[Jesus said] "When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, 'I will return to the person I came from.' So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and clean. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation." (Matthew 12:43-45 NLT)

Scientists tell us that nature abhors a vacuum; when we take all the air out of a jar, something else will rush in to take its place.

Work on those positive actions.

This is true not only in the physical realm, but also in the spiritual realm as well. Jesus reminds us of this with the parable of the person who cleared the house of demons, only to find they had returned in greater numbers than before.

It's not enough to teach our children what not to do, we have to teach and model the good we want them to do. We can't depend on warnings or threats to serve as a reliable guide. They want — and need — positive leadership in action. They need to be pointed in a good direction with a great mission to replace the bad influences the world offers.

So let's make the rest of the day work a little better by working on those positive actions to take the place of those negative influences that will rush in and capture our children if we don't.

 

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© 2007 Paul Faulkner.

Title: "Filling the Vacuum"
Author: Paul Faulkner
Publication Date: January 19, 2007

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