See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, (16) redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (17) Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.. (18) And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, (19) speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, (20) giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

The letter to the Ephesians was written by the apostle Paul. In our verses today Christian’s are warned to walk carefully in an evil day – in a morally and spiritually dark world. There are stumbling blocks in a Christian life. Many faithful saunter through the world’s minefields with no awareness of danger. We must use our brief time here wisely; understand the will of the Lord and be filled with our guide, the indwelling Spirit. We are to walk carefully with steady progress toward a definite goal, amd live in a godly manner.

We receive the Spirit at the moment of faith – the baptism of the Spirit. Paul is saying we are to serve one another in love; to fight the good fight; to keep the faith and walk wisely as children of light. This world is under the dominion of the Prince of darkness. Temptation is a loaded gun and it is dangerous to get used to evil living; Christians are not to live for temporal fulfillment and pleasure but to take advantage of the opportunities God gives us; to look at the unseen with a view to eternity in Christ. The Christian life is not difficult; it is impossible apart from the indwelling Spirit. It is an ongoing process, not an irrational emotional experience. The saved person must confess and forsake all sin and acknowledge without God we are empty and yield every area of our life to His purpose.

Paul tells us we are to stop grumbling before we become a grumble. We are to recognize that God is the ultimate source of every blessing and be thankful and mindful that we are under the Spirit’s control. C.s.Lewis writes that “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good…….A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later……that is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness – they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means – the only complete realist.