(Study 2) Like Father, Like Son (part one)

Midway through my study I broke for breakfast; fresh farm eggs and milk (thanks Misy), bacon, toast and jelly. I had a little sniffer at my feet too. Yeah, she got a little too. My Lainie girl, my baby.

As I forked through the first egg the yolk just stood up and barely ran when I pierced it. This new way of eating my fried eggs is so delicious. I've always eaten them over easy and they were good. But in the last few years someone I cooked for took their eggs a little more done and I began to cook mine longer, being in the same skillet. Yes, us southern girls use skillets! haha.....but this morning as I pierced the egg and reflected on how much better they are a little more done I could see they are so much easier to handle on my fork. They dont run all over the plate and really, I loose so much of the value of having the fresh eggs bc so much ends up stuck to my plate and wasted (even tho the toast is made just the right size to scrape that plate lol). But eating this way I was fully nourished, barely any would end up on the plate and I could use the full benefit of this healthy food. I dont think I'd ever eat my eggs over easy again. Over medium is for me. Then suddenly I saw how this 'new way'  fits todays study. God was giving me a modern day  parable to understand the verses He had me study. Thanks God!

In 1 Peter 1:13-15 it says "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; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of converstaion".

I began to look over these scriptures bc they stood out at me, I knew I was to study it thoroughly. As thoroughly as I know how, anyway. But I began to chew on it, to go over it slowly, even as I went on and read other scriptures I still came back to these, especially the first and second verses.

Now in modern day language we dont know the definition of some of the words they used in King James' day when they translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into English. They spoke differently than we do today. I like to use the King James version, then also the new Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, where each individual word is listed and where to find the 'original' meaning of that word to get a clearer meaning of what God is saying to us. We are never ever to add anything to His word. And as we stay with the translations, we should do just fine.

So today to begin with, in our second verse the word 'fashioning' stood out at me. 'Not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance'.

Fashioning-  Strongs Greek #4964- [metheg] pronounced meh-theg, it says from a root meaning 'to curb; to bit; bit and bridle'.

So that verse could read like this:

'Not bitting and bridling yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance'. Bits and bridles are used in training and performance of a horse as a form of control. Seems also the horse could be paralleled to our former lusts couldn't it? Ever have a lust of something before you were saved that could be equivalant to a horse, a big steed, a stud horse, or powerhouse of an animal. Hmmm? Does that sound anything like your past desires and lusts? Let's move on.

Here it seems Peter is saying 'not controlling yourself according to the former lusts while you were ignorant. You're not ignorant of your ways now. You have knowledge of your former ways that were not pleasing to God. He says dont buckle yourself into those ways, dont bridle yourself to those ways anymore. He says now that you're aware of them, unbuckle, unbridle, take that particular bit out of your mouth. This doesn't sound like God's asking us to do this, does it? It sounds to me as if this is an instruction. So many times we say 'I cant do that!'. 'It's got such a hold on me!'. 'I'll never be able to give THAT up!'. Well, here it sounds like the Lord is pointing out that we CAN choose. Not bridling yourself means dont put the bridle on, doens't it?

The verse above it says 'as obedient children' of God.  He's giving us instruction here as our Heavenly Father, our spiritual Father. We are to obey this instruction.

Then says to gird up the loins of your mind. What in tarnation (yeah that's a word) does this mean?

Gird up-Greek Strongs #328 [anazonnumi] just says to gird afresh, but references #'s 303 and 2224.
#303-says it often means repetition, intensity, reversal.
#2224-says to bind about (especially with a belt) gird.

The loins- Greek Strongs #3751 [osphus] the hip, the procreative power. (in addition to procreate offspring) procreative means to produce or create.

For better understanding, the scripture can read like this; 'as obedient children, bind, like with a belt, the productive, creative power of the mind'. We are to belt the power of the mind. Why? I'm a why person. Why are we instructed (not suggested-instructed) to belt the power of our mind? Before you received peace in your mind do you remember how it used to race and cause so much anziety from stress and worry? That was the UNBELTED productive, creative power of the mind. Satan uses thoughts against us, throwing all different types of thoughts into our mind. It's our instruction by our Heavenly Father to belt that productive and creative power. Not do away with it.....but belt it, bind it, secure it.

Let's move on to the next instruction to us as an obedient child of God. We are to be sober. Once we belt the productive, creative power of the mind so satan cant use it against us, we are to be sober. Let's look at the most obvious meaning of the word sober. If you alter your mind in any way, be it by drinking or drugs, do you feel that you could belt the productive, creative power of the mind in ANY way, shape or from? hahaha....I never could. If I was not sober, let's say intoxicated, I was NOT able to belt anything. On the contrary, the power of my mind was UNBELTED! I used to say drinking just loosened all my inhabitions. Well, Cindy, you were unbelting the power of your mind, leaving it unguarded and wide open to satan to throw so many thoughts right inside. Now, how many times have you been around an intoxicated person and a simple statement just snowball into a huge fight? It happens so often. Why? The power of the mind is unbelted and satan is running wild within. (this was not in any of my notes but boy is this right on. Thank you Holy Spirit). Let's move on to other definitions of sober.

Be Sober-#3525 [nepho] pronounced nay-fo, says abstain from wine, be discreet, watch.
Discreet-Websters says wise and sensible, using good judgement in one's conduct of speech with regard to respecting or maintaining silence about something of a delicate nature, I like this one --> wise self restraint in speech and behavior.

We are to use wise, sensible speech and behavior along with self restraint....and watch. Be alert. Have fun, but be alert. Have a great time with your friends, but be alert. Watch. Watch how you act around certain people. God is telling us to watch how we act. Then tells how to act.

Then the rest of the scripture adds to that; I like to separate thoughts:

"and hope to the end
for the grace
that is to be brought unto you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ".

Then the next scripture:

"But as He which hath called you is holy,
so be ye holy
in all manner of converstation".

Holy-#40 [hagios] pronounced hag'-ee-os, means sacred, pure, blameless, consecrated. it also references # 53 and 2282.
#53-clean, innocent, modest, chaste
#2282-cherish, to foster, to brood

Conversation-#391 [anastrophe] means behavior. also references #390
#390-to busy oneself, live, abide, be used.

For better undstanding, verse 15 can read like this; 'But as God which called you is pure, innocent and clean, so be ye pure, innocent and clean in all manner of living'. I dont necessarily think of God as pure, innocent and clean even though He is. I always use the original word sacred, don't you? But we are made in His image and we are to be as He is; pure, innocent and clean as obedient children of His.


                          LIKE FATHER-LIKE SON!