THE KINGDOM OF GOD, WEALTH, CHARITY, & PRAYER

  "THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND WEALTH"

    The sixth chapter of  Matthew contains  a signi-
ficant  portion of  the "Sermon on the Mount," by 
our Lord Jesus Christ.  This sermon  takes up the
fifth,  sixth and  seventh chapters of  this  Gospel
and is probably some of our Lord's most revered
and "difficult" standards.  The truth expressed in
these passages of  God's Word holds followers of
Jesus Christ to higher levels of commitment than
anything  previously  published in Scripture.  We
will consider one  principle addressed,  from Mt.
6: 19-24.

      "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon 
      earth,  where moth and  rust doth corrupt,
     and where thieves break through and steal.

     "But lay up for yourselves treasures in hea-
       ven, where neither moth nor rust doth cor-
       rupt, and where thieves do not break 
       through nor steal."  (Matthew 6: 19-20)

      "But they that will be rich  fall into temptation
      and  a snare, and into many foolish and hurt-
      ful lusts, which drown men in destruction and
     perdition.  For the love of money is the root of
     all evil: which while some  coveted  after, they
     have  pierced  themselves  through  with many
     sorrows."  1 Timothy 6: 9-10

     In Proverbs 28:11,  we find;  "The rich man is 
    wise in his own conceits, but the poor that hath
    understanding searcheth him out." 

      The Scripture, Old  and New Testaments has
    several  references to  the negative  effects of 
    riches on  persons  who  would  follow Christ.  
    The negatives concern the attitude one has as  
    he faces just what he will do for riches and if
    one is willing to sacrifice personal righteous-
    ness in that pursuit.  There are certain things
    one  is able to do,  good things,  with  wealth,
    but it seems a rare blessing, indeed, to find a
    person  willing to use his wealth in service to 
    people in need around him.  That is what our 
    Lord requires of the one He has blessed with 
    the riches of this world.  

       This, however;  does not let us off  the hook.
   Although  you or I  may  not  be so blessed,  is
   it  not still incumbent upon each of  us to have
   the same attitude?  Since every  blessing  from
   our  Lord  brings with it  a  responsibility, it is
   no  less a  charge  from our Lord,  to share in
   the poverty, loss or grief of anyone with whom 
  we come into contact.  Since we are so blessed, 
  we must comfort  those we know, who suffer or 
  or  are  disadvantaged.  We share  the blessing
  and comfort of the Lord on us, with them.  
    (2 Corinthians 1: 4) 

     "But thou, O man of God, flee these things; 
      and  follow after righteousness,  godliness,
      faith, love, patience, meekness...

  
        God  bless you and keep you in the faith of
    our Lord Jesus Christ; with no faith in  mate-
    rial things of this World System.
                                         donporter, sr 9.03.16 

"THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND CHARITY"

     In Matthew 6: 1 - 4, we discover how to perform
deeds of  charity to persons who  are in need of our
help. The Lord God has specific conditions we must
meet in verse 1, that determines whether we  will be
blessed in doing good deeds..(Matthew 6: 1-4) One
definition of "blessed," is knowing the good and the
doing of it."  A primary benefit of blessing is know-
ing  the  blessing  of  our Lord will accomplish that
or Lord  intends.  Work in  this vein will  be  multi-
plied in a way that  we may be aware the Lord God 
is the doer. 
           We are HIS instruments in  the doing.

     "Take heed that you do not do your charitable
      deeds before men, to be seen of them.  Other-
      wise you have no reward from your Father in
      Heaven.
     Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do
     not sound a trumpet  before you as  the hypo-
     crites do in the synagogues and in the streets.
     that they may be seen of men. Assuredly I say
     to you, they have their reward.
     But  when you do a charitable deed, do not let
     your left hand know what  your right  hand  is 
     doing that your charitable deed may be in sec- 
     ret:  and  your Father, who sees in secret, will
     Himself reward you openly."

    " THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND PRAYER"

     "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as 
      the hypocrites are, for they love to pray stan-
      ding in the synagogues and in the corners of
      the streets, that they may be seen of men. 
      Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

     But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy clo-
     set, and  when thou has shut thy door,  pray to
     thy  Father  which is in secret,  and thy Father 
     which seeth in secret, will reward thee openly."
                                          Matthew 6: 5-6

       The way prayer is practiced, in public, today, 
gives one  pause as  we  read  this one verse from 
Matthew.  Praying in  public  seems to  be,  to say 
the least, risky.  While the teaching of Jesus might
be  interpreted  as an outright prohibition against
praying  publicly,  it  seems the church,  as a rule,
does not follow  that line.  When you parse words
here we see Jewish leaders actually prayed aloud
in  order to be heard/seen of men and the content
of prayers was largely dictated by the hearers.  It
is certainly possible prayer today is influenced of
such factors. 

 What then, do we learn from Matthew.  Since our
Lord,  in  his Word condemns public displays of a
kind that might be construed to promote the appa-
rent "Holiness" of the individual, on display... We
must be careful to abide by the letter of the advice
as well as the spirit of the information.  Chapter 6
of Matthew condemns Pharisees for such.  Are we
not held to a  higher standard than they?  Let's be
circumspect in our worship and keep our focus on
the one whom we worship and away  from the one
who worships.            

 donporter,sr 9.05.16  edited 9.06.16
     


    

LIGHT, LOVE AND LIFE from GENESIS, I JOHN, & GOSPEL of JOHN

            Light, Life, and Love...7.13.16
               (Old Testament)

LIGHT:  Genesis 1: 1-5, "Let there be light..."
Genesis 1: 14-19, "Let  there be lights in the heavens
                            to divide the day from the night..."

LIFE:  Genesis 1: 26, And God said, Let us make 
                           man in our image, after our like-
                           ness; And let them have dominion..
        Genesis 1: 27, "So God created man in his own 
                          image, in the image of God created
                          He him; male and female created 
                          He them. 
                                                 
LOVE:  Genesis 2: 18-25, "And the Lord God said,
                        It is not good for man to live alone;
                        I will make an help meet for him. 
            Genesis 29:18-20, "And Jacob loved Rachel"
                    
      LIGHT, LIFE AND LOVE  
            (New Testament)
                   
LIGHT:  I John 1: 5-7, "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."
                          
LIFE: 1 John 1: 6,  "For the life was manifested,  
                       and we have seen it and bear wit-
                      ness, and shew unto you that eter- 
                     nal life which was with the Father."

                                            
                          
    John 1: 1,4,5, "In the beginning was the Word,  
                         and the Word was with God and
                         the  Word  was  God. 
                         The same was in the beginning
                         with God.  In Him was life and 
                         the life was the light of men.
                        And the light shineth in darkness; 
                        and the darkness comprehended 
                        it not."  
                       (Did not understand/overcome it.)
                        
        Love: John 3:16, For God so loved the world   
                        that He gave his only begotten Son,
                        that whosoever  believeh in him,  
                        might not perish, but have everlas-
                        ting life." 
                       17, "For God sent not his Son into
                       the world to condemn the world,
                       but that the world through Him
                       might be saved."

            1 John 2: 9-10  "He that saith that he is in
                    the light and  hateth  his brother is in 
                    darkness until now. He that loveth his
                    brother abideth in the light and  there 
                    is no  occasion of stumbling  in him."                                                   
                                            donporter, sr 7.13.16                   

PAINKILLERS AND EMPATHY (Acetaminophen)

          Is this popular painkiller destroying 

                  your sense of empathy?   
Do  you take  popular  painkillers  like Tylenol or 
Excedrin?  Then  you’re  putting  acetaminophen 
in your body.  This might help relieve  your head
body aches or even fevers. But it might also have 
an unintended side effect.

That’s because acetaminophen, the most-popular 
drug ingredient  in America, was shown in a new 
study to decrease a person’s sense of empathy.

Empathy  is our  ability  to step  into the shoes of 
another  person.  It  can help us understand  their 
feelings and perspectives … and to use this under 
understanding to guide our own actions.

Being able to  empathize is  a core  characteristic 
that defines us as human.  It allows us to live in a 
culture where  the betterment of  the whole com-
munity reigns paramount.

However,  researchers at The Ohio State Univer-
sity saw a unique reaction when participants who 
took  acetaminophen  learned  about  the  misfor-
tunes of  others.  They observed that these indivi-
duals experienced  less pain  and suffering, when 
compared to those who took no painkiller.

