6.6-Why is there such an interesting combination of rich and poor among those who follow Jesus?

6.6-

People who love Jesus must also love the poor.  Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor."  Jesus instructed the rich to give to the poor.  Jesus cared deeply for the poor and said that they represented him personally.  When you give to the poor to meet their real needs you are meeting the needs of Jesus himself.

People who view their home as God’s home when others need it are indeed wise and blessed.

When a person is ready to change and get on the page with God then they are honest with themselves and others as they can be.   We must admit that we are selfish, but with repentance we are ready to surrender the control of our lives and our things to God.  He instructs over and over for us to be generous with the poor.  

Being on the page with Jesus means that we refuse to cheat anyone and if we have found we have cheated anyone we are ready to pay it back and even more.

This is what salvation with Jesus looks like.  Hospitality to those who love God.  Enjoying meals with a wide variety of people.  Giving money and resources to the poor.  Restoring anything that we have unfairly taken from anyone.

When we know God we know that fruitfulness and success is normal for His children.  This is His plan for us.  Seeds grow into trees.  Seeds grow into wheat and corn.  Food is available because God sends the sunshine and the rain to the wicked as well as the righteous.  Health.  A free country.  A good job and good things will happen.  We avoid the get rich quick schemes and instant wealth of the gambling casinos.  Much money is wasted there.

There are poor people who do not believe that God is fair and they don’t believe there are any fair-minded people.  These people have a negative attitude on the world.   Life each day gets harder and harder for these people.

People who know God are not only fruitful and successful, but they are joyful and love to sing songs of praise to God.  Whether in the church or the home or the jail, those who know God are singing hymns of praise.

People created in the image of God and re-created with a new birth in Jesus Christ are joyful people and fun to be around.  Their love fills their own hearts and just overflows.  

This does not mean there are not tough love moments with these people.  If someone is being unfair and oppressing the poor and taking advantage there will be moments where the pain of disobedience will be visited upon the bully and the rebel.

Larry Wishard

6.2.17

Luke 19.

19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ² A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. ³ He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

⁵ When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
⁷ All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
⁸ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
⁹ Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”