Devotional: Fighting the Flesh by Alicia Norman

ROMANS 6
16Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

12You may say, "I am allowed to do anything." But I reply, "Not everything is good for you." And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything. 13You say, "Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food." This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them. But our bodies were not made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies …

Today, I wanted to reflect today on Spiritual death. I have to admit I wrestled with the flesh when I was first saved-and it was a difficult fight. The flesh so wants to dominate the spirit. For most of our lives it was at the helm, having its say about everything from what we wore to what we watched on TV.

Sadly, we gave it anything it wanted. When you turn the tide, the spoiled beast becomes a feisty little bugger, and will go so far as to make you doubt your own faith-yes, the flesh can turn on you!

Because of this, we have to aid the Spirit with our actions and decisions. We should stir clear of things that would harm us on our walk, and that includes even things that merely hints at sin.

As we know, sin can have a chain reaction effect. One thing can lead to another, and then another and fairly soon, the domino affect happens.

Prior to backsliding, it would have never occurred to Goody-Two-Shoes Me, that I'd ever step foot in a nightclub, let alone one where people practiced things like sadomasochism. I not only went to such a place, I actually briefly experimented with the lifestyle. It started small-with self righteous judgments, lustful thought, even envy, ending with finally giving into a temptation to sin.

It was a slippery slope.

They say the wages of sin are death. Yes, my friends, but first, spiritual death. The Holy Spirit is too precious to us! Let's protect it with all the vigor within us, as a mother would her own precious child. It is a hard fight, but a valiant one, and one with great reward at its end!