A RIGHTEOUS PHILOSOPHY

 PHILOSOPHY, What Is It?                                                   Psalms 1: 1-2

    "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, 
      nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scorn-
      ful: But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law he 
      meditates day and night."   Psalms 1:1-2 nkjv                                                                  

   We all have a philosophy by which we live, but most of us give it little
thought until late in life as we reflect on the past.  Our philosophy does
mature as we age, having a strong bearing on how we live.  Many have
lived and died without giving thought to the “why,” lived without  com-
pass, blown about by every wind to come along. 
                 Whatever your age or situation, it’s not too late to 
                       consider and profit from a thoughtful “why.”  

Philosophy is a personal way of thinking, consistent in actions, based 
on  understanding origins, cause and effect and is learned through an
objective  study of  observable and  invisible  phenomena as well  as  
wisdom literature.  A shorter definition of philosophy might be: 
    “The basic tenets causing one to think, act and react as he does.”

   The goal of one who has thoughtfully established a personal philoso-
phy is for his actions to become consistent with that philosophy.  If my
philosophy and  actions are  inconsistent,  I will  become a hypocrit, a
charlatan or  schizophrenic.  One who  has  integrity has  life together.
His  actions match  his  philosophy.  Be reminded;  integrity  means to 
be  whole, or  one piece.  There  is  another  way of  stating  this,  “live
what you preach.”  (teach)

     To The Child of God, the only source for wisdom literature is the 
Holy Scripture.  Since I was placed here by my creator with purpose, 
my attitude or philosophy is guided by His as He was on the earth. 
The only way I can  get this right  is to get to  Know God through the 
diligent study of  His Word,  enlightened by His  Holy Spirit.  I am a 
student of  Holy Scripture and servant of  the Lord,  properly  rela-
ting to  those who share this time and space with me.  I validate this 
service through my faith,  live it by my obedience to the Word,  and 
display it with unshakable faith  in God.  He reveals His will to  His
Children who commit to  doing it.  He then enables  them to do that 
will as controlled and empowered by his Spirit.  It is not reasonable 
to expect our  Lord to reveal to his child more than the child needs
 to know at a given time. We follow by faith, one step at a time and 
as a choice  comes our way we learn his will through diligent study
of  the Bible,  prayer,  and obedience to the leadership of His Spirit.
We also  learn  how to  do his will  by observing those  around us as
they fail or succeed in their individual lives.  Jesus Christ stated, if 
anyone wills to do His will  he will know the doctrine,  whether it is 
of God.  (Paraphrase of John 7: 16-17.)

     My philosophy is as follows:  Since my faith is in God and not in my-
self, my life is marked by thankfulness to Him and those he has placed 
around me.  I believe everyone is where they are for a reason and that 
reason  is the mutual benefit of the Children of God and His Kingdom. 
I have a positive attitude that brings light to every situation in which I
find  myself.  Refusing to worry about  what  happens, I trust God and 
live life free of  fear.  If  I  am to have peace in my life, it is essential to  
trust God for material possession, health, relationships and my eternal
destiny.  My Life in Christ is  marked  by calm assurance for  time and 
eternity.   Eternal life began when Christ took up residence within and 
His  living  in me offers a  lifestyle of  serving others, sharing  material  
possessions with the people I meet who  have a need,  communicating
faith in Christ as  opportunity arises.

     I make this philosophy real in my life as I improve mind, body, soul 
and spirit as long as I live, Philippians 4:3,  study to become a teacher 
of the best and become the best teacher I can be.  I refuse to appraise 
others by this world's standards.  In the Spirit of  Christ count all men 
and women as equals and persons of  worth.  I hold none in contempt 
and look for the good (Christ) in all, and having failed to find Christ in 
one, I seek to make Him known to  that one.  (Psalms 1: 1-2)  “Christ 
is all and  in all.”  I will never trust this  bodyof death I occupy, nor in 
any,  but  the Lord  God as  Savior.  If  God is  for us,  who can  stand 
against us?

One way this philosophy is stated; “I am a reverse paranoid.  God and 
all of His creation is conspiring to do me good.”  What a way to live!!!
                                                                                             donporter,sr  1.30.13

UNDERSTANDING THE NEED (Repentance) ROMANS 1

 UNDERSTANDING THE NEED         (Repentance)     ROMANS 1

     One of the most difficult tasks we have as evangelicals today is 
creating in the hearts of persons with whom we dialogue, the need 
for repentance, or turn around, in their lives. We know if one does 
not see the need for change it is not going to happen.  If you market 
a product or service,  the first goal is to establish the need  for your  
product or service in  the mind  of  your prospective customer.  The 
same is true in our task of  presenting Christ to a world,  hopeless  
without Him.  We must show who Christ is,  needs Christ can meet 
and how Christ can effect a dynamic change in the life. To accom-
plish our task we rely upon the Word of God.  Our effort at convin-
cing one of such a need through our testimony is limited by  a lack 
of the power of persuasion.  As we take  them to the Scripture,  the 
authority rests with God and does not depend  upon our own  piety  
or persuasive ability.   It is surprising how many people who do not  
claim  a personal relation with the Lord have deep reverence for the 
Scripture.  (Scripture is the "Living Word" of God) This is our best,
only offensive  weapon in an  effort to reach  the hearts of mankind.. 

