THREE TROUBLING PASSAGES

     There are three precepts in Scripture that have caught my atten-

tion, giving me concern. The precepts are found in Matthew 12:36,  Hebrews 10:26-31 and from the Law, Exodus 20:7.  First we must

establish absolute belief in the efficacy and  Devine inspiration of

Scripture.  2 Timothy states this clearly, "All Scripture is given  by

inspisration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for

correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God\

may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. II Timo-

thy3: 16-17.

                                                                                                                     Since the Word of God declares verbal inspiration  of itself,

and is clear throughout, we must  accept it and  live life on that

basis.  We must accept every passage to from Jesus Christ, God's

unique, begotten  Son who has the very nature of the LORD God.

eternal, omnipotent, omniescient and omnipresent

     .                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

In Matthew 12:36 we find, "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day

of judgment.  for by thy words thou shall be justified, and by thy

words thou shall be condemned.

     b

     In Hebrews 10:26-31, "For if we sin wilfully after we have 

received the knowledge of the truth, there remainetdh no more 

sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of  judgment

and firey indignaion indignation whick shall devour the adver-    saries."

     In Exodus 20:7, (from the "10" commandments)  "Thou shalt

not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will

not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain"   

WHAT GOD'S WORD SAYS ABOUT THAT...

    WHAT GOD'S WORD SAYS ABOUT THAT

Have there been times when you wanted to know   

a Scriptural principle  concerning a  matter and 

were unaware of the location in the Bible? There

is no reason for one to continue in ignorance of

a principal or incident contained in Holy Scrip-

ture.

     There are many editions of  the Word of God 

containing  an index  called  a  "concordance."  

An exhaustive concordance lists each word con-

tained  in Scripture showing book, chapter and 

verse in which it is  found.  I  "srongly"  recom-

mend  the one  volume, "Strongs  Exhaustive." 

Many English copies of  Scriture have a limited  

concordance;  not  all  words are  listed  due to 

spatial  limitations.  From  this point, Scripture 

passages are listed having to do with the Lord's 

work on the earth. Where it is possible, we must 

take  God's Word  literally.  It is obvious,  as we

read  the Word,  passages which have figurative 

meanings... the rest must be taken literally.  In

this introduction we are covering early Genesis,

or beginnings.

Genesis (beginnings) 1: 1, God created heavens                                        and the earth.

Genesis 1:27-28, God created Adam and Eve,                                      man and woman.

Genesis 2:17, God gave the man a limitation. 

Genesis 3,  The Fall of man and the disasterous                        consequences  

Genesis 4,  The first births of sons and events                    surrounding the  events, with the restora-

          tion of the Spiritual seed.

Genesis 5, The birth of Enoch, who was trans-

               lated because of his righteous life.  He

               did not see death.

                    
Genesis 6-7,  Noah builds an ark to preserve 

                God's creation from a world-wide 

                flood no one survived outside the ark.

Genesis 9: 8-18. Promise given to mankind that 

                           the Lord would never again destroy 

                           civilization by flood.  His "Bow" in

                           the sky is His token.

Genesis 9:20-27, Noah curses canaan from the act

                            of Ham. Canaan was reduced to 

                           servant, to serve Shem and Japeth.

              

 Genesis 9:28-29 The death of Noah.

(This project is a work in progress for me.  Who

knows if I will live long enough to complete it?)

    

            

                              

  

 

       

OLD OR NEW COVENANT?

OLD   OR  NEW  COVENANT?   (2.20.20)

     In my last post I raised the question about whether we might

consider the Old Testament and New Testament to be "equally"

inspired of God, or whether we should discount the Old in favor

of the New.  Of course, the Old Covenant was written to the Jews

and the New Covenant was intended to show a new way in which

our Lord deals with His followers.  The latter does not, however;

replace the former, but enlightens believers as to the new relation-

ship God has with his people in Jesus Christ, God the Son.  There

are many references we might point out that blend the Scriptures,

One of my favorites,  "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and

lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknow-

ledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3: 5-6) 

This passage of Scripture, along with verses 7 - 10 would seem to

fit nicely in the New Testament.

   To believe the New has replaced the old, would be foolish and 

would cause  one to neglect  the wisdom found there.  We ignore

history to  our peril,  or loss.  There is  wisdom in the  Old Testa-
ment showing the history of God's chosen people and their place
in the  greater scheme of things.  It shows they have  a unique, or 
special place in the heart of God.  That has NOT  changed!!! 

donporter,sr.

"CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART O GOD"

       "Create in  me a clean heart, O God, and renew  a  right
spirit within me.  Cast me not away from thy presence, and
and take not thy Holy Spirit from me."  Psalm 51: 10-11 
                      (Psalm means Song)
                                                           
     I was showing a pastor friend and his wife how this pas-
sage might be sung straight from the Bible, recently,  when
his wife took exception to verse 11.  She was not mistaken in
this, but when you consider the times and setting of  Psalm,
you realize our Lord dealt with believers before Christ's life
on the earth, His death on the cross and resurrection, in a
different way.  Before the resurrection, the Spirit came upon
believers for a particular spiritual function.  When Jesus 
returned to the Father, he came in the Spirit to dwell inside
the believer, saying "I will never leave you, nor forsake you."
Hebrews 13: 5.  Our understanding is once a believer, born
of the Spirit, receives Jesus Christ, he has the promise above.
In Psalms  there seems to  be another  understanding where
the  Psalmist says, "take  not thy Holy Spirit from me.,"  but
we see later the Psalmist makes a request. "Restore unto me
 the Joy of thy salvation." When David sinned, he didn't lose
the Holy Spirit,  (his salvation,) but  the "JOY"  of  salvation.

     So, what is the difference?  Essentially, there is no discre-
pancy, just some misunderstanding on the part of readers.  If
we take the whole, in context, there is no confusion. When we
sin, as did David,  we lose our joy and  effectiveness in living
in a way that pleases our Lord.  We do not lose our salvation,

Now this couple, with whom I was talking,live the Word, and
are conservative  servants  of  the  Lord  and  are  used  in   
Mexico as well as  the U.S.A. to  plant Hispanic churches. He 

is fluent in Spanish,  having majored in Spanish in college, 
thinking he would make a  good living as a translator.  The 
Lord had other plans. 

    He is greatly used, as is his wife, in the ministry.  Both are 
knowledgeable, effective teachers of  Scripture  and are soul 
winners.  Judith and I had the privilege of serving with them
in  Fayetteville, N. C.,  when I served Grace Baptist in music
and  youth.  He was also  involved in this work,  while in  the
U.S. Army before continuing his education in seminary.
     Judith and I have been blessed greatly by this relationship
 and from time to time are still in touch.  We learned much as 
we worked along side them at Grace Church and look forward 
to more times together in the future

If either of them would like to clarify anything I have mucked
up, they have my email and phone... God bless you as you are
involved in the Lord's work. If this post raises questions let me
know at jlrsbnch@msn.com.   Thanks,  donporter,sr 12.03.19.         
     

"WISDOM"

"WISDOM"
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
and the knowledge of the Holy One is the beginning
of understanding. Proverbs 9:10-11

   There is fear that paralyzes and is unhealthy. We have fears of

shame, danger of  physical harm,  serious illness,  financial loss, 

loss of  relationships and  death...There is, however;  fear leding

to reverence for all things Holy.  That fear is rooted in the know-
ledge of our God, Jehovah (YAWEH).  Knowledge of  God leads  

us on a course to know Him, personally.  I am convinced we may 

only know the Lord God as we get to know the Word of God and

this Word, is not just a book, but a person of whom it is said:

   "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we

   we beheld His glory;  the glory as of  the only begotten of  the 

    Father,) full of grace and truth."  John 1: 14
   This "Word," is God the Son, Yeshua, Jesus Christ.  The Lord
God is kown as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit.  One Person,  who is known to us as Jesus Christ, and is
co-equal with the Father.  The three persons are One and  their
various functions are the factors  identifying each.  The Father,
Son and Holy Spirit have been in existence eternally, without a
beginning or end. This "Person" has all power, but is willing to
delegate his power to anyone who receives the Son as Savior.
The Spirit is the one who empowers these individuals to act on
behalf of the Lord God, and the Son is He with whom we inter-
act.  Our prayers are directed to God the Father, but are prayed
in the name of the Son, Yeshua. (Read chapter one of the Gospel
recorded by the Apostle John, for a substantive explanation.)
     There is more to establishing a relationship with the Lord
that a mere belief in Him.  In Romans 10: 8,9-10, we find this:
"...The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart that
is the Word of faith which we preach:  that if you confess with
your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God
has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the
heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth 
confession is made unto salvation."  (ETERNAL LIFE) 
   13. "For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be 
         saved..." (NKJV)                     
                                                                                donporter,sr.

     There are many believers who have found some 

passages from the book of Romans to be quite effec-

tive in presenting the Gospel to persons who do not 

have a relationship with our Lord.  These passages 

taken  together are a coherent guide for presenting 

the saving message of Jesus Christ as follows:

    Romans 1: 16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel 

    of Christ,  for it is the power of  God to salvation to 

    everyone  who  believes,  for the Jew first  and also  

    for the  Greek."

