PORTERVILLE POST | The Right News at the Right Time

| First Focus
The Right Word^© - Mar 09, 2025
with Brother Scott : scott@portervillepost.com

† Deuteronomy 6:4-5 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love (have affection for) the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might ... † 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul…

Once we are born again from above, we must soon come to understand that we are to walk in love and to open the doors of our heart and mind to that prime directive of Heaven.
You will recall something that I have said over the years of what the Apostle John’s has emphasized in his writings—and that is that “we are to stop sinning and if you get anything right, get love right.”
Although it does not happen overnight in most lives, a walk of love is a command of God and is to happen; I believe it is to be our first focus as to the changes that are to take root in our lives and by love gives us victory over the very strong and competing worldly behaviors of our former lives.
As we look at this aspect of our new life in Christ, let’s go back to a story from long ago and even before what God said to His

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† Genesis 29:21 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. 23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. 24 And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid. 25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? 26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. 28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. 29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. 30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. 31 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love (have affection for) me.

Affection: A positive and tender feeling toward another. Feelings of love toward and the caring about someone [and with God]—“with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

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† Genesis 29:33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. 34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. 35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.

In this story about how so many things began to come about that led to the children of the man Jacob (who became Israel), which became the nation by his name—a nation that produced Moses and David and then the Lord Jesus Christ—[in this story] we can see God speaking to us today as His people on this very issue of love.
Jacob had no interest in the older sister Leah; by her name meaning “weary” and the only description that we have of her as “tender-eyed” we might assume that she was neither attractive nor an otherwise impressive woman to Jacob. However, upon meeting the younger Rachel for the first time, Jacob was soon stuck with affection for her.
In our look at this story, think of Leah as God and our relationship to Him, and look at Rachel as our worldly lives and how powerful our love is for the world, even after having been introduced to Leah, or in this case, the Lord our God. Jacob worked 7 years for Laban in order to be near Rachel and at the end of those years to marry her.
However, on their intended wedding night Jacob was deceived by the father and given Leah as his wife (who must have been physically very much like Rachel to pull that trickery off, maybe even a twin sister born first).
As the story goes, Rachel also was soon given to Jacob but for another 7 years of dedicated labor to Laban.
What is Leah’s message to the professing people of God today who are unfortunately captivated by love for the world (represented by Rachel)?

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† Genesis 29:31 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel [the world] was barren. 32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben (to see): for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love (have affection for) me. 33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon (to hear). 34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi (attach; from to twine, unite, cleave to [cling to, be faithful to]). 35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah (praise and worship); and left bearing.

So the beloved Rachel was barren and the much less-loved Leah was not, but bore Jacob four boys: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah.
By looking at the meanings of their names we see the Holy Spirit saying to us—especially the many among us that are still so in love with the world and its things, we hear God saying, “See me, hear what I have to say to you, join yourself to me, and praise and worship before me for a blessed life and eternity with Me.”
A blessed life and to live with God forever—where did that come in? Yes, our loving God more than ourselves and all others comes with the promise of blessing and to dwell with God forever and ever (Leah had 3 more children).

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† Genesis 30:17 And God hearkened unto Leah [with favor], and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. 18 And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar (reward [blessing]). 19 And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. 20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun (dwell with). 21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah (justice [that which is right and due]).

As the children of God we are instructed to make our first focus (and to make it the high priority) to grow in our love for God so deeply that by it we are helped (indeed able) to walk in all the other moral and ethical elements of being righteousness and holy. “Be ye holy for I Am holy” is accomplished by our genuine and uncompromising love for God and for our neighbor also.

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† Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he [Jesus] had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Let’s get right down to where you live: There are two ways that ones born again from Heaven go about walking in obedience to the commands of God—in their own strength and will-power, or by a genuine and growing love for God and for others.
Let’s talk about the first way, which is the way most Christians handle trying to live up to what the Word instructs us about how we are to live, and that is by our own willpower. All self-determined grit to not have other gods before God (idols), to not lie, steal, and lust after things and allow sexually unclean habits, to not hate but instead to forgive others by-our-own-efforts almost always-eventually-fails and we do those bad things anyway.

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† Romans 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Believers must understand this: If we could satisfy God by our own efforts to obey His ways then Jesus would not have had to die on the cross. Yes, before Jesus and to be in a relationship with God, the Law of Moses was to be obeyed, which involved animal sacrifices for sin when sin happened. Men and women would always eventually fail at one or more of the commandments and as a result innocent blood had to be shed.
By simply wanting to obey and hoping we will not sin because we want to please God we will always find that we will fail without the help of the new covenant provisions through Jesus Christ. Living up to the righteousness of the law by our own works is no longer good enough since Jesus died and was raised again.

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† Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

† Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. [Declared multiple times in the Psalms.]

† Romans 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness [by the individual’s self-determination and willpower works given through Moses] to every one that believeth.

† Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

† 1 Corinthians 12:31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent (super-eminent, beyond measure) way. † 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (love), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

If you try (and try and try [most half-heartedly]) to walk in the righteous ways of our holy God but fail (you sin by lying, sexual issues, hatred, unforgiveness, etc.) it boils down to this one reason (in both my personal experience and in my observation of many Christians): You do not love nor fear God enough!
Yes, there is the need for the work of the cross on your sinful nature to put an end to sinning but if you do not love God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, you do not have the needed inspiration to seek the power of the cross to put an end to your habitual sinning. If we will go to the cross for the death of sinful nature it is because we love God—a lot!
Jesus related a story about 4 men—one a victim, 2 knew to do right but did not love God or his neighbor enough but fortunately one man did have affection and mercy for the victim.

“Mercy is an affection of the mind.” O. Blackwell

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† Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

If you do not love God enough you will have already found out that you cannot or will not forgive or stop sexual sins or stop lying or holding hatred in your heart or being spiritually lazy toward God. And by things such as these—yet trying in your own strength to be a follower of Jesus Christ—you will be miserable.
As Paul said, “yet show I unto you a more excellent (super-eminent, beyond measure) way” and then he went on to write the great “love” chapter. It [love] is the chief motivation and perfect enabler for walking day-by-day in the righteousness and holiness of God and not in our own strength.
And so we are instructed to make it our “first focus” as Christians—the way of genuine, sincere, and a deep heartfelt love for God and each other!
To be continued ...