If We Are Conscientious!

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

What does it mean to be conscientious?  It means to be governed by one’s conscience; controlled by or done according to one’s inner sense of what is right; principled.

Are we governed by our inner sense of what is right and principled? If not, to what do we attribute our sense of justice and in doing what is right?

There are those who–not understanding the work of Holy Spirit–who say they are led by their consciences–the inner workings of their minds based upon their knowledge of a situation or right and wrong. And they believe with everything in them that they are truly conscientious about what they do. They could be right–as along as their conscience is governed by Holy Spirit speaking to their hearts.

Therein–lies the difference–some people are led by what their mind perceives as truth based upon human ability to comprehend the events unfolding around them and some are led by Holy Spirit–who speaks to our hearts–attuned to Him. When we rely upon Holy Spirit to guide us–we don’t have to rely upon human knowledge, but Holy Spirit knows so much more than mere mortals.

We must remember that the enemy speaks to our minds and unfortunately, so many people have allowed their fleshly emotions to guide what they think and the enemy enjoys watching us wallow in self-pity and chaos, not knowing which way to go or to whom to turn. And then we do things–that are not just or right–and claim we were doing what our conscience led us to do and when we see calamity–our consciences are not convicted because we have no heart by which we can hear Holy Spirit. When we have a heart for God and His people, even if we ignore Holy Spirit speaking or misunderstand Him–when the outcome of a decision leads to travesty, our consciences are seared–we are consumed with guilt and attempt to make amends for our actions.

Looking around at what we see in our nation, I’m praying that those in a position to make a decision that will ultimately affect the entire world–will be guided by Holy Spirit–speaking to their hearts and their hearts will guide them in making conscientious decisions–doing what is best for all. I know God is working on the hearts of many, I just pray people will be obedient when they hear Him speak.

If we are all conscientious–allowing Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts and from the abundance of what is in our hearts–we act–we can rest assured that everything will be all right in the earth! We will be the light that guides the world out of the darkness that attempts to reign in the hearts of those who do not know The Lord!

Advertisement

On Being Faithful!

I will sing of your love and justice; to you, LORD, I will sing praise. I will be careful to lead a blameless life— when will you come to me? I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart. I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it. The perverse of heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with what is evil. Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not tolerate. My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me. No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence. Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD. Psalm 101:1-8 NIV

I wish that we could all have the heart of David since God has proclaimed, he is a man after His own heart. And it is the heart of a person that concerns God the most. For He has said, out of the abundance (whatever is in the heart), the mouth speaks. I’ve repeated this over and over again and yet, there are some who still do not understand. Whatever people say (or type) is a demonstration of what is in their heart.

If we speak hatefulness, we tell the world that hate resides in our hearts.

If we speak falsehoods, deliberately lying about others–then that’s what resides in our hearts.

If we speak with the intent to goad hateful rhetoric–then that’s what resides in our heart.

If we speak nonsense because we refuse to seek God–then nonsense is what resides in our heart.

If we ever get to the place–like David–and seek The Lord, asking Him to give us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us–then we’ll begin to move toward healing the land and seeing peace restored in our hearts.

I am saddened by the perpetual hatefulness I see demonstrated in online forums, but I realize I have no control over what people or how they act and so all I can is pray for me–that The Lord will keep my thoughts on Him and He will show me how to respond to hate with love and a smile. So far, it’s working, but it still saddens me to see how utterly hateful people can be to one another.

I realize that God’s faithfulness towards me is worth more than what anyone else thinks or say, and I have to strive to remain faithful to Him–no matter what else happens around me. And the way I do that–is to keep myself surrounded by those who love Him and understand how He wants us to live. There is something about the love of Jesus, continually flowing from one heart to another when we have been filled to overflowing with His love and from our hearts–our mouths speak (or our fingers type) with love coating every word.

We will stand on our faith in God--not people–and see all that He has in store for us, His children who He loves. We will not participate in the evilness that pervades the landscape or cyberspace and we will rise above the fray–to exemplify to demonstrate to all–God’s love for all mankind.

