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1 Peter 1:13
(Margin)
Holman Christian Standard Bible
13 Therefore, when you have the loins of
your mind girded ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on
the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Our church has started a plan this year of reading the whole
Old Testament in one year. I encourage you to adopt it. I encourage you to
discover YouVersion.com for yourself. I first tried it several years ago, and
it had so many features that I finally gave up in disgust. Judson Nelson, my
brother-in-law, helped get back on it in a meaningful way a year ago. Thanks.
Jud!
However, install it on your phone and sign into it. It has
well over a hundred different versions of the Bible The second language I
learned as a kid (English was my mother-tongue) was Afrikaans. At one point in
my life, I learned the Lord’s prayer in Afrikaans. At the end of its Sabbath
worship service, the church urges all its members to pray the prayer out loud
together, “In any language that you wish.” So, I started praying it in
Afrikaans. Well, after 60 plus years, I didn’t trust my memory. I checked out
YouVersion.com, and after some experimentation, I found at least five different
translation versions of the Afrikaans Bible! I have no clue how many English
versions it has, but there are many.
As you open YouVersion, it gives you the verse of the day.
At the bottom are several icons representing various popular features, one of
which is “plans.” Click on that one. Click on the button “Find Plans”. One of
the plans is “Bible Projects | Old Testament in a Year.” If you start today,
you have only thirty-six sessions to catch up.
This morning, we read Genesis 12-14. It starts the story of
Abraham. In chapter 14 Lot is captured by a Persian invading army and carted off
with his wife and children towards Persia. In Abram’s entourage, he has 318
trained soldiers. Together with his allies they spring a night surprise attack,
and he defeats the reveling invaders and recaptures all of their loot including
the people they were taking back to sell as slaves in Persia.
What never ceases to amaze me is the size of Abram’s
household. If he has 318 troops, he must have had well over a thousand people,
including wives and children, etc. In other words, this was no lonely Bedouin
camp with a dozen or so people camping out in the desert. He also had his
troops ready for action so they could set out at a moment’s notice.
Our verse encourages us to have girded up the loins of our
minds, ready for immediate action—in other words, be ready to fight to retain
the grace we have been so graciously given. God has freely given us a vast
store of His grace. Let us be ready to defend it at all costs until He comes.
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