Reading: Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2

Verses 25 and 27: “Put off falsehood and speak truthfully… do not give the devil a foothold”.

Shifting gears from last week’s passage in Ephesians about all the ways that build up unity in the body of Christ, Paul turns to the one thing that destroys unity quicker than anything else: our words. Encouraging us to live as children of the light (or of God), Paul writes, “Put off falsehood and speak truthfully… do not give the devil a foothold”. Throughout the passage Paul unpacks this statement concerning our words. This will be our focus tomorrow. Today we will focus on verse 27 – the source of our evil words.

“Do not let the devil get a foothold”. Our journey of faith is one of constant battles in the spiritual realm. At times we do not realize this. Satan is always at work, trying to pull us away from our faith and off the path of following Jesus Christ. The battles begin with our thoughts. Satan is forever planting seeds that raise fear, doubt, jealousy, anxiety, envy, pride, anger, lust… These little lies are whispered over and over again. On our good days we dismiss these lies quickly as our faith holds firm. The Holy Spirit quenches these evil thoughts. But when we’re down or when we’re feeling worn out, then the Spirit isn’t as audible. That evil seed takes root and begins to grow, to fester, to agitate. Soon a word is spoken. Damage or harm is done. Satan celebrates. Almost always we regret it quickly – but it is too late. All of us have experienced this. For this reason may we closely guard our thoughts, the source of our words.

Prayer: Lord God, raise up the voice of the Holy Spirit in me! When Satan comes round, make me quickly aware of his presence and keenly aware of his tricks. Guard my heart, O Lord. Amen.