,
She said I sure didn’t show no sign of the other five.
Poor ol’ Gordy lost all his friends along the way,
so he tried to make himself nicer day after day.
He nearly worked himself to death getting rid of his bad breath,
Only to find out that nobody liked me anyway.