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Page 6...The Portland Observer...Seplember 23,1992
• Portland Observer
RELIGION
Scripture o f the ‘Weef
Matthew 13:3
S p ir itu a l J u s tic e
BY MATTIE ANN CALLIER-SPEARS
When man was given the opportu
nity and the o ffice to pass judgement,
define and classify g u ilt, he took all
kinds o f liberties.
Very often, i have heard men and
women say that many laws were de
signed to shield and protect those who
created them (and not the general popu
lous): and - that same intelligent lot
dcvisedcrafty methods whereby, w ithin
the wording, there would be phrasing
called “ loop-holes” that would entrap
and/or against anyone who had, by
chance, smelled a rat.
Man has sought remedies. Prisons,
jails,correctional institutions, half-way
houses and other programs in the com
munities have been operational for many
years, decades and centuries; all in
hopes-that, i f the perpetrators were
removed from the comm unity, the prob
lem would surely disappear.
M an’ s problem is man himself.
When w ill man learn that the Great
Problem Solver him self is sim ply w a it
ing fo r man to come to Him? Seek H im
Out? C all on His name? “ Whenever i
hold back the rain or send locusts to eat
up the cops or send an epidemic on my
people, i f they pray to me and repent
and turn away from the e vil they have
been doing, then I w ill hear them in
heaven, forgive their sins, and make
their land prosperous again.”
[ I l Chron. 7:13-14 G N B ]
I f mankind could ever get itse lf to
the point where h a lf o f this w orld ’ s
populous was on its knees calling on the
Lord and Savior jesus Christ, God would
be so pleased. I feel like, as Christian
Believers, we are all named “ Abraham” .
Remember how Abraham pleaded with
God as he tried to save the people o f
Sodom and gomorrah from destruc
tion? He pleaded w ith God, “ Are you
really going to destroy the innocent
w ith the guilty? I f there are fifty inno
cent people in the c ity, w ill you destroy
the whole city?” The Lord answered,
“ I f I find fifty innocent people in Sodom,
I w ill spare the whole c ity for their
sake.” [Gen. 18:16-33 G N B ]
Abraham continued pleading w ith
God until he had gotten down to ten
people. T he n-th e Lord went away and
Abraham returned home. That same
night, the Lord sent tw o angles to the
city o f Sodom.
Portland, Oregon is liken unto the
city o f Sodom. Sin is having a holiday,
a festival. A good time!
Is there any justice? is God going to
destroy everyone just because o f the
wrong-doings o f some...?
There is so much k illin g and sexual
sins and drug abuse defiling the body
and bad language and preachers in self-
made pulpits who have been appointed
by themselves and the lis t goes on and
on and on.
Is history repeating itself?
Is there any spiritual Justice?
As Christians, we must get up, go
out and com m it ourselves to "rescue the
perishing” . Everyday-people are go
ing to hell on a greased slide w hile we
stand idly by and utter these same words,
“ D on’t worry. I ’ll pray for you.”
Prayer is good but God wants us up
on our feet, out there in the trenches and
getting our H oly hands d irty as we
reach down and pull some poor soul out
o f the muck and mire. And pray. Pray
that God w ill give you the strength and
the endurance to stand w hile you are
reaching and pulling and com m itting.
And pray that God w ill bind the powers
o f Satan, in the H oly Name o f Jesus
Christ, and cast him away from thy
presence. “ Lord just give me the strength
to stand. Oh Jesus!”
The god we serve is a just God. He
is faithful. He is m erciful. He is good
and kind. And He has enough love and
understanding fo r everyone who seeks
Him. He is an excellent listener. And
He pities every groan we make.
Is there Justice? I can truly say
“ Yes!” There is justice to all who seek
Him , turn from their wicked ways, es
tablish a regular prayer life w ith the
Master. T h e n -w e must trust and obey.
“ When you were the slaves (pris
oners) to sin, you were free from rig h
teousness. What did you gain from do
ing the things that you are now ashamed
of? The result o f those things is death!
But now you have been set free from sin
and are the slaves o f God. Your gain is
a life fu lly dedicated to him , and the
Society Of St. Vincent dePaul
Jancie Peister Com m ents On “1000
Points Of Light” Recognition
“ We are pleased that the ‘ 1000
Points o f L ig h t’ program has recog
nized the w ork o f thousands o f our
volunteers and our Society’ s staff, and
the generosity o f tens-of -thousands
Portland area residents, businesses and
organizations that have helped us feed
needy fam ilies at Christmastime.
We accept this honor on behalf o f
all those people who have contributed
o f their time, talents and resources fo r
so many years to help their neighbors
who are in need.
