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| Volume 25 Number 6 June 2023 |
Page 14 |
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| Volume 25 Number 6 June 2023 |
Page 14 |
Roger Wright
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13 NKJV). Proverbs 23:7 says that as a person thinks in his heart, so is he. Before we can get our lives and affairs in order, we must get our minds in order. Our text above talks about getting our minds focused on the hope of our grace and being fully committed to our work for the Lord.
Peter was a fisherman. In his time, fishermen and most other men usually wore two layers of clothing. The outer layer was like a robe, often tied with a sash or a belt. The inner layer was usually a wrap of cloth that would be tied and tucked around the waist. When one would run, and often for work, he would reach down and take the bottom of the wrap, pull it up and tuck it in the waist, essentially turning it into a pair of loose pants. Girding up your loins was an idiom for getting down to business or getting serious about something.
The coming of our Lord is nearer than when these words were written thousands of years ago. More than ever, we need to be ready for our Lord to come back. We need to have our minds and our lives focused on our Christian responsibilities. Too often, people take lightly worship and service of the Lord. They will do what is right when it is not too hard. They will honor the Lord in worship when it is convenient. They will avoid temptation and speak the truth when it seems to serve them best. However, when times get hard, watch out, because their Christian duty wavers, and Satan wins the day.
We need to ‘gird up our minds’ and be ready to worship God, as well as to uplift our fellow Christians and the local congregation. We need to have it in our minds to serve at our very best – not half-heartedly or intermittently. Persecution may come our way. Are we ready to be faithful even in the face of resistance? Satan will attack our weakest points. Are we prepared to answer his attacks with Bible knowledge, prayer and a mind set on Jesus?
We need to ‘gird up our minds’ and be busy in the work of the Lord. We need to pray more, serve more, tell others more and honor our Lord with all our hearts and minds. May God be with us as we give ourselves totally in His service.
