Getting One's Mind Right

Good Morning!

1 Peter 1:13 (English Standard Version)
Called to Be Holy
13Therefore, preparing your minds for action,[a] and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Peter 1:13 Greek girding up the loins of your mind

The opening verse in our Bible study lesson for this coming Sunday reminds me of Struther Martin’s line in the movie “Cool Hand Luke” where he says to Luke: “Have you got your mind right, Luke?” Having the right frame of mind goes a long way towards being successful in any endeavor. So what is the right frame of mind for the Christian? Well, let’s start with the “therefore”. You know I always say that when you see “therefore” you need to know what the therefore is there for. Earlier Peter had shared with believers about God’s redemptive work in them and about the testing of the genuineness of their faith. Preparing our minds for action to me means taking a positive approach to living the Christian life.

Have you ever encountered the Cold Water Committee? You may not have … but then again you just might have had an instance where you have heard “it won’t work” or “we tried that already and it failed” or “we would just be wasting money on that”. CWC members like to evaluate the efforts of those other folks who are attempting to do things for the Lord. All too often, they stand on the sidelines while the effort is going on, looking for the first sign of failure so they can utter life’s famous four words – “I told you so”.

While it is true that some efforts don’t reach the success that we intended, it is also true that if one doesn’t make an effort, we are surely set to fail. You see, I believe that the Cold Water Committee is right … the things I try in my own human effort are more than likely to not be fully successful. That is why when we attempt big things for God, we have to rely on God for the results … and we have to praise Him for the results we receive. I like the way Paul puts it in 1st Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 3:7 (English Standard Version)
7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Notice in the second half of 1st Peter 1:13 that the grace is brought to us … not earned by us. Our task is to have our mind ready for action and to be sober minded. By the way, that is not SOMBER minded … there is more joy to being a believer than the world could ever achieve. But sober minded means to be discreet … to spend the time asking God’s direction, preparing, and evaluating the effort.

Remember that every obstacle is really a God opportunity. We might not be able to overcome … but God certainly can. So, get your mind right … and watch to see what God will do!!!

Agape’

Mr. Jim