Join Me On the Journey

Why I Blog

Tuesday, July 17, 8:17 am

I want to take a moment to welcome you to my blog.

This has been quite an experience over the last several months.

I began this blog in February after attending an online writer’s conference and realizing that I had a burning within me to share with others what I have learned over the years.

I read a lot!

I have always been a reader.

When I was a little girl, I read pages and pages of fiction. As I grew older, I began reading about different subjects: psychology, self-help books, personality types, success, time management. A great deal of what I read in these areas was written by Christian authors.

Today, I also read widely about subjects that are important to me. I read books about prayer and Bible study and quiet times. I started reading about homeschooling before my oldest daughter was even born. I read about marriage building. I read about how to be a good mother and how to keep house.

It has also been my habit that each time I got interested in a new hobby, I bought books about that hobby. Consequently, I have a library in my home with large sections on photography, gardening, quilting, and numerous other subjects.

Like you, there is usually one or two points in a book or article that I read that really stick with me. However, when you add that all up, it gets to be a head stuffed full of tidbits about a diversity of topics. All those little tidbits are arranged in a manner peculiar to me. In the history of time, there is only one person who has read all the words that I have read and had all the experiences I have had.

That puts me in a very unique position; a position of sharing what I know with you from a very singular perspective.

On the other hand, I’m very much like most of you. I’m a Christian. I’m a woman. I’m a wife, a stay-at-home mom. I used to work outside the home in a fairly high-pressure job. And so, the wisdom that I have gained in my years on this earth will—I trust—translate easily into your life.

And that is why I have begun writing here. I have so much inside my head, it’s just bursting to get out! I feel like if I don’t begin sharing, my heart will explode. Writing here has been like a spillway letting pressure off the dam inside my head.

Writing here is also causing me to shift my paradigm from that of learner to that of teacher.

Now, some of you may not be familiar with the word paradigm. It’s an awesome word that simply means the set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that dictate the way you view your world. In other words, you are a product of your beliefs and decisions. The Bible puts it this way:

For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he: Prov 23:7a (KJV)

A paradigm shift is that “aha” moment that you experience when you connect the dots in your mind. It’s that moment you finally learn that lesson that God has been trying to teach you. It’s the moment you read a scripture and it speaks something totally different to you than the last time you read it. It’s that moment that you realize that your husband really does mean it when he says he’s thinking about nothing. (see my entry In the Box With No Words)

I have come to realize this forum is a paradigm shift for me. I am going from the mindset of a learner, or a gatherer of information; to the mindset of a teacher, or a sharer of information.

Now anyone who has prepared any type of a lesson knows that when you look at information with a mind toward teaching the material to someone else, you look at the material differently. You actually learn information more thoroughly when you know that you are going to be teaching it to someone else—whether formally or informally.

For that very reason, I look forward to great changes in my life from this website. As I share with you, I expect to become more focused and accountable. I look forward to feedback and critique. I know that sharing with you will make me a better person, and I pray it will benefit you as it does me.

God Bless You On Your Journey!

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Deeper Life

Monday, July 16, 6:53 am

I have a phrase that has been throbbing in my heart the last several weeks…deeper life.

I’m not sure what it means.

I only know that I want more of God.

I want to know Him more. I want to learn His likes and dislikes. I want to grow closer; to be more intimate; to discover what He thinks about.

But, how do I do that?

When I was a younger Christian, I was taught that you can’t really know what God’s going to do. After all,

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” I Cor. 2:9 (KJV)

I don’t know about you, but I have heard that verse quoted often. However, do you realize that’s a quote from an Old Testament scripture? It’s a quote from Isaiah 64:4 which says:

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. Isa 64:4 (KJV)

Old Testament believers did not have the benefit of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Paul goes on to say in I Corinthians that you can know the things of God because His Spirit dwells in you and reveals Him to you.

but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. I Cor. 2:10 (NIV)

In the beginning of this chapter, Paul begins by reminding the Corinthians that when he first visited, he did not use “wise and persuasive speeches” but spoke to them simply and plainly. He concentrated on Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. In verse five, he tells us why:

I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. (NLT)

But then in verse six, he shifts his focus and writes to mature Christians.  He talks to them of “the hidden wisdom” of God.

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom…No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. I Cor. 2:7a, 11-12 (NLT)

What an incredible thought! You can know God’s deep secrets because His Spirit resides in your heart along with your spirit.  The Holy Spirit talks with your spirit and you need only learn His voice to have the deep things of God revealed to you.

It requires quiet.  It requires peace.  It requires diligence to listen and understand.

