daily

I don't know why it surprises me that I need to be reminded of the truth of the Gospel every day, but it does. And I really do need to be reminded every day. The thing is God knows this (and what's more he's okay with it - which is even harder for me to understand). Take a look at just a few of the verses in the Bible that talk about taking things one day at a time or refer to time in days (FYI the word day is used over 2,000 times in Old and New Testaments so this is just a sample):

• "Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation" - Psalm 68:19 
• "This is the day that the Lord has made" - Psalm 118:24 
• "Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and every" - Psalm 145:2 
• "For he will not remember much the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with Joy in his heart." - Ecclesiastes 5:20 
• "Give us this day our daily bread" - Matthew 6:11 
• "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious about itself. Sufficient for the day is it's own trouble." - Matthew 6:24 
• "And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him take up his cross daily and follow me'" Luke 9:26

I tend to be a big picture gal and I like to look situations and people and look forward to how they all fit together and how the future will work out. But our walk with the Lord is a life long process that unfolds on a daily basis, sometimes even on a moment-by-moment basis. I may have surrendered my life to Christ, but if I don't surrender my day to Him, I surrender my day to the enemy. 

My life gets messy really fast if I start thinking too much about how things are going to work out or what is going to happen because when I spend that much time forgetting to think about what's right in front of me and what I need to get done today. And I think a lot of what Paul is talking about in Philippians when he says "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation," (Philippians 4:12), is recognizing the need to take up his cross daily - surrendering each moment to Christ.

shhhh...

"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible" Ephesians 5:8-13

Where is the line between secrets and privacy and transparency and openness in Christian community? Should there even be a line? I'm overwhemingly open about my life, with close friends, even sometimes with close acquaintances or perfect strangers. I just don't have a lot I'm uncomfortable talking about.

And a lot of times I bristle when people say things like "I don't want everyone up in my business." I tend to associate that kind of life mantra with sin, just because when I keep secrets, it's usually about sin. In Ephesians 5, Paul tells us to walk as children of light, keeping all things visible before God and before man. He doesn't command us to walk as a child of light. He commands us to walk as children of light. In other words, he commands us to walk in community. We can't rid ourselves effectively of our own sin. Only the Holy Spirit can. And a lot of times it requires the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ who have been where we are, struggling with a particular sin and want to pull us along. 

Secrets seem to be characteristic of darkness, rather than the light that comes from the fruit of the Spirit Paul is imploring us to pursue. When I'm not being 100 percent honest with my close friends, it usually means Satan is finding a foothold somewhere in my life. 

I've had to think about this a lot lately as I'm wrestling with being open and over-sharing - especially when my transparency involves other people, which seems to bring in another layer of questions on gossip and respect and trust. When sin involves me and someone else whether it be anger or jealousy or impurity or anything else, and I share it with someone, how do I walk a balance between exposing darkness and gossip?

This morning a friend of mine told me that while being open with others (others meaning believers in my life who's walk with the Lord I trust) isn't inherently bad, if I'm not going to expose the darkness to the Lord first, I'm off target. Sometimes in my transparency I unintentionally hurt people I care about. And the more I think about it, the quieter I want to become. Still not so quiet as to let darkness take root in my own life or in my community. So I guess the question is when do you keep secrets?