If you have heard of this book, "The Spiritual Combat and a Treatise on Peace of Soul", I would be very impressed. The first edition was publishes in Venice in 1589 and no one knows who actually wrote the book.
Here are some golden nuggets of spiritual combat that I think will help you in your daily spiritual walk...
Be Cautious

In the 19th chapter of the book, the author makes a strong call to avoid sexual sin like the plague of 1512 (joking). The author writes that our greatest strength, even if we have come along way, is to weak for such a powerful force as lust. "You are more susceptible to occasions of this sin than straw is to fire" - True that!
Avoid Idleness.
The author then points a man towards the best use of his time. Have you found this aspect of your sexual freedom important? Do you find that when you have free time to spend without a good plan, sexual sin seems to draw you back to familiar patterns of porn and masturbation? It sure does with me. So if you recognize free time as a problem, plan for positive activities and events - wherever free time appears in your schedule.
Never Judge others Rashly
This insight has helped me grow in the spiritual life, here is a sentence from the book, "If any are unfortunate enough to fall into such disorder(sexual sin), and even if the affair becomes public, you must not treat them with scorn and contempt. Rather pity their weakness, and take advantage of the occasion to humble yourself before God, acknowledging that you are but dust and ashes."
It is easy to judge rashly, maybe we judge ourselves too rashly. We can trust that our identity as Christ's men, elevates our sin nature, even when we, or others, have fallen short. God forgives and most importantly He restores sinners to a place of Grace and Royalty through the blood of the His Son.
Spiritual Complacency
"If you discover that your heart is rich in spiritual comfort and joys, you must be on guard against a secret complacency within yourself, against imagining that you have attained perfection and that the enemy can no longer do you any harm because you apparently have nothing but scorn and contempt for him. The greatest caution is necessary here to prevent a relapse."
Powerful stuff from the 16th century, a nice take-away from this section would be to not presume you are out of the woods of sexual struggles. If your relationship with Christ becomes distance and you neglect your daily walk in the Holy Spirit, sexual sin will make a stealth like entrance back into your world. So be strong brother, stay focused on Christ, and keep your mind on heavenly things.
Excellent stuff for a generation that prides itself on throwing caution to the wind. We'd be wise to listen to reason and avoid where angels fear to tred so to speak.
Thanks RJP,
If you don't mind me asking. How did some of the information in the post affect you personally. Without getting into details, does idleness, judgement or complacency hold you back in your own life? If so, how can you and others heal and grow into a more Christ centered lifestyle?
Thanks for your comments.
Jeremy
Thanks for the shout out Joe!
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Started by Jeremy Blanchard Dec 9, 2011. 0 Replies 0 Likes
"My biggest struggles come when I get caught off guard by a seductive glance from a woman."What do you do when this kind of thing happens to you? Do you have any specific prayers or thoughts that…Continue
Tags: pornography, masturbation, addiction, Christian, purity
© 2012 Created by Jeremy Blanchard.
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