THE BLESSED HOPE, "CHRIST IN YOU..." Colossians 1:24-29

               29. Whereunto I also labour, striving according 
              to his working,  which worketh in me mightily.     
                   
       We, as orthodox  children of  God,  accept  the  fact  that We 
cannot  earn our salvation  through  works,  but  there is still an 
element of  our  salvation  unclear to  many.  According  to  this
passage,  it  is God’s will that brought  about our  salvation.  He 
took the initiative in the whole  transaction.   If  there  is hope, it 
is “Christ in you”  He will perfect us,  and it is His work to make 
us into His image.  "Being  confident of this  very  thing, that He 
which hath  begun a  good  work in you will  perform it until the 
day of Jesus Christ."                  (Philippians 1:6)

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and  from gene-
rations, but  now is made  manifest  to  his  saints: To whom God 
would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery 
among the  gentiles;  which is  Christ  in  you,  the  hope of  glory:  
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in 
all  wisdom;  that  we  may  present  every  man  perfect  in Christ 
Jesus:
                                                                    (Colossians 1: 26-28) 

      Everything the Child of  God does is through faith in Christ.   
For example;  Prayer to be effective  (effectual) must  be  with a
sense of  fervency  (earnest  and  passionate) accompanied  by 
righteousness.  We  know  man can be passionate, but no man 
among us claims righteousness. “There is none righteous, not
even one.” Romans 3:10
We supply fervency?  God  must supply the  righteousness of 
Jesus Christ  in us  in order to  have  effectual  prayer;  prayer 
He will  answer.   He  even  supplies  the other  element that is
required,  faith.  “Faith  comes  by  hearing and hearing by the 
Word of  God.”  Romans 10:17 When we pray,  it must be pas-
sionate and  consistent.  Righteousness  must  be  apart from 
law,   supplied by  the  one  who  has  fulfilled  the  law,  Jesus 
Christ.  He has  met  the  righteous  requirements  of  the  law
through  his  life, death,  burial,  resurrection,  ascension  and
intercession, all  on our  behalf.   When we rely upon our own 
righteousness or attempt to gin up righteousness of our own, 
we  are  apart  from  His  grace.  This  is  not  acceptable, as it  
might  provide  a  platform  for  boasting.   “not of  works, lest 
anyone should boast...”
                                                     (Ephesians 2: 9,  Romans 10: 1-5)

       Secondly;  Although  we know we  are to be about good works,
the works we do are not ours.  In verse 10 of  Ephesians 2, we find,
“...For  we are  His workmanship, created  in Christ Jesus for good
works,  which  God  prepared  before hand  that we should  walk in
them."  Of course we are to be involved in doing good, but the plan
is not ours .  Just  as our faith  and  our abilities are gifts from God, 
the very ideas and plans we make are not ours,  but plans God has
made beforehand, and  presents to us in a timely  manner.  If there
is to be success in any endeavor, the thing belongs to God. This is  
why we  always give Him credit.  Knowing we must  give God glory 
in everything  accomplished, we come  to  understand the reasons 
for giving Him glory.  It is His idea; it is His plan;  it is His work  and  
we are in His hands. We  supply  passion but, looking  at  the word
closely (fervency) we  find it  to be related to  enthusiasm meaning, 
filled  with God.  In  retrospect,  can we   claim credit  for  fervency?
I think not.  “Christ is all and in all.”   

"If any man seemeth to be religious and bridleth not his tongue; but
deceiveth his own self, that man's religion is vain.
  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this; To
visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself
unspotted from the world."  James 1: 26-27  (kjv)

   Give  thanks  that Jesus Christ has taken it upon Himself  to perfect 
us and bless the world through us.  He is able.  Can there be a higher
calling  for a people so flawed?  He is the blessing,  but as he blesses
us,  He  blesses others through you and  me.  The blessing must  not
stop with us since we are "merely" conduits of His Grace.

