Be Clear Minded

I woke up this morning with such a strange disturbance in my heart and mind. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this sort of thing before where my mind was jammed with all sorts of things while in my heart I felt  really bothered with something but for no apparent reason…But even as I was awakening, these words kept repeating within my mind, “be clear-minded so that you can pray.” I spent some time trying to read through some Scripture, particularly in Colossians 3 and 4, 1Thess. 5 where I saw a lot of emphasis on setting our minds toward heavenly things, to be united, loving, and encouraging toward all, and to be prayerful. Those words that kept repeating in my head of being clear minded kept pressing on me so I looked it up and it was in 1 Peter 4:7 , “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” This whole chapter in 1Peter 4 spoke to me a lot this morning. I know I still have sins that I’m confessing and repenting of daily and through all that, I’m starting to see less and less of it in my life because of God’s grace and faithfulness. But there are still times when I do fall not because I wanted to, but because I did not make war against these sins. My mind and heart were not aware and clear to turn to Christ. I really got convicted through the beginning of this chapter, “Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.” This got me thinking some more…to suffer for the sake of Christ does not only apply to the physical persecutions and hardships that we must face, but also to suffer daily with the sinful nature that’s warring against us. This is both a spiritual and physical battle, but because of Jesus, we can walk in victory. No matter how big the ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ in a believer are, no matter how fast or slow they grow, the Christian’s life is always one of advancement and strife toward holiness by the power of Jesus Christ. And it is He who will finish the good work. I realize more of what a life of worship really is. It’s not just through singing songs together, but to obey the Words of God daily. I was never taught what it was to have a “life of worship”. Pastors and teachers would emphasis it but never explain how to do it. This was something I’ve been striving to learn almost my whole life up to now. I see clearer at least, that a life of worship is obedience and submission to God’s commands and every Word spoken through the Bible. I’m so thankful that it is not by our own strength to do these things, otherwise it becomes religion. But by the transforming power of Christ, He will do it in us as we seek diligently. When worship becomes work and performance, it becomes deadened by religious activity. But when worship becomes a holy reverence for God, it becomes living and active.

We are told to be clear minded and self controlled so that we can pray…Which is why we see multiple times throughout God’s Word to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by renewing our minds, to be holy because He is holy, to be children of light and not darkness, etc. etc. All these things is so we can be watchful and continue to endure to the end. We eagerly await for Christ’s return. May we not grow idle or lose what God has so freely given, even while we are so undeserving and pitiful. God loves those who are His with a love that man will never comprehend or grasp. That is so amazing. Those who still don’t know Him, run to Him with all your heart. He is a rewarder of those who seek Him diligently…

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