God honors His Word with His presence and power.   It is reported, 
and is true; if  you expose a person to Scripture, who claims a lack 
of belief, the Word still has the power to convict and bring to repen-
tance such a person as well as  the  one who believes  it.  We  must 
also recognize the critical roll the Holy Spirit performs, since He is
the only  source of  power needed to  bring an unbeliever  to repen-
 tance and change a life.  

    Our first target is to establish the need, so we go to the letter from 
the Apostle Paul to the church at Rome.  The first chapter gives men
ample evidence of  the need for  every man to  repent as  he describes 
the darkness and futility of  the "natural" man, without Christ.   
Expressions  such  as  “wrath of  God,  ungodliness,  without excuse,   
debased mind;”  a  myriad  of  other word  pictures  combine to paint 
dark  images  of an  environment anyone  would wish to  escape.  He 
continues in the following chapters to show Jesus, the Son of God, as  
as the only hope for mankind.  Scripture shows later in Romans, how 
the eternal  life  Christ gives to all who  come to Him brightens pros-
pects,   gives purpose to life here and now and hope for the future.  
The epistle demonstrates how the new life is received as a gift of God  
and cannot be earned.   The  difficulty with this  concept is;  we  are  
bred with a strong reinforcement of the belief,  that everything good 
is to be earned.

     Here we face the task of changing one’s basic belief system. Many 
of our  brethren in the church fail at this task  and settle for a works 
based  Salvation which is no Salvation at all.  If anyone is to become 
a Child of God, the first  thing he must do is come to  the  end of self,  
and completely depend on the grace of our Lord for salvation.  Let’s
 face it,  if we are “dead  in  trespasses and sins,”  are  we capable of  
doing anything on our own  behalf  to effect  such a  change?   Even  
faith is said to come by the washing of the water of the Word, God’s 
life giving message,  through the the  Spirit.  (God is a  Spirit,  Holy
Spirit, God the Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 3 in 1.)
 Luke 8: 11-21,  Psalm 119, Titus 3: 4-7

    We must also establish the concept of Jesus Christ being the only 
hope mankind has for  eternal life with the Father.  Not  only is He 
our only hope, we receive Him by faith.  In other words,  we do not 
experience our God with our five senses, we must be given a "sixth" 
sense from His Holy Spirit.   "Now faith is  the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it, the elders
received a good testimony." Hebrews 11: 1 (nkjv)

  (This is solely my analogy) Again, we are incapable of operating in 
 the realm of the Spirit while we live according to the flesh.  “Flesh 
and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.” Again, by faith, we 
reckon  self to be dead to the  flesh,  enabling our Lord to begin  his
 work of changing our trust in the deeds of our flesh and then Sanc-
tification, gradually making us through experience and the study of 
and obedience to God's Word,  to be like our  Lord.  (1 Corinthians 
15: 50) Again, only through dying to self are we made to be alive in 
Jesus Christ,  in an eternal,  Spiritual life,  like His.  As we present
the claims of Jesus Christ to  persons who are without Him, we rely 
on His wisdom, guidance and power.  We offer Christ in the power 
and wisdom given to us of the Holy Spirit by  faith, leave the results 
with God.  Our  personal egos are put to death and we claim no cre-
dit,  relying upon Grace, unmerited favor, of our Lord...

     When Scripture refers to a "Spiritual body," it must be a body
     without discomfort,  pain, fatigue or death.  "We shall be like
     Him,  for we shall see Him as He is..."   1 John 3: 2b

     Romans 1: 16 - 32, Romans 3: 10-18, 20, 23-24.  Romans 5: 8-12.
       Romans 6: 1-14.  Romans 8: 1-6, 36-39.  Romans 10: 6-13, 17.

I would encourage you to read the whole of Romans. Begin with the
first 10 chapters  for continuity.  Thanks for reading;  may the Lord, 
God  be with you as you put to death deeds of rebellion against Holy
God and are made alive in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, God the Son.

