Blog post August 20, 2026

The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:9

Therefore, or so... prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 1 Peter 1:13

Our response to the salvation we have been granted is to choose to live holy lives. One could argue that life would be simpler if we didn't have so many choices to make everyday, but choices reflect our free wills.

Robots don't have choices, they simply respond to programming. Robots don't have hope or salvation. We have both as a result of God's grace. Our appropriate response is to love God with our whole heart, soul and mind. That involves choices.

If you have ever watched a downhill skier at the starting gate before they start their race, they have their eyes closed and are mentally running through the course they are about to enter. You can see them leaning this way and that way as they are running the course in their heads preparing for the race. One miscalculated turn and their race doesn't end well.

So... "prepare your minds for action" is a call for us to do the same. It is to percieve danger and plan for the "what ifs" that may be on our course for the day. The best preparation is reading God's word and prayer before we enter the course. God knows the route and every pothole that may be before us. Preparing to trust and have faith when the route gets difficult or unclear is a major part of preparation. Choosing not to lean on our own understanding but to acknowledge Him in all our ways will undoubtedly prove to be our best preparation.

Heavenly Father I pray today and ask You to help us prepare our minds for action. Action seems to come to us whether or not we seek it, so help us put on our armor and "gird up" the loins of our mind, help us to exercise self control in all that we do this day. I pray in Jesus name. AMEN AMEN