Hidden Errors

[Sue J Love]

Sunday, October 16, 2016, 10:00 a.m.

The Bed Bugs

Following the writing from this morning, “Confession,” (Confession) the Lord Jesus has been giving me some additional insights into the reason for the bed bugs, but also what they symbolically represent in all of our lives.

I believe that bed bugs represent hidden sins in our lives, either secret sins which we are willfully committing and are purposefully hiding from view, or sins we don’t realize are in our lives, like wrong attitudes or incorrect values or mistaken priorities. We may miss them because we are overlooking the cues, or because we are distracted and we just don’t see them, because bugs are very good at hiding from view. I can vouch for that!

Like the psalmist David said, “Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults” (Ps. 19:12). The Pulpit Commentary says it this way: “Who can understand his errors? rather, who can discern (or, perceive) his errors? i.e. all of them. Who will not overlook some, try as he may to search out his heart? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Those which are hidden from me, which I cannot discern” (Source: www.biblehub.com).

The Problem Spreads

I reported the bed bugs a week ago this past Wednesday, but the exterminators won’t be able to be here until this Thursday, so it will be 2 weeks between the date of the reporting of them until we have our first treatment for them. One of my concerns with that is that when we first got them, the problem was minor, but as time elapses, and they are left untreated, the problem begins to grow, and they lay more eggs, and the eggs hatch, and then they spread to even more hiding places. And, of course, we get bitten even more, and there is more of a potential that we may unknowingly infect others, i.e. they were in my hair, for instance.

Well, that is the way it is with sin, too, even if we are not consciously aware that we are sinning against God, which I believe is possible. The longer we take to identify and treat the sins, the more they can spread and find new hiding places, and they will be hidden from our view. And, the more damage (bites) they can cause in our lives and in the lives of others, too. The Bible often referred to this problem in the church as yeast that grows and infects the whole body if left unchecked and untreated. So, they were warned to get rid of the old yeast so that it doesn’t grow and infect other people, too.

Due Diligence

My husband and I have shown due diligence in getting rid of these bugs, using what resources we have been encouraged to use in this apartment building. For one, we were encouraged to strip our bed of all bedding and pillows and to wash them and/or to dry them on high heat, because this will kill the bugs, and then to also wash and dry on high heat our clothing we wear each day and to not put worn clothing back into closets and dresser drawers until they have been washed and dried on high heat. This means more work for us, obviously, but we have been trying to do what we can to eradicate the problem.

We were also encouraged to do a thorough job of vacuuming all furniture, floor boards and all carpet in the apartment, as well as to spray alcohol on bugs or on nests, or where we think the bugs or eggs are hiding, as well as to sprinkle baby (talc) powder throughout the apartment, but especially on base boards, particularly on those walls connecting adjacent apartments. The bugs will die if they inhale the talc powder, evidently. And, we were also encouraged to do a thorough job of checking for the bugs, examining all the furniture and possible hiding places. This produced several bugs and eggs which we were then able to kill.

We were also inspired to let our neighbors know of the problem, so that they could be on the lookout for these bugs, too, and hopefully prevent an infestation in their apartments. So, we did that, as well.

Now, what if we all showed the same diligence in eradicating sin from our lives as we did in trying to eliminate these bugs from our home? And, I am not talking about just conscious sins, but those we are not aware of for whatever reason, and maybe because we didn’t act on them the first time we saw them, and so they were able to slip by unnoticed until they came out and bit us or someone else with whom we came in contact. What if we all examined our lives with such preciseness and due diligence in looking for hidden sins, not obsessively, and not to the point to where we are no longer trusting or resting in our Lord, but in an act of good conscience toward God? And, then, when we discovered where they were hiding, what if we took the necessary steps to eradicate them from our lives, and to clean the junk out of our hearts that is hindering our obedience to Christ?

And, what if we then told our neighbors about these bugs (sins) that can get into their lives, too, if they don’t first of all report (confess) the problem to God so that he can apply the remedy for putting these bugs (sins) to death in our lives? What if we told our neighbors about their sin problem and how Jesus died on a cross to save us from our sins, and how they can have their bugs eradicated if they will apply the necessary treatment (Christ’s blood) to their lives? And, what if we warned our fellow Christians of the dangers of how sin spreads from person to person, and the many ways these “bugs” can infect our lives if we don’t show due diligence, not only in eradicating the ones we know of, but in using preventative measures to keep new bugs (sins) from creeping into our lives unnoticed until they jump out and bite us?

