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The Necessity of Replacement

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him 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.”
Luke 11:24-26
Anyone who has ever done any gardening knows the importance of getting the ground ready before planting. If you simply chop holes into a grassy field and plant some seeds, your harvest is going to be puny, if there is any production at all. Instead you have to break up the ground, take out any rocks, and remove any weeds. But once the ground is prepared, it is vital to put in the seeds. If you till and prepare the ground but then walk away and leave it, you will have a bumper crop of weeds. They will move right in and take over the whole plot.
Our lives operate in the same manner. While it is right and important to remove sin, it is not enough. We must replace the bad with something good or eventually things will be worse than they were when we started. This is true in every part of life. It is true for our habits. A vital part of breaking a bad habit is replacing it with a good one. That is the greatest protection against slipping back into our old ways. It is easy for us to focus only on the negative things that we need to avoid and lose sight of the positive things we need to be cultivating. Instead we need to be focused on putting good things in the place of the bad ones.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

If your life is filled with the Spirit of God, the devil will find he has little room to operate.

Don’t Wing It

by Joyce Meyer - posted May 08, 2016

Although He was a Son, He learned [active, special] obedience through what He suffered and, [His completed experience] making Him perfectly [equipped], He became the Author and Source of eternal salvation to all those who give heed and obey Him.
—Hebrews 5:8-9
Ever found yourself in a situation where you did not take time to prepare for something at work or at church and you’re expected to do something? Your heart starts hammering, the butterflies in your stomach start flittering, and you quietly think to yourself, I’ll just wing it. You’re not prepared, but you’re hoping you can pull it off anyway and nobody will ever know.
Even if you do manage to deceive other people, you will know the truth and you won’t feel good about it. Down deep inside you will know that you did not do your best. You might feel relieved that you managed to get through it, but you did it in fear rather than confidence.
Even Jesus was trained and prepared by the suffering He went through. He was equipped for His office as High Priest through His times of preparation. If Jesus needed preparation in order to be equipped for His job, there is no doubt that we need the same thing. Sometimes the bitter experiences we endure are the best teachers we have in life.
Lord, I ask You to use all of my life experiences to shape me as they shaped You. I want to be a person of substance and godliness with something to give to others. Amen.