For Your Inform ation:
-t-Our Society has been providing
emergency services in the Portland area
for 123 years, and the Christmas Food
Program has been a part o f that effort
fo r the past 53 years.
+Through the daily efforts o f some
900 volunteers in 52 parish-based S VDP
conferences, we have assisted 89,000
fam ilies so far this year. That is more
than double last years’ s total.
+4,500 volunteers from through
out the com m unity joined together last
year to bring food boxes to 5,200 fam i
lies at Christmas.
+Poverty is everywhere and in
creasing. To help all those in need it
takes the cooperation and generosity o f
all segments o f our society...social ser
vice agencies, government organiza
tions, business and industry, c iv ic ,
church-related and com m unity organi
zations and the citizens o f our commu
nities.
Janice Peister is executive director
o f St. Vincent de Paul Society’ s Port
land Council.
M t O livet
BAPTIST CHURCH
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Has moved Sunday services to
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Stone T o w er C h u rc h ,
N .E . Sandy B lvd . & 30th
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Worship Services 8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.
Church School 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Bible Study, Wednesdays, 116 N.E. Schuyler
10:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
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Radio Ministry each Sunday, 8:00 a.m. on KBMS
A Teaching Church With A Reaching Ministry
Dr. James E. Martin, Senior Pastor
Church Office 116 N.E. Schuyler St.
(503) 284-1954
M allory Avenue
Christian Church
D
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C
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The better you know it,
the more it will do for you.
Fall term starts September 28
at
North Portland Bible College
Call 288-2919 for a schedule.
Dr. Robert H. King
Lutheran Inner C ity M inistries w ill
dedicate it ’ s m inistryt center on Sun
day, September 27th at 3:00 P.M. The
Jíaul ¿tMtssinnarg
^Baptist dfurefy
8101 N. Fiske Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97203
S tudy Pi
Church Pho.tr. 2S9-0147
299^1911
Sunday Service
10:45
Sunday School
9:30
Bible Study
6:00
Evening Service
7:00 P.M.
Pastor. Rev. Jam es C .E Faulkner
Whatever you're going to do
for the Lord, do it now
I Potorlv.11
center is located at 4206 N. E. Garfield
Avenue.
Rev. Rozell Gilmore, D irector and
Pastor o f the center stated that all c iti
zens o f the comm unity are invited to
attend the event and see the fa c ility that
w ill serve as a temporary meeting and
activity center until a new building is
erected. The center w ill be open fo r
children, youth and adult activities, as
w ell as a place for Sunday worship and
Sunday School.
“ Our guest speaker fo r the dedica
tion w ill be Dr. Robert H. K ing, second
Vice-President o f the Lutheran Church,
M issouri Synod. Dr. K ing is an African
Am erican w ith a distinguish p ro file as
an educator and Churchman. He served
as Professor o f Education at Lincoln
U niversity from 1970 to 1987. He was
re-elected as second vice-president o f
the Lutheran Church, M issouri Synod
this past July,during the Church B ody’s
N ational convention in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
L arry H ilton
Larry H ilton is an impressive young
man w ith an unusual and unforgettable
voice. He is one among the generation o f
bright and talented gospel music artists
to emerge from the Baltim orc/W ashing-
ton area.
H ilton is not exactly a newcomer to
the gospel music scene. He appeared as
one o f the soloists pn the Manna Bible
Mass C ho ir’s album The Lord W ill See
You Through, produced and directed by
Julius E. Brockington. In addition, H ilton
has made numerous guest appearances
on local radio and television programs
since the recording o f the Manna Mass
C h o ir’ s album.
Driven to pursue his interest in mu
sic, H ilton attended Catonsville C om
m unity College where he studied music
and received his certificate. He is in
spired by such legends as Sam Cooke,
Donnie Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, James
Ingram, Stevie Wonder and James
Cleveland.
Very sincere and confident about
his gospel music career, H ilton gives
all the glory and honor to God. W ith
the release o f his A & M Gospel debut
album A Change Is Gonna Come.
H ilton is looking forward to perform
ing live, and making television ap
pearances outside the Baltimorc/Wash-
ington area.
Due to his personal and profound
relationship w ith Jesus Christ, H ilton
asserts, “ 1 want to witness to people in
song that Heaven is the best choice.”
H ilton w ill have this chance w ith the
release o f A Change Is Gonna Come.
The Lord has blessed H ilton in a way
where he can touch lives all over the
world.
M a llo r y A v e n u e C h u rc h O f
C h ris t A n n o u n c e m e n t
Clothes and Food Only
W hen?
Tuesday : Clothes • Friday: Food
1:00 to 3 :0 0 PM
fto /rn 34:3
W h e re ?
