DO THIS! (PART 12)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:21b-22

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we reach the final message in this series titled “Do This!” based on a series of commands we find in God’s word as Paul closes out his first letter to the believers in Thessalonica. Here’s a rundown of the prior eleven before we finish with today’s demand from the Lord:

1. Live in peace with one another.

2. Warn those who are idle and disruptive.

3. Encourage the disheartened, help the weak.

4. Be patient with everyone.

5. Don’t pay back wrong for wrong.

6. Always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

7. Rejoice always.

8. Pray continually.

9. Give thanks in all circumstances.

10. Do not quench the Spirit.

11. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all.

If you have missed any of the previous messages, you can always catch up on them by going to https://The-Christian-Walk.blogspot.com.

And now, let’s look at our twelfth and final command:

Hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. Vv. 21b-22

You may hear people say that there is a battle raging every day between good and evil, and there is no doubt this is true. Unfortunately, there are many who hold this view that fail to apply any spiritual definition to the problem and in doing so, miss the very essence and solution because as we turn to the word of God, we find a lot of direction.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21

Here we find one way to hold onto good and reject evil is to allow the goodness in our lives to transcend evil and when we allow the God of all goodness to be front and center in all that we do, we can be assured He will work things out for our good (Romans 8:28).

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness. Isaiah 5:20

Sometimes, knowing there are dire consequences for not holding onto good and rejecting evil serves to keep us from falling into sin. Here, we find the prophet Isaiah promising woe (aka the judgment of God) on those who would substitute evil and darkness for good and light. No one should want to willing place themselves in the crosshairs of the Lord’s punishment.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Proverbs 3:7

Here the matter of doing good is associated with being wise and no one can be wise on their own merit. Apart from the Lord, we are all destined to foolishness and transgression which will lead to evil. In the book of wisdom, we are called to “trust in the Lord” with our whole heart so that He can “make our paths straight” through our submission to His will and way, a will and way that will always lead us to do good.

I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. Galatians 5:16-17

Finally, we can make sure we meet the requirements of “Do This!” command number twelve by surrendering to the lead of the Holy Spirit. When a Christian believes in Jesus as Savior, they receive the indwelling of this Holy Spirit that will always guide a person away from the desires of their flesh (aka sinful evil) and toward the righteousness and good that the Lord wants you to do. The Spirit opposes and nullifies the flesh and its influence on us but we have to intentionally permit the Spirit to do this in our lives. When we do, we will produce the fruit of the Spirit, all the positive qualities the Lord expects our lives to reflect (Galatians 5:22-23).

The command in this final message is:

Hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. Vv. 21b-22

We can always make sure we are compliant with this when we allow the goodness of God to reign in our lives, trust in Him with our whole heart so He can make our paths straight, yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit dwelling within, and always remember that the Lord will bring consequences on those who choose to be disobedient to what He has called them to do.

This is the road to the goodness that God expects.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com