Those Secret Sins

Psalm 90:8  You have set our iniquities before You. Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.

Oh, those secret sins; those sins that we keep hidden so that we alone can enjoy them and caress their wicked delights. We keep them secret, unexposed so that no one will judge us or confront us about our waywardness although our spirit constantly reminds us of the deadly games we are playing. We may fool others but not ourselves as our own hearts know those secret sins are wrong, and thus the secretness. And how easy is it to justify ourselves in this little game that we play? We make excuses to ourselves as we enjoy these forbidden pleasures, yet we hide them away in the darkness so that no other can see. But, how terrible is the deception which we become so easily entangled. Yes, our secret sins will bring our flesh pleasure for the moment, but we are blinded or do not want to see the the deadly canker that gnaws away at our soul. These secret sins allure us to their tasty delights, but fail to remind us of the guilt of our soul that keeps us awake at night and the constant anxiousness from the worry when they will be exposed. There is a passing adrenaline or the fleeting rush received from the “getting away” with something, but there is no “getting away” as we know of our schemes and more importantly God knows. Therefore we live in the forced denial of the conviction of our soul and more importantly the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Our secret sins promise our freedom, but in reality only lead to bondage. Soon, our secret sins begin to control us rather than us controlling them. Our lives begin to be consumed of the sneakiness and the coverup of our secret sins which ensnare us into deeper bondage. We began to hate the hypocrite that we have become, and not able to honestly look at ourselves in the mirror. The temporary pleasures of our secret sins rob us of the blessed pleasures of the abundance that Christ has promised and the eternal joy of walking in fellowship with the True Lover of our Souls, Jesus Christ. We have traded the corrupt fruit of the world, for the sweet fruit offered only Christ. What a glorious day it is when we can become honest with ourselves and lay our secret sins at the foot of the cross and we begin to enjoy the freedom that can only be found in the grace of God.

Forget Not From Where You Came

Exodus 23:9 Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of the stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Lord commanded the Israelites to never forget from where they came as He instructed them to “not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” It is so easy within our natural man to allow ourselves to forget from where we came before Christ Jesus delivered us from our sorrows. We soon forget that it was us who once struggled in the depths and the bondage of sin. It was us who was held hostage by our own selfishness. It was us who fought the battle with alcohol or drugs. It was us who lived sexually immoral lives. It was us who were once quick to lie and steal and were prone to outburst of rage. Yes, it was us who were bound in the grip of our sins yet God through His grace and mercy offered us pardon through Jesus Christ and set us free. Therefore, we have no right to be pious or condemning toward those who live now at our old address. Instead, we should remember that we once lived there and bound just as they.  We should never foget the heart-ache of the misery of sin.  We should with empathetic hearts extend the message of hope found only in the gospel of Jesus Christ to them. Again, let us never forget from where we came.