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Ezekiel 22:29
King James Version
29 The people of the land have used oppression,
and exercised robbery,
and have vexed the poor and needy:
yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
It's a cruel world, the one we have.
How it tries to blot out the poor's existence.
How they are set aside, and marginalized.
How the elite don't want them included.
And I have to smile at their foolish attempts.
Because the elite don't know GOD's WORD.
If they did, they'd put the poor above themselves.
I smile because SPIRIT led me to GOD's laws.
And how powerless the elite will be.
When it comes to GOD's will:
Deuteronomy 15:7-8
King James Version
7 If there be among you a poor man
of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates
in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,
thou shalt not harden thine heart,
nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him,
and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need,
in that which he wanteth.
Deuteronomy 15:9-10
King James Version
9 Beware that there be not a thought
in thy wicked heart, saying,
The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand;
and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother,
and thou givest him nought;
and he cry unto the Lord against thee,
and it be sin unto thee.
10 Thou shalt surely give him,
and thine heart shall not be grieved
when thou givest unto him:
because that for this thing the Lord thy God
shall bless thee in all thy works,
and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.
1 Samuel 2:8
King James Version
8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill,
to set them among princes,
and to make them inherit the throne of glory:
for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
and he hath set the world upon them.
Psalm 72:11-14
King James Version
11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him:
all nations shall serve him.
12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth;
the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
13 He shall spare the poor and needy,
and shall save the souls of the needy.
14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence:
and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
Every person GOD breathed life into, is a brother, and a sister.
How can we withhold what we have, so they may have, too?
How can we live comfortably, knowing others are in need?
How can we eat luxuriously, when others are starving?
How can we deny them a rightful existence?
If we really loved, there would be no poor in the land.
As it is, GOD makes them exist -- perpetually.
So we may learn to love.
JESUS declared:
Matthew 25:40
King James Version
40 And the King shall answer
and say unto them,
Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me.
JESUS also commanded:
Matthew 19:21
King James Version
21 Jesus said unto him,
If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast,
and give to the poor,
and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:
and come and follow me.
Something the rich man couldn't do.
If we be rich, let us reach out to the poor.
And give cheerfully, with the love of CHRIST in us.
2 Corinthians 9:7
King James Version
7 Every man according
as he purposeth in his heart,
so let him give;
not grudgingly, or of necessity:
for God loveth a cheerful giver.
We are also not to boast about our giving.
JESUS was particular about that:
Matthew 6:1-4
King James Version
6 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men,
to be seen of them:
otherwise ye have no reward of your Father
which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms,
do not sound a trumpet before thee,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and in the streets,
that they may have glory of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms,
let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret:
and thy Father which seeth in secret
himself shall reward thee openly.
Of course, unless GOD makes you born again, how can you understand His will, ways, and wisdom?
How can you understand His laws?
How can you even follow the things JESUS taught?
SPIRIT teaches the born again.
That we may understand Scripture.
And follow the ways of JESUS.
Who came to feed the poor, heal the sick, and save the lost.
Many of us fall into all those categories.
Precisely why JESUS was sent.
The world can try hiding the poor.
But GOD will always make them surface.
The poor will always be part of our lives.
Deuteronomy 15:11
King James Version
11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land:
therefore I command thee, saying,
Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother,
to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
The poor has got purpose.
May he not bewail his plight.
GOD has a plan of salvation for all.
It is up to us to find out, as followers of JESUS.
Philippians 2:12
King James Version
12 Wherefore, my beloved,
as ye have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling.
There is also another kind of "poor".
The "poor in spirit".
Find out more here.
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