Let us do what we can to help the poor and the powerless improve their living situations out of love for the people of God - Daily Bible Readings October 26,2014

1ST READING   The Scriptures do not mince words for those who oppress the poor and the powerless. The term widow is synonymous with these two classes of people. Widows were usually both poor and powerless to improve their lot in life during Jesus’ time. There are plenty of poor and powerless people in the world today and we know some of them. Let us do what we can to help them improve their living situations out of love for the people of God.   Exodus 22:20-26 20 Thus says the Lord: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. 21 You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. 22 If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry. 23 My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans. 24 If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him by demanding interest from him. 25 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset; 26 for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body. What else has he to sleep in? If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.”   P S A L M   Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 R: I love you, Lord, my strength. 1 [2] I love you, O Lord, my strength, 2 [3] O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. (R) My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! 3 [4] Praised be the Lord, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies. (R) 46 [47] The Lord lives and blessed be my rock! Extolled be God my savior. 50 [51] You who gave great victories to your king and showed kindness to your anointed. (R)   2ND READING   We must remember that we are all models of Christian living for someone. If we have taken on the role of sponsor or godparent in baptism, then this is even more so the case. Let us strive to be the best example of Christian living so that others will see our lives and be inspired to do better themselves.   1 Thessalonians 1:5-10 5 Brothers and sisters: You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves openly declare about us what sort of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to await his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.   GOSPEL   Loving God and our neighbor is a good summary of the Law. However, it is not enough to know what the law is — we have to live it on a daily basis. Herein lies the challenge as we encounter indifference and even obstinacy in following God’s will both in ourselves and in the lives of those around us. Let us never give in to the pressures to give up and throw our life of faith away.   GOSPEL ACCLAMATION I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion that he may live.   Matthew 22:34-40 34 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them a scholar of the law, tested him by asking, 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” think:  Let us do what we can to help the poor and the powerless improve their living situations out of love for the people of God.   T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST Thank You Lord for: __________________   ____________________________________   God’s special verse/thought for me today_ _____________________________________   READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Isaiah 13-16                                                                                                   SABBATH PAUSE My weekly time with God THANK YOU LIST Things to be grateful for from the past week ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ SPECIAL NEEDS Things to ask God for in the coming week ________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ HIDDEN TREASURE Most important word God told me this week   ________________________________________________________________                                                       _________________________________________________________________