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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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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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