The poor
Those who are kind to the poor honor God. ~ Proverbs 14:31 (CEB)
Imagine a brother or sister who is naked and never has enough food to eat. What if one of you said, “Go in peace! Stay warm! Have a nice meal!”? What good is it if you don’t actually give them what their body needs? In the same way, faith is dead when it doesn’t result in faithful activity. ~ James 4:15-17 (CEB)
Loving Heavenly Father, I'm grateful that you are passionate about the needs of the poor. We live in a world where people tend to be concerned mostly about themselves or their group. We are all looking for some benefit. But the poor will do nothing to help our bank accounts or advance our careers. Yet, they are important to you. Help me to care as much about the needy as I do about myself and my family. I repent of my indifference. And I need assistance in changing my outlook toward the guy standing on the street corner with a cardboard sign. Please grant me both passion and wisdom as I launch out to care for the poor today. I pray this in the name of Jesus, who became poor for our sake. Amen.
Challenging Word
- indifference -- lack of concern or sympathy -- not caring
*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS
The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2015 I started posting these Bible verses for my spiritual formation students at Pacific Islands University. In the process of responding to the verses, I found the rhythm of looking for a common thread and writing a prayer based on that key idea to be helpful for my own soul. The prayers are more or less modeled on the TRIP method, which is what I ask my students to do in their journaling. ~ Brad Boydston
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase -- a freestyle biblical adaptation -- somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