       As  we  consider this, we  find  ourselves to be powerless  in the
weightier matters  of  life.  In the words of the Apostle Paul, Romans
8: 32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but  delivered Him up for
  us all, how shall He not with him also freely give us all things.”
"Every  good and  perfect  gift is  from above, and cometh down from
the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of  
turning.  Of his own will begat He us, that  we should be the firstfruits
of  his creatures."  (James 1:17-18)  In Romans 8, we  find  we cannot 
be charged, condemned nor separated from the love of God, because 
He  justifies, has  died, is  risen  and makes  intercession for us at the 
right hand of  the Father, and  we are more than conquerors in Christ, 
but  not by  our on efforts or merit.  This Scripture makes a creditable  
statement about  the  sovereignty  of  God.  This  is  one of  the  basic 
tenets His children hold dearly.  “All  we like sheep have gone astray; 
astray; We have turned, everyone to his own way;  And the Lord has 
laid on Him, the iniquity of  us  all.” (Taken from Isaiah 53: 6; read the 
entire chapter.  Read also Romans 8:35-39, Ephesians 2:1)

     Since we  are a work  of Jesus Christ  in progress, incomplete and 
imperfect,  we do not even know how to conduct ourselves.  Romans
8: 19-39;  tells us to wait for  a  revelation, hope  for  deliverance  and 
for the adoption and redemption of our bodies.  Another issue about 
prayer emerges here.  We do not know  for what  we should  pray, so
the  Spirit  of  God  forms the prayer;  God the Son  intercedes on our 
behalf to God the Father.  In this  we see the  whole  thing to be in the 
hands of  our Lord.  Again,  He  has  taken  it  upon  Himself  to cause 
everything in our lives to work  together for  our good and His eternal
glory, that  we  may  be  conformed  to the image of Christ. "...And we 
know that all  things work  together  for good  to those who love God, 
to those who are  the  called according to his purpose.  For whom he 
foreknew, He also predestined to  be conformed  to the  image of  his 
Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.   NKJV
 (Romans 8:28-29)  For  details  and  clarity on  this,  read  30-34. 

   We are called, we are  justified and we  will be glorified  through no 
initiative of our own.  Ours is but  to respond to  the call of  our Lord, 
Jesus  Christ.  We  are honored  to be  allowed  to  participate in  His
grand  plan and  purpose and  if we take any glory or credit for it, we
must  remember;  it  is His  plan,  His power,  and  His righteousness 
through  Christ Jesus.  There  are  times when  I  have issue with the 
way some view predestination,  but  the  Sovereignty of God can not
be at issue.   

     Completely at a loss to summarize, thus deferring to Scripture: 
 “To them God willed to make known what  are the riches of the glory 
  of this mystery among the gentiles:  which is Christ in you, the hope
   of  glory.  Him  we  preach, warning  every  man and  teaching  every
  man in  all wisdom,  that we may present every man perfect in Christ
   Jesus.  To  this end  I also labor,  striving  according  to  His working
  which works  in me mightily."   (From the  pen of  the Apostle Paul in 
   Colossians 1: 27-29,  as inspired by the  Spirit of the  true and living
   God.)  Most of  the  Scripture  quoted above  is  from  the  New King 
   James translation; nkjv

http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2015/01/god-is-sovereign.html            

 donporter  9.25.12               edited, 3.22.15








THE PATIENCE OF...JOB 1 - 2

"...And  the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, he is 
in  your  hand, but  spare  his  life.'  So Satan 
went out  from the presence of  the Lord, and
struck Job with painful boils from the sole of  
his foot to the crown of his head. And he took 
for  himself a  potsherd with  which to scrape 
himself while he sat in the midst of  the ashes.
Then his wife said to him,'Do you still hold to
your integrity?  Curse God  and die!"  But he
said  to her, 'You speak as one of  the  foolish
women  speaks, shall we  indeed accept good
from God, and shall we not accept adversity?'
In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.  


     We  all think we  understand the narrative
from the book of Job in Scripture.  Let's  look 
at the second statement from Job, verse 10 of
chapter 2.   "...Shall  we indeed  accept good 
from God, and shall we not accept adversity?
    In all this Job did not sin with his lips."
   
