Our church building may be closed, but God’s eyes are open and his ears are attentive to our prayers (2 Chronicles 7.15).
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Opening
Speak these words out loud:
The Lord has established Zion,
and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.
from Isaiah 14.32
Today’s Proverb
Read the proverb through three or four times, slowly. Pause in-between, maybe write it out by hand – savour the words, let them speak deeply to you.
Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honours God. (NIV)
If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship. (GNB)
Proverbs 14.31
We haven’t had a proverb of this theme for a few days. Have any of these proverbs changed your attitude towards ‘the poor’ – or changed your behaviour / the way you think about and purchase items? Few of us are in a position where we might directly oppress someone (although if you work and have people working for you, do you treat them kindly?) but all of us indirectly oppress many, through our desire to spend less on food, clothes, electronic devices, etc. etc.
It’s amazing, if you actually read the Bible, how much of it is concerned with social justice, especially with the way ‘the poor’ are treated. That tells me it is something that God really cares about. This proverb makes it even more stark: oppressing the poor shows ‘contempt’ for God.
Ouch.
If you really knew how your clothes were made and saw the conditions in which the people worked, I wonder if you’d feel as comfortable about wearing them. If you knew how our desire for cheap vegetables all year round was destroying the ecosystems and livelihoods of people with less than nothing, I wonder if you’d find that tomato, that pepper, those beans, quite as tasty.
There are no easy answers – but that doesn’t mean there are no answers! It begins with a decision, a decision not to hold God in contempt but to care about the things – and the people – that he cares about.
Do you?
Prayers
Pray for Five – pray for your five friends / family from Thy Kingdom Come.
Our daily prayer sheet includes the names of everyone for whom we have a signed church family directory form – and local parishes and senior church leaders. Today we are praying for:
Rose Swaddle, Linda Dearne, Simon Dearne
Father, please bless them with your peace, and a deep awareness of your presence with them, every day and in every way.
We also pray for: Evangelism & Outreach
Please pray for our leaders and healthcare workers, and all those working to keep us safe, well, and fed. Please pray that people would unselfishly put others before themselves.
Church Family Prayer
Come Holy Spirit,
and make us one in heart and action,
so that we can serve God faithfully:
abounding in love,
maturing in holiness,
and seeking out the lost.
Help us grow as disciples of Jesus –
in commitment, in depth, and in number –
that we may be a blessing to Amington;
to the glory and praise of God the Father.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
Closing Prayer
Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labour in vain.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus
the only way to the Father.
Psalm 127.1, Hebrews 12.2 & John 14.6
May Christ our Saviour give us peace.
Amen.