Lent Devotion

I was asked to write on Psalm 14 for the Lent Devotion at church. The verse that prompted what follows is verse 3: "They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one."

As we prepare our hearts for the resurrection of our Lord it's important to realize our need for a Savior. Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection changed the course of eternity for all mankind. For me personally it was years after I accepted Jesus before I fully believed that there was nothing good in and of myself. Do you believe that? Not one thing that you do is good. NOTHING! Have you come to the place of depravity? For me personally those years in between of accepting Jesus and recognizing my depravity were interesting. I feel as though I knew there were parts of me that were "bad" and I needed Jesus in those areas; but the majority of me was "good" so I didn't really need Him. I felt like in those "good" areas I had things under control. What breaks my heart about this season in my life is that I feel like a lot of people struggle with this idea of self-sufficiency and "goodness" in our churches today. It was once I recognized the truth of who I was without Christ, then did I truly grasp His role and importance in my life. He became my everything! He crossed all contexts and was a part of each facet of my life. Then did I truly begin living a life bringing glory to God. The process of recognizing my complete and utter need for the Lord came from a season of learning more about God's sovereign plan to redeem this fallen world. For me personally, the Lord often speaks to me through music. A song that speaks to this truth is "The Only Thing" by Ronnie Freeman. If you have a chance take a moment to listen to it. I pray that it helps your heart and mind grasp this truth as it did mine. Another beautiful outcome of realizing my depravity was realizing also that because of His death, burial, and resurrection I now am a new creation. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "Therefore if anyone is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Hallelujah! Because I've said yes to Jesus and He rules and reigns in my heart I am righteous like Him! "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21 Now that we are considered righteous, Psalm 14:5 gives us this hope: "for God is present in the company of the righteous." Go forth today knowing that the Creator of the universe is with you!


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