All around us right now, whether we recognize it or not, there are battles going on. Battles to prove superiority, dominance and even power. “We’re better than they are!” “Choose us!” And each one of us chooses a side to stand on in these battles. Now, these battles are not just around us, but in most cases, right in front of our faces! For instance, 

• Coke vs. Pepsi
• Twizzlers vs. Red Vines
• Notre Dame Football vs. ANY OTHER TEAM

I’m sure during your reading of that first paragraph you didn’t think I was going that route when it comes to “battles.” I don’t just bring those up for comedic effect, but to show that there are battles going on all around us in this life and to understand that we, right now at this moment, have a battle going on inside of us.

Galatians 5:17 (ESV)
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

We have a battle going on inside of us where we have our “sinful nature” or our “earthly nature” (Galatians 5:19-21, Romans 8:7-8, Colossians 3:5) trying to convince us to live outside the Will of God. These “earthly desires” creep in and stand in front of us trying to show us their power and dominance over us. They are deceiving us and making us feel as though we don’t have what it takes to EVER get past them and live in the promises that God has for our lives (Isaiah 40:31, Isaiah 43:2, James 4:7, Philippians 4:19).

For the sake of simplicity, let's break it down even more. Our “earthly desires” or “sinful nature” can be summed up in one word … SIN. If you are anything like me, you have battled with many different sins in life. And if you are REALLY like me in this area, and I know you are, you have also wondered, “How can I overcome this sin that has control over me?” If you are in a season where it seems like your flesh is overtaking your spirit, or you need encouragement for when they do, listen up! 

We are called to fight.

John 16:33, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

As followers of Christ, we are called to continually fight for what is right.

Understand that most of us have an understanding of what we should and shouldn’t do. I mean, no one reading this thinks that doing something that is harmful to the body or mind is “good” for you, and we understand that if we feel we have to “hide” it or have to “over-explain” it because people just don’t agree with it, means we probably shouldn’t do it. Pretty simple right?

There is this crazy notion that I used to believe about Christians. Christians are weak or pushovers. When in reality followers of Christ are called to be fighters, to stand up for what we believe in even when we get persecuted for it.

God has made us a promise.

Romans 8:13, "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." 

So, what God is promising here is LIFE! But, not just a simple, meaningless unfruitful life, but rather eternal life with our Heavenly father. A life filled with love, joy, peace and acceptance that can only be found in God! To receive this LIFE though, we have to live according to the Spirit. We have to put to death our sins and earthly desires.

How do we do it?

If we want to bury our sin and put to death the sin that is holding us back from receiving this incredible life God has for us than we have to KILL THE ROOT! How do we kill the root of our sin though?

How do you kill a tree? Do you pull all the leaves off? NO! You grab a shovel and you dig until you get to the root of it and kill it there.

If you want to put to death the misdeeds of the flesh and live in the spirit you have to kill the root — the source of what is causing your sin.

If something is causing you to pull away from God’s promises and away from what you should be doing, you have to go back and say, "maybe I keep acting like this because that’s what I surround myself with ... maybe I keep looking at that because I don’t have enough accountability or too much access ... or maybe I keep talking like this because this is what I’m watching or listening to…"

The way we kill the sin and win the battle over our lives is by pulling our shovel out and looking at our sin in its face and killing it at its root.

As the Director of Student Ministries, Cameron invests in the lives of students and their families by showing them that there is a love far greater than they could imagine. I inspire the next generation to put God first and to trust Him with everything in their lives because when they understand all they need is Him, everything they need will be given to them.

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