Excess Baggage

Excess Baggage
By Eddie Smith

As I stood in line at the Air France ticket counter at Houston's George Bush International Airport I could hardly believe my eyes. In full view of the 200 people who were waiting in line behind her, an elegantly-dressed African lady, pulled a new computer monitor (looks like a television set) from its manufacturer's shipping container, opened up her two suitcases on the floor, and began digging a place in one suitcase in which she could cram her new monitor, while stuffing clothing into the other. Why?
Airline companies have baggage limitations for their passengers. They restrict the number of pieces of luggage each passenger can bring on board, as well as the weight and sizes of those items. This is very important, because the airplane has limited cargo space; and the weight of the cargo, along with the total weight of the passengers can effect the handling of the plane in flight. Although she had one too many packages, she was absolutely intent on taking her newly-purchased computer monitor with her to Africa!
Spiritually speaking, excess baggage in your life will deter the progress of your Christian growth. They may be things related to your past, and sometimes things that relate to your predecessors (your parents and grandparents). Are you as intent as this African traveler was to reduce your excess baggage? Let's look at what that might entail.

Evil Twins: Cults and The Occult

Many of those who are Christians today came to Christ only after a long quest for spiritual knowledge. In their searches they delved into god-forbidden things. Others, in moments of weakness even after becoming Christians, drifted into occult spiritual practices. In the Old Testament God repeatedly reveals His anger against these things. It is in this context that He admits that He is a jealous God. (See Exodus 20:5; 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; and there are others.)
The occult is clearly more dangerous than other offenses because it involves the act of soliciting and securing supernatural power from sources other than Jehovah God. The devil and his demons take very seriously the commitment one makes to solicit and to serve them. Satan wants to protect the demonic ties he may have with you, whether they were established years ago or just last week.
Occult activities include the Ouija board, séances, Freemasonry, fortune telling, the game Dungeons and Dragons, astrology, witchcraft, Satanism, yoga, demonic video games, various children's card collections (like Pokemontm), even Harry Potter books, and etc. (See Appendix B for a more comprehensive list.) The word “witchcraft” actually comes from the Greek word pharmakeia from which comes the English word “pharmacy” (a place that prepares and dispenses drugs). So, abusing drugs, legal or illegal, also opens the door to witchcraft spirits.
Along with the occult are cults, which include false religions like Mormonism, Islam (Muslim), Hinduism, Scientology, Unitarianism, Buddhism, Unity, Jehovah’s Witness, New Age, etc.
I wonder how many readers have made it this far? Experience tells me that only a small fraction of Christians who purchase this book will actually read, absorb, and apply these truths. No matter what I write, how well it's written, or how many people buy this book, only a small percentage will follow through to completion. Why? I believe there are two basic reasons.
The first has to do with motivation. Three things generally motivate us: desperation, inspiration, or curiosity. Beyond the curiosity, you are reading this book because you are either desperate or inspired. And that's really a good thing. That's how the Holy Spirit draws us into change. You are either trying to find a remedy to what you perceive as a painful situation, or you are striving to reach a goal that excites and motivates you.
The second reason so few will actually follow through to completion is that for every new revelation you receive, every page you turn, and every new commitment you make to Christ, Satan is losing his grip on your life. So, for the hungry souls who have read to this point, you are the ones on which I am focused right now. With perseverance like yours, you can realize your true freedom in Christ and reach your ultimate kingdom potential! Satan will tempt you to give up, to surrender to him, or to your flesh. Should that fail, he will try to distract you with other people or priorities. If you have a high degree of integrity, he'll remind you of your other obligations. Simply put, Satan cannot afford to allow you to finish this book and this process. He has too much at stake!
Please allow me to stop here and pray for you:

"Father, in the name of your Son and my Savior, Jesus Christ, right now I am asking you to surround the one who is reading these words with your holy angels. I am asking you, Holy Spirit, to maintain the momentum that brought my reader this far on the journey. Whether it is frustration with their life as it is, or inspiration to be the person they can and should become, work in his or her heart until each receives their true freedom from the enemy's clutches and reach the highest level of their kingdom potential in Christ. Amen."

Why should you press on? In the preface of Alice's and my book Spiritual Housecleaning, we raise the following question.

"Imagine there were a plague of snakes of biblical proportions in your city. The house in which you live is completely overrun with deadly, poisonous snakes. How important would it be for you to make sure some of the snakes were removed. You wouldn't even consider that an option, would you? Absolutely not. You would insist that all of the snakes be removed if you and your family were to continue living there. Could you sleep peacefully if you thought there might be even one poisonous snake left in your home?"

As we lay the foundation for our freedom, we will come face to face with some disconcerting things. These things, like deadly snakes, will have polluted our hearts and lives, if not our homes. I discovered how spiritually debilitating they were in my life. Since then, I've assisted literally thousands of Christians around the world to experience freedom from their excess baggage of ancestral bondage or generational iniquity, mental torment, physical maladies, satanic attacks, and emotional pain.