Verses: Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Deuteronomy
Read Deuteronomy 15:7-11
Why do you think we should not harden our hearts or shut our hands to the poor? Our attitude toward the poor should be a reflection of our gratitude of God’s gifts to us.
What can we learn from verse 9? We should help the poor even if we might not get any compensation (example: no tax write-off, repayment, etc.)
How are we to give to the poor? Willingly with a happy heart
In what way may we receive something back? God will bless our giving.
What is the importance of verse 11? We need to always remember the poor because they will always be around.
According to Deuteronomy
Matthew 25:41-46 gives us even more reason to help the poor. Why? When we give to the poor, we are giving to Christ.
The following verses enlighten us to why God wants us to take care of the poor.
Daniel
Luke 14:13-14 be blessed
Proverbs
22:9 be blessed
28:3 even if you are poor yourself, give to the poor
29:7 the righteous are concerned for the poor
31:20 the “virtuous woman” (who we should strive to emulate) takes care of the needy
I want to share some statistics with you that I read in Beauty Secrets of the Bible by Ginger Garrett[1]. On page 40 she says (in reference to Deuteronomy
In a global world, everyone is “within our gates.” How are we doing at feeding them, in contrast to ourselves? Consider:
Combined, Americans are carrying a total of 7 billion excess pounds on our bodies.
Nearly twenty percent of American children go hungry.
Six million children die each year, mostly from hunger-related causes, in developing countries.
For what Europeans and Americans spend on pet food every year, we could eradicate hunger worldwide.
There is a definite correlation between our wallets and our waists. God has commanded that we care for the physical needs of the poor, making sure everyone has enough to eat. You simply cannot convincingly ask God to bless your weight loss efforts if you are not attending to those who have nothing to eat. Honor God’s heart in this matter and see what He is willing to do in yours.
Because we are talking about giving to the poor and feeding others, I wanted to make a meal that is easily doubled and frozen so we can easily provide a meal for someone else. Chicken ‘n Stuffing is easily made in larger quantities and frozen. Just follow the directions for freezing, thawing and serving at a later time.
Money-saving tip: When turkeys are cheap, purchase one and cook it up (even if you only have to feed yourself). Eat what you want for dinner. Shred remaining turkey and put in freezer quart bags for later meals. Put the carcass in water and cook some more to get all little bits of meat off the bones. Use that water/broth and turkey to make a soup. Eat some for your next meal and freeze leftovers. We just did this and it has/will create 10 meals and that is for a family of 9!
Health-tip: Incorporate flax into your diet. Flax is high in Omega-3s. It also helps regulate leptin, which helps you lose weight and burn fat more efficiently. It is also high in fiber. You can add whole flax to cereal, granola, yogurt, etc. You can also grind it in a coffee grinder and add to breads that you make.
Chicken 'n Stuffing
Ingredients:
6 cups cooked & diced chicken 3 cups homemade chicken gravy
2 cups sour cream 2 cups boiling water
8 oz of vegetable (mushrooms, peas, peas & carrots, green beans, onion, etc.)
10 cups stuffing mix (or bread) 1/2 cup butter
Assembly Directions: Mix together gravy, chicken, sour cream and vegetable. Place in a 9x13 pan. Mix stuffing with margarine and boiling water. Place stuffing over chicken, cover well.
Freezing Directions: Cover with foil or place dish in a freezer bag. Seal, label and freeze.
Serving Directions: Thaw and bake at 350 for 30 minutes until bubbly around edges.
serves 8
Can easily be made to serve 4 or more. Just decrease or increase ingredients and assemble in smaller and/or more containers.
Chocolate Chip Flaxseed Cookies
1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup flaxseeds
3/4 cup natural brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg 1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour 1 1/4 cups white flour
1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda
1-12 oz package dark chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. First, cream butter, flaxseeds, and sugars until well mixed. Add egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flours, salt and soda. Mix thoroughly and stir into wet ingredients. Add chocolate chips.
Drop onto cookie sheet using a medium-sized melon baller or large spoon. Bake for 10 minutes.
Makes 22 large cookies
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