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.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: 2 Chronicles 23    Joel 2-3    2 Corinthians 10

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