The first 3 chapters of Ephesians are about doctrine - the truth of what God has done and what Christ Jesus has done in our lives. The last 3 chapters are about duty - how we live out the truth of what God has given us. In this passage, Paul reminds us that we are to walk in unity. Belief determines how we behave and how we behave will be determined by what we believe. We have a wonderful calling in Jesus and now it is our responsibility to live up to that calling, and in doing so, do it in unity with other believers. What do you need God to work on in your life to maintain the unity of the Spirit?

The Assyrians were looking to attack Jerusalem, in the reign of Hezekiah, after conquering all the fortified cities of Judah. Through Hezekiah's prayer, Isaiah is able to pass on God's message that He would protect the people of Jesrualam and detroy the Assyrians, 185,000 in all, without lifting a sword. The focus in this passage is about God being our strength and refuge. When we put our trust in God, we have nothing to fear, for when trouble or difficulties come upon us, we can have the confidence that God is there with us. We need to remember that the things we do in our own strength may fail, but if we put our strength and hope in God, then the things we do will never fail.

What is it that gets you to fret? In this passage David give us some alternatives we need to do to overcome things that concern us and cause us to fret. We need to: (1) trust in the Lord when we go through difficult times; (2) live out our life for Him; (3) recognise and delight in what God has done for us; (4) commit our ways to God and (5) be still before the Lord, wait patiently for Him and listen to what He has to say. Whilst it is a good plan to follow these 5 steps, it is recognised that sometimes we can be totally overwhelmed with the pressures of life and that God can provide for us professional help and/or counselling that can be of great assistance in getting our life 'back on track'.

We often find getting ready and set is normally the easy part of any task we face in our lives. It can be more difficult to take the next step and go! God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous and this would come not from his own strength but from relying on what was written in God's law. Victory through submission was true for the Israelites, it was true for Joshua and it is true for us today. We need to submit our time to spend in God's word. The bible has been inspired by God. We need to saturate our life in reading it then apply and put into practice what we have read. If we seek to find true success in our life, then this will only come from spending time with God in His word.

We want to know what the future holds for us. As a Christian, there is a certainty in life because of what what God has does through His Son, Jesus Christ. John highlights that Jesus was God through His baptism and death, symbolised by the water and blood. As Christians, we can have the confidence that we will have eternal life with God and that He will hear and answer our prayers. We are reminded that all wrongdoing is sin, but it is Jesus Christ that keeps us safe from the evil one - we need to hand over our sinful life to Him. The Christian life is the real life we can have that focuses on Jesus Christ and not on the things that are temporary and do not offer eternal hope. Are you fully committed to Jesus Christ or to the things of this world?