The Christian and the needy

  The Christian and the needy

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.

The American Evangelist Tony Campolo wrote,

"These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change." Tony Campolo.

This is what it is to be true Christians. 

So are you doing what Jesus tells us to do?

Please think about it.

Pray for the 365 million

 Pray for the 365 million

The apostle Paul writes,

"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."  

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:9-13.

As Christians we serve a God who calls all people from every nation to trust in Him by faith. He simply asks that we truly believe with our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with our mouth to those around us that “Jesus is Lord” we will be saved and enter heaven.

That being said, God understands that it is not safe to confess Jesus as Lord in some parts of the world. 

Paul and the other apostles certainly knew what it was like to be persecuted for their faith. They were thrown in prison, tortured, beaten, stoned, crucified, among other things. Yet they still confessed Jesus as Lord.

I firmly believe in places where Christians are persecuted they need to pray and ask for Gods protection. They need to ask God for wisdom in how to spread the gospel and who to talk to.

As for we who live in areas that are free from persecution. We need to remember our brothers and sisters who are suffering for their faith. Additionally we need to hold our persecuted brothers and sisters up in prayer before God. And do all we can to help them.

According to one British parliament report in 2023 “Around 365 million Christians are subject to "high levels of persecution and discrimination"

If you claim to be a true Christian are you at the very least praying for your persecuted brothers and sisters in the Lord?

Praying and doing what we can to help persecuted Christians in the world should not be something we simply think about. 

We need to at the very least pray!

Please pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world.