Daily Devotional for Tuesday December 4, 2001

Helping the Poor

(Psalms 41:1)

I want to encourage you someday to take about an hour, sit down with your Bible, and look at all the scriptures concerning care for the poor and needy. One thing I have learned to understand about God and the way He has divinely given us His word, is when you see the same issue talked about over and over, especially throughout the Bible from the Old to New Testament, God is trying to emphasize a point. He could not be clearer as to our responsibility to help the poor. Now of course, this immediately brings to mind mental images of the homeless, those begging on corners for food, the ones who occupy the shelters at night. But I want you to focus today, not on those who are financially poor, but those who are spiritually poor.

Throughout Jesus' earthly ministry, He reached out to all segments of society. To those who had wealth and resources, He tried to focus them on their bankrupt spiritual life. Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?" Today, I want you to be aware of the "poor" people you may come in contact with every day, not financially poor, but spiritually poor. We have a responsibility to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, the hope and love of Christ with these people just as we would share a meal with someone who is hungry. It is not an option, but an obligation we have as followers of Christ to reach out to those who are hurting and need to know there are answers beyond the things of this world.

I am going to pray today that you take this challenge to heart and really focus, not just on the visibly poor you may see each day, but also those who may have much worldly riches, but be broke spiritually. You see, in those difficult times we all face in life, losing a loved one, moving, changing jobs, troubles at home, whatever the issue may be, money can rarely help. Only the strength, wisdom, and love of Christ can get us through those most difficult times in our life. Open your eyes today and look at those around you who may need a spiritual handout today to make it.

I love you and care for you. I deeply appreciate your kindness, prayers and loving support of our work at Liveprayer.com. I want to encourage you today to remember us as we are moving this ministry forward. Daily, over 15,000 people come to our website, we send out our Daily Devotional to close to 900,000 email accounts worldwide, and respond to over 13,000 special request emails daily. God has given us a great task to touch peoples lives via this Internet ministry. I cannot do it alone. I need your prayers. I need your financial help since everything we do, including our state-of-the-art LIVE 24/7 video feed is available at no cost. Like all ministries, the support of friends like you makes it possible for us to do what we do each and every day. In less than 28 months, God has placed us in a position to minister on a daily basis to more people than even the largest churches and media ministries in the nation at a fraction of the cost. I have not slowed down what we are doing, in fact, have even become more aggressive in reaching out to those who are hurting, trusting God would honor our faithfulness.

YOU MAKE THAT POSSIBLE!

Thanks you for all you do. I deeply care about you. Pray today about elping those who are spiritually poor in your life. Pray about standing with me today in support of our work here at Liveprayer.com. It is no accident you are receiving these devotional each day, and no accident God is speaking to your heart right now. Listen and be obedient. What a great way to help the poor this Holiday season.