Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; --1Peter 1:13
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
I love this verse...it is so helpful for me when my thoughts become anxious to picture what Peter was conveying here. Gird up the loins of your mind...WHAT??? Long robes were worn by men in the days that 1 Peter was written. Now you really can't get anywhere fast with a long robe. Your legs just cannot stretch as far as you would like them, to get up any speed at all and the prospect of tripping increases dramatically. The picture is of a robed man tucking his skirt under his belt so he could run. What it means in terms of your mind is to simply pull your thoughts together. Pull up the loose ends of your thinking and recenter them on what is important. Christ. Discipline your mind and return your focus to the right place. The hope that is ours in Him. Be sober. Think on the right things and rest your hope fully on the promises in His Word. We as believers, girls, live in the present and act in the present based on the future hope we have in Him. We live in the expectation of His return. The verse that comes to mind here is Hebrews 12:1-2.
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Put aside every weight...all those things that encumber and take our focus off our Lord and His power, sovereignty, mercy and grace..and on to those things that are of the world and unimportant in the light of His return. There is such simplicity in being a follower of Jesus and walking the path that He has laid out for us. When we gird up the loins of our minds, lay aside the weights and look up, the things of this world truly do fade away. His glory and His grace remain and our focus once again is in proper perspective. Our actions and decisions are again governed by our future Hope.
Read about Abraham in Hebrews 11:8-16. He exemplified living in the light of a future hope so well. Abraham's eyes looked to the heavenly city and all his decisions were made in light of the promises God had given him.
Thinking soberly is thinking calmly...it is being self-controlled. It is not letting thoughts that are not helpful get the best of you. By God's grace, I do not suffer from anxiety much, but when I do I hate it!! Worry is really the opposite of girding up the loins or loose ends of your mind. I picture a Dr. Seuss character with all kinds of strings flowing from his head and as he moves about they get longer as his worry increases. Eventually they get caught on things and he is pulled in different directions and eventually pulled apart.
The only antidote for worry is to immerse yourself in the word of God. Our flesh in the midst of difficulty tends toward carnality. We give up and give in and in our hearts we say, "Oh, what's the use." Resist the temptations of your flesh and choose instead in the midst of your difficulty to think rightly...to renew your mind with His word. When you find yourself having anxious thoughts...the opposite of really thinking...having thoughts that just go round and round...find a verse or two and recite it and as you recite it, meditate on it. It may take time to combat, but God's word will have its effect. It will guard your mind and His peace will begin to fill it. There is nothing like it...nothing. It will bring you into His presence and even in your darkest times fill you with His joy and His assurance.
Colossians 3:2-4 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Love
Mom
Showing posts with label girdle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label girdle. Show all posts
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Thinking about Underwear, Jeremiah and God
1Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.
2So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my loins.
3And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,
4Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
5So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.
6And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.
7Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing--Jeremiah 13:1-7
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
Yes...God is saying exactly what you think He is saying. I KNOW it will be a word picture and a lesson I will never forget when I think about clinging and cleaving to my God. I will never think of underwear in quite the same way again. This passage comforted me by showing me the extremes God goes to get our attention. That, girls, is a good thing.
God told Jeremiah to buy a girdle and put it on. He then tells him not to wash it or take it off but to go the Euphrates, and bury it in a hole under a rock. Days, months, maybe years went by...and the Lord spoke to him again telling him to dig it up. Jeremiah did as he was told...When he unburied the linen garment it was rotted, ruined and profitable for nothing.
So what was the point? Read the next few verses:
8Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,9Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.10This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. 11For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear--Jeremiah 13:8-11
God was saying that He had drawn His people, Israel, close to Him...as a girdle clings to a man's skin; God wanted to be close to His people. BUT they rebelled and sought help in the wrong places and went after other gods. They walked in the imagination of their own hearts...believing their own lies and had done what was right in their own eyes. Because they had put off their God and clung to their pride, they liked Jeremiah's underwear, had become rotted and good for nothing. Judgment was coming to Judah via the Babylonians. There in Babylon they would finally be cured of their idolatries. Their city and temple would be ruined just as the prophet's garment.
The application here for us is pretty obvious. Without the Lord, girls, we are USELESS. Rotten and good for nothing. Girls...cling to your God...abide in the Vine. Put Him first in your life always. We are made for His pleasure...to glorify Him. If you are living for anything but the Lord, you are not living your life as He would have you live and will become unprofitable. May it never be.
Love
Mom who is not quite done..and when a little overboard with the bold...
I love what Jeremiah says a little further down in Chapter 13 beginning in verse 15.
Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the LORD has spoken. Give glory to the LORD your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness. But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
Jeremiah says if you won't listen I will weep for you...wow...I will weep for you. He wasn't mad or flipping out..he was heartbroken for them. How beautiful is that? What a heart Jeremiah had for God and for the people God had placed in his care.
Love
Mom
2So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my loins.
3And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,
4Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
5So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.
6And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.
7Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing--Jeremiah 13:1-7
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
Yes...God is saying exactly what you think He is saying. I KNOW it will be a word picture and a lesson I will never forget when I think about clinging and cleaving to my God. I will never think of underwear in quite the same way again. This passage comforted me by showing me the extremes God goes to get our attention. That, girls, is a good thing.
God told Jeremiah to buy a girdle and put it on. He then tells him not to wash it or take it off but to go the Euphrates, and bury it in a hole under a rock. Days, months, maybe years went by...and the Lord spoke to him again telling him to dig it up. Jeremiah did as he was told...When he unburied the linen garment it was rotted, ruined and profitable for nothing.
So what was the point? Read the next few verses:
8Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,9Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.10This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. 11For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear--Jeremiah 13:8-11
God was saying that He had drawn His people, Israel, close to Him...as a girdle clings to a man's skin; God wanted to be close to His people. BUT they rebelled and sought help in the wrong places and went after other gods. They walked in the imagination of their own hearts...believing their own lies and had done what was right in their own eyes. Because they had put off their God and clung to their pride, they liked Jeremiah's underwear, had become rotted and good for nothing. Judgment was coming to Judah via the Babylonians. There in Babylon they would finally be cured of their idolatries. Their city and temple would be ruined just as the prophet's garment.
The application here for us is pretty obvious. Without the Lord, girls, we are USELESS. Rotten and good for nothing. Girls...cling to your God...abide in the Vine. Put Him first in your life always. We are made for His pleasure...to glorify Him. If you are living for anything but the Lord, you are not living your life as He would have you live and will become unprofitable. May it never be.
Love
Mom who is not quite done..and when a little overboard with the bold...
I love what Jeremiah says a little further down in Chapter 13 beginning in verse 15.
Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the LORD has spoken. Give glory to the LORD your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness. But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
Jeremiah says if you won't listen I will weep for you...wow...I will weep for you. He wasn't mad or flipping out..he was heartbroken for them. How beautiful is that? What a heart Jeremiah had for God and for the people God had placed in his care.
Love
Mom
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