Our lesson this week comes from Matthew 12. Jesus had been healing the sick and casting out devils and the Pharisees accused him of doing this by the power of the devil. But Jesus explained that ''if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself'' and ''how can his kingdom stand?'' (Matthew 12:26). A kingdom, a city or a house divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25).
When we believe one thing and do another, we become unstable and miserable. Jesus has the power to cast out our demons, to help us overcome our weaknesses and become clean again when we repent, but it is up to us afterward to replace the void left by removing our bad habits and sins with something positive.
As Jesus explained, ''When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished. Then goeth he and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.'' (Matthew 12:43-45)
When Jesus cleans us up leaves us swept and garnished, we must guard ourselves and fill our hearts with good things good thoughts, uplifting music, the scriptures, prayer, loving service, association with fellow believers etc. If we do not fill our hearts with the positive, then the evil will come back in and bring more vices and iniquity with it. Nature hates a void. If we're going to remove a bad habit, we have to replace it with a positive one or we'll gravitate back to the old known way of doing things. We'll go back to what was comfortable. We must fill our hearts with good treasure for ''a good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things (Matthew 12:35).
A good friend of mine who has overcome bad habits in the past has used what she refers to as ''positive self-brainwashing.'' She decided that if media and environment could talk her into believing that drugs, cigarettes and alcohol would make her cool, successful and happy, then positive media and environment could help turn her around. Over a period of several years, she began a systematic method of filling her mind with the positive. She continually looked for positive phrases, scripture verses and quotes and put them on index cards, posters and signs that she placed around her house and carried with her to help remind her of positive uplifting things. She immersed herself in the scriptures and good books and leaned on the Lord in prayer.
She explained ''If you don't fill your mind with something, then someone else (Satan) will fill it for you.'' One of the most compelling things she has ever done to go forward in becoming the person that God intends has been to create a collage of the person she wanted to be. She went through magazines and took words, pictures and phrases that represented the person she wanted to become and put them on a poster in a collage. Today, years later, she still has that original poster and she has become the confident, self-assured, addiction-free individual that she visualized and represented on this poster. Even though her environment was the total opposite of what she wanted to be, that vision of who she wanted to be transformed her from the inside out. Not only has she changed, but also in her changing she has been an instrument in the hands of God to transform the lives of those around her pulling herself and her children out of a depressing environment to one filled with hope and promise. She spends her days looking for opportunities to share what she's learned with others who are hungry for something better for their lives.
She explained, ''It is important any time that we want to make a major change in our lives to get a clear picture of who we want to be when we reach our goal. You need to define where you want to go. People are usually visual. When you're in doubt, when you're having a bad day, and all the work you've done seems fruitless look at the poster and remind yourself of what you're shooting for.''
''You're planting seeds within your own brain of what you want to be. If you don't you're leaving it up to a chaotic world to plant whatever it wants in there.''
All of this process of collecting and displaying uplifting quotes, pictures and verses is helping you discover what is important to you and what you stand for. It gives your life meaning, purpose and direction. ''You've got to find out who you are and what you stand for. You don't know where you're going or what you're bending for if you don't know what you stand for.''
I challenge you to start today. Sit down with some magazines and pull out words, pictures and phrases that represent who you want to become and create your poster. The interesting thing about this process is that it's not that you are becoming anyone foreign. You are discovering who you really are inside. It's like Michaelangelo said when he was sculpting David. He didn't sculpt or create David. David was already in there, and Michaelangelo simply ''set him free.''
With God's help, you will be set free. You can become who you really already are inside. The kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21) As Patricia Holland said in her speech, Many Things
One Thing: ''I believe that if any woman is to find her own personal identity and value for herself, her family, her society, and her God, she will have to uncover her own soul and set it free. Then it can and should range throughout all eternity, having great influence and doing much good.''
Marnie L. Pehrson is a wife, mother of 6, founder of SheLovesGod.com, and author of both inspirational Christian titles such as 
