There was once a young man who stood in the shadow of a great leader. When that leader passed away, it fell to his young apprentice to pick up the reins of leadership. As he did so, he understandably faced his circumstances with a certain amount of doubts and fears. Then, someone encouraged him to be strong and exhibit courage because God would enable him. The leader was Moses, his apprentice was Joshua, and the encourager was the Lord Himself (Joshua 1:1-9).

Likewise, God challenges believers in the Dispensation of Grace to be strong. Paul told grace believers, “…quit (or act manly) you like men, be strong” (I Corinthians 16:13) and to “…be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10). We must not cower in fear of, nor surrender to, Satan who is waging spiritual warfare against us. We must be strong! We can do so by remembering God’s power is available to us. Paul prayed that the saints would comprehend “…the exceeding greatness of His power (that is available) to us-ward who believe…” (Ephesians 1:19). The Lord offers us His power, and He wants us to have it. Believe it! Access God’s power “…by His Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16). We can never triumph over Satan in our own strength, but we can find victory when we allow God’s power to flow in our lives, in our inner man. Nourish your inner “new man” in Christ! Our inner man is empowered by equipping ourselves with “the whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:11). This can be summarized by choosing to have a consistent daily walk in: truthfulness and righteous behavior as our standard (vs. 14), always being prepared to give the gospel (vs. 15), protecting our minds through an unmovable faith in God’s Word (vs. 16), living in the confidence of our eternal victory (vs. 17), using the Scriptures to slice through Satan’s lies (vs. 17), and being constant in prayer (vs. 18). Be vigilant in clothing yourself with apparel that enables you to have victory in your daily life!

Paul’s admonition is this: “…and having done all to stand, stand therefore…” (Ephesians 6:13-14). Have you done all you need to do to stand victorious today? Are you remembering that God’s power is available to you? Have you been spiritually strengthening your inner man? Will you consistently equip your soul with the whole armor of God? Be strong, believer! God will enable you if you look to Him for His power to overcome whatever you face today.

On September 25th, 2016, golfer Arnold Palmer passed away. Reaction poured in from those who knew him personally, and from those who admired him from a distance. It is generally accepted that Palmer did more to popularize the sport of golf than anyone else in history. Someone said, “He’s the defining figure in golf.” His identity was so intertwined with golf that one could scarcely think of the game without also thinking of Arnold Palmer.

On a much higher and nobler plain, all who have trusted in the finished work of Christ alone for eternal life have become indelibly linked with the Savior. The Apostle Paul described it this way: “For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones” (Ephesians 5:30). Becoming spiritually part of His flesh and bones speaks to several things. It is associated with our forgiveness of sins. When God the Father see us now, even in our present imperfections, He sees only His Son and our righteous standing in Christ. Second Corinthians 5:21 explains, we have been “…made the righteousness of God in Him.” Our spiritual union with the flesh and bones of Christ is associated with our eternal security. None us can hardly imagine losing an eye, a leg, an arm, fingers, or an ear. We might say, “I’m attached to those things and plan to keep them.” Similarly, our connection with the Lord Jesus Christ is so purely close and intimate that He will not sever us from His body. He is attached to us and we to Him in an eternal oneness. Thank God nothing can separate us from Him. No matter what we say, do, think or even if we neglect Christ, we are still part of Him. Being members of His flesh and bones implies a close identification. It’s like a child being adopted into a family. That child is given a home, love, daily provisions, security, and a name that completely identifies him with the ones who gave him so much. Christians were given these many things in the spiritual realm because we are so closely identified with Christ. There is no closer, purer, or more valuable relationship than the connection that Christians have with their Savior.

Beyond rejoicing in this truth, there is a practical application to remember. Wherever we go, and whatever we do, Christ is with us always. Therefore, we must purpose today to abstain from sinful behavior and walk worthy of Him.

Does this sound familiar? You can’t find your keys, so you’re sure someone must have moved or hidden them somewhere. Then, your wife finds them immediately, because they were literally right in front of you. Your brain just didn’t process it.

Sadly, many view the will of God as a dark, hidden secret or a riddle we must solve. But it is neither. God wants you to know, understand, and follow His will with great certainty. Moreover, His will is in plain sight, right in front of us. That’s why Paul tells us two important things about the will of God in Ephesians Chapter Five. First, Paul writes, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17). In other words, any saint can absolutely understand the will of God with certainty! Secondly, God’s will is provable! Paul’s instructions to the saints at Ephesus were to continually prove “what is acceptable unto the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10). That means that finding God’s will is NOT a subjective “feeling” or potentially errant advice; nor is it interpreting our circumstances as His will. No one can “prove” such things to be God’s will, even though many make such claims. The only genuine, reliable, undeniable way to prove God’s will is to find His clear and unmistakable instructions in His Word.

Here’s a worthwhile project to consider: accumulate a list of verses from Paul’s epistles that clearly identify God’s will for every believer. For instance, it is His will for us to constantly “rejoice,” “pray without ceasing,” “in everything give thanks,” “quench not the Spirit,” and “abstain from all appearance of evil,” (I Thessalonians 5:16-22). From Titus we know God wants us to deny ourselves “worldly lusts,” live “righteously” (2:12), and “be careful to maintain good works” (3:8). We know from Ephesians it is God’s will for us to endeavor to maintain unity with other believers (4:3) and forgive their wrongs (4:32). We are never to allow ourselves any kind of immorality (5:3); but we are to live “circumspectly”, use our time wisely, and be controlled by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:15-18). You can make your own, more complete, list.

The knowledge of God’s will is right in front of us. By remembering unmistakable biblical principles from the Apostle Paul, we can readily understand what God’s will is for our lives, prove it to be so, and then go forward in genuine confidence. Whatever decisions you may consider, put it to the test of God’s Word.

Most of us feel like we’re in a real-life Pac-Man game. Our responsibilities are constantly chasing us, threatening to gobble us. While engaged in many things, we know that we must carefully manage our time and then quickly scurry off in another direction. The real trick is knowing where to place our energies and for how long.

The Lord knows we are often conflicted with multiple responsibilities that vie for our time: work, parenting, extended family, house or yard work, paying bills, grocery shopping, schooling, laundry, cooking and exercising for health reasons. These are only the beginning. Then, we also add optional interests such as sports, social outings, volunteer organizations, hobbies, and leisure activities. The Lord knows that managing our time and responsibilities can become difficult to balance. To help us put everything into perspective, He gives us one prominent principle to remember in Ephesians 5:16. We must be continually “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” The word “redeeming” means “to buy.” In other words, we must be wisely buying, or using, the time God has given us for things that will matter in eternity. This must be among our very top priorities! There is a very limited amount of time to reach our children with the truths of God’s Word, including salvation, while their hearts are tender. We must buy back, or seize, this opportunity. We may have only a small window of opportunity to speak to a lost soul at work before we, or they, are suddenly gone. We must buy the opportunity. If our local church is to survive, it needs our regular commitment to be involved in ministry however we can. We must buy the time to serve in our church while our health still permits us to do so. The truth is that our life will near its end, even in old age, in what seems like a flash. We must buy the opportunities to leave a spiritual impact and earn eternal reward. How tragic that, for many, life will be squandered in selfish, temporal, forgettable things that are of no eternal value. At the Bema Seat we will wish we had chosen to redeem our time with spiritual priorities.

Like sands in an hourglass, our time is running out and may end soon. A wise believer once said, “Only one life, Twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” Look at your life carefully. Starting today, what can you do to better redeem the time?