Remember the Poor!
1. Remember Cornelius? He was a man known for giving alms (financial help) to the poor. God remembered his alms and Cornelius was the first Gentile to receive Christ His entire household came to Christ that same day. And they became the first Gentiles to receive the Holy Spirit! Does that help us understand how important it is to God that we remember the poor? Read Acts chapter 10.
This is true. I had completely forgotten about Cornelius and his alms. Then one day I began asking God to heal me of some pain I'd been having in my stomach. The Holy Spirit immediately reminded me of Cornelius.
2. Psalm 41:1-3 actually promises physical healing to those who have remembered the poor!
Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive; And he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; Psalm 41:1-3
3. Widows, orphans, the poor, victims of divorce, and all who have been dispossessed are dear to God. He has said so. Any victim of any violence, war, famine, or disease is close to Him. Read the following verses and you will see His heart.
You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry; and My wrath will become hot; Exodus 22:22-25
He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow. Deuteronomy 10:18
A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, God in His holy habitation sets the solitary in families; Psalm 68:5-6a
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; Luke 14:13-14
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this; to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. James 1:27
Listen, my beloved brethren; Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? James 2:5
4. In fact, if you look up the references to the poor, the fatherless, and the widows in a concordance, you will be utterly, and totally amazed to see how many times God speaks up for them! This should cause us to review our thinking. We have a need. We need to remember the poor. Can you think of some ideas to help them? What about giving waitresses and hotel maids bigger tips? How about visiting the shut-ins, blessing the people in nursing homes, or helping out at the salvation army, or a soup kitchen. God says He will bless you if you do!
5. I almost didn't include this lesson in this book. But if our hearts are to be the same as God's heart, we must remember the poor who are among us.