    We will all stand before his throne to give account for the deeds
  done in our flesh.  (Works performed in our own "wisdom," with-
  out Holy Spirit annointing)  (Romans 12: 36-37, 2: 5-11, Hebrews
  4: 14-16)  The throne before which we will stand is His Throne of
  Grace...AMEN!!!  In  Christ we will never stand  before the Great
  White Throne of Judgment...AMEN!!!
    
                      donporter     1.26.13    edited 11.04.14  and 2.04.15                                                                       

SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD..............Matthew 6: 33

“...seek ye first...”                           2.17.2004                   edited 2.18.17

           “Seek ye first the kingdom of God , and his righteousness, 
         and all these things shall be added unto you.”  Matthew 6:33

This verse of  Scripture is straight forward  in it’s message,  but we 
seem to miss the point as we study, quote and  teach it.  This  passage, 
 Matthew 6,  is  not necessarily about our attitude toward the material,  
or supernal blessings.  It concerns our  attitude toward  God.  The key 
question is; Do we serve the Lord God, or are we looking for  ways to 
get Him to  meet our needs; to serve us?  If we are not careful we will  
be counted by our Lord as no more worthy than first century adversa-
ries  whom  He  called  “Hypocrites.”  What was  it  about  these men
causing Jesus Christ to address them  in this manner?  We  know  He 
was kind  as  He spoke with outright sinners of  every stripe.   He did,  
however;  have very strong words, even condemnation for  this group 
of men who pretended to be holy but lacked the fruit of holiness.  The 
strongest words He  had  for sinners was, “Go and  sin no more.”  He 
called these religious leaders "whitewashed graves full of dead men's
bones."  What attitude might we have that would cause Him to  place
us in the same category?   The  obvious would  be to act in a way that
is inconsistent with our profession.   This is normally seen in one who  
pretends to be religious in public, but is less so in  private, acting one 
way with one group, but  totally differently with others.  This behavior 
is reprehensible in our Lord's sight and a poor reflection  on the Lord 
and His church.  We who are born again children of God must be con-
sistent in  character and above  reproach in  all of  life.  "Take  heed 
that you do not do your alms  before  men, to be seen of them: other-
wise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore,  
when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet  before thee,  as 
the hypocrites do in the synagogue and in the streets, that they may 
have glory of men. 

  Verily I say unto you, 'they have their reward.'  But when thou doest
alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.  That thine
alms  may be in secret and thy Father which  seeth in secret,  himself,
shall reward thee openly."                 Matthew 6: 1-4 

 Another way we are  hypocritical is when our motives are not trans-
parent.  As  children of God's  Kingdom, we are  followers of  Christ, 
serving God and  mankind.  For our motives to be  pure, we practice  
our charity,  prayer,  and denial of self in secret without seeking any
reward.   If we serve our Lord with an eye to  be seen of men or  for 
personal advantage,  we cannot expect a reward from our Father in 
heaven.  (Matthew Chapter 6: 1-7;) When we serve the Lord by hel-
ping others, it is as if we were serving our Lord directly.  Things we  
do for His children are as unto Him.  Here is where our hearts  may 
deceive  us.  Do we serve  Him, or  are we  looking for  ways to  get 
Him to serve us?

     It seems every time I pray it’s about some perceived need on my 
part.  Even as I pray for “my” family I must remember these are per-
sons God has given me responsibility for providing material and spi-
ritual  needs.  The  prayer I make for my family may be selfish;  for
it is much easier on an individual who has family living a Godly life. 
There is also the prayer for friends or loved ones who are especially 
dear to us.  Could this not be a selfish prayer?  We pray for family, 
 friends, loved ones, believing our prayer to be unselfish and of pure
 motive.  In order to bring assurance into our hearts on this matter, 
 it  is good to make a  practice to pray for persons of whom we know  
some detail of need,  but  have no close or filial  connection. 

  Although  "charity begins  at  home," we  must  make a practice of
helping those we hardly know, doing it secretly, at that.  One way we 
might avoid hypocrisy is to search the Scripture on the subject of sal-
vation by grace alone, “...not  of  works lest any man should  boast.”   
Ephesians 2: 2-9-- Since all of our good deeds of a lifetime are insuf-
ficient to  qualify  us  for  anything from our  lord,  we rely upon faith 
in God, His Word and grace alone, without confidence in the flesh, or
self.  As we make a practice of regular personal  Bible study, we may 
 avoid  the pitfalls into which we might  otherwise fall.  “The heart is 
deceitful  above all  things, and desperately  wicked:  who can  know
 it?”   (Jeremiah 17: 9)  “For  the Word of  God is quick,  (alive) and  
powerful, and  sharper than  any  two-edged  sword,  piercing even to  
the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit,  and  is a  discerner of  the  
thoughts and  intents of the heart.”                   (Hebrews 4: 12...)  

