Acts 24:16 So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.
This scripture put me in mind of a poem entitled “The Man in the Glass,” which basically says that you can fool everybody but yourself when it comes to who you are and how you got where you are in life. To me, Acts 24:16 speaks to being able to look at yourself and know that who you are, who the world thinks you are, and who God knows you to be match.
Acts 23:1 … “I have conducted myself before God in all good conscience to this day.”
I know my caustic inner critic often makes a squeaky clean conscience difficult, but sometimes a stinky attitude can be just as bad as motives that are less than honorable. One devotional I read today did not equate blamelessness with perfection but rather with doing the correct thing in all situations. If you mess up, apologize. If your attitude is stinky, change it (and apologize if you offended while you were in that mindset).
1 Cor 10:32 Do not become a stumbling block….
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that my attitude is important and that You and I both know what my heart looks like, even if I can fool the world. Help me always to be honest with myself and with You about the state of my heart. If my attitude is stinky, help me to be aware and to actively seek to change it. Help me not to be a stumbling block to others but instead to point them to You. Draw me closer. Amen.
Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
Have a blessed day.
My faith, my life, my teaching–it's all a work in progress.