To live above reproach...to live with integrity...to live with a clear conscience....THAT is freedom. So many people believe that they are getting more out of life by bending the rules, sneaking around, and living for themselves with no regard for others. But the reality for a person that lives this way is a life full of looking over their shoulder, feeling picked on because of consequences for the things that they do, regret, and dishonor of themselves, their families, and God.
As I continue to reflect on the passage this weekend in Acts 24, there are so many nuggets to pull out, but the one that continues to stick out to me is verse 16 where Paul says, "I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people." Trying takes work. And it is the kind of work that we cannot do on our own. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that produces this kind of fruit.
This week I want to encourage you to join me in prayer, asking God to reveal the actions, attitudes, and activities that cause those who observe us to question what we really live for and accuse us of reproachable activity. How are our good intentions to be "Christian" sabotaged by selfish attitudes, succumbing to temptation, and justifying behavior? I pray that God would show each of us how we can change our lives to live in a way that would cause those who would accuse us to look foolish.
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