inviting evil to return upon yourself

W. Austin Gardner • May 28, 2022

Their loyalty was not to David but to their own personal advantage. When you accept evil men who have done evil for your advantage, you invite evil to return upon you by these same men; for “they who would do a mean trick for us would not hesitate to do a mean trick against us” (Joseph Parker).

John G. Butler, David: The King of Israel , vol. Number Fifteen, Bible Biography Series (Clinton, IA: LBC Publications, 1998), 512.

A gloomy Christian is a contradiction. It suggests a false profession or a very flimsy faith. Of course, there are trials and tears for the faithful saint, but to be gloomy all the time is hardly a true commentary of the faith in Christ which the Bible speaks about.

John G. Butler, David: The King of Israel , vol. Number Fifteen, Bible Biography Series (Clinton, IA: LBC Publications, 1998), 532.

How Could Paul Start Churches So Quickly?

By Austin Gardner • July 10, 2026
The Jewish Diaspora Prepared the Way Long Before Paul Arrived
Illustration showing the four common missionary mistakes—leaving too soon, staying too long, giving

The Four Ways Missionaries Get This Wrong

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Discover the four common mistakes that keep indigenous churches from maturing and learn how biblical wisdom, patience, and grace build lasting national leadership.
Missionary mentoring and publicly honoring a national church leader, illustrating how modeling, resp

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Missionary handing responsibility to national church leaders through planned absences, business meet

Handing Over the Reins

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Learn how planned absences, shared leadership, and biblical responsibility help build self-governing indigenous churches that thrive for generations.
National believers learning biblical habits through local church leadership, generosity, faithful se

Starting Right

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Teach new believers the biblical habits that build healthy indigenous churches through stewardship, leadership, responsibility, and grace from the very beginning.
Missionaries planting a self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating indigenous church as l

The Indigenous Church:

By Austin Gardner • July 6, 2026
Discover the two biblical principles that build self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating indigenous churches that thrive without missionary dependence.

Planting Indigenous Churches

By Austin Gardner • July 5, 2026
A Work That Outlives the Worker
An American missionary shares the gospel with a family in the Andes, illustrating how God has used A

The Greatest Export America Has Ever Produced

By Austin Gardner • July 4, 2026
Discover why the greatest gift America has shared with the world is the gospel and how God has used ordinary believers to reach the nations.
A church sends believers into the world to carry the gospel, illustrating that the church exists to

Built to Send, Not Just to Seat

By Austin Gardner • July 3, 2026
Discover why the church exists to send laborers, not just fill seats, and how every believer can help fulfill Christ's mission to reach the world.

How to Pray for Missionaries — Pray for the Word to Run Freely

By Austin Gardner • July 2, 2026
How to Really Pray for Missionaries: A Six-Part Series Part 6 — Pray for the Word to Run Freely