Sunday 21 Jan 2018

January 21: Proverbs 28:13

Key Verse: Proverbs 28:13
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

Devotion:
We all know stealing is wrong. We all know if someone else has paid for something, then taking it without consent is wrong. Even the law of the land will tell you it is wrong. So, let us think about something which has been paid for and something everyone steals a bit of every day. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to come to earth and pay for our sin debt. He paid for it in full by laying down His own life when He Himself had not sinned. So each time we sin without acknowledging that Christ has died for it, we are stealing some of what Christ paid for. Not so nice when we think of it that way...

Each time we sin and cover it up, ignore it or falsely justify it through our own thoughts, we continue to steal from Christ's debt. If you want to be able to help yourself to not sin, then you have to think about how much you are doing to Christ every time you sin. That does not mean every time we sin we should shout out to the world about what we have done wrong so everyone can see we are sorry – that would not be right. We do need to make sure we apologise for our wrong-doings keeping in mind how much Christ paid them so we will be encouraged not to do those things again. By shouting out loud, or boasting, about all our faults to everyone we may well discourage others from admitting their own faults or even encourage them to try and do what we have done wrong!

Our conscience will not allow us to cover our sins for too long without allowing us to feel just how wrong we have been. Covering those feelings will only make them build up pride and lust within our spirits and stop us from being close to God. The more we feel bad, the less we want to be seen by God and the more we try to hide. It's silly, but it's true. We need to be open with God because He can already see right through us. Be open about sin and ask Him to help us to defeat it. That way we can live with Him close to our hearts and reap the rewards such a relationship will bring.

Points to Ponder:
How often do you try to cover things up?

How often do you try to hide things from God?