Joni And Friends 2 January 2024 Devotional Message
Joni and Friends 2 January 2024 Devotional Tuesday Message. As you study today’s devotional, remember this; “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NLT)
TOPIC: Repentance and the Rose Bowl
“Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.”- Psalm 51:14 (KJV)
One New Year’s Day while Ken and I and a friend of ours were watching a football game on television, we heard a horrible crash outside, followed by the sound of a car zooming away. As we rushed out the door, we found part of our lawn torn up by tire tracks, our mailbox smashed, and our friend’s Mustang mangled.
A few minutes later we heard a gentle rap on our front door. Two boys about twelve years old were standing there. Red-faced and quivering, they were too frightened to speak. I asked, “Did one of you drive the vehicle that crashed into my friend’s car?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the slightly taller boy answered.
As the boys told us their story, I was grateful for guilt, that heavy weight on our consciences when we’ve done something wrong. The more we respond to guilt, the more sensitive we become to wrongdoing. For the two boys, confessing was important in keeping their consciences sensitive. A clear conscience, according to Bill Gothard, “is that inner freedom of spirit and assurance from knowing that you have a transparency toward everyone; and that no one is able to accuse you of wrongs that you have never made ‘right.’”
Turns out that while the “driver’s” parents were attending a game at the Rose Bowl—the game we were watching on TV—the boy invited his friend for a joyride in his dad’s Mercedes. Ultimately the insurance company paid for repairs, the boys were grounded, and we had a chance to witness to a neighbor. Best of all, the consciences of those two boys had become softened. That’s how that story ended.
If guilt is crushing your conscience, how will your story end? Will you speed away? Or will you go back to confess to God? Acts 24:16 describes the Christian: “I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.”
Thank you, Father, that you have equipped us with a warning device in our hearts that alerts us when we need to confess a deed or word.
READ MORE TOPICS: OPEN HEAVENS, OUR DAILY BREAD, IN TOUCH, SEEDS OF DESTINY, STREAMS OF JOY, JOEL OSTEEN, MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE, DCLM DAILY MANNA, UCB WORD FOR TODAY