Won’t you journey with me as we discover how to listen to God’s Spirit?

God Bless You on Your Journey

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Keeping a Short Account With God

Tuesday, July 3, 6:54 am

You have most likely heard the saying, “Confession is good for the soul.”

One of the things that I am focusing on in my life is keeping a short account with God; admitting to God, and more importantly myself, that I sin…regularly.

So, what is sin? If you’re like me, you have heard the definition that sin is “missing the mark.” It’s a term used in shooting. In other words, you shoot for something and you don’t hit the bullseye.

There are also sins of omission…things we don’t do.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17 (KJV)

This means that I always have plenty to confess. :wink:

But, rather than just tell you that confession is important, I would like to show you how to practically implement a time of confession into your quiet time.

Sometime during your quiet time, turn your heart inward and ask God to show you what  in your life you need to confess. My favorite passage that speaks specifically to this is Psalm 139:23-24.

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (KJV)

I like this passage because it talks about knowing my heart and my thoughts. Heart here is another word for soul, which includes mind, emotions, will, and conscience. And that’s where you want God to be at work…in your mind (thought-life), your emotions, your will, your conscience. Actions follow beliefs. If you submit your thoughts to God and allow Him to work in your thought-life, your actions will change.

When your ask for God’s revelation, take a moment to listen.  Things will begin to come to mind; things you need to do; things you need to stop doing; attitudes you need to change; people to whom you need to make amends. God will speak to your heart; write down what He says.

God is so faithful and He honors your efforts to change.  If you are faithful to ask, He will reveal areas of your life that need change.

God Bless You on Your Journey!

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Give Us More Faith

Thursday, June 28, 5:11 am

Have you ever thought that you would like to have more faith? I know I have!

Well, Jesus’ disciples thought they needed more faith, too. Let’s look at what Jesus said when they asked for more faith.

One day the apostles said to the Lord, “We need more faith; tell us how to get it.”

“Even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed,” the Lord answered, “you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May God uproot you and throw you into the sea,’ and it would obey you!” Luke 17:5-6 (NLT)

Jesus told the disciples that they didn’t need more faith, they just needed to use the faith that they had. Then, He proceeded to tell them a parable.

Before we look at the parable though, let’s take a moment to look back at what we have learned about faith over the last weeks.

  1. Faith is one of the fruit of the Spirit.
  2. Faith is tangible.
  3. We all have the same amount of faith.
  4. Faith helps us withstand the deception of Satan.
  5. Faith just appropriates what God has already provided for us.

Now, what is Jesus telling us about faith via this parable?

“When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, he doesn’t just sit down and eat. He must first prepare his master’s meal and serve him his supper before eating his own. And the servant is not even thanked, because he is merely doing what he is supposed to do.” Luke 17:7-9 (NLT)

Our faith is to be something that we command and control.

Most of us do not relate well to having a servant or a slave, but imagine for a moment that you hired someone to come live with you to do all the things that you didn’t have the time to do.  This person was paid to go out and work in the garden, do the yard work, the cooking and cleaning, the shopping, etc.

If you hired this person to do this job and they came in from a day of work and then expected you to serve them supper, you wouldn’t be too happy, would you?  If you hired someone to do all those jobs, you would expect them to do what they were hired to do.

It’s the same with our faith.

Our faith is tangible…it’s like a servant that we send to appropriate those things that have already been provided by Christ’s atonement.  All of the promises of healing, abundant life, prosperity, etc are there in the spiritual realm, we just have to help it to manifest in the physical realm.  And that is the job of our faith.

Jesus said that we don’t need more faith, we just need to use the faith that we have.

Spend some time meditating on that truth today.

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On Your Way to Where You Want to Be

Wednesday, June 27, 7:01 am

In order to effect lasting change, you need to define:

  1. where you are now
  2. where you want to be
  3. how you plan to get there

Yesterday, we talked a bit about defining where you are and where you want to be. Today, I would like to talk to you about how to get there.

Again, I would like to emphasize that it’s nearly impossible to go forward until you evaluate where you are. In the same way, if you don’t know where you want to be, you may find yourself wandering aimlessly.

When you begin a cross-country journey, you need to know two points: your starting point and your destination.

Your life is a journey. You are born (your starting point) and you will die (should the Lord tarry). There is, of course, one caveat. You don’t know when the end of the journey is. However, when I am promoted to glory, I know that I want to be working hard on whatever it is that God has placed in my heart to do. If I’m not finished, I know that He has someone else to finish for me.

