Embrace Holy Living - Reflecting God - The Global Church of the Nazarene's Lillenas Publishing of The Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States "Is Your Conscience Clear?" by Paul Martinez for Monday, 22 May 2017 - Scripture: Acts 25:1-12
Acts 25:1 Three days after Festus had entered the province, he went up from Caesarea to Yerushalayim. 2 There the head cohanim and the Judean leaders informed him of the case against Sha’ul, and they asked him 3 to do them the favor of having the man sent to Yerushalayim. (They had plotted to have him ambushed and killed en route.) 4 Festus replied that Sha’ul was being kept under guard in Caesarea, and that he was about to go there shortly himself. 5 “So,” he said, “let competent men among you come down with me and press charges against the man, if he has done something wrong.”
6 After staying with them at most eight or ten days, Festus went down to Caesarea; and on the following day, he took his seat in court and ordered Sha’ul to be brought in. 7 When he arrived, the Judeans who had come down from Yerushalayim stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him which they could not prove. 8 In reply, Sha’ul said, “I have committed no offense — not against the Torah to which the Jews hold, not against the Temple, and not against the Emperor.”
9 But Festus, wanting to do the Judeans a favor, asked Sha’ul, “Would you be willing to go up to Yerushalayim and be tried before me there on these charges?” 10 Sha’ul replied, “I am standing right now in the court of the Emperor, and this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Judeans, as you very well know. 11 If I am a wrongdoer, if I have done something for which I deserve to die, then I am ready to die. But if there is nothing to these charges which they are bringing against me, no one can give me to them just to grant a favor! I appeal to the Emperor!” 12 Then Festus, after talking with his advisers, answered, “You have appealed to the Emperor; you will go to the Emperor!”
Acts 25:1 Three days after Festus had entered the province, he went up from Caesarea to Yerushalayim. 2 There the head cohanim and the Judean leaders informed him of the case against Sha’ul, and they asked him 3 to do them the favor of having the man sent to Yerushalayim. (They had plotted to have him ambushed and killed en route.) 4 Festus replied that Sha’ul was being kept under guard in Caesarea, and that he was about to go there shortly himself. 5 “So,” he said, “let competent men among you come down with me and press charges against the man, if he has done something wrong.”
6 After staying with them at most eight or ten days, Festus went down to Caesarea; and on the following day, he took his seat in court and ordered Sha’ul to be brought in. 7 When he arrived, the Judeans who had come down from Yerushalayim stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him which they could not prove. 8 In reply, Sha’ul said, “I have committed no offense — not against the Torah to which the Jews hold, not against the Temple, and not against the Emperor.”
9 But Festus, wanting to do the Judeans a favor, asked Sha’ul, “Would you be willing to go up to Yerushalayim and be tried before me there on these charges?” 10 Sha’ul replied, “I am standing right now in the court of the Emperor, and this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Judeans, as you very well know. 11 If I am a wrongdoer, if I have done something for which I deserve to die, then I am ready to die. But if there is nothing to these charges which they are bringing against me, no one can give me to them just to grant a favor! I appeal to the Emperor!” 12 Then Festus, after talking with his advisers, answered, “You have appealed to the Emperor; you will go to the Emperor!”
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The apostle Paul faced great opposition because of his obedience to God in preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. His conscience was clear before God and people in the way he lived out his faith.
Is our conscience clear in the way we live out our faith? Conscience is that inner voice that determines whether we are being true to the standards we hold. As Christians, we are called to the high standard of living in a way that honors God in all aspects. Our conscience, as Christ-like disciples, must be true to God in all we do.
Paul’s declaration of defense in Acts 25 was a life lived in God’s truth. He had not violated the good aspects of the Jewish law, the sacredness of the temple, nor the good laws of government. His conscience was clear in loving his enemies as Jesus had taught. The Jewish religious leaders opposed Paul out of their spiritual blindness to God's truth.
The apostle Paul faced great opposition because of his obedience to God in preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. His conscience was clear before God and people in the way he lived out his faith.
Is our conscience clear in the way we live out our faith? Conscience is that inner voice that determines whether we are being true to the standards we hold. As Christians, we are called to the high standard of living in a way that honors God in all aspects. Our conscience, as Christ-like disciples, must be true to God in all we do.
Paul’s declaration of defense in Acts 25 was a life lived in God’s truth. He had not violated the good aspects of the Jewish law, the sacredness of the temple, nor the good laws of government. His conscience was clear in loving his enemies as Jesus had taught. The Jewish religious leaders opposed Paul out of their spiritual blindness to God's truth.
We, too, will opposition, and yet our charge is the same as that of Paul: Keep our conscience clear and true before God and stand firm for Christ.
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"Living for Jesus" by Thomas O. Chisholm
1. Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.
Refrain:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.
2. Living for Jesus Who died in my place,
Bearing on Calv’ry my sin and disgrace;
Such love constrains me to answer His call,
Follow His leading and give Him my all.
Refrain:1. Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.
Refrain:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.
2. Living for Jesus Who died in my place,
Bearing on Calv’ry my sin and disgrace;
Such love constrains me to answer His call,
Follow His leading and give Him my all.
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.
3. Living for Jesus, wherever I am,
Doing each duty in His holy Name;
Willing to suffer affliction and loss,
Deeming each trial a part of my cross.
Doing each duty in His holy Name;
Willing to suffer affliction and loss,
Deeming each trial a part of my cross.
Refrain:
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,4. Living for Jesus through earth’s little while,
My dearest treasure, the light of His smile;
Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem,
Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.Refrain:
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,-------
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,4. Living for Jesus through earth’s little while,
My dearest treasure, the light of His smile;
Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem,
Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.Refrain:
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,-------
Indeed, it is because of this that I make a point of always having a clear conscience in the sight of both God and man.
[Acts 24:16]
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Please Pray:
For the development of Christian leaders in Peru.
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