fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383 
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Post by fearnot on Aug 29, 2022 11:21:22 GMT -5
Starting a new study on:
Why do we need to be careful to not go against our conscience?
Here are two verses concerning our conscience:
14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law
do instinctively the things of the Law,
these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves,
15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts,
their conscience bearing witness
and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.
Romans 2:14,15
The Gentiles did not have the Mosaic Law or the scriptures
and yet, they did instinctively do the things of the law.
God not only made mankind a physical being,
but a spiritual one.
God has put into mankind a moral ethical code to know right and wrong...
as the scripture says: 'the Law written in their hearts".
But more than that the conscience is a type of warning devise:
'conscience bearing witness
and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them'
We can override it,
or ignore it's warning,
to our detriment and the ultimate result
will be painful.
We ought to give our conscience more godly information from scripture.
In fact, parents should begin teaching God's Word, the Bible
to their children right from the start:
6 These words, which I am commanding you today,
shall be on your heart.
7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house
and when you walk by the way
and when you lie down
and when you rise up
Deuteronomy 6:6,7
But of course, the unbelieving world
and the 'ruler' of this world ( for now, Satan)
hates that.
They calls good...
evil, hate speech, judgmental, ignorant, Nazism, and on and on.
Woe to those who call evil good,
and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light
and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
Isaiah 5:20
They want to be 'FREE'
free from godly morality, they want to do their sins
and enjoy them without their conscience bothering them.
Have you noticed the big push towards any kind of sexual immorality
is now cleared ( in their minds) by calling it LOVE.
If it's love ( no matter what) then it is okay, good, to be pursued with vigor
and pride.
But no matter what sin unbelievers (and sinning believers)
try to sear their conscience about,
there will be eventual consequences
that will ( at the very least) hurt.
So they will call their conscience a liar,
and decide,
they need to be "me'
or be yourself,
you do you
have pride in yourself,
you are too hard on yourself,
you need self esteem
don't be uptight
That's your opinion
Don't play the shame game
be 'FREE'
You only live once
relax, enjoy
guilt is not needed, it's very unhealthy
be tolerant ( which is love......not )
etc. etc.
These are a few of the ways to go against one's conscience
there are many more....but this is a sample of some of them.
Done for today.
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Post by Cindy on Aug 31, 2022 9:42:39 GMT -5
 Great study! Looking forward to reading more!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Aug 31, 2022 11:31:32 GMT -5
And although God gave us a conscience to give us unpleasant feelings
like shame, and guilt etc.
we can override these warnings, and go against our conscience.
keeping faith and a good conscience,
which some have rejected
and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith
1 Timothy 1:19
People can be so successful at shutting off their conscience,
that they even feel entitled to their sins.
They deceive themselves into believing,
it's their 'right',
their freedom,
their choice to sin...
in fact,
they become proud of them!
Their destiny is destruction,
their god is their stomach,
and their glory is in their shame.
Their mind is set on earthly things.
Philippians 3:19
We see a lot of this in today's culture,
many people's highest honor
and glory
is in their sins.
They have become insane.
To the pure, all things are pure,
but to those who are corrupted and do not believe,
nothing is pure.
In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted
Titus 1:15
and
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile
to retain the knowledge of God,
so God gave them over to a depraved mind,
so that they do what ought not to be done.
32 Although they know God’s righteous decree
that those who do such things deserve death,
they not only continue to do these very things
but also approve of those who practice them
Romans 1:28,32
You can change your conscience by giving it false information
or you can build it up, by giving it God's word.
Today, more and more people are giving their conscience false information,
so as not to feel guilty,
but rather, even virtuous.
They tell themselves, I am having compassion on those who are 'different'
and being compassionate to them ( in fact, I may even join in with them).
when I affirm someone's sin....because it's not really a sin,
it's just how they were born,
it's who they are.
I refuse to be an uptight, legalistic, judgmental, 'hater.
And they tell themselves many more such things.
Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Sept 1, 2022 11:48:10 GMT -5
 another good one! Reading it made me realize that what I wrote in the Chat thread and to you, is actually the end result of not listening to our conscience! 
