Christians and the poor

  Christians and the poor

The following are a group of scriptures that refer to the Christians relationship to the poor.

“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD,

 and he will reward them for what they have done.”

                                                                                Proverbs 19:17

“The generous will themselves be blessed, 

for they share their food with the poor.”

                                                             Proverbs 22:9

I am told there are over 3000 verses in the Bible that speak about how we are to interact with the poor.

The above verses from proverbs say those who help the poor will be rewarded and will be blessed. That being said. The scriptures don’t tell us when we will be rewarded. It may quite well be that the reward will come in the next life.

Also giving to the poor should be done out of a pure heart without any expectations of being rewarded. In fact Jesus in a parable seems to indicate that the reward may come in the next life. Jesus in a parable states,

"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  

I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 

"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  

When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  

When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 

"The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:34-40

Jesus warns those who did not help the poor,

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”Matthew 25:44-45.

Please think about it.

There are lots of ways

  There are lots of ways

In the book of James we read,

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”James 2:14-17.

Are you following this portion of Scripture? 

There are lots of ways to follow it. Give to a good charitable organization. Volunteer at a soup kitchen, a food bank or other charity that is helping the poor.

Why not take some time right now to pray and ask God how you can help the poor.

Please think about it. 

The Lord gives and takes

  The Lord Gives and takes

In the book of Job we read,

“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; 

may the name of the Lord be praised.”

                                                              Job 1:21   

Do you believe this? I think this is a hard concept for people especially here in North America with its materialistic society to understand. 

As for me I admire Job. He had things in perspective. He truly loved God and trusted in him. Job going as far as saying,

“Though He (God) slay me, yet will I hope in him; 

 I will surely defend my ways to his face.” 

                                                                 Job 13:15.

I wonder how many of us can say this? Could you?

Please think about it.

You should

  You should

Jesus said,

“Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”Matthew 5:42.

Give to those who asks? Do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you? Really? Is this what a Christian suppose to do?

According to Jesus it is.

Thus my question to anyone who would consider themselves a Christian. If it is in your power to help anyone who aks you for help, do you help? Do you lend to those who asks to borrow something from you?

The answer to those questions according to Jesus is you should be.

Please think about it.

A Sermon from Jesus

A Sermon from Jesus
The late civil rights leader Martin Luther Kin jr. said

“Love is the only force capable 

of transforming an enemy into friend.” 

                                             Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jesus preached this sermon
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,  bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  
If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.  
Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.  
Do to others as you would have them do to you. 
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that.  
And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full.  
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:27-36.
Please if you consider yourself a follower of Christ Jesus think about it.

Christians and the Poor

Christians and the Poor
The Apostle James wrote,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” James 2:14-20.
There are approximately 2000 scriptures in the Bible commanding us to look after the poor.
As Christians we are called to help the sick and poor in what ever way we can.
There is an interesting concept from Judaism that Christians should latch on to. Its called Tzedakah
The following is as good an explanation of Tzedakah, from a Jewish website,
“Tzedakah is the Hebrew word for acts that we call charity in English: giving assistance and money to the poor and needy or to other worthy causes. However the nature of tzedakah is very different from the idea of charity. The word “charity suggests benevolence and generosity, a magnanimous act by the wealthy and the powerful for the benefit of the poor and needy.
The word “tzedakah” is derived form the Hebrew root Tzadei-dalet-Qof, meaning righteousness, justice or fairness. In Judaism giving to the poor is not viewed as a generous, magnanimous act, it is simply and act of righteousness, performance of a duty giving the poor their due.
Giving to the poor is an obligation in Judaism, a duty that cannot be forsaken even by those who are themselves in need. Some sages have said that tzedakah is the highest of all commandments, equal to all of them combined, and that a person who does not perform tzedaka is equivalent to an idol worshipper. This is probably hyperbole, but it illustrates the importance ot tzedakah in Jewish thought....
According to Jewish law, we are required to give one-tenth of our income to the poor. This generally interpreted as one-tenth of our net income after payment of taxes...
Those who are dependent on public assistance or living on the edge of subsistence may give less but must still give to the extent they are able; however, no person should give so much that he would become a public burden...
The obligation to perform tzedakah can be fulfilled by giving money to the poor, to health care institutions, to Synagogues or educational institutions. It can also be fulfilled by supporting your children beyond the age when you are legally required to, or supporting your parents in their old age. The obligation includes giving both to Jews and gentiles; contrary to popular belief, Jew do not just care for our own. Quite the contrary a study of reported in the Jewish journal indicated that Jewish ‘mega-donors’ (who give more than $10 million a year to charity found that only 6% if their mega-dollars went to specifically Jewish causes.
Judaism acknowledges that many people who ask for charity have no genuine need. In fact, the Talmud suggest that this is a good thing: if all people who asked for charity have no were in genuine Need we would be subjected to punishment for G-d for refusing anyone who asked. The existence of frauds diminishes our liability for failing to give to all who ask. Because we have some legitimate basis for doubting a beggar’s sincerity. It is permissible to investigate the legitimacy of charity before donating to it.
We have an obligation to avoid becoming in need of Tzedakah. A person should take any work available, even if he thinks it is beneath his dignity to avoid become a public charge.
However, if a person is truly in need and has no way of obtaining money on his own he should not feel embarrassed to accept tzedakah.
  Certain kinds of tzedakah are considered more meritorious than others. The Talmud describes these different levels of tzedakah, and Rambam organized them into a list. The levels of charity from the least meritorious to the most meritorious, are: 

