Monday, February 17, 2014

God loves the Poor!

It never fails to amaze me how the poor have to scrape and fight just to get the refuse of society.  What’s worse, is people’s attitude toward the poor and homeless.  They are people too!  Don’t people realize that when you bring injustice and extra hardship to this group of people, you are incurring the wrath of God himself!  It is into the ranks of this group that some of the greatest and biggest outpouring from God’s Spirit will occur, great signs and wonders will be poured out onto the “least of these”, leading the way for God’s kingdom to manifest in a big way in these last days.



I watch almost everyday from my storefront window across the street where they put boxes of food out on the sidewalk, and the poor walk by and dig through it and take what they need – I’ve looked in and taken myself, but it is old bread, rotten, moldy produce, etc.  It is awesome God’s Pantry is there giving out food (I go in a couple times a week and get 2 cans of soup – only 2 cans a day allowed) and I am glad that they do have provisions for the people.  What bothers me is the fact that the poor get the old, rotten stuff no one else wants. 

God wants to give people the best.  He has a heart especially for the poor and it does break his heart that greed has so taken over society, that only the worst is given to the bottom of the heap.  The Word is full of God’s heart toward the broken and needy of this world.   I like what this site has to say about it:  http://voices.yahoo.com/20-bible-verses-poor-more-about-5546299.html

The Bible maintains a clear position on the poor throughout its pages, and, interestingly, it has less to do with them than it has to do with us. While many "believers" continue to employ excuses or reasons that attempt to justify not giving to the less fortunate, there's no escaping the prescription that God gives to this societal injustice; we need to help them. Rather than incessantly questioning how a good God could possibly allow poor individuals to continue in poverty, why don't we take it upon ourselves and help in whatever way we can? Although these Bible verse about the poor are obviously removed from their original context, I am not advocating study that neglects exegetical work. However, these Bible verses about the poor are communicate the same principle of love and service. With that, said here are 20 Bible verses about the poor


Leviticus 19:9-11(#1 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
9
" '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. 10 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.
Deuteronomy 15:11(#2 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
11
There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.
Psalm 82:3-4 (#3 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
3
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Proverbs 14:31(#4 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
31
He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
Proverbs 19:1 (#5 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
1
Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.
Proverbs 19:17(#6 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
17
He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.
Proverbs 21:13(#7 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
13
If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.
Proverbs 22:2 (#8 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
2
Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.
Proverbs 29:7 (#9 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
7
The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.
Job 30:25 (#10 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
25
Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
Isaiah 61:1(#11 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
1
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners...
Jeremiah 22:16(#12 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
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.
Zechariah 7:10(#13 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
10
Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'
Matthew 5:3(#14 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
3
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 25:37-40(#15 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
37
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'40"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.'
Mark 10:21(#16 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
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."
Luke 12:33(#17 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
33
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
Luke 14:12-14 (#18 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
12
Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,14and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
1 Corinthians 13:3 (#19 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
3
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,but have not love, I gain nothing.
James 2:5 (#20 of 20 Bible Verses about the Poor)
5Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

Source
Bible; New International Version

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