January 15, 2021 Spirit Meat Devotional ; Topic – SUBMITTING TO THE HIGHER LEADER (2) – Romans 13:1-5, 1 Timothy 4:2
Read previous Spirit Meat Devotionals here
We started looking at submission to the higher leader yesterday. We mentioned our conscience as a major tool that God uses in this matter. Refusal or failure to submit to the higher leader is violating our conscience and this is not healthy for us.
What you do in the seemingly unrelated instances of submitting or not submitting yourself will determine whether you’re going to make a mistake or be correct in a critical hour.
If an usher directs you to a seat in church and you refuse that direction, it affects your conscience because that usher directing you to a particular seat is representing the authority of the pastor, the authority of the church, the authority of Jesus, the head of the Church. When we understand this, we will be more careful. God is challenging us as Christians that we should know the things that we need to do for conscience’s sake.
As Christians, we should do things because of our conscience, since it is the voice of God in our lives. Our conscience is the standard of God in our lives, and it is the representative of the Divine within us. Beware of activities that destroy your conscience and deaden it altogether, so you don’t become a born again Christian who still does strange things since your conscience can permit you to sin without restraint.
When you allow your conscience to dwell too long in the dead zone, your living on the earth will get to a dangerous extreme where you won’t be able to pick up the voice of God anymore and you will not be able to know what is right or wrong.
PRAYER: Help me Lord to always respond to God’s standard and not my flesh. Amen
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 31:17-32:12, Matthew 10:24-11:6, Psalm 13:1-6, Proverbs 3:16-18