We are in a war. Every day. Every moment. There is a spiritual battle waging war all around us. And The Lord calls us to stand firm against any and all schemes of the devil. How? By putting on the armor of God!

The Bible is incredibly clear that our relationships with one another matter. As wives & husbands, children & parents, employees & employers. But no matter what relational context we find ourselves in, we are all called to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Paul continues to teach the church that in response to the new life given through Jesus, we are to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. It only makes sense that as we receive new life, we live it out! Paul makes three points of how we are to walk as followers of Jesus: Walk in love. Walk in light. Walk in wisdom.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:17-32 to put off our old selves and to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. When accusations come our way from the enemy, we need to replace them with the truth of God's Word. We need to remember we are changed and have a new identity in Christ because of what He has done for us.

We need hope. Without hope, we lose the power in life to keep moving. The light goes out, and we soon follow. But that is not the good news of Easter. The good news of Easter is that in the resurrection of Jesus we can be born again to a living hope, a hope that will never disappoint and never fade.

God’s design for us is to be shaped into the image of Jesus. More and more we are to look like Christ. This is what we are called to as a response to the Gospel. However, we all need one another playing our role in order to best grow up into Christ. Everyone has a part to play in the church!

We all grow weary. Faith is hard. If we are going to follow after Jesus and not lose heart, we will need help. The good news is that we can ask our Father, who gives according to the riches of His glory, to strengthen us for the race He has set before us.

We all love a good suspense story. Moments that we just didn’t see coming. This is what happened when Christ came, and what Paul is focusing our attention to yet again in Ephesians 3. But not only that Christ came, but that in so doing He offered an invitation to anyone and everyone to come as they are in faith, let Him be Lord, and to be united in one family with all who follow Jesus. But it doesn’t stop there either! The mystery continues to unfold to the watching heavenly beings through the lives of the church!

Hostility between one another continues to persist. However, for those who are in Christ, we must realize that we have been brought near by grace alone, and the hostility of Christ’s death has removed any place for hostility to remain among the church. We must pursue harmony in diversity according to God’s design for the church.

The climax of a movie always comes at the moment of greatest despair, when the hero enters to save the day. In our stories, the climax of life is when God in mercy and love stepped into to give life to those who were spiritually dead.