Text: I Peter 1: 13-19.
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for
the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former
lusts in your ignorance:
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation;
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth
according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things,
as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from
your fathers;
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and
without spot:
We usually think of preparing our bodies for action. The soldier works hard to be strong and robust before he goes into battle. The athlete works every muscle available to win the race but so many of God's DeOple do not care to over work their minds for action. There are many churches tilled with good kind pe0ple but there is little action. Many assemblies sleep accepting that there is little they can do in such a world as ours. But there are also many soldiers of the cross who valiantly do their best. Faithful in prayer and Bible study; diligent in worship and good works, very often though, these are the people who are also worn out and weary with duty, never having sufficient time and anxious for so many in the Kingdom of God. How then can we set our minds for action? The rest of v 13 offers two ways in which we might be helped.
Firstly, we must be self-controlled, but we say we are faithful and busy and that is undoubtedly the case. However, self-control also includes utilizing our time for God as well as others. Our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit must conform to the nature of God and be personally built up. Blessings must come fresh each day lest the blessings of yesterday become stale. Secondly, we must set our hope fully on the grace of Jesus Christ. The faithful servant is the first to say that they have failed in word, thought and deed. When that happens, we set aside the grace of Jesus. His Grace covers our faults. May we tell of the hopes we have rather than our failings. It is time for us to wake up and train our minds, work our inner thoughts, exercise our imagination and put them into action. He, our Lord and Saviour, can then do more that we can even think of.