So, you have defined where you are and you’ve dreamed about where you’re going. You have spent time in your journal dreaming and in prayer seeking God. You have dreamed some big dreams. Now, how do you go about accomplishing those dreams?

First of all, you must define your dream. It must be specific. “I want to be a writer” is a great dream. However, you need to decide exactly what that means to you. A better goal might be, “I want to write Christian fiction.” This is specific enough for you to aim at.

Some of you are naturally disciplined. Some of you thrive on achieving goals and dreams. Some of you have no difficulty breaking down a goal into its component parts, putting a time limit on when you will achieve each aspect and then working until it’s done. (I envy you!)

I struggle with discipline. I continue to work on it, but it is something that is difficult for me. I used to try to make myself “just do it!” However, that didn’t work for me because I was railing against my natural bent. (It took me a l-o-n-g time to learn that.) I’m sanguine, and self-discipline isn’t one of my strong points. (For more information on personality types, please read Intentional Living! Vol 1, Num 2)

I finally discovered that one thing that helped me (and perhaps it will help you if you’re sanguine or phlegmatic) was to write down in great detail, what life would be like when I accomplished a certain dream. For example, if your dream were to write a book, write down how it will feel when your book is finished; write down how it will feel to have people tell you how much they liked your book; write down what bills you would pay off with the royalty checks (if that’s a part of your dream).

As you work toward that dream, you need to periodically stop, reevaluate, and redefine. Dreams can change over time. Hold your dreams loosely and don’t be afraid to allow a dream to slip away. Your priorities change. Life goes on. Your attitudes and situation will change. It’s okay to let go of a dream if it no longer fits. (I know that for some of you, that will be hard, but it can be incredibly liberating. You don’t have to finish everything you start.)
I would recommend having a DREAMS journal. Begin by journaling some of the questions that I posed yesterday. Let yourself dream big dreams. Put down EVERYTHING that comes to mind, no matter how impossible it seems at the time. Writing it down doesn’t commit you to accomplish it…now, or ever. You will have dreams that are for now and dreams that are for someday. You will have dreams that you think are important and over time, you’ll realize they weren’t for you. Sometimes, you’ll find that dreams you thought were your dreams are actually someone else’s dreams for you.

Once you have all those dreams out of your head and onto paper pray about where to begin. If you’re really goal-oriented, break your goals down into steps, put a time-limit and go for it. If you’re more of a free spirit, write down—in great detail—how it will feel to accomplish your dream and purpose to work on it regularly over time.

You will be amazed at the power of writing it down. In addition, make sure that you revisit your dream journal often.

I pray that this will help you to get On Your Way to Where You Want to Be.

God Bless You on Your Journey!

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Figure Out Where You Are

Tuesday, June 26, 6:15 am

One of the reasons I started writing here was to share with other women about change and how to accomplish change. That is one purpose for writing to you and I strive to keep that in mind as I write.

In order to accomplish lasting change, you must define three things:

  1. where you are now
  2. where you want to be
  3. how you plan to get there

Now, this may sound like I’m telling you to just make up your mind where you want to go and get there no matter what. It may sound as if I’m telling you to forge ahead without seeking God for direction.

Well, I am making some assumptions here.

First of all, I’m assuming that you are a Christian. If you don’t have a relationship with God, the Bible teaches that you can have a relationship with Him by simply acknowledging that Christ died for you to provide for that relationship. There’s nothing magical about it. Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” If you want a relationship with God, call on Him and He’s there.

Secondly, I’m assuming that you have a desire to fulfill God’s will for your life. Most of us don’t see a huge, instantaneous change in our lives when we make a decision for Christ. The change occurs gradually over time. But, eventually, most of us reach the point where we think, “I need to figure out what God really wants me to do with my life!” It can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

The Bible is replete with references that reassure you God wants to direct your life. Two of my favorites are:

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Prov 3:5-6 (KJV)

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Ps 37:4-5 (KJV)

Now, when I was a younger Christian, I used to think “He shall give thee the desires of thine heart” meant, “He will give you every little thing your heart desires!” But, I came to realize that passage meant that God would place in my heart the desires that He has for my life…He will make me desire what He wants for me. So, if I’m following Him, I can trust that the things that I want to do are desires that He has placed there.

In other words, if you’re thinking, “If I follow God, He’s going to make me go to the deepest darkest place in Africa and be a missionary and eat worms for dinner,” God doesn’t do that. If you follow God, and He asks you to go to the deepest darkest place in Africa, it will be something that burns in your heart…something you cannot deny.

So, now you are a Christian. You are following God and yet you still feel that you’re not fulfilling the call God has on your life.

