Lend Without Interest
If your brother becomes destitute and cannot sustain himself among you, you are to support him as a foreigner or temporary resident, so that he can continue to live among you. Do not profit or take interest from him, but fear your God and let your brother live among you. You are not to lend him your silver with interest or sell him your food for profit. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Caanan and to be your God. Leviticus 25:35-38
God wanted his people to be fair and just and loving. By supporting those who were destitute among them they were humbling themselves and trusting Him to provide for both. How often does this happen?
In Australia we have a government agency called Centrelink that doles out funds to the destitute and so many well funded Australians would assume that everyone is ok. This is not the case. As a divorcee I have been destitute and had to trust the Lord to provide, which he did, often through my mother and son. No one else asked or was interested in how I was faring.
In the book of James, James says: What good is it brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can his faith save him?
If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,' but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is that? In the same way faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead by itself. James 2:14-17
We are surrounded with thousands of people fleeing Syria and other war torn countries and desperately in need of assistance. I receive posts from World Vision on Facebook. I give what I can and would give more. There is a balance between both worlds.
Jesus told us a story in the gospel of Luke 16: 19-31 about a man called Lazarus who was destitute and sat at the rich man's gates begging. The rich man would not give him anything but lived a life of self-indulgence. Both dies and Lazarus went to Paradise and the rich man to hell.
The rich man had his abundance for a short period of time but Lazarus would have eternity, he was poor for just a short time on earth but rich in eternity.
Jesus told us to store up riches in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, are we listening?
God wanted his people to be fair and just and loving. By supporting those who were destitute among them they were humbling themselves and trusting Him to provide for both. How often does this happen?
In Australia we have a government agency called Centrelink that doles out funds to the destitute and so many well funded Australians would assume that everyone is ok. This is not the case. As a divorcee I have been destitute and had to trust the Lord to provide, which he did, often through my mother and son. No one else asked or was interested in how I was faring.
In the book of James, James says: What good is it brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can his faith save him?
If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,' but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is that? In the same way faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead by itself. James 2:14-17
We are surrounded with thousands of people fleeing Syria and other war torn countries and desperately in need of assistance. I receive posts from World Vision on Facebook. I give what I can and would give more. There is a balance between both worlds.
Jesus told us a story in the gospel of Luke 16: 19-31 about a man called Lazarus who was destitute and sat at the rich man's gates begging. The rich man would not give him anything but lived a life of self-indulgence. Both dies and Lazarus went to Paradise and the rich man to hell.
The rich man had his abundance for a short period of time but Lazarus would have eternity, he was poor for just a short time on earth but rich in eternity.
Jesus told us to store up riches in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, are we listening?
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