4236 NE Eighth Avenue
3 0 0 8 N E M a llo ry Ave. • P o rtla n d , O B 9 72 11
M a llo ry A venue C h u rc h o f C h ris t
Sunday School
Morning Worship
Tuesday Bible
Study and Prayer
Inter-racial Congregation
Your Bible is like a high-powered
computer.
Allen Temp le CME CL upch
"Come to me all you who ore
weary and heavy laden and I
will give you rest"
9:45am
11:00am
7:30pm
ceasing! G lo rify God and stand against
the hypocrites. Teach according to the
precepts o f O ur Father who sent you to
this earth. And sinners shall be con
verted unto the God o f our Salvation.”
We must be about O ur Father’ s
business.
Crime is on the up-swing because
man has lost sight o f god. Everyone
bom into existence was sent her pur
posefully. a purpose that God had in
tended for him/her; but, each person
must come freely to fu lfill his/her pur
pose in life. Not kicking and scream
ing. God allows us to make the choice.
You decide to do rig ht or to do
wrong.
One day, in the sweet bye and bye,
we w ill all stand before the Supreme
Judge as He hands sown one sentence
after another. W ill you be among those
who w ill be told, “ Depart from me ye
workers o f in iq u ity !" or w ill you be in
that heavenly band a ll dressed in white,
singing praises to the King o f Kings.
To you He w ill say, “ You have fought
a good fig ht, you have finished the
course and you have kept the faith.
Now move on up a little higher and
receive your reward, your name has
been written in the Lambs Book o f
L ife.
You have been judged “ righteous”
and you are sentenced to spend eternity
w ith the Creator o f us all, the God o f
my Salvation, the Prince o f Peace, the
Everlasting Father, the Great C om
forter— -God.
Dedication And Open House
Jesus Loves You!
M atthew / /. 2 8
r
I warn you ¡Take heed! Do not give
in to e vil!
E v il w ill come to you holding out
a gloved hand; and underneath is a
sponge fu ll o f caustic acid just waiting
fo r you to yield and squeeze. E v il fools
you into believing that every thing you
see w ith your physical eyes is true. E vil
allures. E v il deceives. E v il compels.
E v il can and w ill embrace you i f you let
iL E v il k ills , tortures, maims and is just
dow n-right unhealthy-spiritua lly and
physically.
Learn how to recognize e vil when
it presents its e lf to you. The o nly way
you can do this is w ith the help o f the
H oly Spirit. That third part o f the God-
Head. That omni-present deity.
This c ity, this state, this country,
and this w orld are a ll experiencing the
wide-spread effects o f the presence o f
evil.
We are liv in g in the last days o f this
w o rld ’s existence. W hat we do now is
a ll inclusive and important. I f you have
not made a comm itment to God before,
you had better make it now.
The justice system which triescases
in and out o f the courts, which govern
this land, have no power over spiritual
Justice.
od laid down the laws to govern our
every life ’ s need.
And He gave man dom inion over
the land. He entrusted everything to
man’ s care and maintenance. And man
has messed up severely.
I say to you today, “ Preach w ithout
F re e ? W h a t?
God's Presence promises
Power through Jesus Christ In
Good Times and Bad Times
?
result is eternal life. For sin pays its
wage— -death; but G od’s free g ift is
eternal life in union w ith C hrist Jesus
our Lord.” [Romans 6:20-23 G N B ]
Where is Justice?
Spiritual Justice can be found in
the service o f the Lord, man’ s justice is
only a bandage that has been placed on
the outside. Even though the wound
appears to be healed, the sore is s till
festering underneath. This is the reason
why building more prisons is not the
answer to the increase in crimes.
God’s justice causes healing at the
root o f the problem. From the inside -
out.
The only judge, the only lawyer
and the only doctor that is qualified to
handle your case is God A lm ig h ty. He
is able to heal, sit high, hand down
sentences w ith compassion, and Jesus
is the only one to plead your case before
the Father (the Judge).
Yes. Spiritual Justice is the u lti
mate justice.
M an’ s justice system has run its
course and it is fu ll o f holes, faults and
injustice. Man should allow the H oly
S pirit to hold him in-check, to give him
utterance, to direct him , to instruct and
guide him , to preserve and keep him , to
fig ht his battles, to avenge his wrong
doers.
man has h itric k bottom. But,closer
to home, Portland, Oregon has to “ Rise
& shine & give God the G lo ry !” More
inclusive - the entire state o f Oregon
has to rise.
For further information contact: Pat Gamble at 503-288-1092
(corner of 8tfi i Skidmore)
Portland, Oregon 97211
Denise FI. Bell, Postor
126 N.C. Alberto t Portland, OP 97211 t (503) 288-5173
For Best Results
Advertise in the Observer
(503) 287-0261
Phillip S. Htlson Pastor
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