Praying for Trayvon Martin & Family

Thank you Jesus! Let’s have purity in our thoughts about this situation. Praying for comfort in the Martin Family!

Outer vs. Inner

Matthew 23:24 “Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!”

Here, the Pharisees strained their water so they wouldn’t accidentally swallow a gnat, an unclean insect according to the law. Meticulous about the details of ceremonial cleanliness, they nevertheless had lost their perspective on inner purity; in essence, they would then swallow a camel and not even notice. They were ceremonially clean on the outside but had corrupt hearts.

Plenty of the time we are like the Pharisees, we are so worried about our outward appearance and what is visible for other people to see. We focus on people more than we focus on God. But our allegiance is to God first, people second. When we contemplate the reactions & criticisms of people, we can become paralyzed in fear. But we know that God has not given us the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). So instead of focusing on our outward appearance, let’s make sure that we have inner purity as well. Making sure our motives and thoughts are coming from God and His Word.

Prayer: God, I pray that you change our hearts. Teach us how to not focus on our outward appearance or what others may think of us for we know that is minuet. But help us to focus on something bigger, our heart and our thoughts. Teach us to be pure in your sight. Amen.

God Is Greater Than Your Conscience

So, we sin. Everyone knows that as long as you are on this earth you will sin. Because you are made of flesh and we are in a evil world.

Galatians 5:19 – “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,”

We may try daily to live a pure life and stay away from sin as God has called us to,

“And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” – Acts 22:16

but I think in the midst of trying to do right and sometimes failing, we can have doubts about ourselves and our conscience can beat us up. Every time I fall short of the glory of God, I have guilt and I feel terrible.

Here’s another example…

We are always likely to have hidden sin in our lives, sin we don’t even know about because God’s standards are so high and our performance is so imperfect. If we are true believers, however, all our sins are forgiven because of what Christ did on the cross in our behalf (Romans 5:1; 8:1). The bible also teaches that even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings (1 John 3:20). His forgiveness and cleansing are sufficient; they overrule our nagging doubts. The Holy Spirit in us is our prof that we are forgiven in God’a eyes even though we may feel guilty. After truly seeking God, we can stand up to others’ accusations as well as our own nagging doubts. If God has forgiven and accepted us, that’s all we need. When we feel guilty, we should remind ourselves that God knows our notices as well as our actions. His voice of assurance is stronger than the accusing voice of our conscience. If we are in Christ, he will not condemn us (Romans 8:1; Hebrews 9:14-15). So if you are living for the Lord but feeling that you are not good enough, remind yourself that God is greater than your conscience.

Be blessed!