The Apostle is careful in the first place to shew us, that we have not in ourselves any inherent strength; and that, consequently, we must depend entirely on God. 

Rev. David P. Metoyer

We are either in the process of resisting God's truth or in the process of being shaped and molded by his truth.

(Charles Stanley)

St. Paul, at the very time that he is endeavoring to recruit the Christian army, tells us plainly, that the enemies we shall have to combat are the subtlest and most powerful of any in the universe.  Deceit and violence, the two great engines of cruelty and oppression, are their daily practice and delight.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be over all the earth. Psalm 108:5 (NIV)

"Ostensibly, Mark's account is the story which would be told by one of those who accompanied Jesus, and John's is the story which would be told by one of those who were at Jerusalem and heard of his approach" (Dodd, Historical Tradition, 156)

Thomas Brooks, the seventeenth-century English preacher and pastor, wrote about many of Satan's clever strategies in his classic work entitled Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices.  Among them he notes that Satan, as he did Eve in the garden, presents the pleasure and profit of sin, but hies the misery that will follow (Anderson & Saucy, 1997)

The emphasis on the saving and enabling power of God in the first half of the epistle sets the stage for the ensuing paraenesis (instructions) in the latter half of the epistle. In particular, in anticipates the admonition to resist the hostile spiritual "powers" (6:10-20). (Arnold, 1992)

The primary evidence that one has met God is in the disappearing of one's opinion and cleverness.  According to graded absolutism, the universal commands of Scripture such as the prohibitions against blasphemy, idolatry, adultery, murder, lying, and so forth are absolute, and these are binding on all men at all times and all places. Christian ethics are to be applied to both, the employee and the employer, making for a harmonious workplace.

"I believe that overall my child's life will be better than my life has been." There is a fine line between enablement and empowerment, and it is in between this line that parents often exists.

God can turn any marriage into a masterpiece.  Every marriage is unique, expressed by the colorful personalities of each spouse and textured by the circumstances at play in their lives.  Blending these to make marriage work is divinely inspired art form- challenging to master but definitely worth the effort. (Family Life Today, 2012, The art of Marriage)