   Through  thoughtful, diligent  study  of  God’s Word we will  protect 
ourselves  from self  deceit  and  selfish  lifestyles.  Even  as we delve 
into His Word, we must be careful not to make a show of  it and  know 
we are not doing this in order to "parade" our knowledge of the Scrip-
ture.  Our goal is to learn how to better serve our God and mankind, 
as  did Jesus Christ.                                                    Matthew 6: 1-18                                                                                      
http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2014/07/thou-shalt-not-take-name-of-lord-thy.html                                                                                                

                                              donporter 1.23.13, edited  7.21.16

RIGHTEOUS SELF ESTEEM...

  A Righteous Self Esteem                                                 1.21.13  
                                                                  
     There is nothing wrong with feeling good about yourself if the 
“feeling” is  based on self  knowledge and  not on some fantasy 
about yourself.  The question might be raised then, “How do I get 
to know myself?”  Scripture says,  “The heart (of man)  is deceit-
ful  above all things,  and  desperately wicked;  Who can know it?  
I, the Lord, search the heart.  I test the mind, even to give to every  
man according to his ways,  According to  the fruit of his doings.”  
(Jeremiah 17: 9-10)  There is a way man may have a right view of 
himself and it starts with the recognition that he is the creation of 
the Lord God.  We must realize we were created, originally, in His 
image.  He is ruler of the universe and everything in it.  (Genesis 
1: 25-28) We do well to consider  we have failed God because of 
sin.  The image;  plain at one time, is now marred.  Sin: Transgres-
sion of the Law of God.

    When we receive new birth in Christ, that image is once again 
restored, but not perfectly.  Christ is in us at regeneration and the 
view we have of self is changed.  We are able, once again, to have 
fellowship with our God and begin to recover that image.  We are 
on a unique mission from God the Father.  Each believer has a spe-
cific mission;  The Lord God will supply everything we need in the 
doing of this mission. Romans 8: 14-17, 26-30, 38-39. There are no 
limitations  in quest of  the  goals He has  set for us,  according  to 
Philippians 4: 13, "I can do all things through Christ which streng-
theneth me." 19. "But my God shall supply all your needs accor-
ding to His riches in glory."  We have direct access to our God in 
Jesus Christ, God the Son, who listens and responds to our proper,
timely requests. We can even know how and for what we must pray 
as we study His Word and our will is aligned with His. 
                                                                               (James 4: 13-17)

        Now  we can  feel good about  ourselves,  since  everything  we 
have done wrong or may do wrong  has  been  forgiven through  the 
atoning death of our Lord, Jesus Christ on the cross. (the precious 
blood of Christ...1 Peter 1:17 - 23)  You and I must repent of  “sin,” 
confessing the error,  turning it over to Him who  is quick to forgive, 
who promises not to remember it against us.  (I John 1: 5-10, 2: 1-2)   
We have confidence in the future and even death  is not  fearsome, 
as it once was.  We know our eternal life is secure in his love  for us. 
 (1 John 3: 1-3, 1 John 5: 11-13) There is  no  more  confusion  since 
God’s word  is clear with regard  to our  personal  responsibilities to  
Love God,  Love your neighbor and do to others as you would  have
them do to you.  "Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men
men should do to you,  do you even so to them: for this is the law and 
the prophets.   (Matthew 7: 12, 22: 36-40)

     There is even  further clarification  for us regarding our  responsi-
bilities in James 1:27,  where he writes,  “Pure religion and undefiled  
before God and  the Father is this;  to visit  the widows  and  orphans 
in their distress and  to keep oneself unspotted by the world.”   Then 
the Lord, in other Scripture, lays out the areas on which we can work. 
Our Eternity will be determined by how we conduct ourselves in these 
areas.  The first is our words, in Matthew 12:36, secondly our deeds, 
in Romans 2: 5-11 and thoughts, in Matthew 15: 17-20 and Isaiah  55: 
6-9.  James also says, in one place, if a man will control his tongue, he 
can know he has control of all the other facets of his life.  Simply put, 
 just make sure we  have the tongue  under control  and  according to  
God’s word,  other areas take care of themselves, with the indwelling 
presence of  the Spirit as our guide,  power and comfort.  Here we see 
the tongue as barometer of our walk with the Lord.  (A scary  thought,
considering the many times we fail in this area.)

