“True freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline.”
― Mortimer J. Adler
― Mortimer J. Adler
EZEKIEL 38-39
25“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacobd and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. 27When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. 28Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”(39:25-29)
1 PETER 4
Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
JOURNAL
The discipline of relationship with God truly creates freedom. It creates freedom because it frees the mind to not be consumed with the distractions of the world. It frees the mind to have one focus and as a result all other things get a proper perspective. In this state of mind...fear and anxiety no longer have priority.
Being "alert and of sober mind" means to be focused in the present. It means that God calls me to pray with an accurate understanding of my life, strengths, limitations and circumstance. Peter truly lays out the fact that living a life of a believer is one of joy, action, love, service and confident strength. All of this comes from the calm assurance that God is at work and that all things ultimately work to his glory.
To truly live this out requires a surrender of all those parts of me that are defensive and driven to affirm and protect myself. This is the beauty of scripture...I can see that God sets a high standard, one that is impossible to reach without surrendering my entire being to his purpose. Thank you Father for the kick in the pants and also for loving me in ways that are far greater than I can comprehend.
Being "alert and of sober mind" means to be focused in the present. It means that God calls me to pray with an accurate understanding of my life, strengths, limitations and circumstance. Peter truly lays out the fact that living a life of a believer is one of joy, action, love, service and confident strength. All of this comes from the calm assurance that God is at work and that all things ultimately work to his glory.
To truly live this out requires a surrender of all those parts of me that are defensive and driven to affirm and protect myself. This is the beauty of scripture...I can see that God sets a high standard, one that is impossible to reach without surrendering my entire being to his purpose. Thank you Father for the kick in the pants and also for loving me in ways that are far greater than I can comprehend.
16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
EPHESIANS 3:16-19
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