Praying Pint

 

Achan answered Joshua and said, “Truly, I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel.” –Joshua 7:20

The Israelites experienced a resounding victory at Jericho. So when they were crushed at Ai, Joshua couldn’t believe it. He cried out to the Lord, and God explained: “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. . . . Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies” (Joshua 7:11–12). Remember, a man named Achan had disobeyed God by taking some of the plunder from Jericho for himself. Achan’s sin brought defeat to the entire nation. When his sin was found out, he said, “Truly, I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it” (vv. 20–21). Notice how Achan described the progression of his sin: “I saw.” Sin always begins with the eyes. Now, seeing and admiring something of beauty is not in and of itself a sin. But we get into trouble when we fixate on what we see. “I coveted them.” To covet means to desire something that is outside of God’s will for you, whether it is wrong under any circumstances or simply wrong for you right now. “And took them.” If you meditate on something that is outside of God’s will for you, eventually you’re going to act on that desire. Wrong thinking leads to wrong action. “They are concealed.” We all inherited from Adam and Eve the urge to try to hide our sin from God. But as long as we conceal our sin, we can’t heal from our sin by receiving His forgiveness. To Achan’s credit, he eventually named and claimed his sin. You cannot truly repent until you see your sin the way God sees it and call it what God calls it. Adultery is not merely “a lapse in judgment.” Addiction is not “overdependence.” Lying is not “stretching the truth.” To receive God’s forgiveness, you must agree with Him about your sin, just as Achan did. (Jeffress)

 

Even before a word is on our tongue, God knows it

We did not choose Him, but He chose us and appointed us

For those whom He foreknew he also predestined

He saved us and called us to a holy calling to be conformed to the image of his Son

He has plans for us, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give us a future and a hope.

He declares the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done.

He will accomplish all His purpose,’

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him.

He will make straight your paths.

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting!

 

God formed us and knew us before the foundations of the earth.

It is He who made us.

His hands fashioned and made us.

His eyes saw our unformed substance; in His book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for us, when as yet there was none of them.

He clothed us with skin and flesh, and knit us together with bones and sinews.

We are his workmanship.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made

He knows when we sit down and when we rise up.

He discerns our thoughts from afar.

He is acquainted with all our ways.

 

Ecclesiastes 12:1    Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

1 Corinthians 13:12   For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

John 17:5   And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Proverbs 3:5-6    Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

God is the creator of everything, galaxies, universe, stars, planets, earth, and formed everything on it from light, darkness, air, water, man, animals, plants, fish, down to the viruses and the atom.

Luke 12:6-7   Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

 

Psalms 119:12  Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!

1 John 2:27    But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

John 14:26   But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Romans 12:2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

The Educated Conscience: The Role of the Holy Spirit and Scripture

For the conscience to function as God intends, it must be informed and shaped by divine truth. The process of educating the conscience involves regular exposure to Scripture, prayerful reflection, and openness to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Psalmist pleads, “Teach me your statutes!” (Psalm 119:12), recognizing the need for God’s revelation to enlighten the mind and heart. The Holy Spirit illuminates the meaning of Scripture, applying its truths to the believer’s life and conscience. As the mind is renewed (Romans 12:2), the conscience becomes a more reliable guide, increasingly aligned with God’s will rather than merely human opinion or cultural norms. (MacDonald)

 

Hebrews 9:14  how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

John 16:8  And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

2Timothy 1:3  I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.

 

Conscience and Conversion: Purging and Renewal through Christ

The Christian gospel proclaims that through faith in Christ, the conscience can be cleansed and renewed. The writer of Hebrews declares, “How much more will the blood of Christ… purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14). Conversion involves not only forgiveness of sins but also the transformation of the inner self, including the conscience. The Holy Spirit works within believers to convict of sin (John 16:8), assure forgiveness, and empower holy living. The Apostle Paul speaks of serving God “with a clear conscience” (2 Timothy 1:3), highlighting that Christians are called to maintain an upright conscience through continual repentance, faith, and obedience.  (MacDonald)

 

Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Romans 2:15  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

 

The Effect of Sin: The Fall and the Conscience’s Limitations

The Fall of humanity, as recounted in Genesis 3, dramatically impacted the function of conscience. Sin distorted the human heart and mind, introducing confusion, guilt, and a tendency toward self-justification. While conscience remained, its reliability was compromised. Scripture teaches that the heart can be “deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9), and thus conscience, though present, is not infallible. Sin can dull sensitivity to wrongdoing, rationalize evil, or even accuse when there is no guilt. The Apostle Paul acknowledges this complexity, noting that even unbelievers possess a conscience that alternately accuses or excuses them (Romans 2:15), but that it is susceptible to the effects of a fallen nature. Thus, the conscience is a powerful guide, but not an ultimate authority.   (MacDonald)

 

Psalms 139:1-24   O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.  Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

 

Psalms 119:73     Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.

Jeremiah 1:5  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Psalms 71:5-6    For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.  Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.

Isaiah 49:1     Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.

Isaiah 49:5     And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—

Galatians 1:15-16     But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,  was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;

Psalm 139:16   Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

 

Genesis 2:7    Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Colossians 1:16   For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Isaiah 66:2  All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

Isaiah 46:10   Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

Ephesians 1:11   In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

Jeremiah 29:11   For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.