The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. 3 All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. 4 Will evildoers never learn--those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD? 5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. 6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge. 7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

I recently read some discussion by a scientist who was an atheist. In it he said that the main reason he did not even entertain the notion of a living God who actually created everything was that belief would require that he be accountable to God. He said he was not willing to accept that conclusion so he just rejected God entirely. While he was speaking for himself and not all who claim to be atheist, it probably represents many who have never reasoned it or admitted his conclusions. The Psalmist labels such a one as a fool. That is, he is totally devoid of good judgment when he concludes that there is no God. This defies logic and even good science – which says that something cannot come from nothing.

OK, so we believe there is a God. We even go to church and read the Bible at times. We pray to this God. Do we realize that we are accountable to him? I understand that he loves us and that we are saved by grace and not our own works but I also understand that we must be committed to living for him. Paul quotes from this passage in Romans 3 and says that all of us have sinned and we all fall short of the glory of God. That is, we all miss the mark of his standards of excellence. The question then becomes, do we really place our faith in him? Do we trust him enough to live for him, according to his standard of truth? Is our faith strong enough to overcome our own desires and our own thinking so that we are willing to submit to him in complete obedience? This is the kind of lifestyle that John describes as “walking in the light” and that he says brings us a continued cleansing by the blood of Jesus.

O God, please help me to not only acknowledge verbally that you exist but to show that I believe it by my life. Forgive me when I fail and strengthen me where I am weak. Fill me with your Spirit so that I can have your peace and love in my heart until it overflows to all around me. Help me to be an encouragement to those who are struggling. I pray in the name of Jesus.

May God bless each of us as we live for him in true faithfulness.