     Two observations:  The Lord  knows our  thoughts are evil at times 
and  are the  seed bed  for motive  in word and  deed.  He  knows what 
prompts us to say and do.  He alone is a judge of our motives.  We are 
incapable of judging ourselves, much less others. We can not  attempt
to assign motive to action,  even our own.  (2 Corinthians 5: 9-11)  The 
Lord God will  in this life and  the next,  call upon us to give account  
for our thoughts, words and deeds.  He alone is qualified. Self esteem 
is under control as we find a rightful place in service of  the Kingdom 
of God, according to His will in relationship with His son, empowered 
by His Spirit.  All of  this will fit into the body of Christ for use in the 
church, local and  universal.  If we are anything, it is Christ in us. 
"My hope is in the Lord..."  Self esteem is way down on the list of the
things important to the child of God.  

There is a song having for it's chorus, "My hope is in the Lord...from 
this time on and evermore. Oh, My hope is in the Lord...forevermore."

 (Romans 12: 1-16)                                                     2.22.17...donporter

WORSHIP IN THE LOCAL CHURCH

       (This Blogger is a life-long Southern Baptist)

 There will,  for the foreseeable future, exist a ten-
sion between traditionalists, peacemakers and the 
folks who would completely renovate  the worship
style of the church. This is a national issue. 

     Since there is no hierchy in  our organization, 
it must be addressed at the local church. A better understanding may be gained if we consider each
of our assemblies is autonomous and is linked by
an  interest in  propagating  the Gospel of  Jesus
Christ cooperatively through the support of evan-
gelism, training, and missions.  No organization,
individual or other body is in  authority  over the
local church and each is responsible to our Lord
as we understand the Scripture and each is auto-
mous.  There are influences  from nearby assem-
blies  as well as other organizations who  furnish
literature  and  sevice  helps, and  our denomina-
tion  has, over the  years  established Bible Colle-
ges, universities and charitable organizations.
These entities have some influence; no authority.

    No  individual or other body is in a position 
of authority over the local church.  Worship is
planned and carried out by a local leadership. 
There  are, of course, influences  from  nearby
assemblies,  as well  as organizations who are responsible for literature and other helps. Our
denomination, over the years, has started and supported Bible colleges and universities.They 
have influence  with  local assemblies, with no authority.

The most compelling reason for a smaller con-
gregation  to begin to cross over from traditio-
nal worship to a more contemporary style may
be the evident success of a neighboring congre-
gation.  This may be  the poorest reason, but it
is inevitable, given the human nature  at  work.
This also works out in youth ministry, outreach
emphasis and sports program.  At times a con-
gregation  will look with  envy at the  apparent
success of a  sister church.  Appraisal is made
of the situation and the struggling  group tries 
to bring theirs into  conformity with other suc-
cessful  groups.  If  there is true success in the assembly being copied, it's unlikely the reason 
for their success will be apparent to a Confor-
mer.  We look on the  trappings and organiza-
tion while the true reason may be  Spiritual in 
nature and not outward.  If the assembly, tries
to conform, or even copy the other, comes to a
Scriptural or Spiritual  approach to  their own
problems it is more likely to succeed.  Each  of
our congregations is unique,  having  differing
needs.  Would it not be better if there were var-
ied  programs in a community  rather than  for
groups to copy each other?
 It is possible, even likely, our Lord would have
local neighboring churches with contrasting or
complimentary styles than identical worship. It
is certainly a truth, that differing styles appeal
to many  persons and  following the leadership
of the Lord God is better than copying another
local assembly as to worship content and style.
When Jesus Christ is truly worshiped in Spirit
and in truth, success as God sees it, is guaran-
teed.  The media, or vehicle of the message, is
important in that it presents the Gospel of our
Lord Jesus Christ in  an appealing format and
the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.  Our
Lord will  bless such an  effort as it  is  Christ
centered and actuated by His Holy Spirit. The
music, worship styles  and organization within
our assemblies may vary widely, but truth as is
found in God's Eternal Word is not optional.
          AMEN...donporter    ed.  12.18.14, 7.28.16
 

THE TOP TWO...

The Top Two...                 February 19, 2004                     edited 1.17.13
              (These remarks apply to fellowships of the Children of God
                              who take a literal view of Scripture.)

There is  increasing  interest in  two subjects in the church and Bible 
teaching ministries today.  The first is the proliferation of publications 
or broadcasts about last days, the "Catching away" of the church and  
the second coming of  our  Lord, Jesus Christ.  There is growing inte-
rest,  on the part of some,  in the work of  the Holy Spirit in tne world.   
In addition  to  these,   the  increased  interest of the secular media in 
things religious.  Just as Jesus’ birth occurred in the fullness of  time,
the catching away of His church and his subsequent second coming is 
just around the corner  of  time.  As stated  by Christ in  the New Tes-
tament, "no one knows knows the day nor the hour," but the signs are 
right, and  it  appears  prophecies  concerning events surrounding last 
days have  been fulfilled.  Most scholars who assume a literal view of 
Scripture agree the catching away of the Church of Jesus Christ could 
occur any moment.   If we believe  God is  the author of  Scripture and 
He gave His Word to reveal Himself to His people, a literal view is the 
only option left  to us.   It is an established  fact;  symbolism is used in 
Scripture.  Symbolism has a literal  interpretation  as one applies  dili-
gence to the study of the Word of God.