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Sept 2, 2022 12:39:33 GMT -5
There are subtle ways we can sear our conscience.
We can watch a 'somewhat' sexy movie,
a tiny bit of vulgar language music video,
play a video game with scantily dressed images,
look at magazines of semi nude people ( or those with all the trapping of wealth and power) etc. etc.
( not just sexual sins, but things promoting greed, power,
etc. etc.)
We tell ourselves, it's just a
'little'
this or that ( whatever sin is tickling our fancy)
.......Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there
Isaiah 28:10
After all we don't want to be 'legalistic'!
We want to have a 'little' fun,
all work makes Jack or Jill dull.
So in 'little' incremental steps
we slowly add a bit more spicy stuff,
not big, but it is a slow burning of our consciousness.
I think lust can be for many different things,
like I said before:
sexual immorality,
greed,
power,
etc.
Then when lust has conceived,
it gives birth to sin;
and when sin is accomplished,
it brings forth death.
James 1:15
By repeatedly squelching our conscience,
and doing whatever sin we want,
the unsaved are turning their backs on God,
and trundling ever closer to Hell.
That is not to say, Christians don't sin, of course they do.
And sometimes, they do it by,
squashing their conscience.
But I 'think' there is a difference,
between getting bashed unexpectedly
blind sided, by sin,
and
' inviting' your pet sin in,
by deliberately silencing your conscience.
If it is a 'daily habit',
one might begin to question if they are truly a Christian at all.
A Christian would rather aim for the ability to say with Paul:
For our proud confidence is this:
the testimony of our conscience,
that in holiness and godly sincerity,
not in fleshly wisdom
but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world ...
2 Corinthians 1:12
Nevertheless, it is a battle
it has always been a battle for Christians
but in today's world, with the computer,
cell phones, videos etc. etc.
we are being bombarded with sinful temptations,
almost non stop, it can seem.
We can and do, sometimes, get caught....
but again, we want to be able to say
I am fighting as hard as I can against --------- ( fill in the blank)
sin.
In view of this,
I also do my best to maintain
always a blameless conscience
both before God and before men.
Acts 24:16
Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Sept 7, 2022 10:53:36 GMT -5
 good one! I would have never thought of using Isaiah 28:10, but it's perfect for that! Sorry you haven't been able to do more lately. Hope to read more tomorrow!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Sept 8, 2022 20:41:48 GMT -5
Continuing to look at why we need to be careful not to go against our conscience.
14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law
do instinctively the things of the Law, these,
not having the Law, are a law to themselves,
15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts,
their conscience bearing witness
and their thoughts alternately accusing
or else
defending them,
Romans 2:14,15
God made all men to have a conscience,
and we know men can shut it down.
People know right from wrong,
and choose not to listen to what is right,
but rather do what is wrong.
We need to keep informing our conscience of the truth,
and God's Word, the Bible has the absolute truth.
So we need to start with our children when they are young,
teaching and informing their conscience with the truth:
You shall teach them diligently to your sons
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house
and when you walk by the way
and when you lie down and when you rise up.
Deuteronomy 6:7
Satan does not want this, nor does the unsaved world.
In fact, they will tell you a guilty conscious is psychologically unhealthy .
It's interesting that the conscious is one of the things that separates us from animals...
we can make moral self evaluations.
However this may be another reason the secular atheist believes we are just animals,
so they do not have to do that,
instead they rather believe in 'survival of the fittest' and all that...
...but to those who are defiled and unbelieving,
nothing is pure,
but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.
Titus 1:15
or
they would rather think they are 'good' people.
If you feed your conscious false information,
that can destroy any true morality, by having and continuing to feed it a false 'morality'...
and that is a dangerous situation.
Not only are you in grave danger,
but you can also be a danger to others:
And so, by sinning against the brethren
and wounding their conscience when it is weak,
you sin against Christ.
1 Corinthians 8:12
We will not get a right understanding of sin, evil, wrong morality,
from the unbelieving secular culture, in fact, we will get just the opposite.
Instead we need to keep it daily informed by God's Word, the Bible.
Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Sept 9, 2022 11:51:53 GMT -5
 You're doing well! I just have to add something from a fiction book that I read and loved. It's about having a conscience...
“I believe that our conscience proves that we were created by God and not evolution or anything else. That we are all born with a conscience cannot be denied, but no one stops to consider where that conscience came from. it came from God! It’s God’s fingerprint on each of us that proves He is our creator.” “It is a spiritual component of our makeup,” Diggorsfeld went on. “Therefore even if evolution were true, it cannot explain the conscience. The sense of right and wrong is a spiritual dimension of human nature. It lies altogether outside our physical bodies. Thus, the question again: How did it get there? Where did it come from?” “That sense of right and wrong is God’s fingerprint within your humanity.” A fingerprint which has remained behind within man as evidence of his creation of us—within you and me and every other man, woman, and child on the face of the earth. Nothing else can account for it. We are told in Genesis that God made man in his own image. You see, Mr. Rutherford, the conscience is one small part of that in-his-image-ness. It proves the truth of the Genesis account. Our very humanity proves that Genesis is true, and that God created us just as the Bible says.”
Wild Grows the Heather in Devon (The Secrets of Heathersleigh Hall book #1)
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Sept 9, 2022 13:24:25 GMT -5
I think I read that a few years ago, I am going to download it to my kindle to read again :)
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Sept 9, 2022 14:30:09 GMT -5
God's Word is truth
but our conscience can also warn us,
when we are about to do or think wrong thoughts etc.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Romans 1:18
We can suppress the truth and our conscience.
Because people love their sins:
This is the judgment,
that the Light has come into the world,
and men loved the darkness rather than the Light,
for their deeds were evil.
John 3:19
and
32 Though they know God's righteous decree
that those who practice such things deserve to die,
they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Romans 1:32
and that leads to:
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,
God gave them up to a debased mind
to do what ought not to be done.
29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness,
evil,
covetousness,
malice.
They are full of envy,
murder,
strife,
deceit,
maliciousness.
They are gossips,
30 slanderers,
haters of God,
insolent,
haughty,
boastful,
inventors of evil,
disobedient to parents,
31 foolish,
faithless,
heartless,
ruthless.
Romans 1:28-31
If you shut your conscience down,
in order to not feel any pain or guilt,
of things that ought not to be done...
and train yourself to find 'pleasure' in
rebellion and disobedience
and to even feel superior and 'free'...
it also leads to the long list above,
in Romans 1:28-31
of sad and evil things.
( and that is not even a complete list).
That is not to say the culture and the devil
do not do their best to tempt you every day.
In fact, you will get some hearty approval
if you loosen up 'a little', have a little 'fun'.
So there is that, but it is not an excuse.
It is certainly hard especially today with the internet
so called entertainment, so called music, even politics,
books etc.
But in the end, we can surrender
and ignore our conscience....
to our hurt and to hurt others
Done for today.
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Post by Cindy on Sept 12, 2022 11:57:21 GMT -5
Well done! Looking forward to your next post!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Sept 12, 2022 13:49:15 GMT -5
thank you soooooo much for the encouragement!!! :)
I will probably wait until tomorrow
After a busy busy Sunday, I am usually very tired Monday.
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Post by Cindy on Sept 13, 2022 10:33:08 GMT -5
Ok... I'll try and check back later!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Sept 13, 2022 11:59:53 GMT -5
Looking some more at why we need to be careful not to go against our conscience
They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts,
while their conscience also bears witness,
and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
Romans 2:15
Notice the conscience bears witness,
to the law written on our hearts.
So it confirms what God already placed in our hearts.
Pastor John MacArthur describes conscience as:
“a built-in warning system that signals us when something we have done is wrong.
The conscience is to our souls what pain sensors are to our bodies:
it inflicts distress, in the form of guilt,
whenever we violate what our hearts tell us is right.”
But as noted before we can and some people often
feed their conscience wrong information,
so that in that case as R. C. Sproul said:
"that acting according to conscience
may sometimes be sin as well.
If the conscience is misinformed,
then we seek the reasons for this misinformation.
