“²Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ³Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.” – Luke 12:2-3 (ESV)

This is such a simple truth spoken by Jesus. We should all be taking heed to these words.

It is easy for us to think and believe that we will not be found out for what we say or do. And as Jesus was well aware and it did happen in those days, just look at how much more things are found out today. We are under a microscope of social media at every minute of our days. I know that even for me, as a corporate trainer, and we are now doing about 99% of our training virtually, I have been caught not being on mute and wonder if there was something I said that may have not put me in the right light.

As Christians, we are being scrutinized daily. We are being watched and vilified for the smallest of missteps and misstatements. We are being treated as hypocritical beings and when we are “caught” hiding in the dark, we should be.

I like to believe that I am honest and truthful. I have to remember that at all times, regardless of where I am. I am accountable for what I say and do, and therefore, I should be honest and truthful everywhere and at all times so as to not get “caught” hiding in the dark and risk being exposed.

How are you faring with what you are hiding in the dark? How rough is it when you are exposed? What can you do in order that you stay true and honest regardless of where you are?

It is right for me to follow the law of the land, as long as it is not in violation of the law of God.

“¹⁷Jesus said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they marveled at him.” – Mark 12:17 (ESV)

Jesus was being tested by the Pharisees and Herodians in an act of trying to catch Him either fully following the Roman way or in full rebellion of the Roman way. They were working to discredit Jesus by flattering Him with words they did not believe themselves.

“¹⁴And they cam and said to him, ‘Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?’” – Mark 12:14 (ESV)

I can see as this unfolds, the Pharisees and Herodians winking at each other as they speak and ask the questions. They were using backhanded compliments to work at manipulating the possible answers that Jesus could give. But, Jesus was clearly up to their game.

“¹⁵But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, ‘Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.’” – Mark 12:15 (ESV)

Jesus called them on it. He was not rude or overbearing in being right or wrong, He simply asked them to clarify their question by showing them proof of what should be done and not just speaking.

“¹⁶And they brought one. And he said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscriptions is this?’ They said to him, ‘Caesar’s.’” – Mark 12:16 (ESV)

At this point, I can see them looking at each other realizing they had been exposed to which Jesus finishes by giving verse 17 from above.

I am put to the test by those around me as they bring their words and work to “catch” me. My duty is to bring the facts to them as I know they are doing it to mask their own deficiency in something as they deflect away from themselves. I am to show them the proof of what I believe to be correct based on the facts of the situation and the case at hand and not the concept of where they seem to be taking things to turn the tables on me to deflect from themselves.

I am to know where I stand and for who I stand. And when I do, following Christ, I am in the right.

Have you been tested by the words of others? What have you done to show your understanding in the facts? What if you simply dealt in the facts and avoided the hypocrisy of statements from others?

I look out in the world today and see all the influence that is wielded by those in the public eye. Socialites, politicians, entertainers, athletes, and captains of industry. Whereas each of these in their own right are great at what they do, they have taken on the role of prosecutor, judge, and jury for the rest of us, and have been, time and time again, found to do the opposite of what they say.

“²⁸So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” – Matthew 23:28 (ESV)

Jesus is speaking to the people and the disciples to say that they must be careful to view the Pharisees in the grand positive light they appear to be in. They may be talking a good game and showing a righteous way, when in fact that is only for show and when looking inward at the lives they lead they are less than the picture of righteousness.

I have witnessed on too many occasions those in the public eye telling me one thing and then getting “caught” doing the opposite. And when “caught” there is a long period of “explaining” what was seen away as not being true in context.

I will say that I am more inclined to believe the one that is open with their deception and does not try to be something they are not. At least then I know not to get close to or believe what they say as an application for my own way.

I know that I should be following Christ and not concerned with those in the world, but as such, I am looking to fellowship with those of like mindedness, and that is where I get tripped up. Those that appear to be of like mind, and then reveal themselves to be anything but in the actions when they get “caught”.

There was hypocrisy in the times of Jesus and there is hypocrisy today. I have to be diligent in minding where I put my faith in what is right. I should be looking to Christ and how He applies to me inwardly and be sure to bring that inward Christian to the outside for all to see. There must be a better sense in the world of example through actions and less so through our words.

When you are in the world, how much hypocrisy have you been witness? What approach are you taking in your own life? Are you living a life true to Christ inward and outward?

“¹⁷So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with and oath, ¹⁸so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast tot he hope set before us.” – Hebrews 6:17-18 (ESV)

It seems as though I may have found something in God’s word that I was not fully engaged with before. The commandment below clearly states not to take the name of the LORD in vain.

“⁷You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” – Exodus 20:7 (ESV)

As I am a sinner, I will lie. Therefore, my swearing to God about something is clearly in vain as I have all of the good intentions not to, but my capacity as a sinner is flawed and I will at some point fail to live up to the oath I make with God. And as such I will be taking His name in vain. I am not capable of swearing and fully holding to it. So I have found that swearing by the name of the LORD is indeed not possible. It is not about using bad words with God’s name attached to them, it is really about my incapacity to hold to the words I utter being that I am a sinner.

