|
Response To
Suffering
It
is the Spirit of God in us who moves us to an appropriate response
to our neighbor's need.
When God has His way with his people their giving will amount to something in heaven, and cause something good here
too.
Place Your Life Before God
Romans 12:1-2
So here's what I want you to do, God
helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping,
eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before
God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best
thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your
culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix
your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out.
Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.
Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level
of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed
maturity in you.
(Romans 12:1-2 THE MESSAGE BIBLE
Who Benefits?
Loving others - giving money, time, praying for
them, etc., is as much for my own "spiritual" well being, as it is for
the fulfillment of the other person's need.
Interaction with other people will pull in the
strength
and wisdom from God.
KINDNESS
It may be over a period of many years, but the
accumulated acts of kindness will be used by God to draw the person closer
to Him. A sack of groceries, a $10 bill, or a larger sacrificial gift, given now, as the servant is
led by the spirit to do so, is like a little stick of wood, that may smolder
for a long time. Then as more sticks are added, the fire will ignite. The
Holy Spirit will at the right time move in power to pull the person over
the line.
|
When Jesus talked about what leads to eternal life, most of the
time he referred to behavior which proves what one had vowed, not just to
confessions of faith. |
Give expecting nothing in return. A total release
of one's gift is a Godly gift. It's up to God to "make something happen."
Praying earnestly for the recipient, as
one would pray for his own child, is a powerful gift. Some people have
no one praying for them, so the prayer of a dedicated servant is vital.
Giving money (and other material resources) to
the poor is the way to build up treasure in heaven. And even before
heaven, a widespread obedience in this will cause a wave
of good will and unity across our communities.
Consider these pages of scriptures. Tell other
Christians how important it is to be kind to the needy. Be an active
partner with the Holy Spirit - willing for the Spirit to change your agenda
and your priorities to line up more with God's desires.
WHEN
WE GIVE MATERIALLY
WHAT
IS IHNM, INC.?
THE
POOR DISABLED PERSON
The Local Church
BUILDING
A REPUTATION
POOR |
Jesus said,
A NEW COMMAND I GIVE YOU.
Love Others As I Have Loved You. John 13:34
What is
Love?
1John 3:16ff
This is how we know what love is:
Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives
for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in
need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear
children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in
truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we
set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For
God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Prov. 14:31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt
for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. (NIV) Prov. 21:13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of
the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. (NIV)
Arrogant, Overfed and
Unconcerned
Ezek. 16:49 "`Now this was the sin of your sister
Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they
did
not help the poor and needy. (NIV)
Money. . . Give some To
The Poor
Deut. 26:12 When you have finished setting aside
a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you
shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so
that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. (NIV)
We are known by our
love.
I Jn 3:17-19 His beloved disciple
wrote, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but
has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us
not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is
how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest
in his presence."
(NIV)
How To Lack Nothing
Prov. 28:27 He who gives to the poor will lack nothing,
but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
(NIV) Prov. 29:7 The righteous care about justice for
the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.
Prov. 31:9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the
rights of the poor and needy."
Fasting
Isa. 58:6-7 "Is not this the kind of fasting I
have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the
yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share
your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--
when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own
flesh and blood? (NIV)
Causing People To Praise
God
Matt 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world.
A city on a hill cannot be hidden. . . Let your light shine before men,
that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Being a Sheep. . . Or
A Goat
Matt 25:31-36
"But when the Son of Man comes in His
glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious
throne. 32"All the nations will be
gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as
the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33and
He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34"Then
the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed
of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world. 35'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;
36naked, and you clothed Me; I was
sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' [NASB]
Matt 25:37-40
"Then the righteous will answer Him,
'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and
give You something to drink? 38'And
when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and
clothe You? 39'When did we see You
sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40"The
King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent
that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of
them, you did it to Me.' [NASB]
Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because
he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release
the oppressed, (NIV)
Rejoice In That Day
Luke 6:23-26 23 "Rejoice in that day and leap for
joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers
treated the prophets. 24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already
received your comfort. 25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will
go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. 26 Woe
to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated
the false prophets.
Please
GO
TO NEXT PAGE
AS YOU SERVE
IN HIS NAME YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
|