Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Spyware. A couple of years ago I had never even heard of it. That all changed last week when I experienced a spyware attack. I was busily trying to finish some work on my computer prior to a Sunday AM service. A pop up ad appeared and I inadvertantly clicked a button that I should not have. It literally took over my computer. Pop-up Ads would appear at all times. Sluggish performance. New icons appeared on my desktop. New programs installed themselves without my knowledge. Ironically, I was running two different spyware detection utilities on my computer, and they would see the spyware but both were unable to remove the offending programs.

Spyware can get nasty and offensive. Fortunately for me the spyware that latched onto my machine was not morally nasty, but it was extremely irritating. My computer looked fine, booted up fine, did most of the things that I needed it to do, but there was something lurking deep inside the control center that could not be seen and its effects were far reaching.

Think computere are tough to figure out? Try figuring out the human heart. As strange as it may seem, so many people are so unaware of what is going on in their very own heart. The scripture tells us; The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 KJV

All of us have the ability to stray where we should not. In the course of our day to day routine we see something, hear something or think something that we should not. The result? Spiritual spyware. The danger is that everything may look perfectly fine with you on the outside. You may look like everything is okay. You are still doing and saying all of the right things, but you can never escape the truth of what is in your heart.

1 Peter 3:4 speaks of "the hidden man of the heart." The Psalmist wrote, "Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart." Psalm 44:21 KJV

There are things about your life that only you know. You have dear friends and close relations but even they do not know you like you know yourself. The scary part is as good as I know myself, even I cannot know my own heart.

In my heart, is there an attitude that is not right? Is there bitterness anywhere in my spirit? Is there harshness and unforgiveness that has not been dealt with? Is there pride? Is there lust? Is there a coldness to the things of God?

The only cure for spiritual spyware is to get into the presence of God and to learn the mind of God. When is the last time you spent time in your prayer closet? When is the last time you read the Word of God?

Let our prayer today be the prayer of the Psalmist...

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
Psalms 139:23-24 KJV


posted by Todd @ 1:54 PM