The devil is your enemy so you don’t want him in your neighborhood. That’s, at least, what Ephesians 4:27 is telling us. Paul tells the Ephesian church, “give no opportunity to the devil.” The Greek word for opportunity, topos, is a geographical term that came to mean “neighborhood,” “district,” and “town.” 

The key to successful Christian living is living by the power of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16 calls this “walking by the Spirit.” Here we find the word “walk” (peripateite) in the present tense and imperative mood. This suggests that walking in the Spirit is something we must do over and over again. 

Do you know anyone who is suffering because they don’t feel adequate? God’s Word tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:14 that we should encourage these people because they are “fainthearted.” The Greek word for “fainthearted,” oligopsychous, comes from two Greek words oligos (which means “little”) and psycho (which means “soul.”) It means to have just a little soul left.

It’s important for us to remember that, though we can’t see him, Jesus continues to direct and guide our lives. He takes an active and personal role in leading us into the next step of his will for us. We find this in Acts 16:7. Here to pneuma iesou is functioning as a familiar genitive. It means means “the Spirit which comes from Jesus.” Luke called the Holy Spirit this because he wanted to point out that Jesus was right there in the story, alongside his apostles, just as he had been in the Gospels. 

The words that come out of our mouths either spread life or they cause death. In light of this, Ephesians 4:29 tells us not to let “corrupting” talk come from out mouths. The Greek word for “corrupting” is “sapros.” It means rotten and that which is in the process of decay and described all sorts of grotesque things in the ancient world like diseased flesh, spoiled food, decayed brickwork, and even withered flowers. 

God’s Word tells us that there will be religious deception in the last days. This is seriously shown in Revelation 17:6. John, seeing the Great Whore (a symbol of religious deception), says, “I marveled greatly.” The Greek says, “thaumazo…thauma mega.” Literally, “I marveled…a great marvel.” This word means here “to admire to the point of worship.”  

When we are full of the Holy Spirit, we will be a refreshment to those we spend time with. We see this in 2 Timothy 1:16. Paul said that Oneisiphorus “refreshed” him. The Greek word for refresh, "anaphysco," means to cool off with fresh air and implies healing.

In 1 Peter 2:11, we discover that the enemy has organized an offensive, military strike to destroy our relationship with God. This is found in the Greek word “strauteuontai”, which is being used in the present, continuous tense.

We often feel the frustration of unanswered prayer. Yet, James 5:16 tells us how to get an answer from God. This is found in the passive participle, energoumene, translated “as it is working."

The Gospel of Mark tells us who Jesus is. Surprisignly, right from the get go, a demon correctly asserts that Jesus is “the Holy One of God” or ho hagios tou theou in Mark 1:24. This statement would have shocked the religious leaders and brought encouragement to the followers of Jesus.