“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” (Proverbs 3:5-8)
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Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew 5:7)
It is not meet that the man who will not forgive should be forgiven, nor shall he who will not give to the poor have his own wants relieved. God will measure to us with our own bushels, and those who have been hard masters and hard creditors will find that the Lord will deal hardly with them. "He shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy." This day let us try to give and to forgive. Let us mind the two bears-bear and forbear. Let us be kind, gentle, and tender. Let us not put harsh constructions upon men's conduct, nor drive hard bargains, nor pick foolish quarrels, nor be difficult to please. Surely we wish to be blessed, and we also want to obtain mercy: let us be merciful, that we may have mercy. Let us fulfill the condition, that we may earn the beatitude. Is it not a pleasant duty to be kind? Is there not much more sweetness in it than in being angry and ungenerous? Why, there is a blessedness in the thing itself! Moreover, the obtaining of mercy is a rich reward. What but sovereign grace could suggest such a promise as this? We are merciful to our fellow mortal in pence, and the Lord forgives us "all the debt." Charles Spurgeon “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me.” (Psalm 28:7)17/5/2016 “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me.” (Psalm 28:7); “Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” (2 Cor. 6:10); “We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings…” (Romans 5:2-3); “in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.” (2 Cor. 7:4). “Filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…” (2 Peter 1:8); “In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” (2 Cor. 8:2); “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?” (James 2:5)
"Because of sin, things in this world are not always fair and sad things happen. Because of sin, people have problems. There have always been people who are poor and do not have what they need. There always will be poor people, until Jesus comes again. When we have all we need, it is easy to ignore others who do not have what they need.
Sometimes people are poor because they have not worked hard, as God says we should. But often people are poor because of things they cannot change. Such people need our help. God wants us to remember that the poor are human beings too. We must respect them because He made them in His image. He wants us to do whatever we can to help them." "Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.' Proverbs 17:5 "Training Hearts. Teaching Minds," Starr Meade, P&R 2000, pg 246. |
January 2023
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