POVERTY POVERTY

POVERTY

Theme 05/03/2018 Admin

Genesis‬ ‭45:11‬ ‬‬‬ ‭“There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there... POVERTY

Genesis‬ ‭45:11‬ ‬‬‬

‭“There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.” ’”‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
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INSIGHT
-Poverty Hebrew is written as machsor & it means scarcity, deficiency, needy or paucity.
-Joseph the governor of Egypt was willing to support his father & his household 2 years into the drought. He was heard crying over his brothers probably as a sign of forgiveness & reconciliation to them having thrown him into a pit & sold him as a slave. The same way he had the wisdom to preserve grain for years, he took the responsibility of preserving the lives of his family members lest poverty consumes them. In the book of 1 Timothy 5:8; we see that anyone who does not provide for his own, & especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith & is worse than an unbeliever. During this season of lent, we are reminded to offer help to those in need in our own families ie. our parents, grand parents, spouses, children, siblings & all those in need in the quest of true Christianity. In giving whatever form of support to others, God will surely  bless us according to the riches of His mercies.

PRAYER
Lord our Savior & Father we thank You for Your everlasting mercy & love upon our lives & families. Remember Oh Lord all those who are suffering in lack & poverty that You may provide for them their daily bread & sustainable jobs to enable them support their dependents. Give us Father a generous heart so that we may give always to those in need & to be reconciled to our families. Look kindly upon us Lord & shower us with Your blessings according to the riches of Your mercy & grace. All glory, honor, power, riches, strength & wisdom belong to You Lord; forever & ever. Amen

 

 

Leviticus‬ ‭25:35-37‬ ‬‬‬‬‬

“If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit.”‬‬‬

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INSIGHT
-The poor especially strangers were oppressed & tasks accorded to them in exchange for their basic requirements by some Israelites. In the year of Jubilee; strangers or sojourners were given a redemption opportunity from slavery, debt & their basic needs provided for; free. According to Proverbs‬ ‭14:31‬; he who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy. We are called to have pity & sympathy towards the poor & supply them according to their needs, which is the will of God. James echoes these sentiments when he says that faith without works is dead & reminds us to provide for the needs of the poor by action & not mere words (James 2:15-17). The richest man in Asia Jack Ma; in one of his interviews said that his great wealth has been bestowed to him as a custodian of the people to reach out to them at their point of need. We should therefore receive the poor as our own brothers & sisters in the realisation that we are equal in the eyes of the Lord, & give whatever we can according to our abilities.

 

PRAYER
Father we thank You for You have enabled us to see this beautiful day & for protecting us from harm. We thank You for providing for us our needs that we have not lacked any good thing. We know that many are dying of hunger, sleeping in the streets for lack of shelter & walking naked for lack of decent clothing, have mercy of them Lord. Give us a sympathetic heart so that we may always give to the poor for the glory of Your name. All honor & praise belong to You Lord forever. Amen

 

 

Proverbs‬ ‭14:23‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty.”‬

INSIGHT 
-As we come to a close of the second month, we realise that time is really flying & some of us are still procrastinating on our goals & what we purpose to achieve this year. Whatever one deeply desires to do or achieve, there is no better time than now otherwise idle chatter, a little sleep, a little slumber & a little folding of hands to sleep only leads to poverty. This is the time to make a difference using the talents, skills, gifts, knowledge & wisdom that God has given us; to bring innovative solutions in areas of health, education, business, real estate, farming, security, catering, ICT, sports & arts, construction, service sector etc. May we continue to ask for Gods’ wisdom & direction that we may realise His will for each one of us.

PRAYER
Lord our Father, You are the only one true God. You have brought us to the earth for a reason, journey with us & direct us in Your will that we may always be fruitful according to Your purpose. You know our abilities & desires of our hearts Lord, help us we humbly implore You & lead us in Your wisdom so that we may prosper & have good success. Water our lives, families & nation with Your blessings Lord, that all our spiritual, economical, social & physical droughts may cease now in Your might name. Amen

 

 

2 Corinthians‬ ‭8:9‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”‬‬‬
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INSIGHT 
-Christ sacrificed His divine richness & became human, prone to temptation & abandoned His empyrean completeness for this special task of saving us from sin & death. In great agony at the garden of Gethsemane shed tears of blood & became sin so that we may be redeemed from sin. Through this poverty, we have been made rich for He has delivered us from the power of darkness & conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (Col‬ ‭1:13-14‬). We have therefore been called to live by the Spirit & not by the flesh that we may have fullness of body, soul & spirit, as we wait to be united together with Him forever.

PRAYER
We thank You Father for Your goodness & love for us that You have made us Your sons. Forgive us all our sins & make us a new creation in You. We thank You for the blessing of rain that You have given us at the wake of impeding drought. We humbly ask You to continue watering our land that our economy may thrive so that each one of us may be more productive in all we do. May Your grace enable us to have spiritual freedom through Your help Holy Spirit & help us to shun from political hatred in our country. We pray this believing & trusting in Jesus name. Amen

 

 

Luke‬ ‭21:3-4‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

INSIGHT 
-Jesus sat strategically in the temple where people gave their offering. According to Him, a widow gave all she had to others needs; in her needy state, 2 mites to be precise. These were small copper coins whose estimated value is usd. 2 today. God loves a cheerful giver; as one purposes in his heart not grudgingly or of necessity (2 Cor 9:7). We should always remember to be generous in giving according to how one desires in their heart & blessings will never depart from our homes.

SUMMARY 
-Poverty in Hebrew is written as machsor & it means scarcity, deficiency, needy or paucity.
-Joseph the governor of Egypt was willing to support his family 2 years into the drought lest poverty consumes them (Gen 45:11). In humility; he forgave his brothers who earlier sold him as a slave, provided food for his entire family & relocated them to Egypt where there was plenty. As the wise man said; “charity begins at home”, let us remember to support our families in whatever way possible otherwise we become worse than unbelievers for abandoning our Christian faith (1 Tim 5:8). In the year of Jubilee, the Israelites were cautioned against oppressing strangers & sojourners but encouraged to redeem them from slavery, debt & provide for their basic needs. In the same way we have been forbidden from oppressing the poor; by which we reproach God. By showing mercy on the needy we honor God for we are equal before Him (Prov 14:31). We also realize that giving to the needy is an act of faith which without works/ action; our faith is dead (James 2:15-17). The gift of faith is also critical in achieving our goals & visions for an idle chatter only leads to poverty (Prov 14:23). May we continue to ask for Gods’ wisdom & direction that we may utilise our gifts, talents & knowledge wisely so that we may achieve His will for our lives. Through Gods’ grace, Who was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that by His poverty we might become rich (2 Cor‬ ‭8:9‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬). He made us rich by delivering us from the power of darkness & conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have redemption through His blood & forgiveness of sins (Col‬ ‭1:13-14‬). We have therefore been called to live by the Spirit as His sons, to take action in achieving our visions & offer a helping hand to our family members, the needy & all those who require our assistance so that our faith may be established.

PRAYER
Holy God holy might One holy immortal One, have mercy on us & on the whole world. We thank You Father for Your graces upon our lives & humbly ask You to increase our faith. Receive our prayers we offer to You; the desires of our hearts & our petitions that You hear us Lord. We acknowledge that You are the owner of everything that exists in all the earth Lord, help us to sacrifice whatever we can to those in need; in our own families & society. Thank You for the blessing of rain, provision, protection, peace, family, leadership, love & unity Lord. We magnify & praise Your Holy name forever. Amen

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