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I'm thinking today of Ephesians 6, 14, and 15. It's an interesting set of verses, really.

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They run together as one sentence. Ephesians 6, 14, and 15 says, Therefore, be careful

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how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the

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days are evil. There's a couple of things about this verse that really get me thinking.

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The first one is how it says the days are evil, I suppose. We know that time ebbs on

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and it sort of saps our strength. We know that the people around us have their own plans.

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The world system is working against us, generally speaking. Because that is true, we should

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make the most of our time. We should think about what we can do and how we can make a

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difference and then pit ourselves to that. That's the work that we need to do, encouraging

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others, serving others, giving. The days are evil and the world system is evil, but we

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don't have to be. We don't have to succumb to those temptations or those struggles. Therefore,

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at the beginning, God goes all the way back to verse 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord

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and in the strength of his might, put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to

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stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Do not understand that someone is out there

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trying to bring you down and you don't have to let them. You've already won the victory.

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Just the fact that you've listened to this message to this far makes you eligible to

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overcome evil with good. Let's stand firm, doing the best we know how to do in the days

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that God has given us.