A WORD FROM JESUS

"He said also to the one who had
invited him; "When you give a
dinner, do not invite your friends
or your brothers or your relatives
or rich neighbors, in case they
may invite you in return, and you
will be repaid your kindness.
But when you give a banquet, invite
the poor, the crippled, the lame,
and the blind. And you shall be
blessed because they cannot repay
you, for you shall be repaid at
the resurrection of the righteous."

LUKE 14 vs12-14

B*U*M*P !!

question: I heard a guy on the 700 club talk about gods law of reciprocity. The way he explained it it was kind of leaning to a reciprocity in this current age.

Is gods reciprocity towards us limited to "kingdom come"?

I wonder, in this day and age, if it is so easy, to find the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind, and invite them to a meal.

I'm not trying to disregard what scripture is saying. It is looking at servanthood, hospitality, humility and giving. These are virtures we should strive to have.

But I'm speaking in the sense that, I honestly don't see people like that around where I live. I just don't.

In the past, we've invited people to our home for a Christmas meal, and they just don't show up. You'd think with them having little or nothing, they'd be there. But, that's not so.

Also, I understand that Jesus is telling us not to look for a reward in what we do, but do it reagardless.

God bless.

JESUS is speaking of considering
those who cannot repay your kindness.
Maybe you have tried to find such
as these, and to help. If you have,
GOD bless.

There is poverty all around us. If i lived in billionaires row it would be hard to encounter poor people. The third world is full of families that need a hand. In the west there is a tendency to look down on poor people as lazy. But if we are willing to take a drive outta our gated community comfort zones we are sure to find poor people even in the west.

One doesn't even need to take a drive now to find people that need help. Similarly if the people you invite for dinner/lunch etc don't show up, well then next time use the money differently and one which you know will certainly be put to great use. See examples below.

We can help right from our house using the internet.

For eg: look at Gospel For Asia's website. One can donate there. $5 can provide for a pair of rabbits or a pair of chicken or a blanket. You can choose which items you want your $ to go to from bibles to shoes for the missionaries etc and how much (100% of money goes to the field as the admin etc all raise their own $). This is just 1 website. There are others websites too for eg: Open Doors, Voice of Maryrs etc.

Poverty is wide spread throughout England but you need the right eyes to see it. Having worked in social housing across the North for the past 20 years it is clear that there are many struggling people trying to live decent lives and bring up their children as best as they can.

Many work juggling low paid part time jobs with looking after a family, this is made worse with an increase in single parent families. The stereotype of the feckless, work-shy, benefit society we have been fed by a largely hostile media egged on by people who should know better is just not true of vast numbers of silent, struggling people at their wits end to make ends meet.

This poverty and need is hidden in our society by proud people who will not share their need and anxiety about life with anyone outside of their immediate circle of trusted friends, and these are often thin on the ground if not nonexistent.

The only way to know about all of this is to live where they live and to walk as they walk, then, slowly trust is established and the barriers come down. This is exactly what the Lord Jesus did for us – He came from heavens glory to live as a working man, in a poor place and rub shoulders day by day with ordinary people who were struggling to make a living.

The model of this in our day is someone like Jackie Pullinger – this way of sharing the gospel is not easy, it takes commitment borne of love and ownership of the Lordship of Christ – it takes a change in life style, friendships and sharing. The emphasis is sharing, one broken person sharing out of our poverty what we have with someone in need, to meet their need at the right time and in an acceptable way. This is not dispensing charity it is sharing out of our poverty. Part of that sharing is for us to learn how to be able to receive – this often very hard for Christians to do, we are good at giving to all sorts of good things but receiving a gift when we need takes a humble and contrite heart (the difficult part for many, including me).

There are many unsung saints doing just this day by day throughout the world, including England, the US and Canada. The poor are there, all around you, just ask the Lord to open your eyes, you will be amazed.

Take care and God bless you all as you seek to share the gospel of the risen Jesus with those in need - His way.

Terry

terrybob wrote:
The model of this in our day is someone like Jackie Pullinger – this way of sharing the gospel is not easy, it takes commitment borne of love and ownership of the Lordship of Christ – it takes a change in life style, friendships and sharing.

I had a pastor years ago who had church in a house (they gutted) on Third St in Dayton OH (if you know anything about Dayton OH, you know this area); and down past it was all the homeless lived in their lean-tos (in the 70’s they called them winos).

These precious people started coming to church, most times they came drunk; they were humble about it, they would ask before coming in (they just didn’t barge in) b/c they knew they couldn’t walk into a regular church. Bro. Herman never turned anyone away.

It takes a special, deep love to minister to people WAY below your income line; I’m not saying I have it but I did have a pristine example in one man of God!

God bless,
Lisa

Rainman wrote:

question: I heard a guy on the 700 club talk about gods law of reciprocity. The way he explained it it was kind of leaning to a reciprocity in this current age. Is gods reciprocity towards us limited to "kingdom come"?

Mar 10:29-30
(29) And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
(30) But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

Reciprocity now and in the world to come. Do we really think we can sacrifice for Christ and not have Him repay us. This does not mean we can sacrifice a lot as a means of fulfilling lust for things now. Even that concept does not make sense. But we do have Jesus promise of reciprocity in the now and in the then.

There are poor everywhere. "The poor you will have with you always." Some are so because of choice, some because of sin, some because of hard times that were not their own making. All are loved by God and He desires us to minister to them. I cannot meet the needs of every poor person in my community but I can follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in finding a way to minister to those who I can.

The least of these;
Whose cries are heard--
The least of these;
Whose hearts are known--
The least of these;
Whose cause will be remembered
Before the Cross and before the Throne ??

hi, the poor and the homeless are ministries that must be incorporated in churches all over the world. to say that they are lazy is crazy.i ministered to the homeless for years in new orleans and some did not know who there parents were or when or where they were born.most had no ss cards or ids for employment.many belonged in mental institutions.almost all were so down that they did not believe they could ever change.only God helped these people.every once in a while a miracle would happen and it would keep US going.Jesus said tell him that the poor are being ministered to...jimp

JESUS calls us to compassion !!
There are real needs crying out
to be met; and the Body of Christ
is not hearing and answering the
call of compassion!!

We can't help every poor person in the world, but most certainly there ought to be no one in need who is our brother or sister. We need more sensibility in this area in our churches!
1 John 3:17
But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

I hope to see Christians everywhere starting to take commands like this seriously and literally, and I recognize my own shortcomings in this area.

For example, would you sell your expensive SUV and buy two smaller, used cars for the money you get, so you can give one to the family that has none? What about that big house in the suburbs, or the cottage you own? But we think we have a right to these things, we earned them. How much it must grieve the Lord to see us hang our hearts onto things rather than surrendering them to Him (who is the rightful owner anyway). I have never stirred the pot more than when I have brought up thoughts like this in Sunday school or Bible studies...