Utter hopelessness hits when I see my sinful self. When I look at my own self and am compelled to say, 'The things that I know I ought not to do, I end up doing. And the very things I know I should, I don't do." In all this, I know I cannot please God, not in m flesh, not in my deeds.

"For to be carnally minded is death.."[Rom8:6] "Because the carnal mind is enmity with God.."[Rom8:7]

NOW what do I do?? For I know that at numerous occasions, I have allowed my carnal mind to take over me. I 'know' that to please God, I must live by the Spirit, walk, talk, think...by the Spirit. but who knows better than 'me', that I fail Him most miserably in this very thing?

What then should I do? What should I do Lord?

"And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead, will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you", says Paul.

Sin has wages you know -- you EARN something out of it -- Death.

But God gives you not what you deserve, instead He gives you what you do not deserve!! "For if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father - Christ Jesus." What then should I do?

"Do not fear" .. Why? "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption though whom we cry, 'Abba, Father' ". All praises be to God.

Are you getting my point? This war between the members will always be there. Salvation to us is freedom from the effects of sin (relating to the past), from the power of sin(relating to the present) and the presence of sin(relating to the future). Though we see not this deliverance from sin completely in this life, we are waiting... to be made free. While this may cause us to feel sad that we're grieving God so many times by doing exactly what we want NOT to do, that should not and cannot stop us from getting up and walking again.. For that is what God desires of us. Get up and walk says God!! Get up and Walk...! Be satisfied as long as you're able to get up and walk.

Love that song..

"I am weak, but Thou art strong;

Jesus, keep me from all wrong;

I'll be satisfied as long

As I walk, let me walk close to Thee."

Samson was an amazing man of God, a Nazarite, set apart for God from his birth. He had an amazing calling on his life, to start the process of freeing Israel from the clutches of the Philistines. This man's life is quite an irony.

And I want to share how he betrayed his calling, so that we all do not repeat his mistake.
Samson fell in love with a lovely young lady, Delilah. Sounds sweet, but the problem was, that she was from Philistine. Nonetheless, he continued in his relationship with her. On her constant prodding (the NIV reads 'until he was tired to death') he disclosed his source of strength to her. This one mistake led to his eyes being gouged out, and a life of grinding grain, and performing feats to entertain the Philistines. The saddest phrase that I find there, is when Samson thinks he'll just go out and shake the Philistines off, 'he did not know that the LORD had left him' [Judges 16:20]

Being totally defeated and humiliated, Samson is led blind to the prison.

But notice what happens next, his hair begins to grow again. A nazirite, once defiled, had to spend an amount of time in consecration to the LORD again, in order to become a Nazirite again. And after that period, he was to offer a sacrifice to God to be sanctified again. Samson had not the ability to offer a sacrifice, for all he had was his own life.

Being in that pitiful state Samson prayed , 'O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes' [Judges 16:28]
'Let me die with the Philistines'[Judges 16:30]

And having said thus, God granted him strength, such that he pushed the two pillars on which the temple stood, and it came crumbling down, the whole temple upon all those within it. In his death, Samson killed more Philistines than he did all his life.

Only one thought comes to my mind, that God has never, and will never forsake his people, unfaithful though we are. God has not forsaken Israel, though they were disobedient and stiff-necked. Neither will He leave us. Take not for granted His mercy. Live a life that fulfils that for which He caught hold of us. Lest you find yourself standing before Him and hear Him say, "Depart from me. I do not know thee."