Proverbs 28:27
He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he
who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
Psalms 82:3
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the
afflicted and needy.
Isaiah 58:7
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?
Applicable scriptures:
Deuteronomy 10:18, 14:29, 16:11,14,
24:17,21, 26:12,13
Esther 9:22
Job 20:10, 29:16, 30:25, 31:16, 34:28,
36:6,15
Psalms 9:18, 10:14,18, 12:5, 34:6,
35:10, 41:1, 68:10, 69:33, 72:2,4,12,13, 107:41, 109:31, 112:9, 113:7, 132:15,
140:12
Proverbs 14:21,31, 17:5, 19:17, 21:13,
22:9, 28:8, 29:7, 29:14, 30:14, 31:9, 31:20
Isaiah 1:17, 3:14,15, 10:2, 11:4, 25:4,
41:17
Jeremiah 5:28, 20:13, 22:3
Ezekiel 18:17
Daniel 4:27
Amos 5:12, 8:4
Habakkuk 3:14
Zechariah 7:9-10
Malachi 3:5
Matthew 19:21
Luke 14:3, 19:8
Romans 15:26
2 Corinthians 9:9
Galatians 2:10
James 1:27, 2:2-6
We as
American’s have reaped, but we fail to realize the fields from which we have
reaped… we did not earn because we did not sow.
Acts 17:26
From one man he made every nation of men, that they
should inhabit the whole earth; and he
determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
It is God
himself who determined where we would live and when. The truth is… we could have been born
seven-hundred years ago in
Why? Why would God appoint you and I to this time
and to this place? The answer is
gifts. Gifts He gave us and gifts we are
blessed to receive so we shouldn’t be prideful and boasting of our
successes. Now, in
1.
We
were born in a plentiful time (2010) and in a plentiful place (
2.
We
were born with gifts that were given to us (Exodus 31:1-6). Kind of like our looks or even our faith
(Ephesians 2:8-9). Again, something we
had no control over.
3.
We
have worked hard.
Three things
that illustrate exactly why we have the resources we do. It’s interesting that two of the three were
provided for us, only one area was ours to motivate and push ourselves in… so
we could make good with what was given us.
I want to emphasize providence has had much to do with our fruitfulness
in
Ecclesiastes 5:12
The sleep of a labouring man is sweet,
whether he eat little or much: but the
abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
Proverbs 28:27
He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who
closes his eyes to them receives many
curses.
I can tell you
many of the infirmities that people struggle with (both mental and physical)
can be directly attributed to selfishness as well as a constant focus toward
money and self. An easy way to break
this cycle (or curse) is to learn how to give… and to learn the lessons a heart
which gives can teach you. Those who
have learned to give not only free themselves from many infirmities, but when
they do, the lessons they learn help them find a peace and serenity they never
knew. A real truth is that selflessness
can be its own reward.
Nowadays,
especially in
Ezekiel 16:49
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy
sister
Just so you
know,
Jeremiah 22:16
He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?
declares the LORD.
Deuteronomy
15:11
There will always be poor people in the land.
Therefore I command you to be open-handed
towards your brothers and
towards the poor and needy in your
land.