This is what we need to do as individuals and as the church, in particular here in America where I live, and where I know a large portion of the church is bug (sin) infested and is in need of an exterminator to treat the problem. In other words, the church needs Jesus to do what is necessary to get the attention of the church body by exposing their sin problem, and then by applying the necessary treatment to get rid of the bugs (sins), which he may do via his divine discipline and correction in our lives.

The Haircut

When I realized that an egg had hatched in my head full of hair, I had my husband spray my hair to death with hairspray (alcohol), which should have then killed any remaining eggs or nymphs. Then I shampooed and cut my hair, as we would never have been able to locate the eggs and nymphs in my thick head of hair, as it was. I don’t like my hair this short, as I believe a woman’s hair is her glory (1 Co. 11:15), and that short hair is a sign of disgrace or shame (1 Co. 11:6), though I don’t take this to the degree that maybe some do, as I kept my hair always above my shoulders. I do like to look feminine, so I prefer longer hair, but this will have to do for now.

What came to mind with this, in relation to the bugs, though, and the thought of short hair being a symbol of shame and disgrace, is that I had to cut my hair because it was infested with bugs, and bugs representing sin would thus lead to the idea of shame and disgrace, too. In other words, when our sins are exposed we may suffer shame and disgrace. Actually, going along with this, there is much shame associated with the idea of even having bed bugs. People may naturally assume that you brought these on yourself because of bad health habits, but that isn’t true across the board. But, we should feel shame when we sin and/or when our sins are exposed, and that should lead us to have broken and contrite hearts and to call on God to cleanse us, to heal us, and to change us even more into his likeness.

The other part of this is that I had to cut something out of my life which was my glory, i.e. my beautiful hair. When God cleanses us from sin, he doesn’t just forgive us, but he says to “go and sin no more,” and then he helps us to not sin anymore. All resolution for sin comes from God alone.

Part of that process involves cutting out of our lives anything which is hindering us or is leading us into sin or that has become our idol (our glory) instead of God being our glory. Hair also represents authority over the head of a woman, so cutting hair could also have to do with cutting out other gods which are in authority over our heads crowding out Jesus as our only Lord (owner-master). I believe that in the church this will be exercised via divine discipline of God in that he will cut out much human authority which is leading God’s people astray and away from their pure devotion to Christ. He will remove them so that his people will return to HIM as their only Lord.

Have Thine Own Way, Lord / Adelaide A. Pollard, 1862-1934

George C. Stebbins, 1846-1945 / Tune: ADELAIDE, Meter: 54.54 D

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!

 

[Christ4Ever]

I found this at first hard to put a "like" to because in some way I felt like I was not feeling the pain of what you all are going through. I've already been called as being a less than sensitive Christian. :-(

Yet the power of realizing sins both know and unknown is a message that is needed in these days of excuses and lack of accountability. Which is a breeding ground for sin in our lives.
Preach on and know that at least one is listening dear sister.
Praying for your relief in the circumstances you and your s are in. In the name of Jesus Christ I send my request heavenward. Amen.
With the love of Christ Jesus.
YBIC
Nick
<><

 

[Sue J Love]

I found this at first hard to put a "like" to because in some way I felt like I was not feeling the pain of what you all are going through. I've already been called as being a less than sensitive Christian. :-(

Yet the power of realizing sins both know and unknown is a message that is needed in these days of excuses and lack of accountability. Which is a breeding ground for sin in our lives.
Preach on and know that at least one is listening dear sister.
Praying for your relief in the circumstances you and your s are in. In the name of Jesus Christ I send my request heavenward. Amen.
With the love of Christ Jesus.
YBIC
Nick
<><

Nick, Don't be so hard on yourself. I think it is difficult to empathize with people when we haven't gone through something similar ourselves, or if we truly don't comprehend the reality of the suffering of others.

For instance, there was a lady in our building who had the bugs before we did, but I didn't understand what she was going through. I like her a lot, and she is my friend, and I enjoy being with her, but after we got the bugs ourselves, I had to apologize to her for not understanding or sympathizing with her suffering like I should have. She was very gracious to me, but she is a sweet lady. But, I felt badly that I didn't understand her suffering, and that I was not more sensitive to her pain. Now I do understand, and I feel great empathy for anyone having to go through this. Yet, my suffering is so minuscule compared to what many people in this world have to endure every day of their lives. So, I try to keep things in perspective, and I am very thankful to God for what I do have, for I am richly blessed.

To me, the lesson (parable) taken from the illustration of the bed bugs was powerful in relation to the comparisons between how bed bugs operate and how hidden sins operate in our lives. Real life illustrations like this have a way of driving that truth home to our hearts in a way that just talking about sin might not do, because we are able to identify, if not through experience, at least through the illustration, and hopefully it will make a difference. I think we, as humans, connect with stories as they give us pictures of Biblical truth in a way with which we can get it.

Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful words, and for your prayers. They mean a lot!

 

[Curtis]

Usually "hidden" sins are just that, hidden from the view of others, and we think no one else knows about but us. Those whose "shop lift" in stores always look both ways before attempting to steal something, or they might take the product to a place in the store where no one is, and then steal it. If we truly believe what the scripture says that we are surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses, and that God's "intent" is that now we (the Church) are to disclose the multi faceted Wisdom of God unto the principalities, and powers in heavenly realm. We are "being watched" in everything we say and do by people that are outside our view, yet they are there. There are many more spectators to this race we are running then there are runners. If we really know we are being "watched" by others we would not do many of the sins we do, knowing we are never alone.

 

[Sue J Love]

Usually "hidden" sins are just that, hidden from the view of others, and we think no one else knows about but us. Those whose "shop lift" in stores always look both ways before attempting to steal something, or they might take the product to a place in the store where no one is, and then steal it. If we truly believe what the scripture says that we are surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses, and that God's "intent" is that now we (the Church) are to disclose the multi faceted Wisdom of God unto the principalities, and powers in heavenly realm. We are "being watched" in everything we say and do by people that are outside our view, yet they are there. There are many more spectators to this race we are running then there are runners. If we really know we are being "watched" by others we would not do many of the sins we do, knowing we are never alone.

@Curtis - When the psalmist said, "But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults," he was not speaking of willful secret sins which he was hiding from others. In light of God's perfect law, and even after asking God to search his own heart often, he realized that there may have been things he missed, and so he was covering all the bases. He was recognizing that we can't always discern every fault, for whatever reason. For instance, we may get busy doing a lot of things for God, that are good things, but we may get our priorities out of order. Maybe God has even been putting scriptures in our heads about not having divided hearts, but we don't get it, even though we pray and ask him about it. We are not willfully choosing to have our priorities out of kilter, but things come up and pretty soon we realize that we are letting other things crowd out the time with God he desires/requires of us, which may be different for each individual, depending upon his calling for their lives, and so we have to regroup, and get down to what is most important, according to God. David seemed to differentiate between willful sins and those that we don't recognize as sin until the Holy Spirit reveals them to us. Or, we may be allowing little bits of the world to creep back into our lives without realizing we are doing that, until he shows us that is what is happening, and then we have to pull away from the world again, and get our minds focused again on what is most important, i.e. on what has eternal value.

Yet, using the illustration of the bed bugs, they certainly strongly represent willful secret sins which, if not dealt with, will come back up to bite us. I pray nearly every day that the Lord would reveal to me any areas of my walk with him which are not pleasing to him, and that he would lead me in the way he would have me to go. No Christian should be holding on to secret sins which they hide from others. It really should have nothing to do at all with whether or not we are being watched by others, but we should not willfully sin against God because we love him, and because he died on the cross to deliver us from slavery to sin. If we only change our sin habits out of fear of getting seen by others, then our hearts are not in the right place, because God sees everything, and we should not want to sin against him, regardless of whether or not anyone else sees what we do.

 

[Curtis]

@Curtis - When the psalmist said, "But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults," he was not speaking of willful secret sins which he was hiding from others. In light of God's perfect law, and even after asking God to search his own heart often, he realized that there may have been things he missed, and so he was covering all the bases. He was recognizing that we can't always discern every fault, for whatever reason. For instance, we may get busy doing a lot of things for God, that are good things, but we may get our priorities out of order. Maybe God has even been putting scriptures in our heads about not having divided hearts, but we don't get it, even though we pray and ask him about it. We are not willfully choosing to have our priorities out of kilter, but things come up and pretty soon we realize that we are letting other things crowd out the time with God he desires/requires of us, which may be different for each individual, depending upon his calling for their lives, and so we have to regroup, and get down to what is most important, according to God. David seemed to differentiate between willful sins and those that we don't recognize as sin until the Holy Spirit reveals them to us. Or, we may be allowing little bits of the world to creep back into our lives without realizing we are doing that, until he shows us that is what is happening, and then we have to pull away from the world again, and get our minds focused again on what is most important, i.e. on what has eternal value.

Yet, using the illustration of the bed bugs, they certainly strongly represent willful secret sins which, if not dealt with, will come back up to bite us. I pray nearly every day that the Lord would reveal to me any areas of my walk with him which are not pleasing to him, and that he would lead me in the way he would have me to go. No Christian should be holding on to secret sins which they hide from others. It really should have nothing to do at all with whether or not we are being watched by others, but we should not willfully sin against God because we love him, and because he died on the cross to deliver us from slavery to sin. If we only change our sin habits out of fear of getting seen by others, then our hearts are not in the right place, because God sees everything, and we should not want to sin against him, regardless of whether or not anyone else sees what we do.

