Sitting in church one day, I was quieted and blessed by the sun streaming through the stained-glass windows above. The windows revealed the stages of the cross.
Beauty and peace flooded my heart. The scene took me away from the turmoil and traffic we had passed on our trip to the sanctuary.
When the pastor began to teach about the effects of behavior that did not accord with God’s Word, I realized that turmoil and tension were not the only sources of disquiet. One result of sinning was a bad conscience, which was like cancer for the soul. He then shared what the Bible says about our conscience.
The pages of Scripture address the subject of finding a cleansed conscience. This subject was important to the Creator, who knew His animated dust dolls would be prone to bad behavior. Immoral behavior and the resultant evil consciences would automatically arise from the fallen nature inherited from the first parents, Adam and Eve.
However, we can claim God’s reality and live by the view I saw through the stained-glass window. Live with a cleansed conscience.
The Rev. Dr. Bob Segress served as a licensed psychological clinician for twenty-five years. Upon retiring, he served for fifteen years as a prison minister. Retiring again, he began writing full-time after a period of boredom. He has written: The Biblical Approach To Psychology while serving as a college educator, The Shelton Series, and, in 2012, Ten Years Inside Shelton Prison. Currently, he writes for several publications such as Halo Magazine.