meditations for an everyday relationship with Jesus

The fool says …

Psalm 14:1 The fool says in his heart, "God does not exist." They are corrupt; their actions are revolting. There is no one who does good.

The fool, is well, foolish. The fool is rebellious and stupid! I am reluctant to ever use that demeaning term, but in this case it is apt. Being obtuse, careless, brutish or unreasonable is not the same as being ignorant. Those definitions suggest choice in clear view of the truth.

The fool in his or her world lives in a vacuum created by the absence of God and the fullness of self. That is like submitting a request to pump the oxygen out of a room and then complaining that we cannot breathe.

That is why a fool can say that God does not exist; a fool is corrupt and cannot know truth or reason. He or she has accepted evil in the place of good … in the place of God.

All have sinned

Romans 3:20-24 For no flesh will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now, apart from the law, God's righteousness has been revealed-attested by the Law and the Prophets that is, God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

There is no way we can control our urges, or successfully resist temptation, by ourselves. We are powerless over our sin: every man and every woman is powerless over sin. But with a belief in Jesus Christ, and the sincere desire to begin again with Him, we can live a life that is both manageable and productive. There are no steps that will save us without Jesus. Steps are guides on a road map to freedom; but by themselves they are just legalities which condemn us in the knowledge of our sin. Yet there is real hope in the knowledge that while all have fallen short there is the gift of grace.

Everyone (yes, everyone) can have this gift if they are willing to accept it. In accepting grace we are immediately forgiven and we can begin a new way of life. It is never too late to confess our shortcomings and walk away from our old lives. This is repentance!