Lessons from Peter

In Isaiah 58, God describes the kind of fast that is truly pleasing to God to act compassionately toward your neighbor. This is the kind of fast that pleases God, to share your resources with those who are in need. This passage refers to the hungry and needy as kin, "your own flesh and blood.” In other words, the hungry and the needy are part of your family and when you ignore them, it is like you are ignoring your brother, or your sister. God is calling us to care for those in need. Isaiah 58.

The most famous Bible verse about poverty when taken in context has little to do with poverty. It is about devotion to Jesus. When Jesus was on earth it was right to show him devotion by anointing him with an expensive bottle of oil; now that Jesus is not physically here it is right to show him devotion by serving the poor- those Jesus loved.

In Ephesians 4 Paul begs his readers to lead a life worthy of the calling to which they have been called. The calling to grow up in Christ and become mature Christians. Then, he encourages them to learn to put up with one another in love when we fall short of maturity.

The theme of compassion and care for people in need, weaves its way through the Bible. In the Hebrew Bible, it can be seen vividly in the theologically rich Hebrew word hesed.It is often translated as “loving kindness” or “steadfast love,” “mercy.” Hesed is used over 200 times in the Old Testament. It is most often used in reference to God’s unwavering compassion for His people. Hesed describes God’s compassionate, forgiving, merciful character. The great challenge for us is that this loving-kindness, which is so central to the character of God is to be reflected in how we live out our lives.

In Ephesians chapter 1, Paul lets us in on how God works in the world and then, he uses seven verbs to tell us who we are in Christ.