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Read: Ephesians 2:1-3
Listen: Ephesians 2

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. Ephesians 2:1-2

 In an opening section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he warns that there are battlegrounds for their souls. These battlegrounds include the world and the flesh. The world, as Paul refers to it here, is not the tangible, physical world, but the society and system that redefines good and evil and calls it normal. The flesh includes internal desires that get twisted and distorted. It’s about disordered desires and a pressure to conform to the world and its values that are opposed to God. Paul reminds the believers that though they used to live according to the flesh and the world, they have a new identity and way of life found in Jesus.

Much like the Ephesians two thousand years ago, we also face a battle with the world and the flesh. If we don’t actively resist them, we will be conformed to their ways and values. Scripture calls us to be transformed rather than conformed. Instead of assuming the ways of the world or giving into the temptations of the flesh, we should allow God’s Word and ways to direct our hearts and lives. As Paul wrote to the church in Rome, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).

TODAY: Renew your mind through Scripture by memorizing Romans 12:2. As you do, ask God to give you the grace and strength to think and live as he would have you to.