Sister Sue, The Lord only holds us accountable to what we do know, not what we don't know. Which is why this scripture says this....

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Why would we need the "blood of Jesus Christ" to cleanse us of all sin if we are already walking in what we do know (the light, not sinning)?
That is because many times we sin with out ever knowing it, and this is where the blood of Jesus cleanses us from these sins.

 

[Sue J Love]

Sister Sue, The Lord only holds us accountable to what we do know, not what we don't know. Which is why this scripture says this....

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Why would we need the "blood of Jesus Christ" to cleanse us of all sin if we are already walking in what we do know (the light, not sinning)?
That is because many times we sin with out ever knowing it, and this is where the blood of Jesus cleanses us from these sins.

Curtis, I am not understanding your comment here. You acknowledge that we sin sometimes without knowing it, which was half of the point of what I was saying here. Romans 8 says this: "If we walk according to the flesh, we will die" (without Christ), but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh" (daily dying to sin), we will live with Christ for eternity. Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. Our walk of faith involves daily putting sin to death in the power of the Spirit within us. And, that is what I am talking about here. If we sin, we don't lose our salvation or God's forgiveness. We still have him as our advocate to the Father (1 Jn. 2:1), but daily we must reject sin in our lives and put on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan's evil attacks against us. So, we need to know when we are displeasing our Lord in what we do, so that, in the power and working of the Spirit within us, we can correct that behavior, putting off what is hindering us from running the race, and putting on what is of the Spirit of God. It is that pruning process spoken of in John 15. We are being made holy. We are being conformed into the image of Christ. We aren't there yet. It is a process of sanctification.

 

[Curtis]

Curtis, I am not understanding your comment here. You acknowledge that we sin sometimes without knowing it, which was half of the point of what I was saying here. Romans 8 says this: "If we walk according to the flesh, we will die" (without Christ), but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh" (daily dying to sin), we will live with Christ for eternity. Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. Our walk of faith involves daily putting sin to death in the power of the Spirit within us. And, that is what I am talking about here. If we sin, we don't lose our salvation or God's forgiveness. We still have him as our advocate to the Father (1 Jn. 2:1), but daily we must reject sin in our lives and put on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan's evil attacks against us. So, we need to know when we are displeasing our Lord in what we do, so that, in the power and working of the Spirit within us, we can correct that behavior, putting off what is hindering us from running the race, and putting on what is of the Spirit of God. It is that pruning process spoken of in John 15. We are being made holy. We are being conformed into the image of Christ. We aren't there yet. It is a process of sanctification.

Sister, how are you going to confess something you don't know you have? How can a man resist what he does not know is sin? Unto whom much is given much is required. (Luke 12:48) The more you grow in the Lord the more of the Word of God you know to do, which requires you to do them. God will not hold a man guilty of what he does not know he has.

Psa 19:12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

How can God declare a man innocence of hidden sins, unless the Lord knows the mans does not know he has them? No one can confess sins that he does not know he has, which is why the blood of Jesus cleanses us from ALL sins, as long as we are walking in what we do know. (the light)

There fore he that knows to do good, and does not do them to him to is sin.. Knowing is everything when it comes to sin.

 

[Sue J Love]

Sister, how are you going to confess something you don't know you have? How can a man resist what he does not know is sin? Unto whom much is given much is required. (Luke 12:48) The more you grow in the Lord the more of the Word of God you know to do, which requires you to do them. God will not hold a man guilty of what he does not know he has.

Psa 19:12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

How can God declare a man innocence of hidden sins, unless the Lord knows the mans does not know he has them? No one can confess sins that he does not know he has, which is why the blood of Jesus cleanses us from ALL sins, as long as we are walking in what we do know. (the light)

There fore he that knows to do good, and does not do them to him to is sin.. Knowing is everything when it comes to sin.

Curtis, you can't confess what you don't know, but you can pray, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" We can pray, asking God to show us if we are sinning against him in any way; if we are doing anything to displease him. When we go into communion, we are supposed to examine ourselves before we eat the bread and drink the cup. "But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment" (1 Co. 11:31).

Sometimes our sins are hidden from us because we didn't listen to the Lord the first time he addressed them, or because we became desensitized to them, or because we were busy going about our days and didn't take time to inquire of the Lord concerning such matters, or whatever the case may be.

