The right thing to do

The right thing to do.
Jesus said,
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.’ 
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  
I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 
“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, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:34-46.
Do you do what you can to help the less fortunate in our society, even if it’s just giving a few dollars to a charity or donating food to a food bank?
Our Jewish friends have a concept that I think those who believe in Christ Jesus should consider, it’s called Tzedakah.
One Jewish site describes it like this,
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 he 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.”
One of their religious leaders put in order the various levels of tzedakah it goes like this,

Giving begrudgingly

Giving less than you should, bu 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.

Such a concept as Tzedakh is perfectly in line with Jewish thought. Something we as believers in Christ Jesus need to put into action in our lives.
Derek Prince an American evangelist said,
“A faith that does not result in activity of any kind is a dead faith; it is empty, worthless, insincere.” Derek Prince
John Wesley wrote,

“Do all the good you can,

By any means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.”

                                    John Wesley

Tony Campolo the American evangelist 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
Please think about it.

Have you?

Have you?
The Talmud states,
“When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not, “Have you believed in God?”  Or “Have you prayed and observed the ritual?  “He is asked: “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?”The Talmud.
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 write this the world seems to be in turmoil the likes of which have not been seen since world war two. Refugees are running from conflicts all over the world. In the middle east and Africa they are running from war and terrorism. In Central America they are running away from drug lords and gangs that threaten their lives.
All are running to the western democracies in numbers that are seemingly overwhelming the ability of those democracies to handle them.
Not only that there appears to be a backlash swelling up against these people. Some nations even closing their borders to them.
Yet these refugees are not the cause of the problem. They are the result of evil men who wish to impose their evil ungodly ways on others.
Closing borders will not end the refugee problem. Only dealing with the root cause of the problem will do that.
However until that happens the governments of the world, and we as individuals who are in a position to help, need to help those in need.
I believe be it our nations leaders or we as individuals who can help the poor and oppressed will be held accountable for our actions to those less fortunate.
That is doubly so for those of us who claim to be believers in Christ Jesus. James the half brother of Jesus 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.
We as individuals may not be able, (beyond giving financial aid), to help refugees running from wars and other conflicts.
We however can help on a local level those who are less fortunate.
We can volunteer with various agencies around your town or city that help the less fortunate, the poor, the sick, the needy, thus showing the love of Jesus in a tangible way.
The way I see it if we as believers in Christ Jesus, believers in God, don’t do what we can to help those in need. God will hold us accountable.
Please think about it.

Warning to the Rich

Warning to the rich
James writes,
“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.  
Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.  
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.  
Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.  
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.  
You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.” James 5:1-6.
There is nothing wrong with wealth. It is what we do with our wealth that can cause a problem for us. Here James is centering out those who are wealthy and oppress the others. It’s something Jesus spoke of. Jesus 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.
Those who have wealth and power are expected by God to be respectful of those who are poor and needy.
Those with wealth and indeed all of us should do our best to help the poor and needy even if it is only in a small way. The Talmud tells this story,
“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.
Are you making the world a household of love?
Please Think about it.