"These findings suggest other people’s pain does
not  seem as  big of  a  deal to  you when you’ve 
taken acetaminophen," said Dominik Mischkow-
ski,  co-author of  the  study and  a former Ph.D. 
student  at Ohio State, now at  the National Insti-
tutes of Health.

"Acetaminophen can reduce  empathy as well as 
serve as a painkiller."

So not only does this drug reduce  your sense of
physical  pain, but  also your  ability to share the 
pain of others.  
                     Article copied from, 
          "UNCOMMON WISDOM DAILY"

  (Does this also affect ones ability to think with 
   the mind of Christ?)

This last question added by Don Porter, Sr., 
Does  the same  problem exist with respect  to other
pain killers and is it possible pain medication desen-
sitizes us  to others  issues whether  acetomenophen 
is in the medication or not?  Is it any wonder we see
an increase in violent crime in our culture;  since the
abuse of  drugs,  legal and illegal,  is so  prevalent in  
the U.S. of A.  How could we expect anything less.

donporter,sr                     

THE BLESSED HOPE (It Is Finished)

 "The Blessed Hope"                                  5.18.16

   
  As followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, redeemed from
the penalty of our sins  by his blood, we  have a  hope,  
secure in him. 
    This hope is not based on our works, but is reckoned 
to us as the result of his finished work on the cross. We
access this redemption through faith in Him; His work.  
  
   His work on the cross was finished when He rose from 
the dead on the third day, followed  by his  Ascension to,  
and  his  Intercession with  the Father on our behalf. 
  The work of  our Lord  may  be finished,  but He is still 
active on our behalf, interceding  for us at the right hand 
of the Father.  

   HOPE: Confident expectation of future good.

13.  “But I would not  have you to be ignorant, brethren, 

         concerning them which are  asleep, that  ye sorrow 

         not even as others which have no hope.

14.   For if  we  believe  that  Jesus died and  rose again, 

        even  so them  also  which sleep in Jesus,  will God 

        bring with him.

15.   For this we say unto you, by the Word of the Lord, 

        that we which are alive and remain unto the 
        coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which  

        are asleep.

16.   For the Lord, himself, shall descend  from heaven 

        with a shout, of the archangel, and with the trump 

        of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17.  Then we which are alive and remain will be caught 

       up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air:  

       and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18.  Wherefore, comfort one another with these words."

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   * 
donporter,sr    

MATTHEW 5: 3-12 "THE BEATTITUDES"

     
         As a rule,  when a teacher addresses the “Sermon on the 

Mount” by our lord, there is  failure to  take some instruction of

Christ, literally.  For our purposes,  we will consider the mean-

ing as literally as possible. There is always the danger of rob-

bing the Scripture of meaning when we fail take the Lord God
at His "Word..."

    

     We will begin in chapter  5.  His words  begin in  verse 3 of

this passage, our Lord refers to "poor in spirit."  When we take

this literally, we  find our lord commending one  for a blessing

who is not proud or confident in self, relying upon one of grea-

ter power, our lord, himself. The blessing is eternal in nature.

       In the next verse,  He promises to comfort the one who sees

the  conditions of  this world and is broken/sorrowful.  In verse 5,

unlike popular belief, the meek are assigned an earthly heritage

and  in verse 6, those  who seek  righteousness  from God shall

have that  righteousness. (This is an important concept, relating

to other Scriptural promises accompanying righteousness; con-
demning  self   righteousness.)   We  know  from  Scripture;  our

God is  a God of  mercy.  In verse  7, He expects His  children to

be  merciful and promises  the blessing of  mercy on  those who

obey. 

   This is certainly a brief consideration of a portion of the finest 
sermon  known.  Taken as  a whole,  the ministry of  our  Savior
Jesus Christ, God the Son, teaches me the following:

          In order for one to be a follower of Christ, he/she must 
          be self-efacing, genuinely humble  in spirit, preferring
          others before  self,  with  confidence  in God  the Son, 
          His Word, and no confidence in self or the flesh.  

         "The  Word  became  Flesh  and dwelt among us, and
          we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten
          of the Father, full of grace and truth."         John 1: 14
                                                                       

donporter,sr       edited: 10.09.16

ETERNAL or TEMPORAL? I Corinthians 13: 12-13

              "For now we see through a glass darkly;
        but then face to face:  Now I know in part;
         but then shall I know even as I am known.
          And now abideth faith, hope and charity,
            these threes; but the greatest of these is
          charity. (Charity: Selfless Love and care.) 

