“And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.” –  Sam. 24:17

I recently wrote about “Vices and Virtues” from Eph. 4:31-32). Today I want to sum up the virtues with one word – “mercy“. One of the best examples of this is found in 1 Sam. 24:16-22, where we find David sparing king Saul when he had the perfect opportunity to kill him. Rather than murder him he showed mercy – leaving for us a great lesson on dealing with difficulties.

Keep in mind that Saul was unfairly making David’s life miserable. He was determined to kill David and along with 3,000 men hunting him down like a wild animal. When Saul went to sleep in a cave he had no idea that David and his men were hid in the cave. But rather than kill the wicked king, David simply cut off a piece of his robe – giving evidence that he was not an enemy or threat to the king. He chose to be merciful to the man who was making him miserable!

That made an impression on Saul. He said, “Thou art more righteous than I: for thou rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil” ( 1 Sam. 24:17). This is a great example of what Paul meant when he wrote, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” ( Rom. 12:21). Our natural tendency is to react to evil with evil. But the wise thing to do is to respond to the evil with good, to show mercy. That’s what Jesus did when he prayed for those who crucified him ( Luke 23:34).

There’s no doubt about it, regardless of how well you live there will be those who hate, abuse, use, and neglect you. In some cases they do it because you are godly ( 2 Tim. 3:12). Yet we are to respond in mercy, withholding the evil they deserve. That not only pleases God, it makes an impression on others and gives us the best possible chance to see them change. If for no other reason we ought to do it because “God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” ( Eph. 4:32). – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” –Romans 12:21

“Be not overcome of evil” – that is good advice, but it is much more than that. This is a command. Thankfully it is followed with this counsel – “but overcome evil with good”. Paul tells us what to do and how to do it. Doing good is not just a good thing to do, it is essential to living a victorious life. Doing good not only pleases God, it also serves as a means to overcome the bad that wars against us. Without the doing of good bad will prevail and we are sure to fail.

John Henry Jowett wrote, “For how else can we cast out evil? Satan cannot cast out Satan. No one can clean a room with a filthy duster. The surgeon cannot cut out the disease if his instruments are defiled. While he removed one ill-growth he would       sow the seed of another. It must be health which fights disease. It will demand a good temper to overcome the bad temper in my brother.
     
And therefore I must cultivate a virtue if I would eradicate a vice. That applies to the state of my own soul. If there be some immoral habit in my life, the best way to destroy it is by cultivating a good one. Take the mind away from the evil one. Deprive it of thought-food. Give the thought to the nobler mood, and the ignoble mood will die. And this also applies to the faults and vices of my brother. I must fight them with their opposites. If he is harsh and cruel, I must be considerate and gentle. If he is grasping, I must be generous. If he is loud and presumptuous, I must be soft-mannered and self-restrained. If he is devilish, I must be a Christian. This is the warfare which tells upon the empire of sin. I can overcome evil with good.“

Living in this wicked world we have an opportunity everyday to create change by defeating the enemy of evil with the grace of good. Failing to do so just makes the world worse. So don’t curse the darkness if you aren’t shining the light of love to those around you. – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.” – 2 Pet. 3:17

The NT speaks much about growing and abounding, which are essential to our welfare. The best definition of backsliding that I know of is this – “when a child of God ceases to grow in grace, and in the  knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” ( 2 Pet. 3:18). The Christian life is a lot like riding a bike, you have to keep going or you will fall over – you can’t standstill.

In a message by David Dykes he reminds us of  Paul Harvey’s talk about “a retired couple who purchased a large motor home several years ago. Back then one of the great features was cruise control. As they were traveling up the West Coast, the husband became tired and asked his wife to drive while he went in the back to take a nap. As she was driving she put the camper on cruise control and it worked perfectly. After a few minutes of straight highway driving she got up to get a drink. Of course, the motor home ran off the road and crashed into a ditch. Fortunately, neither of the passengers was injured. After the accident, the wife told the highway patrol she thought cruise control would keep the RV on the road! She never made that mistake again. Sadly, many Christians have put their spiritual lives on cruise control; they aren’t really actively paying attention to worship, Bible study, and prayer. No wonder so many of them wind up in the ditch spiritually.”  

Sadly there are a lot of folks like those in the church at Ephesus who had left their first love ( Rev. 2:1-7), or like the Laodiceas who were lukewarm (Rev. 3:14-18). May God help us to be always growing, abounding in love, and on fire for God. – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” – Eph. 4:31-32
Look at that list – “bitterness.. wrath.. anger.. clamor.. evil speaking.. malice”, and try to imagine how much better the world would be without them. Think of all the harm caused by these things. Consider how they affect you personally, your relationships, family, church, business, and even the government. It’s easy to see that life would be much different and better without these things They are a curse!

Now notice the command, which is two-fold. First he tells us to “put away” those things. Second he tells us to be “kind.. tenderhearted.. forgiving”. As simple and serious as these commandments are, we all know they aren’t easy. In fact, sometimes it seems impossible for us to live up to such a high standard. Yet God refuses to lower the bar and lessen the demands. And to do the will of God we must obey.

Next we see the cause for doing so – “even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” ( vs. 32). If we are to turn vices into virtues we must do as we are commanded. It is imperative. But how? The power needed to practice this precept is found in our appreciation of what Christ has done for us. To think of Christ forgiving us should motivate us to forgive anyone of anything. Knowing our Father in heaven has forgiven us, accepted us, and blessed us, how dare we not forgive others. We are never more like Jesus than when we forgive others. Doing so not only releases the other person, it relieves you of your guilt for not having done so. It also removes you from the bondage of the past. The only way to get past the past, have peace for the present, and protect your prospects is to turn these vices into virtues. If you really want the world to be a better place, let the change begin with you!  – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“…..the just shall live by his faith.” – Hab. 2:4

Volumes have been written about this statement. It is without a doubt one of the most important verses in all the Bible. As you know, there are 1001 things that can induce fear and struggling against it can be exhausting. There are times when our circumstances just don’t seem to make sense. It’s like getting caught up in a whirlwind you are trapped and torment. We cry out for help, but we see no sign of it in sight.

It was in such a situation that Habakkuk found himself. Then suddenly relief came to him in the form of a revelation from God. And his remedy is our remedy – “the just shall live by his faith”. When we can’t understand we must believe that God understands, and that He undertakes to deliver us. When everything seems out of control we need to remember that God controls everything. When it appears that God isn’t doing anything we need to remember that He is always active. That should activate us.

Living by faith is more than accepting what God says as the truth, it is acting on that assurance. True faith doesn’t just sit back and watch God, unless that’s what He commands. Faith responds by doing what we can and trusting God to do what we can’t. It caused Noah to build the ark, Abraham to leave his country, Jacob to travel to Egypt, and Solomon to build the temple. Were we wise we would do as David when he said, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee” ( Ps. 56:3). When we honor God by trusting Him He helps us because He is pleased ( Heb. 11:6). If you are facing a giant, struggling in a storm, or confronted with temptation, fear not. God who brought you to it will bring you through it. He who has never failed won’t fail you! – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346