How can a man resist what he does not know is sin? He can't, but he can pray and ask God to show him if there are hidden sins in his life of which he is unaware, or of which he has become desensitized to. The point of it all is that we are being purified. We are being sanctified. We are being made holy. We are being formed into the image of Christ. And, we are being pruned. Why do we need all of this? Because we are not perfect. We are always learning, always growing, always maturing in our faith, hopefully. So, we need regular times in which we examine our hearts before God and we ask him to show us if we are doing anything displeasing to him, not just during communion with bread and juice, but when we are in communion with him in prayer and in his word.

"Purify my heart, let me be as gold, and precious silver. Purify my heart, let me be as gold, pure gold. Refiner's fire, my heart's one desire is to be holy, set apart for you, Lord.. ready to do your will." Refiner’s Fire / Doerksen, Brian

 

[Curtis]

The point of it all is that we are being purified. We are being sanctified. We are being made holy. We are being formed into the image of Christ. And, we are being pruned. Why do we need all of this? Because we are not perfect. We are always learning, always growing, always maturing in our faith

This is exactly what I said in that as we grow spiritually these things are being revealed to us as his son. If your heart or conscience is not condemning you for sins, why go looking for some? Theses hidden sins will be exposed as one progresses in the Word, and in fellowship with the Lord. If this was not true then how can, "If our heart condemns us not, then we have confidence to God, and then everything we ask we receive from him......" If there were hidden sins that a man knew of, this would not be possible. If a man has hidden sin's in his life that he has no knowledge of, and his heart or conscience was clear, then he would have confidence towards the Lord to ask for anything, and get it.
Man is only held accountable to God for what he knows as truth. Everything else will be disclosed as this man grows in faith, and in the power of God. As Jesus once said, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do"

 

[Curtis]

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"

The psalmist in these two verses is not asking God to find some wickedness in him that he can not put his finger on.
He asking God to search him and see that he has no wicked or hurtful way in him as far as he knows. This is a confession of a man who is doing everything he knows right according to the light he has within himself.

Psa 139:23 Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
Psa 139:24 And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

[Sue J Love]

The psalmist in these two verses is not asking God to find some wickedness in him that he can not put his finger on.
He asking God to search him and see that he has no wicked or hurtful way in him as far as he knows. This is a confession of a man who is doing everything he knows right according to the light he has within himself.

Psa 139:23 Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
Psa 139:24 And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Here are what a few commentators have said about these verses. I am not going to labor the point. I believe both the Corinthian passage about self-examination, and concerning being discerning about ourselves, so that we don't fall under judgment (divine discipline/correction), and this passage in the Psalms both call for regular times in our lives for examination of our hearts, as we can be self-deceived about a lot of things. Source: www.biblehub.com:

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

23. Search me &c.] God has searched him and knows him (Psalm 139:1): but he will welcome the continuance of that piercing scrutiny, not seek to avoid it. Cp. Psalm 26:2.

23, 24. In no spirit of presumptuous self-confidence, but with an honest desire to be saved from self-deception and guided in the way of true life, the Psalmist ends by inviting and welcoming that Divine scrutiny which he knows to be a fact and from which he cannot escape (Psalm 139:1 ff.), and praying for that Divine guidance which is indispensable for him.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 23. - Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts. Examine me, and see if I have not represented my feelings as they really are. Keep on always searching me out (comp. ver. 1), and "trying my reins and my heart" (Psalm 26:2). My desire is to be proved and tested.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Search me, O God - The word "search" here is the same as in Psalm 139:1. See the notes at that verse. The psalmist had stated the fact that it is a characteristic of God that he "does" search the heart; and he here prays that God "would" exercise that power in relation to himself; that as God could know all that there is within the heart, he would examine him with the closest scrutiny, so that he might be under no delusion or self-deception; that he might not indulge in any false hopes; that he might not cherish any improper feelings or desires. The prayer denotes great "sincerity" on the part of the psalmist. It indicates also self-distrust. It is an expression of what all must feel who have any just views of themselves - that the heart is very corrupt; that we are liable to deceive ourselves; and that the most thorough search "should" be made that we be "not" deceived and lost.

And know my heart - Know or see all that is within it.

Try me - As metal is tried or proved that is put to a "test" to learn what it is. The trial here is that which would result from the divine inspection of his heart.

And know my thoughts - See what they are. The word rendered "thoughts" occurs only in one other place, Psalm 94:19. The idea is, Search me thoroughly; examine not merely my outward conduct, but what I think about; what are my purposes; what passes through my mind; what occupies my imagination and my memory; what secures my affections and controls my will. He must be a very sincere man who prays that God will search his thoughts, for there are few who would be willing that their fellow-men, even their best friends, should know all that they are thinking about.