Matthew 12:43-45

Matthew 12:43-45 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  I love to snack.  If I'm at home, more than likely, I'm in the kitchen, grazing.  Sometimes, I'm eating something healthy, while other times... well, let's just say I don't keep ice cream in the house anymore.  I used to eat it for breakfast.  But it's not enough for me to just not keep it in the house -- I need something to replace it.  Otherwise, I just get hungry and go to the store and buy more ice cream.  So I try and find some healthy snacks to replace the ice cream -- that takes the edge off and prevents the cravings.
  The same is true of our faith life.  When we have vices or sins that are controlling us, it's not enough to just try and ignore them.  Our willpower is like a muscle -- eventually, it will weaken and we'll return to those prior cravings.  We need to replace those cravings with something good.  Jesus is teaching us that if we fill the holes in our life with spiritual things, that if we allow the Holy Spirit to fill those God-shaped holes in our lives, rather than trying to find pale imitations to fill them, then we can grow in a healthy direction.  Only God can truly satisfy -- so we replace our cravings with times of prayer or small group meetings or Bible study, and slowly we watch as God continues to shape our hearts so that we growing in faithfulness.