   The statement above may be most important 
to the story.  We give  thanks  for  the blessing  
from God on our lives, but we may only count 
as blessing the  things and "happenings," that
encourage us or make us  feel good. The most 
important blessing to come upon Job might be
regarded by you and me  as catastrophic.  We 
would  probably be  crushed; and be at risk of  
losing our faith as a result. (The Lord will not  
put upon His child more than he can bear, but 
will provide an escape. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

"No temptation has overtaken  you except such as 
 is common to man;  but God is faithful, who will
not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are 
able, but  with  the  temptation  will also  make a 
way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

   The Scripture above refers to temptation, but
but could  just  as easily have  referred to trials
of faith as well.  We must receive all that comes
to us as  believers to be  from  our Lord.  If it is
from the  Lord do we dare lament our condition, 
complain against it or rebel in our hearts or our  
mouths.  When  you or I  speak of  our condition, 
there is  but one way to regard these things and 
that is with thanksgiving. If we truly give thanks 
in  everything,  as in  Ephesians 5:20  "...Giving 
thanks always  for all things  to  God the Father 
in the  name of our Lord  Jesus Christ..,"  Then,
we will be in that respect, following our Savior.

    If our  faith in God, in Christ, is  as fleeting
as  is our constancy in other  things, we are in
trouble.  Having  lived  many years among the
people of God, His church, evidence indicates
our faith  to  be  ineffectual as  a whole.  Most
of  us  might  be  described  as "fair  weather" 
Christians.  We  have  a  tendency to be  up or
down  depending  upon  our health, wealth, or
stable  personal relationships  We deal poorly
with  backset or loss.  Our record  for dealing
with disaster or catastrophe, on the whole, can
be reportedly dismal. There  are also those we
can  name who have been through the fire and
have come out the other side, unscathed. They,
like Job, are our examples to  follow as we fol-
low Jesus Christ.       
   
     What then is the answer to this dilemma?
The key to living a well adjusted contented life
in Christ is this..., "In everything, give thanks,
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus con-
cerning you."  (1 Thess. 5:18)  Accepting  all 
that comes to  us  in  faith as  being  from the 
hand of God with thanksgiving, settles it. This
may seem  simple, but  most  that is taught in
the Word of God about  living in this world is
by it's very nature offered to the "least of us,"
and the greatest still have the same  issues as
do the rest of  us.  If  you will return  to Scrip-  
ture  referenced earlier, to verse 18 and 19 we
find, "And do not be drunk with wine, in which
is dissipation; but  be ye  filled with  the Spirit,
speaking to one another in  psalms and hymns
and  Spiritual songs,  making  melody  in your 
heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all
things to  God the  Father in  the name  of our
Lord, Jesus Christ."  Is that the key? 

    Job  endured the "firey furnace."  His legacy  
will be his  faith in God.  He sinned not. He did
not relish the trial, but  today  he is in  the  pre-
sence of  the Eternal God, rejoicing  and giving
his Lord praise for all that was done.

    I must report that in May, 2015, I discovered
a hernia and went to a surgeon.  As he checked
me over, including my  heart, he  seemed to  be
concerned  and  sent  me to a  cardiologist who
discovered  a  defective  aortic  valve.  Surgery
was adivsed and  performed by  another cardio 
surgeon.  This has been quite an experience for 
one who  had never  had a  medical procedure,
did  not  take  over  the counter nor prescribed
medications.  I  was 74  and  in  seeming  great
health.    
     I must give the Lord God the glory for taking 
us  through this and  now, we  are at  home and 
are  doing  well, considering.  My Lord not only 
"carried" my wife and  me through  this, but He 
did  it  in such a  way  that I  never had  fear of
suffering  or  dying. (they stopped my heart and 
placed me on a heart-lung machine for life sup-
port.)  I  was  clinically dead  during  the  valve 
repair.  There are still 3 weeks before I am per-
mitted full  range of  motion and  able to return 
to  music  ministry  in  our church.  My  church 
family  and  our other  friends  have  been  very  
thoughtful and considerate during this time and 
we give our Lord thanks for our friends and our
family and having gone through this experience.       

      God bless you and thanks for looking.
                                donporter,sr 11.07.15

"THE" OATH OF HIPPOCRATES VS ABORTION Mark 10: 14-15

Abortion Stops a Beating Heart...