God does not have the capability to lie and therefore when He swears by Himself as He did with Abraham, His word is His full and trusted bond that I can count on, always. When God swears, it is the truth and He is bound to His words.

What swearing have you done lately? Have you sworn to God and taken his name in vain? What if you took the approach that you are incapable of holding to your words, and therefore would avoid calling on the name of the LORD in your swearing?

I have done a good amount of reading about processes and habits and one of the things that stands out to me is that in order for change to happen, replacing the old with something new is more effective than simply doing away with the old. When doing away with the old, it is still there to occupy the mind and there is a strong draw to come back to it when things are idle. When replaced, the old is now gone and not there in the mind any longer, as it has no pull any longer due to the new being there instead.

“⁹Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” – Colossians 3:9-10 (ESV)

Paul is pretty clear here that we should put away the old and embrace the new which is after the creator, God. I know, other than the lying, what else is there to put away and what should we replace it with? Well, he is clear on this as well.

“⁵Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁸But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from your mouth. ¹²Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹⁴And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” – Colossians 3:5, 8, 12, & 14 (ESV)

Above you know what I notice, there are fewer things with the new self than with the old self. What a concept for us to embrace. Simpler to be renewed in Christ than to hold on to the old. The few bold items are more profound than the many little details that are of concern in the old self. I know that I am all about simplicity and efficiency and this plays right into that concept for me.

In order to fully transform, it is more than just getting rid of the old, there is the element of filling that voided area where the old was removed with something. With fewer, bolder options to fill that void with, there is a lot of room for more of each of them. More, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and most of all LOVE.

What does your old self look like? Are you full of details and little things that are weighing you down as you try to remember them all? What if you were to rid yourself of the old, many details and replace it with the new fewer, bolder self?

“²⁴Therefor God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” – Romans 1:24-25 (ESV)

We have many things that grab and engage our attention. Those are, in most cases, not where we are to be concerning ourselves or wasting our time and effort. Monetary wealth is nice to have, but is consumes us. Social fame drives our egos and keeps us “relevant” in the world, but does not allow us to live freely. Fad following gives us that sense of belonging, however we seem to always be working to just keep up.

My wife and boys give me a hard time about my being cheap and not wanting to follow the same path everyone else does. You see, I am not concerned with trying to impress others. I know what I do and where my allegiance lies, with GOD. I am not in it for me, I am in it for God and as such I work to concern myself with that which pleases Him. I know that my family is just having fun and mean no harm by referencing my ability to be thrifty, but I feel as though I am making an impact on them by giving them a view of what is more important. I am to honor God in what I do and when I turn away from Him to focus on those things that are more worldly, how is it possible to honor Him in what I do.

There are many gods that are worshiped by others and the claim is that it all works back to one God. In fact, as noted in my ESV commentary for verse 25 above, “Paul implies that all other religions are based on false ideas about the one true God; they are not just different paths to one God, as some claim.” There is just one God and if you are worshiping any other than he, then the lie is permeating from you.

There is a solution, listen to, trust in, and accept Christ and the salvation given freely and you will find the truth and will be able to step away from the lie. God is here waiting on everyone to find Him and when the time has come that all that will, have found Him, He will come again and those that continue to live the lie, will be left behind to continue living that lie.

Have you been living according the the other idols in the world, and what are they for you? Think, trust, and believe that the one true God is the Truth and all others are the lie. What if you were to turn away from those lies and and turn to God?

“¹³And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. ¹⁴I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.” – Ezekiel 34:13-15 (ESV)

What grand declaration is here in these verses. God will care for His flock in a way that only He can. He will gather up all of us that are His children and get us to the places where we are protected and can live in abundance with “good pasture”and “good grazing land”. He will provide for His people.

I am grateful for God and His protection, love, and provision. Knowing that I will be taken to the “good” places when I need it is such a great comfort. I am able to continue doing the work of God and not concern myself with what is to come or how things are right now.

Boy is it easy to say the words in the previous paragraph. It seems to just roll off the tongue and onto the page. The words are easy, the actions are difficult and really take work on my part. I may know, I also must act. When I am able to act, God takes His actions as noted in the verses quoted here. I am His sheep and He wants nothing but the best for me, I have work that needs to be done and that really all starts with trusting Him and doing as He commands.

Sheep are following creatures. They require guidance and looking after as they have little in the way of protecting or providing for themselves. As a sheep to God, I also require guidance and protecting. I am in need of where to graze safely and where to lie comfortably and where to find protection. God provides and it is up to me to lie where He guides me to in order that I may be safe and secure in Him.

When you are in the world, are you looking to protect and provide for yourself? Will you allow God to lead you to the protected and “good” places? What will it take for you to lie where God leads you?

I find myself at a crossroad in the society of today. Although I know the path to take, I am challenged to stay on that path seemingly at a constant pace. You see, I am surrounded by those that seem to only care about themselves and the rest of us are battling to just make it to the next moment. I find that those around me are not really concerned about those around them.

