January 17, Remember the Poor

Today’s Reading: Psalms 81-85

“Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” - Psalm 82:3-4.

God requires that His people remember the poor through practical acts of kindness, which includes giving alms and special benevolent offerings. Remembering the poor may also involve protecting them from those who would infringe on their rights and take advantage of them. This may require speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves. When Paul was explaining his call to the Jerusalem elders, he wrote this concerning their response to his explanation: “They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along” (Galatians 2:9b-10). Are you remembering the poor? Are you eager to do something on their behalf? What more can you do? Lord, I thank You for the blessings I have, and I want to be a good steward of the opportunities You give me to share what I have with others. Forgive me when I have been insensitive to the needs of others, and give me a heart for the poor and seal my resolve to do more to help them according to Your will. I want to do this, Lord, for those in my own country as well as those in other countries. Allow my gifts to make a difference in the lives of others so they know that You love them. Amen.