'Evil', I think you'd agree, is a strong word. So there are not many things in our lives to which we'd ascribe that label – 'evil'. A murderer, sure. A child abuser, absolutely. But stuff in our own lives? Not really.

And yet, we can all look back at some particularly bad things we've done – perhaps there are one or two still lingering in your life; husbands who unthinkingly speak harshly to their wives over and over again, day after day destroying that most precious of relationships; people in the workplace who boast and take the credit for what others have done.

We could rattle off a list as long as your arm of ordinary everyday occurrences that honestly, given their destructive impact, ought well to be labelled as 'evil'.

1 John 3:8 The devil has been sinning since the beginning. Anyone who continues to sin belongs to the devil. The Son of God came for this: to destroy the devil's work.

That's God's take on all that stuff and I think you'd agree with me, He doesn't mince His words. But the good news – the Gospel, as it's called, of Jesus Christ – is this. That He came to destroy the devil's work.

In other words, the Gospel displaces and disempowers the evil that assails us from within.

But how does that work in practice? What's the rubber-hits-the-road takeaway in your life and mine? When we let Jesus into our lives, not as some nice to have add-on, but as the One for whom we live, as the Lord of our lives … this is what He does. He destroys the devil's work from within.

After all, that's what He came to do.

And that's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Let's face it, some days you just don't feel like showing up; for whatever reason – and there are many – you just don't feel like playing the game. Some days, staying in bed feels by far the best option. Some days …

The day that I prepared today's short message, I definitely didn't feel like showing up. I was just getting over a chest infection and I felt awful. But when you do something like this – Fresh – 365 days a year, there are writing and recording schedules, deadlines to be met.

At times like these, I remember what one of my wise old Bible School lecturers said to me all those decades ago. "Some days," he said, "you just have to plod for God. And if that's all you have in you, that's just fine."

Galatians 6:9 We must not get tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up.

There's a lot to be said for perseverance. In fact, it's one of the strongest themes in the Bible. You look at the people who've made a real difference in this world, in fact in your own life, and sure, talent's part of it. But I don't think that's the main thing. It's more about them showing up when they didn't feel like it, over and over again.

So in your own little cabbage patch, in your circle of family and friends, work colleagues and neighbours … don't grow tired of doing good because you will receive the harvest of eternal life at the right time. Don't give up, show up.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

There's absolutely nothing, it seems, that can beat a good run in life. You know, when you have a period of weeks or months when everything seems to be falling into place – your finances, your health, your family, your relationships. Everything just clicks. Fantastic!

I know, I realise that you may not be in the middle of one of those fine, warm, sunny, pleasant stretches at the moment. There always seems to be something, right?

But when life's great, when the going's good, there's a risk – a big risk – that we become all too self-reliant. If your finances are doing pretty well, it's easy to be buoyed up by your bank balance. If your health is really good, by the belief that it always will be.

The exuberance of a good life can all too easily morph into a self-satisfied pride that, let's be honest, won't serve well at all once the storm clouds start rolling in … as they inevitably do.

As God was preparing Israel to take the Promised Land all those years ago, He warned them, through Moses, about this very thing. The executive summary goes something like this:

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 Don't ever say to yourself, 'I got all this wealth by my own power and ability.' Remember the LORD your God is the one who gives you power to do these things.

Never forget. Every good thing in your life is from Him. He's the one who provided; He's the one who enabled; He's the one who blessed you. Honour God on your best day … because He'll definitely be with you on your worst.

That's His Word. Fresh … for you … today.