The Enemy Within

It was an ordinary Sunday's afternoon after church service and I had the 'push' to visit my church's library for some inspiring and spirit-uplifting books. Within 10 minutes, I found this book, The Enemy Within. Well, who is that 'enemy' that the book is talking about? I think for most Christians, we know that it's our flesh and the sins that our flesh indulges into. 

As I read the book, I could not stop nodding my head in agreement with Kris Lundgaard who talks about the power and defeat of sin. 

Lundgaard's book consist of four parts. Part One is about power of sin, Part Two; how sin works in us, Part Three; The Power of Sin in What It Does and Part Four; Nailing the Lid on Sin's Coffin. Lundgaard starts the book with a story of himself wanting to surprise his wife. After some struggling moment through the job, he realised he did not have the necessary tool to finish it off. And it was then that his boys started a rivalry which caused him to lose his temper all at once. After that incident, he felt like a whipped puppy. With that, he quoted Paul in Romans 7:21, "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me." From there, Lundgaard proceeds to explain the truth in that verse and how true it is that in every heart, there is a law which draws us to sin. How often do you find yourself wanting to do good and the next minute, WHAM!, there goes our temper and conscience. 

I like how Lundgaard explains the soul which comprises the mind, the affections and the will. 

The mind is the sentinel, commanded to watch carefully over the soul by questioning, assessing, and making judgments: Will this please God? Is this according to God's Word? If the mind determines that an action is right, the affections should fall in line and desire, long for, and cling to that which the mind said was good. Last, the will puts the soul into action, carrying out what the mind said was good and the affections hungered for. If your mind is persuaded to believe a sin is good for your soul, and your affections work up an appetite for it, your will gives its consent - the dominoes fall and the flesh bears its putrid fruit in your life.   

(Lundgaard; 1998: 56)

The Enemy Within is easy to understand and Lundgaard's perfect use of metaphor and good writing encourage readers to put on their thinking cap. After each chapter, Lundgaard includes a section with questions for reflection and discussion. Therefore, it encourages one to search and read more of the Bible. 

Below is the information of the book: 

BOOK TITLE: The Enemy Within

AUTHOR       : Kris Lundgaard

PUBLISHER  : P&R Publishing

LOCATION   : United States of America