Leviticus chapter 19.
God gave Moses approximately 25 laws to share with his people. I'd like to focus on just one of them which jumped out to me. It said when you harvest your crops, leave some for the poor to eat. God cares about the poor person. I don't have crops, but how can I help the poor? I have money. I have possessions. I can give to an organization that helps the poor. I can be involved in a ministry that helps the poor. I can look for people in my workplace, or school, or in my neighborhood, or even in the church who have needs and then let God use me to help them. When I went to college, a woman named Gay Sparrer, saw that I wore torn sneakers and had no socks on. She didn't know me but she prayed to God for money so she could buy me a new pair of sneakers. What's interesting about this is she was a single mom, raising three kids, trying to get a degree in college, had no money, no car and struggled herself. But she was so concerned for what appeared to be a person in need that she wanted to be used by God to meet the need. Little did she know, I was just an immature College freshman who loved my sneakers and wore them with no socks. I had a new pair in my dorm that my parents bought me but I was not ready to part with my old torn up ones. The point is this: her attitude was selfless. She was willing to help a person in need despite the fact she had needs of her own. I want to be that selfless. I want to look pass my interest and on to the needs of others and then do something. Maybe I can't afford to buy someone something but perhaps I have in my possession exactly what is needed to meet their need. Am I willing to give it up?
Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves!”
Lord, how can I meet the need of a person today? Show me someone I can reach out to today!
Sarah, I understand your frustration with the issue of homosexuality. I have homosexual friends who are wonderful people and even profess a faith in Jesus. Something I have concluded in my heart is that Satan’s deception is more powerful then we can imagine. He often uses feelings to help dictate truth. For example, I know really good people who don’t believe in God and the question comes up how could God allow such good people to go to hell. My feelings have a rough time with it. Same with a wonderful homosexual couple. My feelings don’t understand it so it interferes with how I accept Gods ultimate Truth. I’m learning more and more to leave out my feelings when it comes to understanding God’s truth. And praying God would help me know how to articulate the truth in love so as to help those who are living in deception see truth and help change the course of their lives. Just thought I would share those few thoughts.
I was challenged this morning with the same thought. In what ways can I leave the “corners of my field” for those in need.
We read in chapter 19 about many more rules ranging from how long to wait to eat fruit from a tree that we plant to not doing things like seeking mediums or getting a tattoo. What stood out to me the most was Leviticus 19:18 where we are told to love our neighbor as ourselves. This message is repeated again in the New Testament in several places such as Galatians 5:14. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Lots of rules to follow,
18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
I love my neighbors, but if I’m going to be honest I still struggle with not seeking revenge against a couple people. Prayer helps