Let’s return to the first of the two top subjects among God’s children 
today.  Since we believe  Christ could return for his church at any time, 
what should  be our  posture relating  to friends and  loved ones?  If we 
do not  warn  them of  the imminence of  this event, and the  disastrous 
results of their failure to receive our Lord, we will bear  responsibility, 
and we  will  be made to answer for our  failure to make efforts to per-
suade them to consider Christ, err it is too  late.  Another ramification 
of  this pending  event is our responsibility to  be sure we make  things  
right with relatives,  friends  and enemies.  (Enemies must be  few and  
never of  our making)  We must  keep short  accounts in our  relation-
ships  with  these as well  as with our God.  Since all  men will bow the  
knee to our Lord during time,  to the saving of the soul, or at the judg-
ment to no avail.  We must walk humbly with our Lord and be quick to 
submit to the leadership of his Spirit.

This leads to  the second subject on our minds today,  the work of the Holy 
Spirit in today’s world.

When our Lord ascended back to the Father after his death, burial and
resurrection, He said He would send the Comforter or His Spirit to dwell 
in believers after a time.  This  promise was  fulfilled on the day of Pente-
cost  (Acts 1:8) as believers were baptized and filled with His Holy Spirit.  
This  means  God the Spirit came to earth and  began to abide in  His chil-
dren  giving  gifts  to each,  empowering  them to  live above  reproach in 
service to God and  mankind.  The promise was;  “I will never leave you”  
We take  this  to  mean  as  long  as  there is one of  God’s children on the 
earth,  the Spirit will be with and  in that  believer.   We believe with  the 
"Catching  away" of  the church,  the Holy Spirit  “who now restraineth” 
will  be  taken  as  well.   1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17  (Then the  Man of  Sin 
may  be  revealed.)  The Holy Spirit of  God is the one who limits Satan's 
success on the earth.  

      The Holy Spirit  abiding in  and on the  individual  believer is Jesus 
Christ assuming control of the life as we reckon ourselves dead to self 
and  alive in Christ.  This assuming of  control is done little by little,  in 
the  process  called  Sanctification.   Our  Lord  actually  begins to  live 
within us.   When we speak it is Him.  When  we  act it is him  and over 
time our  thoughts  and  motives come  to be more  and  more under his 
control.  This  impacts the life of  believers  with a  purifying effect and 
this cleansed life motivates us to emulate Him in every area of life. 

     There will  never be a time on the earth that we will be "like Him" in 
truth  but when we see Him after  this time on earth we will "be like him 
for we shall see Him as He Is."  See Romans 6: 1-11,  These life changes 
changes do not  make us to be  Children of God.  Being  Children of  God 
and filled with His Spirit brings the changes to life.


   (The word, Sanctification, simply means becoming         more like Jesus Christ.  "A state of purity")
                                                                                          
 donporter 1.17.13                   edited 9.19.14

THERE REMAINS A REST...

      "There Remaineth Therefore  a Rest..."  
              Hebrews 4: 9-10  1.14.13

   "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people 
    of God.  For he that  is entered into his (Jesus') 
    rest hath ceased  from  his own  works as  God 
    did from his."(kjv) Hebrews 4: 9-10

Whatever happened to the seventh day of the 
week as the Sabbath?  It says in Genesis that
God rested from all His work" on the seventh
day  and in Genesis 2: 3, "Then God blessed
the seventh day and sanctified it, because He
rested from all His work which God had cre-
ated and  made."   There is also a command
ment  in  Exodus about  keeping the  Sabbath
holy to the Lord.  

   The Jews have always revered this day and 
kept it especially to the Lord, but we "gentile" believers  without  the Law,  know of no  such 
devotion to a certain day of  the week.  We do,
as a whole, attend worship on the  first day of
the week, the Lord's day.  We no longer honor
the seventh day as a Sabbath and our worship
on the first day in no way resembles the obser-
vance of the  Sabbath of  the  Jews. 

