Monday, February 8th
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy
One who called you, be holy
yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am
holy” 1 Peter 1:13-16 (NASB)
Today's thoughts from
today's verses:
The key word this
week is “preparation.” Today’s Scripture is all about preparation. Pastor Ben
just began a new series on the Biblical character, Joshua, with the first week
being about preparation. In our Devotionals throughout the series our considerations
will run parallel with the Joshua study. In this week’s Devotionals, we will be
entirely in 1 Peter 1 & 2. Being prepared to step into God’s plan as he
opens it up to us and then become fully engaged with it, is pretty much the
lesson from Joshua this week. While there are lessons from God’s plans for
Israel under Joshua for us as God’s people in the present, God’s plan for the
church is very distinctive. Understanding God’s plan for the church as it is
outlined in 1 Peter 1:13 – 2:12 and then being prepared to step into it and
become fully engaged with it, is our goal this week.
So, back to today’s
Scripture and what it says about our being prepared for God’s plan. We are children
of our Heavenly Father. Our Heavenly Father is holy. His plan for everyone he
has called and have become his children is for them to be holy in all their behavior.
Having holy behavior necessitates leaving behind unholy behavior of the past.
It is all about being obedient to our Heavenly Father and totally and
completely getting onboard with his plan of being holy like him. There are three
commitments that are essential for maintaining the pursuit of holiness for a
lifetime.
The first commitment
is to prepare your mind for action. To do this means you are making the choice
to go forward in the pursuit of holiness. The second commitment is to keep
sober in spirit. This means you are seriously determined to keep at the pursuit
of holiness no matter what. The third commitment is to fix your hope completely
on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. This means
that all along the way you are locked into the consummation of your becoming
totally holy by the grace of Jesus Christ when he is revealed at the end.
In a very real sense
God counts on us to prepare to act on his plan for the pursuit of holiness. Our
pursuit of holiness throughout our lifetime is really preparation for the consummation
of holiness that we will experience by grace at the end. This work of grace will
be our final preparation for spending eternity with God in the perfection of
heaven.
Today's prayer response from today's thoughts:
Lord, I recognize
you are in the business of redemption. Thank you for redeeming me. I also
recognize that you redeemed me for the purpose of making me holy. I choose to go
forward in full pursuit of holiness. Prepare me for all that lies ahead as you fulfill
your plan of holiness in my life. Amen!
Posted on Mon, February 8, 2016
by Alan Porter