Get On With It

DEVOTION 1 PETER GET ON WITH IT 1 Peter 4:7-8 7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. NIV Certainly Peter, the man, could have been thinking Jesus was coming back in the next few years, but as being inspired by God, this is God’s warning that the end of all things is near. But this was penned some two thousand years ago and near or at hand or approaching is taking some time. I am reminded that God is not limited by time, and so even now, this time in the history of man, is still consider near to God. Yet in another scene every individual living but only a few number of years here on earth, their end is near. In relationship to eternity even living one hundred years, death is near. But the point here is not so much when near is, as it is to be clear minded and self-controlled. We will never know the hour or the day when the end, either our own death, or the second coming of Jesus will happen. Therefore we should live accordingly. Having stood at deaths door, but having God allowing me to stay, I understand how near the end could have been, at least for me. So what does clear minded mean? What does self-controlled mean? We can see why it is so important, so that we can pray, but what effect do these tracts have on prayer? Clear mindedness is the opposite of confused, not knowing what to do, having no mental direction, wandering through life, aimlessly, without purpose. Being clear minded we understand who we are and what are purpose and then having the self-control to act on it. We do not allow circumstances to control our thoughts, our actions, but we control our self to do the will of the Father, no matter what the situation is. Our minds are clear and focused on the direction He has sent us. Then when we pray, we pray with understanding and wisdom. If we were confused about what we were supposed to think and do, what good would prayer be? What would we ask? What would we say? It might actually be pointless. We have only a few years to do the will of the Father and we need to be clear minded about what we should be doing, we should be in control of our own self so that we are focused on the task at hand. Simply said, get on with it, for time is short.