I noticed this week (actually since the end of last week), that the mouse on my computer was acting very sluggish and not responding to my touch as it usually did. A computer mouse is one of those things one can take for granted until it starts to malfunction. Then as I mentioned the malady to a friend, he told me that all I probably needed to do was to open up the mouse and clean out the build up of grime and dust that was impeding the performance of the mouse. The next morning I opened the mouse as suggested, and sure enough, there was a lot of grime and grease and debris that had accumulated with about a year's usage. After I put it back together, the mouse performed beautifully. All it took was a simple little proceedure and the system was as good as new. I got to thinking just how much our lives are like that. Only we require more than just a once a year cleaning. Everyday we accumulate the grime and the stuff of the world upon us as we work within it. Sin can cause the most radiant Christian witness to lose his or her effectiveness. Many times we may not even be aware that the sin is there because often we cannot see it. We need Christ's forgiveness to cleanse us deeply and to allow us to function as God intended us. His grace makes that possible. In Psalm 19:12-13 says, "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse Thou me from secret faults. Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression." Have a blessed day.