1 Peter 1:13-25 A Call To Holy Living

In my Bible, this section is entitled "A Call To Holy Living", and the first thing Peter says is to prepare our minds for service and have self-control.  Sometime in the past I'd written these words over that verse:  "Strong, composed, cool, ready for action, unimpeded by the distraction of human fear."  It reminds me of a soldier in an enemy land about to take out an important target.  Before any action begins, he must be in this mindset, and it's the same for us.  Preparing our minds for daily life would be the same, and self-control becomes the result.

As a soldier hopes his training and practice have prepared him for his mission, so we have a hope as well mentioned here -- "All your hope should be for the gift of grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ is shown to you."

We didn't understand how what we were doing displeased God and reflected poorly on Christ.  It says we did the evil things we wanted, because we didn't understand, but now we do.  So we are to be holy IN ALL WE DO now that we know.  If we fail at some point, it goes back to having not prepared our minds for service.  Perhaps we allowed ourselves to be impeded by the distraction of human fear.

Father, keep my mind focused on You.  Don't allow my thoughts to wonder and cause me to think thoughts that are not of You and which could lead me to sin.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford