Daily Devotional For Sunday, July 14, 2024
Today is Sunday. It is the Lord’s Day as we call it. I pray that you will attend your church and worship our great God today. Secrets — everyone has them. Not every secret is necessarily bad or wrong. For example, maybe you have planned a surprise birthday party for a family member or a friend. So, the goal is to surprise them. Unfortunately, at times you may feel you have to distort the truth or for some, flat out lie, about what is being planned in secret.
Years ago in Louisville, we had a 16-year-old Japanese high school exchange student who lived with us for an entire school year. Her name was Misato and we absolutely loved her. She had been taught English in her school but she still struggled with some words and syntax. With her birthday being October 28, Audrey and I wanted to plan a surprise birthday party for her with the church Youth Group. So when Misato was out of the room, we would whisper about what we were planning to do for her. When she walked into the room, we stopped whispering and continued in a normal voice with her. One evening she walked into the den (while we were whispering on the phone with the Youth Pastor), she stopped with tears in her eyes and ran to her bedroom. We quickly followed and asked her what was wrong. Misato said while crying, “Many times when I walk in the room, you are talking with “small voices”. We pondered her words, “small voices”, then realized she meant “whispering”. She assumed we were saying bad things about her and didn’t want her to hear. When we told her we were planning a surprise party for her, she was very touched and excited but of course the surprise was ruined! Still this reminds me of what Jesus says in Luke 12:1-3:
“Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy. (2) The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. (3) Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!” (NLT).
We must remind ourselves that God sees all, hears all and knows all — even our thoughts and secret feelings and motives. To think we can hide anything from God in complete darkness is to be foolish. Eventually, everything comes out in the light. These words by Jesus are a repeated theme in His teaching. See the following below:
- Luke 8:17, “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light” (ESV).
- Matthew 10:26, “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known” (ESV).
- Mark 4:22, “For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light” (ESV).
Jesus’ words seem to echo the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 12:14, “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (ESV). The Apostle Paul wrote this in Romans 2:16, “. . . on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus'' (ESV). And he says this in 1 Corinthians 4:5, “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God'' (ESV).
Hypocrites think they will succeed in their deception and secrets they plot and the gossip they spread, but it all is going to be revealed one day. Sometimes, it will come to light in their own lifetimes. Look at 1 Timothy 5:24-25, “Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later. (25) In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light” (NLT).
Whether we acknowledge it or not, there is a day of reckoning coming. Jesus said this in Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done” (ESV). Jesus’ words in Luke 12:1-3 mean that sins will eventually be exposed. What we try to hide in secret or darkness will eventually come to light.
In a typical Jewish home, in the middle of it were storage rooms. Valuables were stored there and Jews used these rooms for private conversations and even prayer (i.e., see Matthew 6:6). These rooms were in the middle of the house to make it harder for thieves to dig through their adobe walls and steal their valuables. Jesus’ point is that hypocrisy cannot be hidden. I like what New Testament scholar Darrell Bock writes in his book:
“This figure of speech describes our most private practices. This is a classic reversal theme: the most private of acts and utterances become the most public. It is this exposure that makes hypocrisy useless in the long run and the heroic deed done in private an object of admiration eventually. The contrasts are strong: darkness versus light and private whispering versus public preaching” (Source: Darrell Bock, The Baker Exegetical Commentary on The New Testament, “Luke,” p. 1135).
In other words, one day hypocrites will be seen for exactly what they are. It is best that we all come clean now before Jesus Christ. David writes this in Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (NLT). When Jesus returns one day, hypocrisy will prove futile. Truth will eventually expose sin, so why shouldn’t we be transparent today?
Questions To Consider
- Do you hide certain sins from others or even think God is unaware of them? Why?
- Everything in the end is going to be revealed. This is why we should keep short accounts with God with our sin. We should acknowledge and confess them immediately. God hates sin. He hates it and we should as well. What is the proof that you hate your own sin?
- Where would you say you struggle the most with hypocrisy and why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to those who are brokenhearted over their sins; and He saves those whose spirits are crushed by the repentance” (PAR).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, help me to live a life free of hypocrisy. Convict me to acknowledge my sin, confess my sin and repent of my sin. Nothing is hidden from You — not even my secret sinful thoughts, attitudes, moods, feelings and motives. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside!—Pastor Kelly