Prepare Your Mind

Verse of the day: 1Peter 1:13 Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober, and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Our mind is a battlefield. The enemy desires to control it, and cause us to self-destruct in our thinking. What we believe is of utmost importance in relation to how we live. This is why we are told in Romans 12:1-2 to renew our minds. We are not to be conformed to the world's way of thinking, but allow God's truth to change the way we think. In 2 Cor 5:17 we are told that, in Christ, we are a new creation. We are made new from the inside out. In verse 16 of that chapter we are reminded that at one time, before we called upon Jesus Christ, we thought of God, and man, in a certain way (worldly), but now, as His children, we think of God, and man, differently in light of what we know about Jesus and the truth found in His Word (heavenly). In Eph 6:14, the Scriptures tell us to gird our loins with the truth. This is where too many Christians fall short in their attempts to grow in their knowledge of Jesus. Rather than rely on the Word of God to learn who He is, and learn what truth is, too many still rely on self-help books, and motivational books. I do praise God for the godly men He has used, as commentators, to help us have a better understanding or perspective, but the bottom line is that God has provided us with everything we need to grow in our faith; that is His Word and the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:13) who will guide us into all truth. As we learn the truth, and change the way we think, we will grow in our trust of the Lord. When difficulties arise, we will learn not to default to worldly thinking, and seeking worldly solutions. The truth of God is what will give us the balance needed in our Christian walk. In days of old, the people wore loose clothing, and girded them in order to be to run or move quickly, when the occasions arose. When we gird our minds with the truth (God's truth) we will always be ready for what comes our way. Not that we will not be caught by surprise, but we will always be confident that our God is never surprised; therefore, we will more readily bring our concerns to Him in prayer and supplication, thereby receiving the peace of God that passes all understanding (Phil 4:6), and falling into the "worry" trap. The truth of His Word is what cements us in the hope that we have in our God. Brothers and sisters, let us not be deceived into thinking that we have no need to be in His Word continually, just because we have grown in our walk, and have committed a few verses to memory. That is exactly what our enemy wants us to think. We must remain watchful, and anticipate Jesus' return. It is this hope, and anticipation, that should drive us to live holy lives, as Peter encourages us to do. We are to be holy, even as our Lord is holy (v.16). Let us fight the good fight, continue to seek God without fainting, and committing ourselves to the continual reading and studying of God's Word. His truth is the only thing that will put a strong, impenetrable barrier around the battlefield, which is our mind.