Proverbs 31:20 "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy."So I recently read a book called "Radical" by David Platt. It was talking about being "Radical" for our faith and how we water things down so easily now days with our modern thoughts that the gospel is "all about me". It really got me thinking about "opening my arms to the poor" and "extend my hands to the needy!" Do I think about doing this often, or is it just around the holiday's? Do I keep the poor & needy in the back of my mind always, or is it just when I have a bag of things to get rid of?
Mat 25:41-45 "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."
After reading what Jesus has to say about the poor, and needy, it sounds like he is pretty serious about this stuff! In America we are so set on getting the next best thing, or having to have more, and living out the "American dream", that we don't stop and think do I really need this?! Jesus said this in Mark:
Mark 10:21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me"
I read this asking myself "could I really do this?" If Jesus said this to me, could I really go through my home and sell off everything I own and give it to the poor and be left with nothing? Then I thought "well if Jesus was standing physically in my living room and told me this, then YES, I could! BUT Jesus isn't in my living room - physically...." Is His written Word enough for you and I, or do we need to wait till we are standing in front of Jesus face to face and then answer for our greediness and materialism?
Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having things. But I do believe God blesses some so we can bless others. We don't have to be rich to give to the needy, if we have clothes, running water, a roof over our heads then we are in the top 15% of the world's people for wealth. Listen to this story from the book "Radical":
John Wesley (1703-1791)
"Wesley had just finished buying some pictures for his room when one of the chambermaids came to his door. It was a Winter day and he noticed that she had only a thin linen gown to wear for protection against the cold. He reached into his pocket to give her some money for a coat, and found he had little left. It struck him that the Lord was not pleased with how he had spent his money. He asked himself: "Will Thy Master say, "well done, good and faithful steward?" Thou hast adorned thy walls with the money that might have screened this poor creature from the cold! O justice! O Mercy! Are not these pictures the blood of this poor maid?"
This story really hit home with me. Although I don't consider our family to be wealthy, and we don't buy tons of decorations for our walls at home; we do buy 'things' to make life easier. We do waste money on stupid things that are not necessary to live, in order to make us more comfortable! And while I'm sitting here typing on this computer with a $3 bottle of Air Freshener on my desk, a book shelve full of books, an old picture hanging on my wall; someone is walking around the streets struggling to find a piece of cardboard to cover themselves from the cold.
So ladies, our challenge this week is to make a plan! Pray about it, and listen to God speak to your heart and tell you how HE wants you to reach out to the poor and needy and put that plan in action this week! Not all of us will feel the need to run out and sell everything we have to give to the poor, but there is probably a few things in our comfortable lives we can sacrifice for the good of a blanket and food for someone in need.
Make sure to head over to the discussion forum on the
facebook page. Feel free to share with us your action plan this week, questions, concerns, or even praises and blessings. Also, please share this ministry with your friends by posting a link on your facebook page. You never know whose marriage you might save or whose life you will change!
Prayers & Blessings this week as God speaks into our hearts!
*statistics and stories from "Radical" by David Platt*