First of all, if you don’t have the habit of journaling, I would encourage you to take it up. I suppose there are people who can do these things in their heads, but I’ve never met one. When you read biographies of those who have done exploits for the Lord, you’ll find they kept journals…they wrote it down. There is something powerful about writing down your thoughts, dreams, concerns, and fears.

Start with where you are.

  • What has happened in your life until this point?
  • How have you reacted?
  • How can you use what has happened to benefit others?
  • Are you married or single?
  • Are you a parent to young children, teen-agers, older children, or all of the above?
  • Are you part of a ministry outside your home?
  • Do you work outside the home?
  • What do you like?
  • What do you do well?
  • What things “come naturally”?

Look at where you want to be.

  • What have you “always wanted to do”?
  • If money were no object, how would you live your life differently?
  • If you knew you only had a year to live, how would you spend that year?
  • What are the things only I can do? (be a mother to my children, for example)

Tomorrow, Lord willing, we’ll look at getting from where you are to where you want to be.

I would encourage you to take a few minutes to figure out where you are. It will take some time, but before you can get to where you want to go, you must know where you are.

God Bless You on Your Journey!

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Humility

Friday, June 22, 7:17 am

I found a blog that I recommend. Joy in the Journey is a blog written by a mom living in Indonesia. She has five very small children and her family is a missionary family…a different life from the one I live.

But, she worships the same God as I do, and so we have a lot in common, don’t we?

She wrote earlier this week about accepting compliments and about humility. Where do we draw the line between acknowledging that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and “considering others better than ourselves”? (Psa 139:14 and Phil 2:3)

Let’s explore that, shall we?

First of all, we must understand that there is a difference between our spirit, soul, and body. (For further explanation of this, please read the article Spirit, Soul, and Body.)

Our spirit is righteous and holy (Eph 4:24). It is that part of us that is made new at the moment of salvation and it is sealed by the Holy Spirit so that it cannot be corrupted (Eph 1:13). (See Canned Spirit, Anyone?)

Paul says in Philippians 1:6:

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (KJV)

He’s speaking of the fact that God created a new creature (our spirit) at the moment of our salvation (II Cor 5:17). The rest of the Christian life is to allow Him to complete that work through the renewing our soul (intellect, emotions, will, conscience) day by day. And we have a big part to play in that.

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (KJV) Phil 2:12-13

Our new spirit is a gift from God…something that we do not, cannot earn. But, we are in charge of changing our soul. We are in charge of renewing our mind. Romans 12:1-2 says:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (KJV)

So, what does all this have to do with humility?

The very next verse in Romans 12 says, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

This verse says not to think of yourself more highly than you ought, but it doesn’t say, “think of yourself as lower than everyone else.”

Romans 12:6a says, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us…” We have all been given gifts and those gifts are given so that we can minister to each other. We must acknowledge those gifts and strengthen those gifts in order to be effective in the body of Christ.

One verse in the Old Testament that has truly helped me to know my place in God is found in Numbers.

(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) Num 12:3 (NIV)

Moses wrote those words under the influence of the Holy Spirit. He wrote those words about himself!

Yes, the Bible exhorts us to “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” (Romans 12:10) But, Jesus Himself said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” (Luke 10:27 KJV)

Let us honor others through service, love others with the love that flows through us when we love ourselves, and accept compliments from others with a gracious, “Thank you!”

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Know Your Call

Wednesday, June 20, 6:44 am

Most of us know the story of David and Bathsheba.

David spied Bathsheba taking a bath and just had to have her. They slept together and Bathsheba got pregnant. There was just one problem; Bathsheba was already married. In order to try and cover up their sin, David called her husband home from battle and tried to get him to sleep with her, but Uriah, her husband wouldn’t cooperate.

But wait, there’s more…

David then plots to kill Uriah and is successful.

David and Bathsheba are then married. Bathsheba becomes one of his wives. Their son is born and the Bible says that the Lord made Bathsheba’s baby ill. The baby dies.

This is a heart-breaking story and there are many lessons that could be taught from this passage, but I would like to focus on the very beginning. How did all this start? How did David—a man after God’s own heart—fall so far?

I think the key can be found in II Samuel 11:1.

The following spring, the time of year when kings go to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to destroy the Ammonites. In the process they laid siege to the city of Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. (NLT)

I find these phrases so interesting. While I don’t profess to understand how Israelite society functioned at this time in history, this passage gives us a few clues. It says, “The following spring, the time of year when kings go to war…” David should have been out leading his troops, but instead, he had grown fat and sassy and he stayed behind at the palace languishing.

