Good Morning Friends,
“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it
goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I
will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied,
swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other
spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final
condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this
wicked generation.” (Matthew 12:43-45)
The principle Jesus taught here is that when
you lay aside something evil and negative it must be replaced by something
righteous and positive. If not, the void that is created will allow the evil
and negative to return, and when it returns it will be worse than ever.
Take your thought life as an example. Paul’s
admonition is to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2
Corinthians 10:5) But taking every thought captive is not just a matter of
getting rid of the unrighteous thoughts. Rather, it is shifting from unrighteous
thoughts to the righteous: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is
noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such
things.” (Philippians 4:8)
Someone made the same general point when they
coined the phrase, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”
Don’t just strive to rid your life of that
which is evil and negative, for that is only half the task and it cannot be
done alone. Rather, replace that which is evil and negative with that which is
righteous and positive.
His, by Grace, Steve
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