Psalm 94:7-11
Just a not so gentle reminder from the Psalmist that God sees and knows everything. Nothing escapes His notice.
There is a great quote that says that your character is who you are when (you think ?) no one is watching. The One who formed the eyes, can He not see? The One who formed the ears, can He not hear? God even knows the thoughts we think even before we speak them.
Psalm 51:6 states that God desires truth in our innermost being. Even Jesus warned us in Matthew 5:27-28:
““You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Matthew 5:27-28 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.5.27-28.NLT
God is concerned about what is the hidden in the deep recesses of the heart. Jesus said that God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.( Matthew 5:8)
As a believer of some 45 years now, I can honestly say now that it is those times when people are not watching that are my most intimate times with God. It wasn’t always that way. As a kid, left to my own devices, it was those times that mom wasn’t watching that usually my brother and I would do stuff we shouldn’t. Oh, the stories I could tell ? Okay! One story.
My mom had gotten a new box of Lucky Charms and my brother and I snuck away to the back porch and decided we were going to take out all of the marshmallow treats and eat them. We spent quite some time sorting them out and had them all in a bowl ready to go when Mom found us. Ugghhhh! She said she knew something was up because it was too quiet ? Needless to say, we had to put them back in the box and eat them the normal way.
What do we sneak off to do when we think no one is watching? In this day of digital surveillance, we should understand that everything is being watched. Even your phone listens in on your conversations. Yet even knowing that, the propensity for sin still calls unless we are submitted wholeheartedly to God.
As God told Cain in Genesis 4:7:
“You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.””
Genesis 4:7 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gen.4.7.NLT
Jesus gave us the power to say no to sin. The question is, will we wield and exercise that power? We don’t want to be like the wedding guest who showed up to the wedding feast without wearing the proper attire even though it was provided for (Matthew 22). The wedding attire represents the righteousness of a transformed life through faith in Jesus Christ. God’s invitation to salvation requires a response of faith, an acceptance of His gift of righteousness, and living a life reflective of that transformation unto God.
We do not transform to get saved but rather we transform because we are saved, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 states:
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.5.17.NLT
It can be argued that without a true transformation, salvation is in question, much like what James meant when he said that ‘faith without works is dead’.
So where are we at? It is good, as Paul states, to ‘examine ourselves to see if we are still ‘in the faith’. (2 Corinthians 13:5)
There is a great quote that says that your character is who you are when (you think ?) no one is watching. The One who formed the eyes, can He not see? The One who formed the ears, can He not hear? God even knows the thoughts we think even before we speak them.
Psalm 51:6 states that God desires truth in our innermost being. Even Jesus warned us in Matthew 5:27-28:
““You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Matthew 5:27-28 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.5.27-28.NLT
God is concerned about what is the hidden in the deep recesses of the heart. Jesus said that God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.( Matthew 5:8)
As a believer of some 45 years now, I can honestly say now that it is those times when people are not watching that are my most intimate times with God. It wasn’t always that way. As a kid, left to my own devices, it was those times that mom wasn’t watching that usually my brother and I would do stuff we shouldn’t. Oh, the stories I could tell ? Okay! One story.
My mom had gotten a new box of Lucky Charms and my brother and I snuck away to the back porch and decided we were going to take out all of the marshmallow treats and eat them. We spent quite some time sorting them out and had them all in a bowl ready to go when Mom found us. Ugghhhh! She said she knew something was up because it was too quiet ? Needless to say, we had to put them back in the box and eat them the normal way.
What do we sneak off to do when we think no one is watching? In this day of digital surveillance, we should understand that everything is being watched. Even your phone listens in on your conversations. Yet even knowing that, the propensity for sin still calls unless we are submitted wholeheartedly to God.
As God told Cain in Genesis 4:7:
“You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.””
Genesis 4:7 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gen.4.7.NLT
Jesus gave us the power to say no to sin. The question is, will we wield and exercise that power? We don’t want to be like the wedding guest who showed up to the wedding feast without wearing the proper attire even though it was provided for (Matthew 22). The wedding attire represents the righteousness of a transformed life through faith in Jesus Christ. God’s invitation to salvation requires a response of faith, an acceptance of His gift of righteousness, and living a life reflective of that transformation unto God.
We do not transform to get saved but rather we transform because we are saved, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 states:
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.5.17.NLT
It can be argued that without a true transformation, salvation is in question, much like what James meant when he said that ‘faith without works is dead’.
So where are we at? It is good, as Paul states, to ‘examine ourselves to see if we are still ‘in the faith’. (2 Corinthians 13:5)
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