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Greetings!
Conviction is a word that holds tremendous value. If it had not been for conviction, most of us probably wouldn't have ever yielded to Christ. It took conviction to get our attention. Now that we have made Christ our Savior and our Lord, we need to put more attention on our convictions. God gave us a heart that desires to live by its convictions...we need to be careful not to mess things up by overriding our convictions. We owe it to ourselves to stay true to our convictions in Christ!
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CONVICTION
KEEPING YOUR LIFE ON COURSE |
"And being fully persuaded, that what he had promised, he was able also to perform."
Romans 4:21
There is a place in each of our lives where we recall having experienced conviction at some point or another; for instance, when we first came to Christ. No doubt, every one of us can remember that first encounter we had when we recognized our need for the Savior. Somehow, down deep inside, the Holy Spirit began to deal with our heart where suddenly we became aware of the present of sin. It caught our attention. We felt things weren't right-we were convicted!
All throughout our Christian experience we have had moments just like that where we felt in our heart we had missed the mark. Maybe it was something we said. Maybe it was something we did. Invariably, each time we crossed the line we knew inside, almost as if our heart was saying, "something is not right here!"
Conviction is a very important and necessary part of our Christian life. It is what helps to keep us on track. It helps to balance our lives, steering us in the right direction. If we didn't have conviction, we very well may wander off course without even realizing it, and made shipwreck of our faith.
In a world as we live in, where so much compromise is occurring all around us, I'm afraid this very necessary instrument isn't carrying the weight that it was initially intended to carry. Paul warned the churches of neglecting to keep a pure, clean, and tender conscience (1 Tim 1:5, 19; 3:9; 4:2; Rom. 9:1; 13:5). Conscience, as we know it, is the voice of our recreated, born again spirit. But our conscience can be compromised, if we don't keep it clean from the influences of the world.
PEOPLE NEED TO HAVE CONVICTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO LIVING A LIFE OF EXCELLENCE, BECAUSE WITHOUT THEM IT IS TOO EASY TO LIVE UNACCOUNTABLE...
As believers, we need to understand that our convictions can change. They can change for the better. They can change for the worse. We can become hardened toward things that use to convict us, or we can grow increasingly, more tender toward our convictions where we actually develop new ones. Paul made a statement in his first letter to the Corinthian Church, stating: "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part" (1 cor. 13:9). In other words, none of us have the full light on everything. We are ever learning, ever growing, and ever expanding in our knowledge of God, and the moment the light of God's Word dawns upon our spirit, then our awareness of truth generates a new conviction.
There are convictions that we gain in our growth and understanding of the things of God that serve as anchors. They keep us from drifting. They keep us from veering off course. They provide perimeters where we know and are persuaded of what it is that we are supposed to believe and do. If we didn't have convictions, we could very easily be deceived. Abraham was fully persuaded because of a conviction concerning what God spoke to him about being the father of many nations. He let that persuasion become an anchor to his soul, which kept him steady when things around him were speaking contrary to the promise. I love the way the Amplified Bible reads in Hebrews chapter eleven, verse one. It says: "Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the CONVICTION OF THEIR REALITY [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]." I like that...the conviction of their reality. That is what true faith holds on to. It maintains a conviction of the unseen realm and refuses to be moved by anything that tries to contradict what it believes.
It is important that we pay attention to where our convictions lie, and we must learn to build upon them until we are fully persuaded of all that God has revealed to us. You need to make it a rule in your life never to violate what your heart holds to as a true conviction, and when your convictions begin to speak to you, then make a special effort to really listen. I promise you if you do, it will spare you a lot of heartache. I can even save your life! |
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PRAYER
Father, I ask you to help me develop a strong conviction that honors you and glorifies you in my life. Help me to not only become more sensitive, but help me be more answerable to the convictions that I know line up with your Word. If there is any area that needs adjusting, then I ask you to fine tune my convictions. I ask Lord, to reveal to me what I need to change so that I can stay true to my convictions. In Jesus' Name, I pray, Amen. |
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CONFESSION
I purpose in my heart to build my life with a strong base for conviction. I will not violate my heart. I will not cross the line or consider any path that leads to compromise. I hold to my convictions. I hold to what I believe. I am fully persuaded that what God has promised to me, that not only is he able to perform it, but that he will make it good. |
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DEFINING MOMENTS...
Having convictions can do so much for you in your Christian life. It is what will lead you to having a faithful spirit. When you live by your convictions you won't be slothful. You won't be up and down, in and out! You'll learn how to hold to your own integrity and refuse to be wishy-washy! People will be able to count on you. God will be able to count on you! You'll discover the power of influence when you make your convictions count!
In His Grace,
Pastor David
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The Revelation of Righteousness