If we had forgotten the Name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For He knows the secrets of the heart. Psalms 44:20-21

If you are reading this devotion, in all probability you have a computer.

If you are like me, you have generally found the personal computer to be a great help in the completion of many daily tasks. Truly, a computer can be a great blessing -- if it behaves and can be counted on.

The important word in that previous sentence is "if."

If is an important word because most of us have found that computers can't always be trusted. They can break down, wear down, and catch a virus. At such times they often end up turning on their masters like a rabid dog doing no end of damage.

That point was recently driven home to the computer experts of Iran. There a virus ripped through the computers at the Ministry of Oil. It wiped out hard drives and crashed their web sites. It took 24 hours for the experts to remove the virus and begin to restore normalcy.

But wait, things got worse. Soon after the first virus was eliminated, another virus, a super-virus called, "Flame," showed up. Flame has the ability to steal classified information and delete data. It can take pictures of the screen, intercept keyboard activity, and turn on the computer's microphone, so it can anonymously record what people are saying. All this Flame does and then takes the stolen information and sends it back to its creator.

It's a pretty scary thing to know that somebody -- somebody out there -- knows your every secret.

Of course, there has always been Somebody out there who has known the secrets of our hearts.

Scripture tells us that God sees and knows everything about us. Amazingly, having seen our nastiness and sinfulness, the Lord still loves us. Indeed, He sent His only Son to take our place under the Law and die the death we had deserved.

This Jesus did for us and now all who are given faith in Him are forgiven and promised an eternity in heaven.

This is maybe why I would like to end this devotion by paraphrasing Proverbs 3:5 and say, trust the Lord, not your computer or anything else, with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, for the many wonders of technology I give thanks. They are a blessing. At the same time let me place my trust in You and not any earthly invention or manmade creation. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Proverbs 10-12    Acts 1

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