O Lord, You have searched me and know me! You know when I
sit down and when I rise up; You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out
my path and my lying down. You search out my path and are acquainted with all my
ways. Psalm 139:1-3
I have a friend whose work requires him to make frequent business trips to
Japan.
Although he has always been impressed by the honesty of the people who are
employed at the hotel where he stays, he doesn't believe in tempting people more
than they can bear.
To that end, and so as not to place any enticement before the cleaning people,
my friend has always hidden his expensive digital camera before he goes out.
He always hid that camera -- until the day came when he overslept and had to
rush out for an appointment. His camera was left out in plain view.
Sure enough, when he returned to his room, the camera was gone. I don't need to
tell you my friend was upset. He was upset with the cleaning lady; he was upset
with life and, mostly, he was upset with himself.
He stayed upset until, quite by accident, he discovered the maid had put his
camera back in his super-secret hiding place. His attempts to hide that camera
had been foolish. All along the maid had known what he was hiding and where he
was hiding it.
I think a lot of people try that same hiding stunt on the Lord. Because they
have been able to keep many of their sins and shortcomings hidden from their
families and business associates, they're sure they can do the same with God.
They may think they can fool God, but they can't. The Lord knows. Like that
Japanese maid, He knows. He knows about all our sins and He knows where we try
to keep them hidden. We try, but nobody can successfully hide anything from an
all-knowing God.
Fortunately, we don't need to hide our sins. Those who call Jesus, "Lord," know
He has taken away all their sins. When we believe in Jesus as our Savior, we can
be at peace. Our sins are forgiven, and there's no longer a need to hide
something that doesn't exist.
From a devotion originally written for "By the Way"
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, I thank You all my sins are washed away. Your
sacrifice, Your death, and Your resurrection let me know my soul has been made
whiter than snow. Now may I live my life in the freedom You give, and offer up
the thanks You deserve. In Your Name. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus Lutheran Hour Ministries http://www.lhm.org/ all rights reserved; not to be duplicated without permission.
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