I'm going to tell you what I saw today in the reading, and then you can go to the Word with it and hash it out with the Lord. I'm not trying to establish your doctrine here, I'm just trying to challenge you to think about what you're reading, and to think about why you think what you think about it.
If you read the New King James, you may not notice this paradox. This is what I read in my version: "But there will be no poor among you (for the LORD will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance to possess), if only you will obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all this commandment which I command you this day. For the LORD your God will bless you, as he promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you." Deuteronomy 15:4-6 RSV
In the next verse, we get the paradox: "If there is among you a poor man, one of your brethren, in any of your towns within your land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him, and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be." Deuteronomy 15:7-8 RSV
It goes on to show the attitude we should have, and talks more about the release year, the seventh year.
More of the paradox follows: "For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in the land." Deuteronomy 15:11 RSV
It seems to me that some of the translators, including the NKJV, had a difficult time is accepting this paradox, so they wrote but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, except when there may be no poor among you; for the LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance 15: 3-4 NKJV. This "except" just doesn't make a lot of sense. To me the opposites do make sense, because we see this kind of paradox all the time in Scripture.
God is saying that there will be no poor among you and that there will always be poor among you, at the same time, in the same chapter even. Why is this?
Considering there is an "if only" clause in that promise, I can totally see why we not only always have some poor people among us, in our nation and in the Church, we have an amazing number of poor people. Could it possibly be that we ignore clear directions given us by the Lord?
I remember how the Lord, years ago, cut loose our finances when we began to obey His commandment not to charge interest on loans (within the family~ and we take that spiritually too). I'm not sure if we've come up to the seven year release date on any debts yet, and we may not have had that revelation at the time. But I see it now, and will live up to it if it comes up [Usually, I just give expecting nothing in return]. This may be Old Testament stuff, but didn't Jesus come to fulfill the Law and not abolish it? There are principles that we may walk in and begin to experience the kind of blessing that was promised. He shows us His desires, what He loves and what He hates, and He shows us how to fulfill love and righteousness. If we would start to study the Word to find out how to do that, I think we'd find out how to get rid of poverty.
In the Old Testament, we see promises about being free from poverty, sickness, oppression, etc. In the New Testament, we are given everything we need in order to walk in these promises. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He demonstrated the same truth that was given in the Old Testament. His principles go beyond the Old Testament, go deeper and higher, into the heart and into the unseen realm. There is no reason why we should not walk in His promises, except that we don't know, we don't understand, or we don't believe.
As the Lord stated, everyone will not get a hold of His truth and promises, even though He desires that they do. But that should not stop you from getting a hold of them. If you believe God's Word and walk in it, and you demonstrate God's love to people the way Jesus did, not only will you see the effect of His promises in your life, you may also be able to help others get a hold of the promises for themselves who may not have otherwise.
Questions to Ponder:
How is debt affecting you? How is it affecting this nation?
What was Jesus getting at when He taught us to pray: "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Matthew 6:12 NKJV
Is there any possibility that poverty is related to unforgiveness? Why or why not?
Showing posts with label poor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poor. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Saturday, March 6, 2010
March 6, 2010
We could think God contradicted Himself if we read (out of context) "Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, there is no price one can give to God for it. For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice that one should live on forever and never see the grave." Psalm 49: 1-20. But if we read on, the same psalm states: "But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me." vs 15. What a great prophesy of Christ's ransom for us! It truly shows that there was no way of redemption except Him, but that God, indeed, had always promised a Way.
Obviously, the first verse speaks of a person trying to redeem himself or another, and that there is no amount of riches capable of redeeming us. Christ's life and sacrifice was SO valuable that it sufficed to redeem any and all who would receive Him-- forever! As an aside, these verses really shows how valuable we are to God, and should increase our own concept of worth, and change how we value ourselves and others.
Unfortunately, (pun intended), there are many people who still trust in riches to save them, and many nations who do as well. Is ours one of them, do you think? Do you think that false messiahs who come along-- with schemes to deceive-- might try to wield worldly wealth and power as a means of solving the world's problems? Have you ever seen this type of deception in the Church itself? Does it seem logical to you that any amount of wealth could help with the types of trouble that Jesus prophesied for the end times, and that we see ourselves in the midst of now? Mark 12: 7-8
Jesus was also clear that much of the end-time trouble would be between people, with rampant betrayal and hatred, even among relatives: "because of my name." He directed us to trust the Holy Spirit to give us the words to say, and told us to "endure until the end." vs 9-13
I see a flip-side to the principle that no amount of wealth can redeem us. It seems to me that no amount of wealth (which equates to worldly power) can "buy God off" either! Who could pay God enough to "un-redeem" us? Who could be wealthy enough to take us to court and condemn us when we have a Righteous Advocate on our side? Christ! If God is for us, who can be against us? An entire nation? The whole world system? None of these powers could redeem us, and none of them can destroy us either. We are truly safe IN the Lord! It might be unpleasant or painful for a while, but all we need is endurance to see the salvation of God, and His promise of eternal life.
"Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?" Psalm 49: 5-6
Jesus is not swayed, influenced or impressed by riches and worldly power. This is clear in the beginning of the Mark passage. He does not judge by outward appearance, but sees the heart. He saw through the pomp of the religious leaders of the day, and He commended the poor widow for offering all she had because of her love for God. He hasn't changed!
When we give ourselves totally to Him, this is a great treasure that He accepts. In return, He gives Himself totally to us. What, then, have we to fear?
Obviously, the first verse speaks of a person trying to redeem himself or another, and that there is no amount of riches capable of redeeming us. Christ's life and sacrifice was SO valuable that it sufficed to redeem any and all who would receive Him-- forever! As an aside, these verses really shows how valuable we are to God, and should increase our own concept of worth, and change how we value ourselves and others.
Unfortunately, (pun intended), there are many people who still trust in riches to save them, and many nations who do as well. Is ours one of them, do you think? Do you think that false messiahs who come along-- with schemes to deceive-- might try to wield worldly wealth and power as a means of solving the world's problems? Have you ever seen this type of deception in the Church itself? Does it seem logical to you that any amount of wealth could help with the types of trouble that Jesus prophesied for the end times, and that we see ourselves in the midst of now? Mark 12: 7-8
Jesus was also clear that much of the end-time trouble would be between people, with rampant betrayal and hatred, even among relatives: "because of my name." He directed us to trust the Holy Spirit to give us the words to say, and told us to "endure until the end." vs 9-13
I see a flip-side to the principle that no amount of wealth can redeem us. It seems to me that no amount of wealth (which equates to worldly power) can "buy God off" either! Who could pay God enough to "un-redeem" us? Who could be wealthy enough to take us to court and condemn us when we have a Righteous Advocate on our side? Christ! If God is for us, who can be against us? An entire nation? The whole world system? None of these powers could redeem us, and none of them can destroy us either. We are truly safe IN the Lord! It might be unpleasant or painful for a while, but all we need is endurance to see the salvation of God, and His promise of eternal life.
"Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?" Psalm 49: 5-6
Jesus is not swayed, influenced or impressed by riches and worldly power. This is clear in the beginning of the Mark passage. He does not judge by outward appearance, but sees the heart. He saw through the pomp of the religious leaders of the day, and He commended the poor widow for offering all she had because of her love for God. He hasn't changed!
When we give ourselves totally to Him, this is a great treasure that He accepts. In return, He gives Himself totally to us. What, then, have we to fear?
Monday, January 11, 2010
January 11, 2010
I saw a difference between those whom the Lord prospers or makes wealthy, and those who try to make themselves that way by ungodly means. God blessed Isaac by giving him a hundred-fold return, and he became very wealthy. Genesis 26:12-13 The Philistines envied him and wanted him to go away. These same people had stopped up the wells his father had dug. They feared these men's power.
The Psalms portion describes the greedy wicked who oppress the poor and helpless in order to gain wealth for themselves. God is not ignoring this. "Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan." Ps 10:14 God responds to people's cries for help. He also responds to intercession. Ps. 10:12,15
Many people who are poor and who feel helpless, whether they have been oppressed or not, often want to take down the rich who they see as the oppressor, rather than turning to the Lord. They cannot discern the difference between oppressors and people blessed of the Lord. I believe the Lord will make the distinction clearer and clearer in these times. Helping the poor will certainly be one of the marks of God's Kingdom blessing.
Although your enemies may try to project on you the motivations and methods that they themselves walk in, and may try to "stop up your wells" of creativity and the flow of Spirit life and power because of jealousy or competition, don't give in to the pressure! Humility is agreeing with the Lord, not quitting because people misunderstand.
You might be interested in contemplating how today's passage about Jesus ties into this!
The Psalms portion describes the greedy wicked who oppress the poor and helpless in order to gain wealth for themselves. God is not ignoring this. "Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan." Ps 10:14 God responds to people's cries for help. He also responds to intercession. Ps. 10:12,15
Many people who are poor and who feel helpless, whether they have been oppressed or not, often want to take down the rich who they see as the oppressor, rather than turning to the Lord. They cannot discern the difference between oppressors and people blessed of the Lord. I believe the Lord will make the distinction clearer and clearer in these times. Helping the poor will certainly be one of the marks of God's Kingdom blessing.
Although your enemies may try to project on you the motivations and methods that they themselves walk in, and may try to "stop up your wells" of creativity and the flow of Spirit life and power because of jealousy or competition, don't give in to the pressure! Humility is agreeing with the Lord, not quitting because people misunderstand.
You might be interested in contemplating how today's passage about Jesus ties into this!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
