“Blessed (Happy) is he who considers (gives attention to, to help prosper) the poor (needy, weak, poor)”
7 Blessings:
- The Lord will deliver you out of trouble
- The Lord will preserve you
- He will keep you alive; revive to life
- The Lord will bless you upon the earth
- you will be protected ; you will be delivered from your enemies
- The Lord will strengthen you on your bed of illness/sorrow; give you strength (support, healing)
- You will recover from weakness; He will sustain you on your sickbed
Consider Luke 18: A ruler asked Jesus ” What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responded with the commandments – ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother’. The ruler responded ” I have kept all these commands since my youth”. Jesus then responded ” You lack ONE THING, SELL all you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me” (read full passage Luke 18: 18-30 )
When you give to those in need and give up your possessions, you are storing up treasure in heaven. God sees and rewards you when you consider others. When you lend to the Lord (help the poor), He will repay you. We are promised that we will lack nothing when we give.
This reminds me of 2 instances in scripture that confirm this 1) poor widow who dropped in only 2 coins, she gave all she had (Mark 12:41) Jesus mentioned her among all the rich who dropped in their tithe, yet this one woman gave all she had, even though it was a small amount. God see’s everything , He knows. It’s amazing that among all the people ,Jesus sees the one who most people overlook. We esteem the wealthy, popular, famous, yet Christ see’s this poor woman and tells us that she has given more than anyone else that had dropped their money in. 2) The story of a poor widow and her child in 1 Kings 17 (read it) when there was a great famine. Elijah asked for food and she gave up her last meal for herself and her son so Elijah could eat. She only had a handful of flour and small amount of oil. Long story short, she fed him first and God supernaturally supplied her and her son with flour and oil every day (among other miracles) God took care of her when she gave up her last meal for another.
Hear the Word of the Lord
“Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.Luke 12 :33-34
“When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.” Luke 14:12
Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death. If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you! Proverbs 19 :16-17
Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed. Proverbs 28:27
Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need. Prov 21:13
If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you! Proverbs 19:17
Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back Luke 6:38
Yet in another turnaround to all this, Paul tells us in Corinthians, that if we give all we have to the poor but don’t have love, it will profit us nothing. So if you give, give with a willing and cheerful heart. No one wants a disgruntled gift. If you give, give in Love and do it willingly-read it: Don’t give in response to pressure
God owns the cattle on all the hills,
PSALM 50:10,12 10 For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it.all the earth is His
he doesn’t need your $25 with a bad attitude lol, really! Let it be from your heart. If your heart isn’t right, then take some time out to find the Lord and walk with Him. He’ll show you the way to go. I get so annoyed at all the people asking for money- I bet you do to. Often times, I’ll ask God where to give and He will show me and direct me. It may or may not be tax deductible or a well known charity, it may be someone next to me in the store that the Spirit leads me too. We are each different and called to different things, perhaps your heart for giving is somewhere else- pray about it. (and we’ve got to keep our churches going…)
You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly
or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
And God will generously provide all you need.
Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to
share with others. As the Scriptures say,
“They share freely and give generously to the poor.
Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”
For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread
to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources
and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.
Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God. As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words! 1 Cor 9:7-15
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Mt 5:6b Gal 6:7
“What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
for you have your only happiness now.
What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,
for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,
for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,
for their ancestors also praised false prophets. Luke 6 (Also read James 5)
-yikes, that’s scary…………. puts the corona virus on the back burner, doesn’t it?
Ancient Paths 