Is it misinformed because the person has been
negligent in studying the Word of God"?
I would venture to say, that is most likely often the case.
So conscience is in the end not the ultimate moral or ethical voice,
but I think it is a close second.
If it is feed with the infallible correct information of God's Word,
then it should not be ignored.
So if the Bible commands us to do or think in a certain way,
or to not do or think in a certain way,
then our conscience will warn us, when we go against God and His word.
If we nevertheless go against God's Word and our conscience,
then in that case we will be committing a sin.
Furthermore, if we do not turn away from sin:
Avoid it,
do not pass by it;
Turn away from it
and pass on.
Proverbs 4:15
and we continue in whatever sin,
and by doing the sin over and over,
and develop a 'habit' of that sin
and we eventually totally silence our conscience concerning it.
through the insincerity of liars
whose consciences are seared
1 Timothy 4:2
We are the liars,
who lie to ourselves
and sear our own consciences.
This will be to our detriment...no sin
is ever ,ultimately for our good.
It can seem pleasurable for a time.
But in the end, sin is always poisonous
and if not fought aga inst and/or corrected,
it will be eternally deadly.
If you are not praying against sin in your life,
if you do not hate it, and want to be rid of it,
but instead, and you are believe it's your right,
then you may have to wonder if you are really a Christian.
But what about issues that are not clearly stated in the Bible
or another believer has strong feelings or objections ( conscience) etc. about.
What does our conscience and/or God's Word say for us to do
in those cases?
I could look at that next.
Done for today.
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Post by Cindy on Sept 15, 2022 10:47:03 GMT -5
If someone doesn't hate sin and want to be rid of the sin in their life, they had better realize that there is a very good chance that they aren't saved! Another good one Barbara!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Sept 23, 2022 12:47:46 GMT -5
Our conscience and God's Word, may tell us, that something is not a sin,
and yet, there could still be a 'problem'.
Let's look at these verses:
8 But food will not commend us to God;
we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.
9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
10 For if someone sees you, who have knowledge,
dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience,
if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols?
11 For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died.
12 And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
b]
Eating or not eating certain foods has no spiritual importance or meaning,
in and of itself.
It won't bring us closer to God, and/or have Him approve of us because of it.
If something is not forbidden by God, it is not a sin,
but is neutral in a spiritual sense.
Food is just one example of such things.
However, there may be new Christians, sometimes referred to as baby Christians,
who have come out of a system where ( for example) eating certain foods is forbidden,
and was even considered sinful.
So a mature Christian who knows that he or she is at liberty to eat any food, might end up being a stumbling block to the new Christian.
By insisting on our liberty,
we might cause an immature believer to trespass his or her conscience and thus , to sin....
and thereby, then
We are actually sinning against Jesus.
We do not praise or condemn the weak new believer's conscience,
as long as it is not an absolutes or fundamental doctrine of the faith.
Things like eating pork ( or any meat for that matter), drinking wine, dancing, tattoos, smoke, go to any movie, wear any makeup, eating only veggies, etc. etc. etc.
are not God's moral absolutes.
However to a new believer they may think, in their conscience these things are indeed sinful.
They do not yet know all the truth of what is truly okay and what is not.
and you will know the truth,
and the truth will make you free.”
John 8:32
So the mature believer needs to be careful of arrogance towards the baby Christian,
as well as, to not encourage them to go against their weak conscience and weak faith.
It is too easy to roll ones eyes at their limited knowledge.
Now accept the one who is weak in faith,
but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
Romans 14:1
and
Who are you to judge the servant of another?
To his own master he stands or falls;
and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Romans 14:4
and
.....Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind
Romans 14:5
3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat,
and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats,
for God has accepted him
Romans 14:3
So what we do can effect others
( again as long as it is not an absolutes or fundamental doctrine of the faith. )
and so we must choose to do or not do ....
out of love.
I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself;
but to him who thinks anything to be unclean,
to him it is unclean.
Romans 14:14
So therefore:
.....rather determine this—
not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.
Romans 14:13
To be clear, this is not an approval of 'situational ethics.
