Being Honest with God

Scripture: But Peter said, "Ananias, Satan has filled your heart. When you claimed this was the full price, you were lying to the Holy Spirit. The property was yours to sell or not, as you wished. And after selling it, it was yours to decide how much to give. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us, but to God." Acts 5:3-4

Observation: When Ananias present only part of their money to the Church, their sin is not that it was only part. The sin was lying about it. There was no sin in only presenting part of the money, and there was no sin in even not selling the property in the first place. However, Ananias and Sapphira lied to God about the value.

Application: God knows my deeds, so ... do I lie to him about them? My deeds are mostly evil, and I act in sinful and foolish ways for certain. But God absolutely knows the truth about me and my ways. Nothing I do or say is secret to him. My only comfort is that he somehow loves me anyway, and this is a truth I can reconcile in my mind, but cannot truly understand.

Prayer: Lord, I am a sinful person. Please do forgive my sins, for they are many and you know them all. I would desire to be better, but good behavior does not come easy. May I first start by being honest with you, recognizing you already know all about me anyway. Amen.