As fallen human creatures whose minds are filled with web after web of “head trash” collected over decades of cataloging detailed offenses, we need to find a way to clear out our mental attics! Yesterday as I sat with my Uncle “Snack” (Wayne) Anspach under a shade tree on the lawn of the Lembergers United Methodist Church (discussing my upcoming blog on the faith of the “Blue Eyed Six”) a jogger passed by. When we said hello she stopped to chat and during the conversation about jogging and other things, she mentioned that she’s learned to “Travel lite through life and dismiss all the head trash” which bogs her down in her journey.

What a clear analogy and wise advice! The Apostle Paul, the writer of 13 books in the New Testament of the Bible, could have carried a lot of head trash into his ministry. He was a “Pharisee of the Pharisees” (that’s like a Pope among Popes) who knew every jot and tittle of the Jewish Law which constricted that nation’s people with lifeless rules and regulations shackling their daily lives. He was a hater of the new believers which sprang up in new life after Jesus’ resurrection even to the point of approving the stoning of Stephen a new deacon in the church whose faith shone like a blow torch to his executioners. Paul went on to breathe out threats to all the new churches and carried government arrest warrants with him as he traveled to persecute them.

That was when Jesus appeared to him in a bolt of light on the road to Damascus. Struck down to the ground as Jesus spoke to him from the heavens he embraced “The Faith” as his own and trusted in Christ as his Savior. A changed man, he then made it his life’s goal to preach of Jesus to all who would listen and founded church after church in that quest and thanks to him and other faithful disciples you and I have the opportunity to hear of and trust the Savior today.

Paul dismissed the head trash which could have weighed him down. He said in Philippians 3:13 “I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” The writer of the book of Hebrews in chapter 12:1 also said “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”.

It has been said that holding onto unforgiveness and bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. How true it is! So what is the key to clearing out the web after web of headtrash? This battle of the mind is a spiritual one. We don’t fight physical battles but go to war with forces unseen whose goal is to keep us from living out our faith. The battle starts with making sure you are in the family of God which is done by believing the Gospel that Christ died for our sins, was buried and was raised on the third day. By turning from sin and trusting in Christ to forgive you He will give you the new life He promised.

Then, equipped with Jesus new life inside of you, saturate yourself in His Word the Bible with daily reading, memorization of and meditation on His Word and then start a daily conversation with him in prayer. These steps, along with attending a church where the Bible is preached, will give you all the tools you need to be set free from all that binds you. Pray, “Lord I forgive everyone, everything. Take these burdens from me, I lay them at the foot of Your Cross. I don’t want to carry this baggage anymore.” Let it go! Let it go!