As the holiday season is swiftly approaching, its during this time of year when people begin to give their most undivided attention to the maintenance of their home. People are continuously doing both interior and exterior work to their home, by changing color schemes and decorations in order to achieve a desired appearance. However, I would like to oppose the question of how many people are giving this same effort to managing their spiritual house as they do for their external house?
My answer to that question is, there are several confessed saved individuals who are participating in activities that may bare witness to them having difficulty trusting that Jesus is enough to sustain their mental health. I drew to this conclusion by simply observing several confessed believers of Jesus Christ participating in smudging as a form of self-care. For those who may be unfamiliar with this term it relates to the act of burning bundles of sage in order to cleanse a person and/or space, also to bring a sense of protection to one's life and environment.
Now do not get it twisted, I do believe in being aware of one's mental health state needing attention as much as one's physical state. Nevertheless, I believe that Jesus is the greatest resource a person could pull on to achieve a peace of mind and overall stability emotionally and physically. In John 10:10, Jesus states that he comes to give abundant life. 2 Corinthians 9:8, it assures us that God gives us grace upon grace to have all that we need. John 1:9 it tells us that God is faithful to forgive all sins while 1 John 1:7 reassures us that we are made clean through the blood of Jesus. So I ask, why as Christians do we feel the need to smudge, when the one who is able to do great things is one conversation away. For Jesus Christ, was the atonement that was sacrificed for a multitude of sins that no other man, woman, nor thing could have paid.
On that note, I urge anyone and everyone who is reading this blog to try some of the following practical and spiritual tips to achieving a sense of peace and joy in your spiritual house, that being mind, body, and soul:
Pray - speak well over your upcoming week and bless your home, also be honest about your feelings to God.
Fasting - limit the amount of distractions from social media and foods that weigh you down.
Change up your playlist - filter out music that endorses bad habits, be mindful of lyrics.
Change your watch list on Netflix, Hulu, etc.- limit drama filled television or videos.
Change up conservations - less gossip, negative talk, and criticism about yourself or others.
Meditate - study the Word of God, read over a verse continuously until it resonates w/you.
Exercise - studies show that working out helps to regulate a person's mental state.
Vacation- take time off from work and house hold roles to re-group, changing scenery can go a long way.
Decree & Declare- speak a loud the Word of God, and positive affirmations about yourself.
Now, let me just give a quick disclaimer RIGHT NOW for all my saints who are gifted in the area of debating and/or arguing. A lot of the information that I share are simply opinion based statements with a hint of factual advice given from biblical scripture. So I hope that all the things you have read on this page did not cause any form of offense but a new perspective to arise instead.
And if you haven't listened to the most recent episode of Shifting House please check it out, you do not want to miss it, Clean Energy Part II! For further details on Christians smudging check out this amazing post from Bible.org/blog written by Christen Jacobs. Both mentioned resources go into further detail on how incense were used in the bible verses their use in today's time to reach spiritual freedom.
Be blessed and continue to...
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