Is What Our Conscience Telling Us We Should Do Of God?
Good Morning Friends,
In today’s scripture from Genesis we need to be reminded that God determines what is good. We are placed here under His instructions and if we are to enjoy the experience we need to understand that sin is determining what is good without God. Our insanity is the thinking that we know what is good… that we can take care of the problem for God. The premise that we can do something for God usually creates more problems. Hidden problems. With this in mind it might be wise to reevaluate all the good things on our list. For without God in the good, life tends to be about consuming whatever comes next. It tends to be an expression of self will inflected on others. So as we reassess our situation, whether it is economic, educational, environmental or social emotional let’s make sure we are not again trying to be God. The unintended consequences of that are formidable. So, if we are searching for a prescription for our illness we need to get over the blaming of people for what has been done and get down to the question I hope God will help us answer… Is What Our Conscience Telling Us We Should Do Of God?
Scripture: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”
Genesis 3:1-13 (NRSV)
But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:20-21 (NRSV)
I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith; among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme.
1 Timothy 1:18-20 (NRSV)
Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called–that you might inherit a blessing. For “Those who desire life and desire to see good days, let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit; let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue it, for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil.
1 Peter 3:8-17 (NRSV)
Message: Friends, without God there is no cure. Only God enables us to impact the world through the changes of grace…to subdue the earth in order to survive. Only God subdues our anger. With God there is a persuasion of the soul and conscience that changes our hearts and through that the lives of others. You see, the true grace of God does not eliminate our conscience but immerses it in a forgiveness found when we serve Jesus with all our heart and mind. The challenge is to keep us focused and fueled by what is of God, for the joy of life can get choked out of us when we do not think on the important things. This is where personal responsibility comes into play for we have a choice to ignore the problem or join with God in responding. You see when the things of God do not stir us with excitement, when the glories of heaven are of no interest, when the horrors of evil do not prompt our attention, when the Word of God does not attract us, then we have a problem. Friends, we need to have a clarity of desire that is unmistakable. Friends, know that we are called to love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul. We are called to love on each other. And here we hopefully will discover there is nothing good without God. Only God is the prescription for what ails us. Know this with certainty… any good that is around us is because of God. What we are to learn is that the Bible is a book of conscience that is to be internalized and made flesh. Do you believe?
Pray that the idea of prayer draws us closer to God and that worship and song delights us. Pray that though our desire to fix what is right is noble we realize that it can also lead to unintended consequences.
Pray
that worship quickens our conscience. Pray we are not tempted to enjoy the benefits of our blessed lives while ignoring the cries of conscience for the poor and disenfranchised. Pray we appeal to everyone’s good conscience in Christ. Pray
our faith stays on course.
Pray
we are never turned over to Satan. Pray that the center of our attention is on Jesus and we never lose sight of the abundant life planned for us and others too. Pray we trust more and try less. Pray our conscience is clear. Pray our conscience confirms what we choose to do by the Holy Spirit.
Pray that the seat of our appetites, the seat of our emotions and passions…our conscience, will, inclinations, memory, reflections, thinking, knowledge and mind be true. Pray the conscience of the prideful is cleaned in the conviction and awareness of the reality of how God sees us and how we are to see God. Pray God’s love and forgiveness clears our conscience. Pray we have an awakened conscience that is both spiritual and social. Pray we realize that in God’s eyes we are all beautiful. Pray each day we rise up shining with the glory of God as we make a conscience decision to choose God and include Him in all our actions. Pray we believe in the day God will set things straight. Pray that if we believe someone has taken something from us that those feelings and actions mean nothing after we are dead. Pray we died to self now to avoid the pain.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 