                       I Corinthians 13: 12-13   kjv

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  
    Have you considered the typical conversation
of our  time?  Almost  everything has to do with
matters on the surface. It is rare, indeed for any-
one to discuss the critical issues  facing our cul-
ture.  The importance of  "faith" should  be pre-
eminent, but we are more concerned with things
we can touch, taste, see, smell or hear.  Even as
we  discuss, rarely, faith  matters we couch con-
versation in terms, "I feel, sense,  hear God." In 
truth, the Lord speaks through the written Word.        

      "Now faith is substance of things hoped for,
     the evidence of things not seen.  For by it
      the elders obtained a good report."
                                                             Hebrews 11:1-2
  
    Taking the passage above to be a definition
of  faith, we find  hope has a  part in faith and
the importance to the man of God, if he would
have a good testimony, or report of  our Lord.

If we continue along this line of reasoning, we
might start to consider things of eternal value.
These  are things  known  by  faith, alone. The
very basis  for faith is our  Lord  Jesus Christ,
the eternal  Word of  God.  We dare  not have
faith in faith, only in Christ.  He is "the Word 

made  flesh" and can not, will not, be separa-

ted  from from the Word of God.

   "But without faith it is impossible to please

him,:  for he that cometh to God must believe

that He is, and is a rewarder of them that

diligently seek him."  Hebrews 11:6

   When we look into the Word of God, It is

plain.  We are (have been) in the dark.  Only

by absolute unwavering faith in Him will we

be enabled to know his secrets.  Only when

we are face to face with our Lord will every-

thing be made plain and our understanding

will be opened.  Until that time we exercise

faith in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

to do what we are unable to do.

 
   "And 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." 

       John 1: 14       donporter,sr.  2.18.16, ed. 4.8.17

                                    

FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES, MATTHEW 6

             "And forgive us our debts as we
            forgive our debtors"  Matthew 6:12
                                 * * * * *
     You will recognize  the passage above as
 being part of "The Lord's Prayer."  It may be
more  perfectly  called  the  "Model  Prayer,"
since  our Lord gave this prayer to his disci-
ples  in  this chapter, saying; "In this manner
pray:"   The troubling  part; after  the  prayer, 
in the passage that follows; 

     "For if you forgive men their  trespasses, 
your Heavenly Father  will also  forgive you.  
But if you do not  forgive men their trespas-
ses,  neither  will your  Father  forgive  your 
trespasses."  Matthew 6: 14-15

The apparent ramifications of  that statement 
are eternal in nature, if our "trespasses,offen-
ces or sins" be  unforgiven.  Can  there be an 
eternal hope for one who has not had his sins 
forgiven by our  Lord?  I am sure I  offend  my 
Lord on a regular  basis and  there  are  times
when  it  is  unwitting.  Therefore, one  way of 
dealing with  these  kinds of  offences,  is  the 
timely forgiveness on our part  of anyone who
may offend us. There  does not seem to  be a
reference  to the  degree of  offense  incurred;
timely forgiveness is critical in every case. 

   As  you reflect on this principle from Scripture, 
remember;  any offense you may incur from an 
individual can  never compare with our offenses 
against  our Lord.  Since  He is perfect, has not 
sinned, and  will not countenance sin.  Anything 
we do that offends him is far more serious than 
 something one might do to offend you or me.

      While I do  not  believe  sin in  the life of  a  
believer will cause a reversion to a "Lost" state 
of that believer, it does affect Holy Spirit  power 
in  the life.  For a person who is born again, sin 
interrupts  fellowship  with  the  Father  causing 
even  followers  of  Christ  to be in a precarious 
and dysfunctional  state. Timely  forgiveness of 
one who might offend you or me is critical. This
offense, against your neighbor is also an offense
against a Holy God.  People in Bible times were
subject to untimely deaths because of such...

  Keep  the faith and  may the Lord God  bless 
  you as you live out the Sermon on the mount,    
 found in         Matthew 5-7.

     Roger; thanks for the comment and God               
 Bless...1.01.16 (Comment shown below)

(Matthew 6: 9, Matthew 7: 12-13, 14-15...) 



donporter,sr.  12.21.15