Your faith spurring you on

 Your faith spurring you on

The apostle John writes,

"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." 1John 3:17,18.

Loving and helping someone in need shows the world we are Christians.

Jesus said,

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34,35.

In the book of James we read,

"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."  James 2:17,18. 

James makes it clear that faith without deeds is dead.

So the question I would ask is, If you consider yourself a true Christian. A true follower of Christ Jesus. Is you faith spurring you on to good works?

Please think about it.

The Christian and the poor

The Christian 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 2000 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 wa s 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.

A Household of Love

A Household of Love

In the book of Leviticus we read,

" ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  

Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19: 9,10.

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.

In the Talmud we read,

“Rabbi Akiba was asked by a Roman general, "Why does your God who loves the needy not provide for their support Himself?"  He answered, "God the Father of both the rich and poor, wants the one to help the other so as to make the world a household of love." The Talmud.

Do you do what you can to help the poor and those less fortunate in your community?

I know most of us don’t have thousands of dollars lying around that we can give to the poor. But we all have something we can give. Even if it’s just giving some spare change to a homeless person begging on the street corner. Other ways to give is by donating to a reputable charity. OR, by getting involved by volunteering with a local food bank or other groups that minister to the less fortunate.

If you’re not already, consider volunteering or giving (even if it’s just a few dollars) to a program that is helping the poor. Actions that will show that you are contributing to make the world around you “a household of love”.

Please think about it.

More Blessed

  More blessed.

In the book of acts we read,

    “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " Acts 20:35.

A young girl by the name of Anne Frank who was in hiding from the Nazi’s in the Netherlands during world war two 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.

What Anne is saying here is so true. In giving of our time, even our money to helping others may not get us huge monetary rewards. But the emotional rewards we get are incredible.

Anne is right the world would be a better place if everyone would just say a kind word of encouragement the world would be a better place.

Giving is an important part of the Christian life. In the book of James we read,

"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 2:15-20.

The bottom line for a believer in Christ Jesus is that our faith should spur us to do good deeds to help others. To give to the extent that we can, of ourselves and our resources to help others.

Please think about it.

Helping

 Helping

Jesus told this story,

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.  

At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores  and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 

"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.  

In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  

So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 

"But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.  

And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' 

"He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house,  

for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 

"Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 

" ‘No, father Abraham,' he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 

"He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' " Luke 16:19-31.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog there is nothing wrong with being rich. It’s what we do with that wealth that wealth that can cause a problem.

In the above story Lazarus a beggar was not helped by the rich man. Ultimately however God held the rich man as He will us to account.

The Bible has thousands of verses calling us to help the poor any way we can. That can be as simple as giving a beggar on the street some pocket change, food, a warm coat, gloves, or whatever we have on hand. Even giving to a reputable charity is helping the poor.

So what are you doing to help the poor where you live?

Please think about it. 

But did we not

 But did we not...

Jesus said, 

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  

Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:21-23.

Where do you stand with God? 

Take sometime to look at what you are doing for God. Will you hear the words of Jesus quoted above or will you hear Jesus when he says,

"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.

Giving

  Giving

In the book of James we read,

"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

Martin Luther King, Jr. Said,

“Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 

'What are you doing for others?'”

                                      Martin Luther King, Jr.

As Christians, true believers in Christ Jesus we must always remember that we are to help others, Christians and non-Christians as much as we can.

Jesus said,

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" Matthew 7:12.

So if you see a homeless person on the street and have a few coins, bills or even food you can give. Why not do so in the name of Jesus. If you were in that position would you not want someone to help you.

If you get a chance to tell someone about Jesus and your faith in God, do so. You never know what may happen.

When you do these things however do them in the name of Christ and do them in secret. Jesus said,

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret..."Matthew 6:3,4a.

Please think about it.

To the Rich

To the Rich
The Apostle Paul writing to Timothy states,
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  
In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 1Timothy 6:17-19.
What Paul is saying here is what Jesus talked about when he said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21.
Jesus also told this parable,
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.  
At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores  and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.  
In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  
So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ 
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.  
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ 
“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house,  
for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 
“ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” Luke 16:19-31
As I’ve said in the past having wealth is not wrong. It’s what we do with it and the priority we place on it. As Christians with wealth we as Paul states should “be rich in good deeds. To be generous and willing to share”.
Christianity is all about our relationship to God and fellow man. The Talmud while not considered a Christian book tells a story that like many things in Jewish thought lines up with Christian belief. It states,
“Rabbi Akiba was asked by a Roman general, “Why does your God who loves the needy not provide for their support Himself?”  He answered, “God the Father of both the rich and poor, wants the one to help the other so as to make the world a household of love.” The Talmud.
This is true. We as Christians need to realize this.
Whenever I read 1Timothy 6:17-19 and Matthew 6:19-21 I remember a very special woman.
When I first met her she lived in a rented rundown farm house well outside of town.  Money was tight but there were chickens, and a vegetable garden that supplemented her and her husbands meagre income.
What impressed me about this woman was that no matter who showed up at her door announced or not, there was always room at the table. She never turned anyone away.
On holidays Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, as many as twenty to thirty family and others sat around the table and no one went hungry.
She was an example to me that no matter how little we have we can help others. I was the guest at her house many, many times over the years and she taught me a lot. That lady became my mother in law.
She eventually moved out of that farm house and into an apartment in the home of one of her daughters where she enjoyed a far better life materially.
Yet still, especially during the holidays there were as many as thirty squeezed in enjoying good food and fellowship.
This lady was not wealthy, not well educated, not a great theologian, or orator. She was a simple woman, with a simple faith, doing what she could for God. Which is what we all should be doing, wealthy or not.
Please think about it.