There Are No Gorillas in the Caribbean, Captain Ron

For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. -Romans 7:19

You must be killing sin or sin will be killing you.-John Owen

Spiritual warfare: I am saved but still in the flesh. The description of this condition presented  in Romans 7 resonates in each of our hearts.

I don't have it down(this Christian walk). It is part and parcel of Scripture's continual warning and instruction that I must not grow complacent or over-confident (1 Corinthians 10:12).

And I am reflecting on Mao's instruction manual, "On Guerilla Warfare," and am reminded of the insidious nature of sin.

Oh sure, the devil comes at us sometimes with cannons blazing, seeking to overwhelm us.

Have you noticed, though,  that as your faith grows and you begin to gain victory over sin, it's the little stuff, lots of times, that trips you up?

Like Mao's guerilla, the sin that once controlled us fades into the background as we grow in grace. To the point, it seems, of going away altogether.

In Genesis 3, God describes sin as "crouching at the door" of Cain's heart.

Have you considered that the "fiery darts" of Satan warned against by Paul are weapons of stealth?

We think of ourselves then as Christian warriors out on patrol, with God's Word and the Holy Spirit walking point, ever alert for ambush, for sin "desires to have us."

We might do well also to remember James Cagney's last words in "Public Enemy":

"I ain't so hot."