Part One: The Toehold of Sin

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7

I grew up in a home with a lot of sinful vices available for me to engage with and become hooked on.
Sin was available.
Some sin was encouraged.

By the time I was in high school I was smoking, drinking, partying, stealing, and cussing like a sailor.
Looking back I can identify how the devil lured and trapped me into sinful habits.
How does the devil tempt our flesh and gain power over us? He does so in stages.

He first tries a toehold.
What is a toehold? A toehold is a test. It’s what you use when you’re climbing a steep hill or a rickety ladder. You’re not sure if you can put ALL of your weight on it, so you put your toes up on it and bounce a bit to see if you can safely proceed.

The devil starts tempting you with a little sin, and if you let him put a little of his pressure on you, he assumes he can safely proceed tempting you to sin in your life.

If the enemy came in like a flood all of the time, humanity would resist such an incursion and rise in opposition to it.

But the enemy works as a sly, salesman predator. He grooms us to accept sin one week, one month, one year, and one decade at a time.

And before you know it, our nation goes from watching television shows like HeeHaw and Little House on the Prairie to The Walking Dead, Sex and the City, and much worse.
What happened? A toehold of sin was allowed, and we didn’t resist it as we should’ve as a nation.

Picture a door that you’re trying to close and it just won’t shut.
You look down and there’s a stick in the door jam.
Do you say “good enough” and just throw the chain on the door?
Is 98% closed good enough?

America never removed the stick and closed the door on sin. I can’t control my nation or yours, but as for me and my household, we’re going to serve the Lord.
Stay closed to sin. Don’t allow the devil to gain a toehold in your heart, your life, or your home.

Keep your armor on.