God created us out of his joy. He is in the business of joy and has destined us to enjoy him and one another forever. Therefore, joy is central to our lives grounded in the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Shame and guilt tend to move us to self-hiding. God is a loving father who knows our failings. By confession and repentance, we find forgiveness and a true safe hiding place.

Let us never believe that our sins have no consequences. But let us never forget that our sins are no match for God’s forgiveness.

God loves it when we speak to him from our hearts. The Psalms are excellent examples of conversations with God. The psalms cover all human emotions from joy to depression, from anger to love, from desperation to satisfaction. What a blessing they are when we embrace the psalms in our own devotional life as followers of Jesus who desire to speak to the Father as the Son himself did!

Psalm 63 provides a beautiful spiritual blueprint for the heart. We are designed by God for a loving worshiping relationship with him. This Lenten season, examine your heart. Incline your affections and longings on the Lord.

The Psalms never let us get away with reflection on God in the abstract. They are born of real living and sinning and suffering and struggling and dying under the face of the Lord who reigns over it all. Which is why we can praise him.

Whether we feel confident in the Lord, or find ourselves asking hard questions, Psalm 27 invites us to dwell in his house.

The Devil is not very creative but he is relentlessly consistent, offering almost plausible reasons for Jesus to look at his calling a little differently, in ways that would avoid any suffering, any rejection, any death. Jesus refuses.

We are called by Jesus to be a source of blessing to the world. From the Taliban to Isis, from the hurting to the sick, we are to be a source of joy and peace to all people.

The message of Lent is not that we need to do a better job managing our sin. The message of Lent is that we need to do a better job of recognizing how our sin is dealt with.