Good morning people who live life intentionally,

Acts 24:16 I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

What a great focus to have in life.

Now Paul is not talking about striving from a negative legalistic pursuit but rather a disciplined intentional pursuit. He is saying that godly living does not just happen; you need to work at it.

When it talks about keeping our conscience clear before God, this is predominantly a heart issue. Paul is saying there is a need to diligently keep our heart pure and God-focused. There has always been, and will always be, a strong tug to pull our hearts away from God. Sometimes this is with wrong things and sometimes it is simply complacency towards the things of God. Paul said he will not allow this to happen in his life.

When it talks about keeping our conscience clear before man, this is predominantly a life issue. Paul is saying there is a need to diligently keep our lives pure and our actions God-honouring. Many times the real test is in how we treat people. It’s easy to say I love God but the telling sign is often in our actions towards people. Paul was determined to treat people in the same way that Jesus would.

I pray we all walk with integrity, both with God and with people.