Left Luggage

I did a post on spiritual house cleaning and afterward, a question came up. Why would you need to do a cleansing of your house if you're a Christian? I suppose the idea being that Christians have some kind of protection automatically just because we're Christians.

Let's play a game. Imagine that life is a train station. And people from all over the world come into this train station with their luggage planning to get on a train. Let's say your train pulls into the station and 20 people pick up their bags and march onto your train. They take their seats and everybody gets comfortable and the train takes off. You have 20 people and all their baggage on your train. You don't know what's in their bags. Perhaps they'll have clothes, toiletries, books, or bombs. You just don't know but they're on your train.

Now suppose that at the next stop, five of those people get off to the train but they leave some of their baggage. You still don't know what's in their baggage and you won't know until it's too late. And you still have 15 people on the train. You simply can't predict what is in the bags on your train or how it will affect you and everyone else on that train. You trust that you are all safe and no one will be hurt.

What you don't know is that one of those 20 people just killed his wife and his bloody clothes are in that suitcase. Another of those 20 people is a child molester and has the evidence in the bag under the seat and is planning their next crime. Twelve people have nothing in their bags but the stuff they need on their trip. Three of them have guns. One has a woman tied in his basement. And they've all been on your train.

Let's move the action closer. Your house contains you and your family. Now, someone knocks at the front door and when you answer, a salesman greets you. The salesman hands you a flier. You take the flier glance at it but tell them you'll think about it and call him back. He goes away and you close the door, flyer in hand. You didn't read the flier so you don't know what it's about but you lay off on the table and forget about it.

Next day, another person knocks on the door of your house. When you open the door it's a friend you haven't seen in several months, or perhaps a few days. You invite them in. You don't know what is going on in their lives. You don't know where they've been or what they've been doing. You have no clue what they are going through. You spend some time together and they leave. On their way out they pick up the flyer and you tell them they can take it with them if they like. They shove it into their pocket.

You don't know that your friend has been practicing a dangerous religion in order to put a spell on someone she is angry with.

What you should have noticed in these vignettes is that something was left in every situation. Baggage of some sort is left in every case. Suitcases filled with evil, a flyer from an unknown person, a friend you invited in along with all her personal baggage. They all left something behind.
Every person you meet has baggage. You have baggage. Everywhere you go you run the risk of leaving your baggage or getting someone else's baggage.

So, cleansing my house is very important. Not just my spiritual house but the place I live, eat, and sleep. I don't want to be stumbling over someone's left luggage.

Cleaning House

When I was growing up, Mama used to pray a lot and I'd hear her many times. She prayed for all of us and even for our animals if they were sick. From somewhere, and I think it was her, I learned about praying for every room in your house.

Now, I want to be clear here. This is not like what you see on television where a person is performing an ancient ritual of cleansing burning sage and other herbs. I believe cleansing rituals have been around probably longer than formal religion. Even the Hebrews practiced burning incense in the temple and it was considered a "sweet savour to the Lord" and they probably did the same in their homes. Although, I can't be sure about the homes it wouldn't surprise me.

People have always, forever believed that evil could inhibit the space they lived in, whether it be caves, grass huts, or frame houses. I am certain many religions practiced some kind of cleansing rituals to protect themselves and their loved ones. Christians pray for the same reason other faiths pray, and yes, most "religion", whatever or whoever it is based on, have some kind of prayer or incantations. That is a common feature. So, it isn't surprising to me that cleansing rituals cross cultural and religious lines.

We've been seeing some problems with Sarah lately that just seemed too far off the chart for her and it has us stymied on how to deal with it.  Of course, I pray for her. I pray for my own children, too, even now. However, the issues that began to present themselves were of such concern I felt that prayer wasn't enough. She had developed such a negative spirit it was affecting everything from school work, behavior to emotional feelings. Is there ever a time prayer wasn't enough? Jesus thought so. He said so in Matthew 17:21.

So, I decided to do something I've only done a few times in my life but that I learned as a child. I "swept" the house. The first time I remember doing it I used an actual broom. I started in the room that was farthest from the exit doors of my house and began praying, using the broom in sweeping motions while I ordered every unclean spirit, every bad attitude, and every negative emotion from the room. I moved through the whole house, ending up sweeping it all out the door.

A few years ago, I was having some problems and I talked to a minister about it and he advised me to anoint my windows and doors with oil. Of course, we anoint people with oil when we pray for them in church because the scripture instructs us to do that. In fact, I prefer that they do that rather than just laying hands on me. Anyway, I followed his instructions and anointed my windows and doors and followed with prayer similar to what I did with the broom.

This week, I felt that I needed to sweep the house again, I didn't do it right away. Something kept telling me that it would help with our situation. It took me two days to actually follow through. Well, I got a bottle of olive oil and started in Sarah's room. I anointed the windows first and ordered every window sealed against any spirit not of God. I "flushed" the room clear through the door and then, sealed the door with the oil. I moved through every room, sealing windows first then doors. When I reached the last exit door of the house, I opened the door and ushered out anything negative or evil that had made it that far and then, I sealed the last door with oil. I even did the garage.

When Sarah came home that evening, she was still a bit "dark". She just didn't care about anything. When a child starts uttering "I don't care" about serious things, there is a problem that spanking and grounding won't cure. But I did notice a few minutes after getting home, she seemed to get in a better mood. By the next day, home behavior was much more relaxed, less arguing, less resistance to instructions, more friendly. She voluntarily read and did things that didn't require her Ipad. Last night, she got the cane I have to use on occasion, put on my glasses and began imitating me. It was hysterical and we were laughing and having a wonderful time. Two days before I couldn't get a civil word out of her.

I've been praying the same way for my property ever since I've been in this house. I pray a spiritual fence around the property and seal it off. I don't know why I started doing it but I've always done it. I've only done the house twice because I've only felt the need for it twice. I suspect I may do it more often for a while.

This may all seem foolish to you and hokey religion. Just don't tell me it didn't work. She's still struggling with some things and since life is a daily struggle I am sure it will require more work. However, I'm thankful God doesn't take the foolish things lightly. That some ancient rituals are not out of date. Remember Jesus, purging the temple? He physically took a whip and went through the temple court and tossed everything he found abhorrent out, including people and animals. I just used his method in the spiritual world, rather than the physical. That's what cleansing is, removing every dirty thing from your realm and restoring order to it.