  "...Suffer the Little Children to come unto me, 
  and forbid them not for of such is the Kingdom 
  of Heaven."  Mark 10: 14-b

  There  can be no greater crime than that of 
deliberately effecting  the death of a helpless, 
innocent person.  (child)  One who has never 
had  opportunity to  experience the life inten-
ded by his creator should never be a statistic, 
callously ignored by the culture into which he 
was to be born.  Exodus 20: 13,  "Thou shall 
not Kill."  (See Mark 3:4, Mark 10:19) 

      The  paragraph above simply  states facts 
causing our nature to rebel each time we hear.
Dare we try to fix responsibility for such acts?
Medical personnel  have taken oaths since the
5th century, to  preserve and  protect life and
well being of those in their care. Words of the
original  Hippocratic  oath,  authored  by  the
Grecian,  Hippocrates,  have  probably  been
lost. It was rewritten and unknown number of
times over the years to  fit cultures into which
it was introduced. The 17th century oath, con-
sidered to be close to  the  original oath reads
in part:
"I will neither give a  deadly drug  to anybody 
who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion
to  this effect.  Similarly, I  will not  give to  a 
woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holi-
ness I will guard my life and my art..."

The later oath, 1964, written by Louis Lazagna
who was academic dean;  School of Medicine at 
Tufts University,  used  by  many  medical institu-
tions today is, in part, as follows:

    "I will respect the privacy of  my patients, for 
their problems are  not  disclosed  to me that the 
world  may know.  Most  especially  must I treat 
with  care in  matters of  life and  death.  If  it is
given  to me to save a life, all thanks. But it may
be  within my power to take a life; this awesome
responsibility  and  awaress of  my  own  frailty.
Above all I must not play at God."  

     Noting the differences in the wording  corre-
sponding to the earlier oath has effected drastic
changes in the practice of this honorable profes-
sion. Without the passing and approval of legis-
lation that make them legal, there  would not be 
the holocaust we see today. Over a million inno-
cent lives are taken, "legally," annually by medi-
cal professionals with the encouragement of our
government in the name  of  "Women's Health." 
For the full text of the 17th century oath as well
as the contemporary oath, see link at bottom.

     Reading "The Gospel According to Moses"
published  in 1950, written  by  the  late. W. A.
Criswell,  First Baptist Church,  Dallas Texas,
opened my mind to the many descendants lost
when one child is taken by abortion.  This idea
not referenced in the book, was the seedbed for
the idea.  Have you considered how many lives
are lost during the abortion of one child?  The
Scripture teaches the descendants of  man are
within him during his lifetime.  In other words,
when a life is  taken, all the seed of that one is
"cut off."   Noah  was  preserved,  along  with
his seed,  from extiinction by  the flood  of his
day.  Noah  was the  descendant of  righteous
Seth, son of the man, Adam. All those outside
the line of  Seth, were seed of Cain.  They  all  
perished in the deluge.   (Genesis 6)   

    Next, we come to the part of the prospetive
mothers in each case.  One of  the most tragic 
or  memorable  instances I  personally  recall 
may be a more or less, typical example of rea-
sons for a young lady to have an abortion.  A 
very sweet 16 year old among the youth of our 
church  had  a  steady  beau.  She conceived a 
child with him, and made  commitment to give 
birth to  the child.  Her mother,  for  whatever 
reason,  forced  her  to  undergo an  abortion, 
against  her  will,  compounding  the  tragedy. 
Her parents were members of  our   assembly,   
the mother, in leadership. The light went from 
her eyes and she was never the same after the
experience.  When she came of age, she mar-
ried the young man.  That is last I know of the
story.    
         Who has the greater sin? 

    That incident occurred over 30 years ago, 
but still has power to sadden me each time I 
am reminded of it.  Your child deserves to be 
born  and to fulfill  God's plan for his or her 
life.  Are you not  glad your  mother  did not 
choose the "Nuclear" option in your case.

   There is plenty of "blame" to go around in 
these instances, but our Lord is about second 
chances.  We must remember;  He offers for-
giveness to any who come to him to repent of 
any  transgression, great  or small.  We have 
a great big God who is not intimidated by the
size of our sin. He does not  judge, before the 
time, and  does not  condemn, nor should we.  
We must take the message of forgiveness and 
God's  love to any who may have  mucked up 
their lives in any way. 

 Remember, we also require forgiveness from
our Lord on a regular basis, and if we do not
offer forgiveness to others, it is an indication
we do not  have that forgiveness in  our lives
and are still in our sin.  We are guilty, under
the full force of the Law of God.

In Matthew 6:14-15 we read, "For if ye forgive 
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will  
also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their
trespasses, neither will you Father forgive your
trespasses.

    Who are we  to hold any ones feet to the fire 
when ours are unclean.   

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html

donporter,sr  11.05.14