I've been reading Ephesians recently (how God-planned! I was beginning to read Ephesians when I received the BLT email about how it would be beneficial for those in strand 1 to read Ephesians!) and it's been hammering home lately the message of maturing, being filled to the measure of the fullness of Christ! And how fantastic is that thought: that God is moulding and changing us, filling us to the fullness of Christ. I used to think, okay, yes, I am going to be more like Christ. But as I read through Ephesians all over again, it's amazing how by Jesus' death and resurrection, the penalty has been taken for us, and our identity is now in Christ! That as we walk with Him daily in obedience and reverence, He's changing us and growing us to attain a maturity that was in Jesus.

So I sat down with a pen and prayed, asking God to open up my eyes to all the things I needed to let Him change and the things He wanted me to do and the list got longer and longer and longer and I realised how far I was (still am) from attaining the maturity that's in the fullness of Christ.

Weeell,
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armour of God, sot hat when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up your shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for the saints."

Yup, it's time to grow and mature in Christ and it's serious business in God's army. Fatigue has made me slack, but He has reminded me to suit up and draw my strength from Him and His power.

Anyway, in cheery news, it's my second last day of work today and I am brimming over with excitement that in exactly 31 hours, I AM A FREE BIRD! I can start clocking regular hours of sleep and living the life of a student on holiday. Oh, and I bought the final copy of Meteor Garden II yesterday. It's so old, it smells of mothballs. I wonder how long it's been in storage.