A Clear Conscience

 There are some things that make us feel very good about ourselves and our life. Then there are other things that make us feel very bad about ourselves and our life. We need to get rid of those things that drag us down and accentuate the things that lift us up. That is totally possible, but we have to make a concerted effort to do this every day. Our conscience is one thing that can lift us up or take us down, so we need to keep it clear all the time.

Job was in a spiritual struggle since God let Satan attack him even though he had done nothing wrong. God did this to help Job and to show the devil that Job would remain faithful to him through all of the suffering. Job passed the test because he had a clear conscience. (Job 27:6) Job said that he would maintain his innocence without wavering. His conscience was clear for as long as he would live. I pray we can all make this statement. 

Our Conscience is that inner voice of our heart that God has put into all of us. I believe it is there so God can convict us of sin and encourage us to do right, even if we are not a believer, and we don't have the Holy Spirit. God uses the conscience to make us aware of our sins, and then we feel guilty and ashamed of what we have done. At that point we have to decide to do the right thing and clear out our conscience or to live with the guilt and shame every day. We can be lifted up or continue to be dragged down.

The key to a clear conscience is the confession of our specific sins and our repentance from them. First, we have to confess them to God as He convicts us. Those who haven't trusted Jesus to forgive their sins need to do that to begin the complete process. Then, we turn from those things and do the right things. If we have hurt others, we confess to them and ask for forgiveness. Once we do this for all of the sins God shows us, we clean our conscience, and the guilt never comes back. Then, we continue to do this each and every day, which leads to a freedom and peace that God desires for all of us.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 28-30.