Control Is Yours

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 NIV

Have ever heard someone say, "Just go with your heart." (Maybe you said it?) You can find the scripture for that in I Fleshalonians. Well, actually, the Bible tells us that the heart is deceitfully and beyond cure (Jeremiah 17:9). 

I may not be able to control my emotions but, I can choose my actions and reactions. One of the great lies of the devil is that we are subject to our emotions. Acting against what we feel is, according to the world, dishonest. No, acting according to my emotions can prove to be not only foolish, but, very costly. 

The Bible, here in I Peter tells us to "prepare your minds for action". We do need to think ahead. How do we prepare our minds for action? We can choose ahead of time to try to act in humility (I am a sinner too), mercy (Christ was and is merciful to me) and grace (God does not treat us as our sins deserve, otherwise we'd all be wiped out). Remember, we are here to demonstrate the love of Christ to the world, not inform everyone else where they fall short of the glory of God. Control is ours, but we must choose it.

ARE YOU READY TO PLAY?

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. 

I Peter 1:13

I marvel at professional athletes who, after a bad performance, say, "We didn't come ready to play and we need to come ready to play every night." I don't really get the being a professional, paid ridiculous amounts of money, but not ready to play concept. But, to be honest, I consider myself a professional at my job, and some days I'm just not sure I ready.  

As Christians, we should try our best to prepare ourselves for the day. That, of course, is why so many people have daily devotions in the morning. Reading the Bible on a daily basis keeps watering our minds and spirits with the truth. 

Notice that Peter says to be self-controlled. I think it is interesting that he doesn't say controlled by the Spirit. Maybe he is trying to emphasize that part of being a Christian where we choose to follow Christ, to act in obedience, no matter how we feel or what the circumstances are around us. 

Finally, we must set our hope on the end of our journey, the grace given us when Jesus Christ is revealed. When we die or Christ comes again (whichever comes first) we will be given grace...We will know him even as we are known. Every tear will be wiped away. We will go home.

That is why we need to be ready to play everyday. 

Father, help us to prepare our minds, be self-controlled, and set our hope fully on the grace we will be given when Jesus Christ is revealed. Praise be to you in us today!