help

remembering the poor

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Feeding the poor, Rudolf Hirth du Frênes via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
​O God, when I have food,

   help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
   help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a home,
   help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
   help me to remember those who suffer,
And remembering,
   help me to destroy my complacency;
   bestir my compassion,
   and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,
   those who cry out for what we take for granted.
Amen.

Samuel F. Pugh, 1904 – 2007, Disciples of Christ minister, United States

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2 Corinthians 9:8

And God is able to make all grace abound to you,
   so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times,
   you may abound in every good work.

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Questions


What organization can you support that will allow you 
    to remember the needs of others in a tangible way?
How and when can you offer your support?
 

my neighbor has injured me

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Rana via Pexels
My Lord Jesus Christ, 
    my neighbor has injured me,
    hurt my honor by talking about me,
    and interfered with my rights.
O God, hear my complaint.
    I would gladly feel kindly toward my neighbor,
        but I cannot.
    How totally cold and insensible I am.
 
O Lord, 
    I am helpless and forsaken.
    If you change me, I will be sincere.
O dear God, 
    change me by your grace,
        or I must remain as I am.
Amen.
 
Martin Luther, 1483-1546, German Reformer
 
________________
 
 
Even my close friend,
    someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
    has turned against me.

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Son of God, deliver us

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Johannes Plenio via Pexels
 
You who guided Noah over the flood waves:
    Hear us.
You who with your word recalled Jonah from the deep:
    Deliver us.
You who stretched forth your hand to Peter as he sank:
    Help us, O Christ.
Son of God, who did marvelous things of old:
    Be favorable in our day also.
 
Scots Celtic Prayer
 
______________________
 
 
The Lord is king! He is robed in majesty.
    Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength.
The world stands firm
    and cannot be shaken.
Your throne, O Lord, has stood from time immemorial.
    You yourself are from the everlasting past.
The floods have risen up, O Lord.
    The floods have roared like thunder;
    the floods have lifted their pounding waves.
But mightier than the violent raging of the seas,
    mightier than the breakers on the shore—
    the Lord above is mightier than these!
Your royal laws cannot be changed.
    Your reign, O Lord, is holy forever and ever.
 

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deliver those who have fallen into sin

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Wil Stewart on Unsplash
 
Deliver, O most merciful God,
  those little ones of thy flock who have fallen into sin.
Remember not their offences,
  but set them free from the snare of the enemy.
Prosper with the help of the Holy Spirit
  the endeavors of all who are seeking to train them for good.
Grant that following after humility
  and being made partakers of thy heavenly wisdom,
  they may be strengthened to the performance of thy will
  and may be restored to the perfect fellowship of thy saints;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Robert Leighton, 1611-1684, Scottish minister and scholar
2000 Years of Prayer

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Hebrews 3:12-13

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart 
    that turns away from the living God.  
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” 
    so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
 

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