Prepare Your Minds...

13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;
16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."[a]
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.[b]
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
24 For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord stands forever."[c] And this is the word that was preached to you.

1 Peter 1:13 caught my eye this morning. I included the rest of the passage for context, but it was this particular verse that stood out to me as I pondered God's Word. "Prepare your minds for action..." Not your body. Your mind. We know that the battlefield for our salvation is in our mind. It is constantly under attack from the enemy of our soul. If the enemy can control your mind, then the battle becomes easy for him and near non-existent for us, except that God will not let us go. Something draws us closer and nearer to something wonderful, satisfying, liberating...something that we come to realize is God. As we draw nearer to God, the enemy (the devil - Satan) works harder to distract us and delude us from believing the Truth. The distractions and assaults on our mind are sometimes subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle...work, sex, self, legalism, pride...the list goes on...Anything that takes our focus off of God - Jesus Christ - the Holy Spirit, the Truth of our salvation in Him and the assurance of eternal Life with Him.

We believe in the Truth. The enemy of our souls assaults our belief. We must be vigilant - our minds prepared for action to battle against the assault. And to do this, we must read the Word, breathe the Word, live the Word - exercise the Word of God to be ready, and stand firm in the Truth.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. ~1 Peter 1:13