WHO ARE THE “FOOLS” WHO “SAY IN THEIR HEARTS, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 53:1)? We don’t see atheists doing far worse things than other people. In fact, where we find the most heinous deceits, abuses of power, and oppressions, they are often done for religious reasons, from church leaders who bully to militant groups who kill in the name of God.

God comes to earth to see if there is anyone who believes in him with a pure heart, who acts as if he truly exists. And he finds … no one! A humbling truth. At one level or another, all of us live from deceit, doubt, or fear rather than trust in God. And yet there does seem to be another group, an exception: “my people.” God’s people are God’s treasure, and the fools (religious or not) are simply those who “eat up my people as they eat bread” (Ps 53:4). God’s people obey him enough to be mistaken for fools in the world’s eyes. In contrast, the real fools, in doubt and fear, become greedy in their behavior, regardless of what they profess to believe.

Are we God’s people, or are we fools? In the revelation of Christ, we see we are both. We are welcomed in God’s name, and as we approach, we know our foolishness and greed more and more intimately in the light of his holiness and are set free to repent. This is how the Lord restores the fortunes of his people. This is how he saves fools.

Inhabit (a devotional journal for Lent by Dwell)

In honor of this season, I will be posting inspiring music for most of the next 40 days. I hope you’ll use this music as an opportunity to quiet and settle yourself; for contemplation, preparation, and thanksgiving. May you be encouraged and realize the felt presence of Peace and Love as you hear the music; may you hear the message meant for you in each of the musical offerings. Wishing you peace and every good!

THE CHRISTIAN FAITH REQUIRES THAT the life of Christ is planted and cultivated in the life of the believer. Our Lord Jesus reminds us of this in Luke 13, where we find the story of a fruitless fig tree, having gone years without any signs of life or vitality. In this way, it has failed to be and do the very thing it was made to do: bear fruit! In the eyes of the owner, it is nothing more than a waste of good soil (Luke 13:7). And yet the gardener asks for more time, believing that the potential for life is still contained deep within. “He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down’” (Luke 13:8-9).

Jesus Christ, sees us in our fruitless state and does not stand by, indifferent and aloof. Rather, he enters the orchard of our lives and longs to see us become what we were made to be in the very beginning. He reveals to us the way of health, one defined by good soil and rich nutrients. As Christ draws near to us this Lent, will we respond in faith, delighting ourselves in the goodness of his presence (Isa 55:2) and receiving his expert care, not for our harm, but for our healing and ultimate good?

Inhabit (a devotional journal for Lent by Dwell)

In honor of this season, I will be posting inspiring music for most of the next 40 days. I hope you’ll use this music as an opportunity to quiet and settle yourself; for contemplation, preparation, and thanksgiving. May you be encouraged and realize the felt presence of Peace and Love as you hear the music; may you hear the message meant for you in each of the musical offerings. Wishing you peace and every good!

LONGING FOR GOD AND BEHOLDING HIS GLORY in worship are inseparably linked. Psalm 63 is a window into a heart filled with a desire for God, to know him and encounter his presence amid life’s great struggles and sorrows. “O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Ps 63:1).

For the desert wanderer, water is the singular pursuit and sole passion, with every other care and concern overshadowed by the desire for survival.
Beautiful and poetic as this imagery surely is, if you’re honest, you may struggle with psalms of this nature. How does anyone truly obtain this desperate longing to know God? Rather than joining them in this place, you may instead feel confusion or even shame at your lack of desire. We may wish to long for God in this way, yet in our heart of hearts, we struggle to see how this could ever be true of us.

The answer, according to this psalm, is found in a life of worship. A thirst for God finds its fulfillment in his presence, beholding his power and glory (Ps 63:2). It is in God’s presence that our desires are fulfilled and awakened within us. Our thirst is quenched, and we are simultaneously made aware of how deeply we long to know God more.