Verse two is even more telling.

Late one afternoon David got out of bed after taking a nap and went for a stroll on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. (NLT)

Since David was out of the will of God, he became bored and lazy. I mean, what man do you know that takes a nap in the afternoon? David was not doing what he was called to do. As a result, he lost focus, became bored, and was looking for ways to stimulate his excitement. People do not function well with too much time on their hands. What is the old saying: idle hands are the Devil’s plaything.

How does this apply to our life?

Some of us are knowingly avoiding our call. We know that we have been called to a certain task and we don’t want to perform it.

We all know that when we marry, God desires us to become excellent wives. If we decide to have children, God desires us to become excellent mothers. God wants for us to keep an orderly home. These are a given.

However, we are called to minister to others outside the home as well.

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live…Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:3-5 (NIV)

If you are a woman who is farther down to road, you have a responsibility to help younger women learn how to be a good wife and mother and how to keep a home. Perhaps you are running from that opportunity because, “I don’t have enough time,” or “I don’t know how to teach someone to be a wife and mother,” or “Who’s going to listen to me? I’ve made so many mistakes.”

I would encourage you that you have more to offer than you think! This passage isn’t a suggestion. It’s a command from Peter and God. We can see what happened in David’s life when he abandoned his calling.

Now, a caveat to what I’m saying: there are seasons in life.

If if your relationship with Christ is not where is should be; if your marriage is going through a tough spot; if you are the mother of several very small children; if your house looks like a tornado swept through; now is not the time to start a ministry to others outside the home. Perhaps now is the time to pray that another Godly woman come into your life who can walk along side you as you learn how to get your life in hand. Or, you may need to sit down and determine that you are going to seek God for your life; renew your relationship with Him, with your husband, with your children, or with your house. :wink:

the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Gal 6:8b-9 (NIV)

If you are struggling in one or more of these areas of your life, take heart in this scripture. Take time to sow to the Spirit and you will reap a harvest.

Perhaps you’re like me and you’re impatient, waiting for your time to follow the call of God on your life. Perhaps you think, like I did, that if you don’t use that call, you’ll lose it. Well, Romans 11:29 was written just for you and me. (I love it in both the King James and the NIV.)

For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (KJV)

for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. (NIV)

That means that if God has a call on your life, if you feel that call burning in your soul, He will bring it to pass.

Decide today where you are. Are you avoiding the ministry that God has for you? Are you bogged down in everyday life? Are you struggling to be a good wife, mother, homemaker?

Take a step today to move from where you are to where you know God wants you to be. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

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Awesome Post

Sunday, June 17, 5:47 am

I found an awesome post on the armor of God written by Olivia Montgomery. I would encourage you to take a few moments to read it.

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Empty Space Is Still a Place

Monday, June 11, 6:41 am

“Empty space is still a place.” I love this quote from Joyce Meyer.

Did you know that you can choose your thoughts? The Bible talks a great deal about our thought life.

One of my favorite verses is found in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Paul tells us:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (KJV)

You can choose your thoughts. You can choose what you think about all day long. You do not have to think every thought that pops into your head. When you have a wrong thought, you can stop it.

The key is, you need to replace it with a right thought or your mind stands empty for a time…long enough for another thought to come…perhaps even worse than the last one!

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Luke 11:24-26 (KJV)

Now, this can be a hard passage to understand. We don’t often think of ourselves as having “unclean spirits.” Spirit here is from the Greek, pneuma, and literally means “a current of air.” However, figuratively, it means “the rational soul or mental disposition.” This is talking of our soul—our mind, emotion, intellect, and conscience. Thinking of it this way makes it a little more understandable.

Jesus here is talking about our thought life. When we cast out a wrong thought, we need to replace it with a right thought. If we don’t, that thought roams around looking for someplace to rest. When it finds no place to rest, it returns to it’s former home…your mind. If it finds your mind swept and orderly (but not decorated and filled with right thoughts) it goes to get some of it’s nasty friends and they all come to inhabit your newly cleaned mind. And the last state of that man is worse than the first.

Today take the time to think about what you’re thinking about. This is one thing that separates us from animals. Animals think, but they cannot think about what they think about. If you find yourself anxious, worried, sick and tired, the problem can most likely be traced back to your thought life.

Spend some time in your Bible looking up scriptures that speak to the thing you struggle with the most. Cast out those “unclean spirits” and replace them with God’s Word for your life.

If you are struggling in a particular area of your life and you would like help with what scriptures speak to that area, feel free to email me or leave your question in the comments area by clicking on “comments” below.

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