     Romans 3:  10-12.  "As it is written:  There is none 

       righteous, no,not one:  There is none who seeks 

       after God.

       They have all turned aside:  They have together 

        become unprofitable: There is none who does 

       good,  no not one."

        Romans 4: 1-3, "What then shall we say that 

         Abraham our father has found according to 

          the flesh?  For if Abraham was justified by 

         works, he has something to boast about, but

        not before God.  For what does the Scripture

          say?  Abraham believed God, and it was 

       accounted to him for righteousness."

   There is nothing you or I might do to qualify for the

salvation available in Christ Jesus.  He has done it all

and it is finished...  We must call on the Father in his 

 name, Jesus  Christ, in confession of our need of him

   and in the belief  the He was raised from death by

God the Father and learn He is with the Father making

intercession on our behalf.  

donporter,sr 12.15.19
       

      

AFRAID?

                Most of us have experienced fear in certain life
                                      circumstances:

            Some have  found encouragement , but others 
                   bear the torment of their fear alone.

     The greatest source of encouragement comes from the Lord.
He gave  the following words  of  encouragement  to some very
troubled Disciples many years ago  --  "Peace I leave with you,
my  peace I  give  unto  you:  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled, 
neither let it be afraid."  John 14: 27

     "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe
also in me.  In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you to Myself that where I am you may be also.  And
where I go you know, and the way you know."  John 14: 1 - 4

     
     One  may have  peace with God   by faith  in the  Lord Jesus
Christ as one's Lord and Savior.  The battle between the indivi-
dual sinner and God is over when that individual repents of sin
and openly confesses faith in Christ as Lord and Savior --

  "Therefore  being justified  by faith  we have  peace with  God
through  our Lord Jesus Christ."  (Romans 5:1)

"..The word of faith is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thine
heart: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation."   Romans 10: 8-10 (kjv)

This allows one to face the reality of death without the fear of
facing death; without fear of being turned into hell.


       (This post was taken from a piece by Rev. Paul King, 
      Piedmont, S. C.) I have added John 14: 1-4 as well as
       the passage from Romans 10:8-10 with minor edits.)

donporter,sr 8.08.19

"GOD IS..."

"GOD IS LOVE..." 
"Lead me Lord.  Lead me in thy righteousness.
Make thy way plain before my face.  
For it is Thou Lord, Thou Lord, only that makest
me dwell in safety."  (Samuel S. Wesley)

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
these are the sons of God."  Romans 8:14

    "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and every-  one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He who does not love does not know God,  for God is love.  In this  the love of  God was manifested toward us, that God has sent his only begotten Son  into the world,  that we might  live  through him."   I John 4: 7 - 9  

    "This then  is the  message which  we have  heard of  him, and 
      declare unto you, that God is light and in him is no darkness
      at all."                                                                     I John 1: 5

      "Jesus saith unto him:  I am the way, the truth and  the life. 
         no man  cometh to the Father, but by me."      John 14: 6

       "And the house that I build is great: for great is our God 
        above all Gods."                                    I Chronicles 2: 5

     "Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink, and do justice and righteous-
ness?  Then it was well with him.  He judged the cause of the
poor and needy:  Then it was well.  Was not this knowing me?
says the Lord.  Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but
your coveteousness."  (Jeremiah 22: 15-17)  It is surprizing to 
me to realize in my seventy-nine years I do not recall this prin-
ciple read in the assembly, nor has my reading of it produced
understanding.  If my reasoning is correct, then one knows the
Lord God as  he considers the  cause or condition of  the poor.
This new understanding should bring me to be more careful to
help others, and consider the "poor and needy,"  before myself. 

(Read Matthew 12: 22-32)

In the passage above we find our Lord restoring 

sight and speech to a blind man who was mute.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was then accused of casting

out "demons" by the power of Satan.  (If a kingdom

is divided against itself, it cannot stand) vs. 26

The view taken by the Pharisees (enemies of Christ)

was refuted by our Lord when he said, "And  if I

by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your

children cast them out?  But if I cast out devils by 
the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God

is come unto you."

     "Pure  and undefiled religion before God and the Father is
this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep
oneself unspotted from the world."  (James 1: 27) 

       Our motivation is: "...The Love of Christ contraineth us..."
     (2 Corinthians 2: 14)  Read the whole of Chapter 5.) 
     There is also this, in the book of Proberbs 9 we find much
    to do with wisdom and it's attainment.  In verses 10 thru 11,
    "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the
    knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.  For by me
    your days will be multiplied."

10/04/19  donporter,sr