Wednesday, March 12, 2008

God is for the poor & orphans

i've been journeying through the Psalms over and over for the past 3-4 years. i absolutely love it! it's one of my favorite parts of Scripture.
As i've shared before, i'm also keenly aware of one of the dominant themes throughout Scripture = the high importance that God puts on the poor, orphans, etc... So, i can't help but post a few pieces of my journey from the last few days.

"But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish." (9:18)
God is ultimately compassionate to the poor & that just fires me up. It fires me up because in my opinion much of the American church has forgotten the poor all over the world. Thankfully, we've got such an amazing God that no matter how long the Church forgets, God will not forget the poor across the world that He loves. i'm also stoked to take this promise to the poor because it will give them ultimate hope. That will be hope that they will ALWAYS have because they can ALWAYS count on God to remember them!

"But You, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; You consider their grief and take it in hand... You are the helper of the fatherless." (10:14)
i can't help but think about Peter when i read stuff like this, and all the millions of orphans across Sub-Saharan Africa. i desperately want to build places for them to live, eat, and learn, tell them about Jesus & tell them that God is their helper!

"You Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; You encourage them, and You listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror." (10:17-18)
Man, i'm so pumped that God is an encourager to the afflicted... and He defends the fatherless so that they won't be afraid of anyone.

*Our God loves the poor & orphans! Throughout the Bible it is obvious that they are VERY close to His heart & He puts a high priority on them. He fights for them and provides for them and loves them. i'm thinking we probably should too!

6 comments:

EZ said...

PM,

I do agree we should too but one thing I am finding out is not only should we help feed but we need to teach them to feed themselves. It's the old teach a man to fish we must teach as well as always feeding them with the their true need as well, the Gospel.

Keep blogging,

EZ

Ben said...

Thanks for the reminder Patrick. I am glad the Lord doesn't forget the poor. Its good to see someone with a vision beyond himself. We need more of this.

EZ said...

Dude want you to know that I've placed your blog address to the top of my favorites feeds...love ya bro. keep blogging...

patrick mitchell said...

that's cool EZ, but not sure who you are? haven't figured it out, so let me know.

EZ said...

EZ is gz you know me my brother from another mother...hint hint VA abound...

Josh Via said...

Patrick,
great stuff, man. Love your insights into the Word. Keep blogging!