“⁶The wolf shall dwell with the lam, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. ⁷The cow and the bear shall graze; their your shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” – Isaiah 11:6-7 (ESV)

I long for the time when I can feel safe in the presence of those that have been here to destroy. I am looking for the opportunity to be safe in the presence of all. Oh, what it would be like to walk without concern for my own well being.

Now I know what is thought as I go through this study, you have God and therefore you should not be concerned with what is going on in the world and should find solace in the life you have with Christ. Whereas that is true, I am a man and still have concerns for my own tomorrow and how I will continue to be able to do the work God has in store for me. The life I have here in this world is still in front of me and I am still bound to go through it.

I do feel safe in my afterlife, but my now life is not very safe at all. What would things be like if everyone cared as much for others as they do for themselves? I have to believe that we would find ourselves in a world where lions and lambs could lie together and rest. Where bears and cows will graze together.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preached,

“⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” – Matthew 5:44 (ESV)

Here Jesus says that we should continue doing His work and for those that are not with us, we should be loving and praying for them that they might receive the word of God into their lives. We should be reaching to God and pleading for their salvation, knowing that only God can give it to them and it is up to them to accept.

I am hopeful, although not naive, that all will take the chance to meet with and accept the love that God has for them. In that, I also hope for the time when all can live together in harmony and in concert together in and for the Glory of God.

What if you were to accept the love God has for you? Would you be willing to live with all, regardless of their station? Would you be able to lie with those that have and will continue to persecute you?

“⁵A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies. ⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding. ⁷Leave the presence of a foo, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.” – Proverbs 14:5-7 (ESV)

Oh how often I have found myself in the presence of those that are not exactly the example of God. I will admit that I am intrigued by them, and frankly, amused and drawn to, what appears to be their zeal for life. When in their presence, I am fully drawn into their view of things and find myself wondering why and how I can have what they have.

I then sit down here at my writing desk in the mornings, study God’s word and realize that what I see in others, may not, and likely is not, what it seems to be. I find that they are playing an act for the glory they are seeking in this world and are only hoping to draw others into their world with them.

As noted in my ESV Commentary on the verses above, “The verses appear to prescriptive (walk the path of the faithful witness) as well as descriptive (look out for those who manifest lying, scoffing, or foolishness).” I am called to do the work of the LORD and in doing so I must walk the walk and talk the talk. I must also be sure to look out for those that are not walking the path with me, but are looking to knock me off the path that leads to God.

God has a plan for my life and that plan calls for my obedience to Him. I must be fully infused with Him and His glory each and every moment of the day. It is okay for me to be around those that are not followers of Christ, for even Jesus was with them and tells us not to avoid them. But, in my time around them, I am to be the beacon of light for Jesus and not be drown out by the darkness that will emanate from them.

It is up to me to be careful around those that are not of Christ and be sure that all of my actions and words demonstrate that of Christ for all to see. I must be for God.

When you are out in the world, how are you drawn into the company of those not of Christ? Are you aware that they have even drawn you in? What if you were to be for God and were careful around those not of God and became more of the example of Christ in their presence?

Being restless is no way to live my life. As I go to sleep at night, there are times that I am unable to sleep and truly rest. I have so many things going on and the pressures of the world are beating down on me.

“²He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” – Psalm 23:2 (ESV)

Have you ever had the chance to lie down in a green meadow under a tree with as stream rolling by? I can tell you that it is one of the most peaceful places I have ever been. In fact I recall a time when we as a family went on a river vacation with a couple of other families, one of which had not gotten away as a family for more than 3 days in quite a long time. We spent the first couple of days going strong and then the evening of the 3^rd day, while sitting at the campfire with the river rolling by we looked up only to find my friend sleeping peacefully. His wife admitted that was the first time she had see that in a while. He and she were so thankful for the opportunity to rest.

When I am with God and following Him, he provides a peaceful, relaxing place to rest and let go of the things that are weighing on me. I have this place with me at all times, it is up to me to lean of God for that comfortable, restful place to rest. God knows just what we need when we need it, and He will not be stingy on providing.

It can be difficult to give up the control we have on our lives. I know that I feel sometimes like if I can just get past this point, I will be able to relax and rest. The trouble is that I continue taking on more and never really give myself the chance to truly rest. It is up to me to follow Christ and allow Him to provide for me the opportunity to rest and relax. Allow Him to remove things from me and I will have the chance to recover and get back to the work that He has in store for me.

I have to remember that my role here in this world is to do the work of God and He will provide all that I need to complete the tasks He commands me. I trust that when I need it, He will provide the restful place in the pasture, under the tree, and by the river to recharge for the next item on the list He has given me.

When you are overwhelmed, are you looking for the place to just rest and relax? Have you had the chance in the past to just lie in the pasture and sleep? What would it be like if you were able to simply trust that God will provide the chance for you to rest when you ask Him?