There is a big difference.
Situational ethics, allows all behavior as morally okay.
But when God calls a behavior or thoughts sin, then they are sin!
We do NOT compromise those things God calls sin.
In fact this issue is not so much about what the baby Christian thinks is moral alright,
but more what he or she thinks is a sin.
For example, it is not necessarily wrong to go to a movie,
but...
if the movie is X rated and full of pornography, swearing, etc.
Then that would be wrong by God's standards.
One example:
but I say to you
that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:28
Discernment has to be used based on God's Word, the Bible.
Conscience and convictions are not 'feelings' (this 'feels' right ”),
rather convictions are rooted in the mind, NOT in emotions.
One person esteems one day as better than another,
while another esteems all days alike.
Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
Romans 14:5
Nor is this a matter of trying to walk as close to the world
and sin, as we can.
Plus the mature Christian needs to have trust in God
that:
And I am sure of this,
that he who began a good work in you
will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
Not only us but also,
the baby Christian.
Done for Today
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Post by Cindy on Sept 27, 2022 11:17:11 GMT -5
Excellent! You're doing great Barbara! And there are many cults today that forbid various foods and drinks. The Mormons aren't allowed anything with caffeine, so coffee, tea, etc is out of bounds for them, and they often bring that into their life after they're saved.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Sept 30, 2022 10:50:52 GMT -5
I did not know that about the Mormons not being allowed anything with caffeine, so coffee, tea,etc.
And tho maybe not as strict the 7th dayers would be vegetarians
and of course many groups won't eat pork and so on.
Today is our 50th year anniversary or being married.
I could probably do a wee bit more on this but am close to done.
I may work on it tomorrow.....
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Post by Cindy on Sept 30, 2022 11:24:03 GMT -5
I did not know that about the Mormons not being allowed anything with caffeine, so coffee, tea,etc.
And tho maybe not as strict the 7th dayers would be vegetarians
and of course many groups won't eat pork and so on.
Today is our 50th year anniversary or being married.
I could probably do a wee bit more on this but am close to done.
I may work on it tomorrow.....
Happy Anniversary to you both!  |
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Post by sevenofnine on Oct 7, 2022 9:42:54 GMT -5
Well with me I still tick off with my aunt for visting my father without vaccine shot for Covid putting his health wise I try get over anger I am not happy with her
That one thing I need work boy I was throwing some Deadliest catch f-bomb on her
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Post by Cindy on Oct 8, 2022 11:22:37 GMT -5
Well with me I still tick off with my aunt for visting my father without vaccine shot for Covid putting his health wise I try get over anger I am not happy with her That one thing I need work boy I was throwing some Deadliest catch f-bomb on her
I'll share some scriptures about all this for you at the end. I hope you don't mind me doing this. I felt like you were feeling badly about this and I just want to help you. I hope I didn't misunderstand.
Jesus wants us to be free from all of that. What makes being saved so wonderful is that He doesn't just gives us commands like the Old Testament did, but instead, He also gives us the ability to obey His commands. That's why, as we grow in our faith, we sin less and less. Of course we will always sin some until we're in Heaven, but we become more and more like Jesus the more we grow in our faith. And the only way we can grow in our faith and become more like Him is to read His Word daily and talk to Him about it. That's how God renews our minds and hearts and transforms us. So please read the scriptures, for there's life in God's Word! Hopefully too, they will give you a place to start your own Bible study. 
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)
“For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”” (Acts 8:23)
“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” (Hebrews 12:14–15)
“But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Colossians 3:8–10)
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29)
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2)
“Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” (Ephesians 5:4)
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:” (Philippians 2:3–5)
“Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:5–6)
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” (James 3:9–10)
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:13–16)
“Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:5–7)
I pray this helps you! |
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another good one! Reading it made me realize that what I wrote in the Chat thread and to you, is actually the end result of not listening to our conscience! 
good one! I would have never thought of using Isaiah 28:10, but it's perfect for that! Sorry you haven't been able to do more lately. Hope to read more tomorrow! 
You're doing well! I just have to add something from a fiction book that I read and loved. It's about having a conscience...
