You have been a christian for 22yrs, and you say you still struggle with
somethings,  First Just want to say, being a christian, does not mean that we
are sinless, rather we sin less.  We must understand that we haven't been made
perfect yet, we  still have the nature of corruption in us, but everyday God is
working in us Conforming us to the likeness of his son Jesus Christ, until the
day that he returns then we shall be free from this corrupt nature, and be
adorned in a glorious nature. 

Secondly, you must understand that you have a role to play, the fact that God is
working in you, does not excuse you from your responsibility, we have a role to
play in the process of sanctification,  in Romans 12:1-2" Paul encourages, that
in light of what God has done for us, we should offer or present our bodies to
God, like a living sacrifice.  and in the second verse he shows us how we can do
that (1) Not conforming to the world, refusing it. (2) Transforming our minds, 
this can be done as we immerse our self in his word.

and in Romans 6: 12-14, he encourage us to Refuse sin to reign in our mortal
body, the reason being we have died to it.every believer has died to sin, it no
longer has power over us, therefore we can refuse it, and he encourages us to
offer our bodies to God, instead of sin.
if you are going to over come your struggle, then you must understand that by
virtue of being a christian, you have the power to refuse sin in your life, and
You must surrender your self to God, by prayer, bible reading, service, and
having a quite time to listen to his voice. 
                                                    I hope this will be helpful 
to you.


--- On Thu, 5/28/09, leigh <leighcopeland@...> wrote:

From: leigh <leighcopeland@...>
Subject: [pipertalk] Re: Spiritual Warfare
To: pipertalk@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, May 28, 2009, 7:56 AM

















--- In pipertalk@yahoogrou ps.com, "Shirley Bickley" <sbickley@.. .>
wrote:

>

> HAVE YOU TRULY REPENTED?

>

> HAVE YOU PRESENTED YOUR MEMBERS TO GOD??

>

> READ ROMANS 6&7.

>

> RENEW YOUR MIND, SEE ROMANS 12:1,2.

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: Joe S

> To: Pipertalk

> Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:07 AM

> Subject: [pipertalk] Spiritual Warfare

>

>

>

> I have been a Christian for 22 years. I have been struggling with a

> number of things spiritually for some time. I have studied a lot from

> the bible and books about sanctification, but I can't find strength. I

> think this is more than the flesh.

>

> I would like some advice on Spiritual Warfare: I would like to hear of

> some balanced approaches; how does a Christian approach this subject?

>

> Thanks.

>

> ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

>

>

>

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

>i find the most helpful insight is to realize the struggling with things
spiritually must be evidence of idols of the heart and a lack of faith in the
nature, accomplishments and promises of God. you have other functional saviors
that still control and who will not forgive you when you let them down. Study
the Cross. there you will see God in his most stunning beauty. There you can
have your heart peirced and purged of all subsitute gods. If any one of us were
to fully see and know and believe the reality and the promises of the biblical
god we would be so stunned, melted in heart, pierced and crushed that acts of
obedience would then flow from within. It is self-contradictory to talk of
behavior flowing from the surface. See God. Look at the cost, the price he
paid for your salvation. A worshipping, obedient life is not the creation of
exhortation, but of standing in the presence of overwhelming beauty. Your main
task is to see Jesus and
what he did, not start some program of moral reconstruction.































[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]