Out at the prison we were in the book of 1 Peter. One of the many things we talked about was the theme of alertness. You see this theme emerge early in the letter in 1.13. Here's how the CSB renders the verse: Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded.
The men of your Bible study could tell all of us how sin, evil and personal rebellion have violently hurt them & their loved ones. Those men would probably fight now like soldiers to prevent that hurt from happening again. Those men have seen (and done) things that would shake most American Christians.
My mind looks like the so-called "No Man's Land" between entrenched forces in World War I, pockmarked from continuous artillery barrages, the pits partly submerged with water, blood, and guts or rotting corpses, tangles of barbed wire and tank traps and unexploded bombshells. And yet every day, He clears a path for Himself to walk between the warring forces to bring and make the Peace of Christ.
After I wrote this comment, I wrote this blog post about it and then edited this comment with the link to what I wrote to share both my thoughts there and also the great Rich Mullins song that came to mind as I wrote. Thanks again for your blog, Dr. Beck, that both helps and inspires me. https://themjkxn.substack.com/p/peace-675
The men of your Bible study could tell all of us how sin, evil and personal rebellion have violently hurt them & their loved ones. Those men would probably fight now like soldiers to prevent that hurt from happening again. Those men have seen (and done) things that would shake most American Christians.
My mind looks like the so-called "No Man's Land" between entrenched forces in World War I, pockmarked from continuous artillery barrages, the pits partly submerged with water, blood, and guts or rotting corpses, tangles of barbed wire and tank traps and unexploded bombshells. And yet every day, He clears a path for Himself to walk between the warring forces to bring and make the Peace of Christ.
After I wrote this comment, I wrote this blog post about it and then edited this comment with the link to what I wrote to share both my thoughts there and also the great Rich Mullins song that came to mind as I wrote. Thanks again for your blog, Dr. Beck, that both helps and inspires me. https://themjkxn.substack.com/p/peace-675