Giving begrudgingly

Giving less than you should, but giving cheerfully,

Giving after being asked

Giving before being asked

Giving when you do not know the recipient’s identity, but the recipient knows yours

Giving when you know and the recipient’s identity, but the recipient doesn’t know yours.

Giving when neither party knows the other’s identity.

Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant. 

As Christians the above is something we should consider. It is perfectly in line with Christian belief. After all Jesus said,
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:34-40
Please think about it.

Give

Give
Anne Frank wrote,
“Give of yourself, give as much as you can?  And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!  If everyone were to do this and not be as mean with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world.  Give and you shall receive, much more than you would have ever thought possible.  Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving!  No one has ever become poor from giving!”  
                                                                                                          Anne Frank.
Anne Frank knew what hate could do. She was young Jewish girl in hiding from the Nazi’s in Holland during world war two. She would later die in a death camp.
Yet the words she wrote are profound. Read them again,
“Give of yourself, give as much as you can?  And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!  If everyone were to do this and not be as mean with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world.  Give and you shall receive, much more than you would have ever thought possible.  Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving!  No one has ever become poor from giving!”
Jesus said,
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”       
    Luke 6:38.
I know many in the name it claim it crowd use this to indicate give to God and he will make you financial rich. That is not true.
God is not a banker who gives interest on money you give to a ministry or church.
If you are giving to a church or ministry you should be giving willingly what you can afford not expecting to get anything back.
Philippians states,
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus”
                                                                                                        Philippians 4:19
God gives us what we can handle Paul telling those in the church at Philippians that he will meet their needs.
If those giving to the church were rewarded by what they give I think the church in the third world would be the richest in the world because not only do they give out of their lack but they give their lives also.
Christian giving is not just giving dollars and cents to the church. It’s giving of one’s self to minister the gospel.
It’s giving love and understanding. It’s reaching out to those in need.
The people that hid Anne Frank and her family certainly gave they risked their lives not expecting anything in return.
They gave of themselves.
Too many in the church here in North America are giving to get. There are quite a number of ministries in the media that are talking about ‘seed faith’ plant a seed by giving money to a church or ministry and God will give it back with interest.
Like I said God is not a banker.
The value of our faith should not be about how much money we give or we get.
Albert Einstein said,
“The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.
                                                                                                                                        Albert Einstein
We as Christians are called to give but money is just a very small part. We are called to give our lives if necessary.
Jesus set the example. All but one of the disciples gave their lives for the faith. Many around the world are doing the same today.
The call I believe to the Christians here in North America who are blessed with freedoms that are the envy of the world is to not only support missions overseas with cash but to reach out to our world.
North Americans are as spiritually lost as the rest of the world. They need to be given a gift that can never be taken away from them.
That is what we Christians should be doing.
We have the single most important thing to give away freely to those who would listen to us, Eternal live.
Think about it.