What has changed? Is this no longer a priority
for  God's  Children;  should we be concerned
about it? Having never heard this explained to
my satisfaction by any  theologian, and  giving
it some study, there  is a line of reasoning that
may shed  light on  this  apparent discrepancy
between Law  keepers and  the beneficiaries of
grace.  The passage addressing the question is
in the book of Hebrews,Chapter 3:4-8 and 4:8-
11, are the first mention of the "rest" of which
we speak.  There was a rebellion in the wilder-
ness amond the Children of Israel. 

"For if Jesus had given  them rest, then would
 he not afterward have spoken  of another day.
 "There  remaineth,  therefore,  a   rest  to  the
 people of God. For he that is entered  into his
 rest,  he also has  ceased from  his own works
as God  did from his.  let us labour,  therefore
to  enter into that rest, lest any  man fall after
the same example of unbelief." Hebrews 4:8-11

 The result was a pledge by the Lord God that 
they would never enter His rest. The rest, is a 
picture of  entrance into the  Land of Canaan, 
the Promised Land.  Because of unbelief, they
were kept out and wandered in the wilderness
for forty more years, until the adults involved 
in rebellion were dead. There were two adults  
excepted, Joshua and Caleb, because of  their resistance  to the rebellion. This entering into 
the Land is a picture of  the rest into which a 
present day believer may enter through Spirit-
led obedience to  his Lord.  Entering into this 
rest, typifies the entering into Christ by  faith,
and  Christ entering into the believer, who is
not rebellions, but obedient to the call of God.
Therefore, the  believer has  ceased  from his
own  labor, in the  flesh, and  Christ is doing 
his work in the believer thru the Spirit of God.
It  may be said of  this individual, that  he has
entered into the rest of the Lord God in Jesus
Christ.  What  follows in  my personal deduc-
tion from Scripture and life.  I have no autho-
rity on which to base  the remarks, outside of
Scripture concerning the life of Christ and his
teaching;  "The Sabbath was made for man,
                     not man for the Sabbath."  

    In the Jewish, or  pre-church  economy, the 
Sabbath was observed weekly beginning about 
dusk on Friday evening, having strict  ritualis-
tic  practices.  There  were  other  Sabbaths to 
observe, and many considered to be especially 
holy.  There is  no such  understanding  in the
New Testament,  concerning  this practice  for
the  Church of Jesus Christ.  The Law has not
been rescinded, but  the elements referring  to
personal purity and righteousness,  as impor-
tant as  they are, can in  no way cleanse from
dead  works.  Those living in the grace of our
Lord, Jesus Christ live daily in a state of  His
grace  and a state of  rest from  works of  the
flesh, having no need to observe certain days.
Every day is lived as a  Sabbath to  the  Lord 
 by believers, who are recipients of His rest.  

     The theme throughout is that one who is in 
Christ lives daily in a state of rest in our Lord, 
Jesus Christ and has no particular need to ob-
serve  certain days.  Every day is a Sabbath to 
the Lord, as a recipient of His grace, in which 
he stands. The Apostles, after the resurrection 
of  Christ, began observing the first day of the 
the week as the Lord's day along with the Sab-
bath day.  They were eventually  barred  from 
Temple  worship.  (Believers live in a state of
"Grace."
  
     Things changed for the followers of Christ.  
The  believer  is held to a  different  standard; 
every day we live as unto our Lord,  nor does 
he observe seasons,  days or  festivals of  the 
Jews. 

    We have entered  into that rest  promised 
those who have their faith  in  God, through
his Son, and are not depending on works of
the Law,  in  the flesh.  We  must  recognize,
however;  that not one "jot nor tittle" of  the
Law has been  annuled  by  Christ.  He  did,
however; fulfill the law for that one who has
faith in  Him,  and Him alone.  If one is not 
"in Christ "  he is obliged to keep the whole 
Law,  and that to no good effect.  He is still 
under the  condemnation of  God's  Law as 
a "Lawbreaker."  (1 Timothy 1:9)

     Of  course there are sects;  Seventh-Day Baptist, Adventist and the World-Wide Church of God who attempt  to observe the "Jewish" Sabbath.  None of these  have the answer  for  me,  since I disagree on their  doctrine with  respect to Jesus Christ and their observance of the Sabbath is  in no respect  like that 
in the Old Testament. (I have been conflicted on the matter  for over 30 years and have recently settled it 
in my own heart and mind. I trust this post is not too 
confusing to anyone who holds  differing views, and
just because we have differences in doctrine, we will never condemn  another.  We may have  differences and still  be born  again.  "For whoever  calls on  the 
name of the Lord shall be saved."
                      Romans 10:13  (Read all Chapter 10)

    As I may have said before, scholarship is far from me  and these remarks should not be taken as autho-ritative,  but should be used as a springboard for one 
to search for the truth of the matter. Teaching I have 
experienced, has  left me with  no definitive sense of 
this  issue.  In  retrospect, there may be good reasons 
for one to be circumspect when  it comes to this kind 
of  thought.  We must take God's Word seriously and never  dismiss any  as  less  than  relevant.  The Lord 
God  is so serious about  His Word, of  God the Son, Jesus Christ,  it  is  said, "the  Word  was made  flesh 
and dwelt  among us and  we  beheld  His  glory,  the 
glory of the only begotten of the Father,  full of grace and truth."  
                         
