Poverty: May 20, 2014

TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY MAY 20, 2014.

POVERTY

DEFINITION:

Lack of money; great need; impoverished; condition of being poor.

SCRIPTURE:

He who oppresses the poor reproaches his maker, but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy. Psalm 14:31.

One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed. Psalm 19:17.

He, who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor, will also cry himself and not be heard. Psalm 21:13.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Do you understand that it offends God, our creator when we neglect the poor? This is because they are part of His creation and He cares for them. All of our married lives we have had the privilege of working to help the poor. It began for us in South Korea after the Korean War where we set up over 140 orphanages for World Vision.

These orphanages were needed to house and care for the poorest of the poor children in Korea. They were the victims of the war and we knew that God loved them and needed us to make sure they had places to live so He could care for them.

Statistics help us to share with you the problem we face in our world today. We are told that last year over 16 million people, mostly children died in our world from hunger. Also last year over 10 million children died before they could celebrate their fifth birthday.

These are all numbers, but they are much more than numbers. Each number represents one person, mostly children and God loves each one. This is why there are so many verses in His Word that make it very clear to us that we need to reach out and help the poor.

Take a moment now and carefully read the three verses from Psalms that we have written above. Does the question now come to your mind, what can I do about this? Most people will react by saying to themselves something like, I am too busy. I do not have any time. I do not have the money to help now. But God says we must help.

We can show mercy by volunteering at a church feeding center or a soup kitchen. Maybe you can find a job for a father who has lost his job. How about taking a meal to a family that you know is hurting. Ask a few friends, if you can’t find a need, and someone will lead you to a family who needs a helping hand. What a blessing you can be to them and what an opportunity for you to share God’s love and His gift of salvation.

Accepting this responsibility honors God because he is concerned for each and every person in this world.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 119:11.

Your Word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin against You.

PRAYER:

Lead me today to at least one person that we consider to be poor. Give me the one gift that I need to help this poor person. Help me to also share my love for You to these who are poor both physically and spiritually.