Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Psalms 24-26
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 10:26-27
Do not be afraid of those who may taunt or persecute you. Everything they do—even if they think they are hiding behind closed doors—will come to light. All their secrets will eventually be made known. And you should proclaim in the bright light of day everything that I have whispered to you in the dark. Whatever whispers you hear—shout them from the rooftops of houses.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
I learned a long time ago about the dangers of trying to keep secrets. If one other person knows the secret, it’s not secret anymore. In fact, if you’re the only one that knows something, it probably won’t stay secret. We humans have a tendency to tell all. Just look at the tabloids that plaster the grocery aisles. If you think you can have a secret life, you’re wrong. It will come out. President Clinton’s sexual escapades come to mind. Nothing stays hidden.
The truth is, Jesus’ words plaster themselves as warnings across everything now. Remember George Orwell’s “1984” and big brother. The futuristic writer saw our every actions overwatched by the government by 1984. Everyone lost their individuality and ability to think for themselves. Society looked really ugly in the novel. The story centers around William Smith, a member of the Outer Party, finds Big Brother rewriting history to suit the party in power no matter what the facts of those historic events really said.
Move ahead from Orwell’s novel in 1949 to today. We are thirty plus years past the setting of the novel, but have you thought about how much of that novel is true today? With your nine-digit social security number, various agencies of the government can learn about everything there is to know about you. Just think about how much information you put in email or on the web every day. Do you bank online? Most of us do. Do you take care of medical issues online? Do you order anything online? Do you use email to share information about you or your family?
Most of us use computers on a daily basis for something. A lot of people believe their information is absolutlely safe and secure in the little black box that sits under the desk or in your laptop. Anyone who knows much about IT at all will tell you nothing is absolutely safe if it is in electronic format. The dispute between Apple and the FBI should make the average person understand just how vulnerable electronic information has become.
The FBI only went to Apple with the terrorist’s phone after they made the mistake of foreceably changing the phone’s password. Had it not been for that small error, Apple probably wouldn’t be standing up against the government. No one would know about the real capabilities of agencies like the FBI. We wouldn’t realize just how vulnerable we have become through our advanced technology.
We can get into almost any email, computer, smartphone, etc. And the user will never know it’s happened most of the time. Sometimes it’s crooks that do the hacking as noted by the stories at come out periodically about another five or ten million account compromised in some store or bank’s secure system. Even the IRS reports 750,000 records stolen from their attempt to make tax time easier last year. So if you spend any time at all with people who understand IT, you learn never to put anything in electronic format that you wouldn’t want the world to see. Because someday, they probably will.
What does our lack of secrecy have to do with Jesus’ words? It’s easier to understand now, more than ever before, how easy it is to make public our private lives. The push of a few buttons, the click of a few keys, and a person’s life is laid bare to anyone who wants to see. How much more do you think God knows about you? He knows your thoughts before you think them. He knows your actions before you take thet first sep. He knows more about you than you now yourself and will continue to know more about you until you face Him on judgment day. Then everything you’ve ever done will be laid bare before the world. Nothing will be hidden.
Jesus promises this universal disclosure of our lives as He talks to the disciples on this particular day. Nothing will be secret, everything will be known by all. So, how then should we live each day? Would your actions stand up to the scrutiny of others? Do you want you life on display for others to see? Jesus is telling us to live such that our lives can be an open book and the events of our lives, directed by Him, shouted from the mountaintops. In fact, Jesus wants us to tell others the secret whisperings He has for us. His message doesn’t change. Repent. Follow Me. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Shout it from the rooftops. Let others know your secret – Jesus is Lord, His kingdom is at hand.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.