Dear partners and friends
On behalf of the New Life India I want to say thank you.I am really excited about all the things we are doing together through The New Life India to alleviate the sorrows of men and experience God’s unconditional love and grace.This does not happen with out you and what you have done to support this ministry.I want to share some encouraging thoughts.
Why do we have the poor?
The bible seems to say that God allows the poor among us to test our compassion for our fellow men. Some have wrongly assumed that to be poor is a sign of God’s disfavor. That is not true. God loves the poor and cares for them. He hears their cry. The psalmist says The Lord is His refuse (Psalm 14:6).The word of God teaches that God will bless those who reach out to help the poor “Blessed is he that considers the poor…. The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble” (Psalm 41:1).On the other hand we invite God’s judgment if we ignore the needs of the poor Proverbs 21:13 declares “who so stops his ears at the cry of the poor he also shall cry himself but shall not be heard”.
If God loves the poor and is concerned about their needs, and if he leaves the poor among us to prove our love and compassion we as Christians can’t ignore the poor.
Why should we help the poor?
Christians have been called to demonstrate God’s love .The needs of our world are our concern. God’s love is to be shown in tangible and practical ways. John writes in 1 John 3:17” who so has this worlds good …..and closes his heart against him how dwells the love of God in him?……let us not love in word…..but in deed and in truth”. Christian love is to reach beyond the confines of church membership. So paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 3:12” the Lord makes you to increase and abound in love toward one another and toward all men”. The church ministers to the poor inside the membership or outside.
Our Lord Jesus taught that the will of God can be summed up in two great commandments “love God and love your neighbor “If we would do the will of God we must have compassion on the poor. Compassion is an evidence of an inner work of grace.
The poor gives Christian opportunity to lay up heavenly treasures. “He that has pity on the poor lends to the Lord”(Proverbs 19:17).In the wisdom of God helping the poor is a blessing and privilege. we dare not turn our backs on the world’s needs. The apostle James warns in James 2:15-16”If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food and one of you say unto them depart in peace be ye warmed and filled not withstanding you give him not those things needful to the body: what shall it profit”
The Christian is to love, to care and to show compassion even at the cost of sacrifice. Let us recall the two kinds of attitudes –the rich man lived a life time indifferent to the beggar on his doorstep. The Samaritan in a moment of opportunity chose to make himself a blessing. God’s call to us is to be like the good Samaritan. We need to be willing to share salvation and material aid with our fellowmen.
Christians have always been God’s special channel of mercy to the poor. We should not lose sight of the fact that God blesses us as we carry out this ministry
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