“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:24-26, ESV)
Reject Jesus, and you’re an empty house waiting for the bad guys to move in, take over, and bring their friends.My friend Wendell walked onto the tee at the par-3 over water and took his stance. Then he backed away, standing behind the ball and looking at the green. Once more he took his stance, ready to hit.
Again, he backed off. As he stood behind the ball, still looking at the green, he said in a stern voice, “Would six of you be quiet?”
I tried to stifle my laugh, not wanting to add to the apparent cacophony in Wendell’s head, but I failed. The golf demons were doing their thing, giving him way too many things to think about.
It reminded me of Scott Stallings at a Tales from the Tour event. The interviewer asked, “Let’s say you have a tight lie on a chip shot to a fast green, and the pressure is on. What are you thinking?” His answer: “You don’t want to know.”
It is virtually impossible to empty your mind before you hit a golf shot, especially under pressure. So the key is to choose a positive thought before you address the ball and focus on it through the swing. That could be a picture of the shot, it could be a swing thought, or it could be your target—but you have to keep thinking of it.
The purpose of having a chosen thought isn’t to do the thing you are thinking of, though it will help with that. The purpose is to keep other thoughts out of your mind. Try it, and you’ll find that it works.
The passage cited above is a warning to the scribes and Pharisees, but it can apply to us. Get rid of the unclean spirits in your life without filling your life with the Holy Spirit (which they were not willing to do), and the vacancy will be temporary.
While the Holy Spirit is a gift, it is also a choice. Choose Jesus, and you receive his Spirit. Reject Jesus, and you’re an empty house waiting for the bad guys to move in, take over, and bring their friends.
Live your life choosing daily—even minute by minute—to listen to God’s Spirit. That is how you keep all those other voices quiet.
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Lewis Greer
November 15, 2017
Copyright 2017 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.