Set Apart for His Use - Doing Great things for God

1 Peter 1:13
13: Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

I want to start by quoting my friend Paul Glass (a quote he made on Facebook recently). "I want to be apart of something BIG, even if it's just in my head".

“Gird up the loins of your mind.”

This was a meaningful metaphor for first-century believers. In New Testament days men wore long robes that were a hindrance whenever they needed to move quickly or work. Men also wore a belt around their waist, so that when they need to do some strenuous work, they could shorten the robe by pulling it up in the belt, giving them the freedom to run, fight, or whatever they needed to do. This was called “girding your loins.” Now what does the loins have to do with the mind?

When Peter said to gird up the loins of your mind, he was telling us to prepare yourself for strenuous mental activity. Your mind has become a battlefield; get ready to fight, get ready for some hard work. If you are going to be great for God – you need to gird up the loins of your mind!

Two verse down, Peter is talking about holiness. He used the metaphor of “girding us the loins of your mind” as a means to explain that living a life of holiness is battle. Holiness is being “set apart for God’s use”. I can testify that trying to be “set apart for God’s use” in this world is a battle – a daily battle. Trying to be in the world but not of the world is a battle – a daily battle. But Paul told us – it begin in the mind. Being set apart of God’s use (holiness) begins in the mind!
I want to do great things for God. The Bible says “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20). We can see God do things beyond our wildest dream if we would just allow the power of God (the Holy Spirit) to work through us! That can only happen if we are “set apart for His use”.

That’s my five minutes!