Open Heaven 9 October 2022
MEMORISE: “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.” – Proverbs 19:17 (KJV)
BIBLE READING: Matthew 25:31-46 (KJV)
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
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.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
Worse than those who only oppress the poor just because of their lowly status are the ones who do so in order to become richer. The Bible has this to say about them:
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. – Proverbs 22:16
If you have an allocation in your care to be given to the poor but you keep it all to yourself, the Bible says that you would surely come to want. Likewise, if you refused to pay your employees their salaries even though you are making money from that same work they are doing for you, you are oppressing them because they are poor and cannot fight you. The Bible says that you would surely come to want. God is passionate about poor people. Don’t oppress them. Proverbs 21:13 says:
Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
If you have been ignoring the poor, at least for the sake of what you have read in Proverbs 21:13, stop ignoring them. Give of your substance to those who have not. The Bible says in Luke 3:11 that if you have two of anything and you see someone who does not have any give that fellow one. These things should not be a big issue for Christians because the One who lives inside us is Love Himself. 1 John 4:8 says:
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
If you don’t love your poor neighbours enough to give to them, then that puts a question mark on your claim of being a Christian. When we read the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-24, we don’t see the rich man committing any sin as it were. The only thing that the rich man did wrong was that he blocked his ears to the cry of poor Lazarus. He ended up in hell where he cried and no one could hear him let alone help him. In our Bible reading for today, when Jesus was sending sinners to hell, one of their offences was that they did not help the needy. Be wise and give to the poor.
PRAYER POINT: Look for at least one person who needs something that you have and give it to that fellow today. Make it a habit to always give to the poor.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Matthew 5-7
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – Treat the Poor Right II – written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Open Heaven 9 October 2022
