Before God's eyes

"And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open

 and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."
Hebrews 4:13

     We are never hidden from God.   And isn't it ironic that even though we know that is true, we still overstep so many bounds?  Concealing wrong deeds really doesn't exist, does it?  Even though people might never find out, God knows (and already knew).  When I've sinned, afterwards I ask myself "would I have done that in the presence of God?"  No, of course I wouldn't have.  But I was in His presence.  So why did I do it?  I wasn't recognizing Christ being there in that moment, so my fleshly self appeared once again.  Somehow, we always need to remind ourselves that God is right in front of us, testing our thoughts and deeds.  I mentioned our thoughts as well, because the Lord knows them (Psalm 94:11) and we wouldn't think perverse thoughts in front of God, either, would we?
     Ecclesiastes 5:6 says "Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake.  Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands?"  Our tongue is one of our most mortal enemies, and we should take care to watch it closely.  And of course, there is no such thing as convincing the Lord that a deliberately sinful remark was an accident.  As the Bible says, He knows our hearts!
     There are always others observing and listening to us as well.  At church, our homes or someone else's, stores, parks, anywhere, people are always watching what we do and paying attention to what we say.  To shine the light of Christ, we need to represent Jesus in the best possible way, which is Christ-like behavior.  Ephesians 5:8-10 says "for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord."  (Emphasis added.)

     One way that helps me keep aware of being Coram Deo (Latin for "in the presence of God") is writing out Bible passages that speak to godly conduct and putting them in a place that is often and easily seen, such as on a sticky note pasted on my favorite window.  And searching God's word daily is so important!  It's amazing how even when I've read a certain verse a million times, God leads me to read it again at just the right moment and opens my eyes to a truth that I've not yet discovered.