(This  piece was  posted with  trepidation after 
several previous attempts to find  peace with it.  
These remarks are solely thoughts of an author, 
who believes we  must  follow  Scripture  even  
when  we settle on something  controversial.  I 
trust it will not be divisive nor confusing.  Dog-
matism is  unacceptable to  believers  except as the Scripture is very plain. 
Thank's for your kindness as you respond with
 email to: 
                            jlrsbnch@msn.com. 
 In the name of Jesus Christ my Savior... 
                                     donporter,sr   1.14.13 
  
Romans 14:5 says:  One man esteemeth one
day above another.  Another esteemeth every
day alike.  Let every man be fully persuaded
in his own mind.  (6) He that  regardeth  the
day, regardeth it unto the Lord:  and he that
regardeth not  the day,  to the Lord  he doth 
not  regard it.  He that  eateth,  eateth to the
Lord and giveth God thanks.  He that eateth
not,  to  the  Lord  he  eateth  not and giveth 
God thanks.  


 Whether the passage applies to the question 
 at hand is not perfectly clear to me, but it
 seems to deserve consideration.
 
                           Edited 11.07.14   donporter,sr

Personal Note:As you might have seen, the Scripture 
quoted on this blog is mainly from nkjv and from the kjv.  We have seen research made about the question of  the Sabbath and it seems inconclusive.  If you are
aware of  research  seeming to be objective and defi- 
nitive, let me know.  For the time being we will quote from the  two translations to which we have referred.
Thanks for taking time to consider this.

  donporter,sr...revised 7.25.14, 12.16.14, 8.03.16

  (This post will most likefully be edited again and
    again.  God bless you as you follow Him, Jesus
    the  Christ,  God the Son,  the Word  who  was
    made flesh.) 

      "Likefully" was coined by my younger son as a pre-teen.  He is now
       50 years old.)



         

FEARLESS FAITH (What do you fear?)

              Fear This        1.10.13  Matthew 10: 28-33                  “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”  
                                              Winston Churchill

   In Matthew 10, as Jesus sent out His disciples two-by-two.  He said persecution was coming upon them. (This was directed to the church.) His statements are applicable across the centuries and show although his disciples of  every  age will  be persecuted and suffer, 
we must take heart that  our  lives here are  temporal;  
We are looking for an eternal city, and  life with Him, where everything hidden will be revealed.

    There are many things men fear.  One of them is to be found to be afraid or intimidated. What should we, as children of  God fear, and what should we not fear.
Looking into God's Word, we find in Matthew 10: 28,
32-33;  we should not fear man since he is  our equal.
He can do no more  than take ones physical  life.  (At times  we  seem to  fear  ridicule or scorn as  much or more than physical danger.)  God's Word says we are not to fear man  but God; aware the Lord can destroy 
our bodies and souls in Hell.  We must fear this;
 "But whoever denies me before men, him will I deny before my Father who is in heaven." Matthew 10:33

    These two elements come together in verses 32-33 as we  see our confession of  the Lord before  men as 
directly related to our eternal relationship to God.

If we fear  men’s ridicule so  much we fail  to confess Christ  before  them,  then we  do not  fear  God,  nor understand  his great power over us or His great care for  us. (The hairs of our head are  numbered.) There 
is no  good  provision  for  one  who  does  not  freely 
confess Christ and identify with Him in His Suffering.

   In the book of Proverbs we read, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of  knowledge.”  Proverbs 1:7 
In 1 John 4: 18, “...the fearful,  unbelieving, abomi-nable,  murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, ido- laters,  and  all liars shall  have their part in the lake which  burns with fire and  brimstone,  which is  the second  death."  The fearful  and  cowardly are des- tined for the same end as some pretty vile characters.

    We must have a healthy reverence and 
    awe in the presence of our God, but His 
    perfect love casts out fear.  We fear 
    nothing.  The danger comes as  freedom  
    turns to  contempt, we lose reverence  in  
    His  presence, in which we  live  contin-
    ually,  and forget  His power  over,  and 
    care for us.

        He is still infinite and we, His creation,
        are flesh and blood; forever under his 
        sovereign protection and control.

     edited, 1.10.13, 10.27.16,  donporter, sr.