Do you try to keep things hidden from God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
(Luke 12:2 (NIV))

Have you honestly stopped to let these words sink in to your inner most being?

Do they give you reason to shudder at the thought of some of your secrets being revealed?

If you are human, this is a very scary concept, for we all have things that we would rather no one ever find out about. Still, human nature in its sinful state has us do things that we would rather not do. No one is immune. Even Paul, the man whom Jesus called to preach the Gospel to the gentiles, faced the very same dilemma.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
(Romans 7:15 (NIV))

How do you think that Paul’s secrets will be treated when they are revealed? Do you think that he will be treated any different than anybody else who calls upon the name of Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior? What Paul has repented of will be forgiven. What you and I have repented of will be forgiven.

Take another deep look at the passage. Look for what is not said. The passage does not say that what is hidden will not be forgiven. It also does not say that it will be forgiven. Each person will be judged according to one simple truth – have they accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. If you can honestly answer “Yes” to that question, then you will be judged as Paul will be judged.

“Come now, let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
(Isaiah 1:18 (NIV))

If you answer “No” to that question, you will be judged and found guilty.

Do you desire forgiveness, or do you want to face the punishment of the guilty?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Skeletons

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
(Psalms 139:23-24 (NIV))

This is an interesting passage. Carefully read it again. Do you see the irony?

Human nature tries to keep things hidden, especially things that are not that good. Instead of dealing with the proverbial skeletons in the closet, we try to lock them away so that we can hide all of the bones. We don’t want anybody to look at us too closely for we are afraid that they will see our frailties and our shortcomings. Most of us are actually afraid to look at them ourselves.

God desires for us to turn our lives over to Him. He desires for us to ask Him to search us and redirect us away from the things that are not of Him. This goes against every aspect of our sinful human nature that I have ever witnessed. It is true that on occasion, we will do something right, but we often make up for it in the other direction.

If it is human nature to hide things and God wants us to allow Him to search us, how do we bridge that gap? How do we unlock the closet and clear the skeletons?

Grace !

Mercy !

Grace tells us that we can be cleared of those bones. Mercy tells us that the skeletons will be forgiven. When we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we unlock the innermost parts of our being and allow God, through the Holy Spirit, to come in and search us, test us and lead us. It is a struggle. Each day, God has to point out something else within my life that needs to be removed. Some days are hard, for these are the days that I face one of these moments head on. Thankfully, He does not give up on me.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
(Luke 19:10 (NIV))

Faith is a growing process. It requires us to allow God to search us, to know us, to test us and to lead us. Ironically, this is exactly what our sinful nature wants to hide. Open yourself up to God. He loves you too much to leave you like you are.

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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