How People Read Us!

“Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:3 NLT)

If we are a letter from Christ for others to read, what is the letter saying?

Does the letter inform others of our desire to please God and to do–always–those things that are pleasing in His sight?

Can people read our compassion for others in what they see us do?

Do they see the commitment we have to stand firm on The Word and not be swayed by man’s corrupt thinking?

Is the letter they are reading so full of light, hope and faith that our lives ignite hope in them?

Do they see someone on fire for The Lord or do they see complacency?

Exactly, what do we want people to read of us–since we supposed to be the living epistles (letters) read by men?

I pray that the letter written upon my heart is confirmation and testament of my receiving God’s love and sharing it with others. I pray that others read the desire I have to please God in everything I do and say. I pray that others read upon my heart a blueprint for being a Godly mother, wife, grandmother, and witness of all God’s goodness. I pray that all that is written upon my heart from Christ ignites a love of Christ in others that overwhelms and spills over onto every person reading it.

I would rather people read a letter that sets them on fire–burning with desire to repent and turn to God, than one that is simply a copy or imitation of some other person’s life. For which is better for societal change that turns hearts to God–a never-ending flame to please Him or a flickering light that changes with every wind of doctrine, changed by man.

Allow the love of Jesus to burn brightly within and people will see and read the letter He has written upon our hearts–to His glory, so all will know to whom we belong.

What’s In Your Heart?

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11 NIV).

When I first acknowledged God’s calling on my life for ministry over 25 years ago, I said to Him, “You have to teach me Your Word before I can teach it to anyone else.” How naive is that? God knew what I knew and He knew that I would not attempt to tell anyone something that I did not understand. After all, He created me and knows everything about me.

At any rate, I studied–not just read–the bible. I read various translations and spent hours in the library getting an understanding of history–the culture, dress codes, military protocol, everything pertaining to the era of the Old Testament and The New. I spent tons of money on books, comparing and aligning what was said to the bible. And while I was studying, I was praying--“Lord, what does this mean? How can I make sense of this in one place, when you seem to say something different in another? I need insight and confirmation to make sure I’m on the right track.” I said a lot more than this, but I don’t have time or room for all the conversations we had.

But because He is God and because He is good, He always responded to me. He led me to a school of study. He constantly provided me with revelation into His Word and even now, He is yet revealing Himself as I continue to study. By year three into my studies, I began to understand how “hiding the word in my heart” would keep me from sinning against God. When the Word is so deeply embedded into our hearts, every time we think about doing something that is not of God, the Word rises and convicts. If we think we have forgotten, but are willing to hear from Holy Spirit, He will remind of us everything we have been taught.

Now, if we haven’t been taught anything, if we haven’t studied to understand, if we haven’t sought God to make sure we’re on the right track, Holy Spirit cannot bring anything to our remembrance. Nothing in–nothing out. We have to make sure that there is a constant “deposit” of the Word in our hearts, so when we need to make a “withdrawal” we don’t come up having “NSF” (insufficient information) to ward off the attacks of the devil.

When I see some of the things that people say in their conversations online, I know they have not sought God for understanding; they are simply mimicking what someone else has said. When I hear preachers mangle the Word in a message, I know they have not sought God and they certainly have not studied The Word. When people say or type comments about the bible being contradictory, I know they do not understand who God was speaking to and why–for that particular time in history. The bible is not contradictory.  God is not a man that He should lie or contradict Himself. When we understand mankind’s history, we get a better understanding of who God is and just how much He loves us.

Want to do yourself a favor and others and fight off every attack from the enemy? Get into the Word and get understanding so when you’re tempted by the lust of your flesh, you’ll have something to fight with in the spirit and win!  When the Word is hidden in our hearts, you will immediately recognize the counterfeiters who change God’s Word and lie to accommodate themselves.

Nevertheless, Lord pour out understanding upon all who are willing to receive and place desire in their hearts to want to know Your Word and You better.