The Battle Within

There is a beginning and an end to all things here on earth. After making the cut in 142 consecutive PGA tournaments over a seven-year period, Tiger Woods' streak came to an end at the 2005 Byron Nelson Championship. "I just had a tough day," Woods said after making a bogey on the final hole to miss the cut by one stroke. "Things I don't normally do, I did today."

After becoming a Christian, the Apostle Paul found himself entrenched in a war with the sin in his life. We sometimes think that after surrendering our lives to Christ the battle with sin will subside, but that's not the case. That is actually when the real struggle with sin begins because that is when we become more aware of our own sinful nature.

We will never completely win the battle with sin this side of heaven. We can, however, make great strides in becoming more Christ-like by removing the things that cause us to stumble and replacing them with things that build us up.

Let us remember that (1) our battle with sin will end someday, and (2) it is only through the power of the cross that we can turn from sin and live a life pleasing to God. We all need more of Jesus and less of ourselves today.