"Yet I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay."-Pslam 40:17
The Letter
"AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AT SERMONSPICE.COM (WORTH ALL SEVEN MINUTES!) - A powerful and moving, modern parable, based on the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25. Jesus taught much about giving to the poor, perhaps, none as pointed and plain as this parable. What we do, or DON'T DO, to the least, we've done or not done to Jesus. You will be moved by this story, and more importantly, moved to action"
" Poverty is a lack of money or material possessions. Poverty is usually accompanied by debt obligations to others. Debt, whether or not associated with poverty, is a form of slavery. Following God's principles will break the hold of both poverty and debt...
First of all, you must commit yourself, your finances, your family, and your life to Jesus Christ. Agree to live by God's principles and seek to know what He has to say to you in your situation. Be absolutely honest about the faults and mistakes in your life, past or present, that may have caused your problem of debt. To escape trouble, you must know what put you there.
Second, do everything you can to understand God's principles. The Bible says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). There are many Christians who have no concept whatsoever of the principles of God's kingdom. They understand neither God's laws dealing with material prosperity nor their own privileges as children of God. So, for lack of knowledge, they suffer.
People in debt or in poverty especially need to understand a rule of God's kingdom that I call the Law of Reciprocity. This is a law of cause and effect, of action and reaction. In the area of money, the law is simple: "Give, and it will be given to you: Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you" (Luke 6:38). When a person begins to give to God's work and to the poor and less fortunate, God begins to give back to him. Regardless of the debt burden, a person should give a very minimum of 10 percent of his income to the Lord. Even if you are at a poverty-level income, you have something you can give to God. Start where you are. Reach out in compassion to those less fortunate than yourself. As a first priority, get into a position to give love, time, energy, and money to other people even if it is only a little bit.
Next, set up a realistic budget. Most people do not have budgets, and their spending has neither plan nor control. Whatever your income level, you should set up a budget that includes one or more tithes (see Chapter Eight, Question Eighteen) plus offerings to the Lord, which may be in the form of aid to those who are less fortunate (see Malachi 3:10). After setting aside your tithe, establish a realistic plan to pay off your debts. Go to your creditors and obtain an agreement that they will accept your payment schedule. Make it understood that you cannot pay any more than a certain amount, and they will almost always accept your plan.
Once you have done that, you have to resolve in your mind that there will be no more accumulation of debt. You cannot go back to living beyond your means. Make a vow to God that you will not buy anything on credit, and that your lifestyle will be curtailed to fit your income. This takes a definite mental and spiritual commitment. It may take a year, or two years, or five years, but you are going to get out of debt.
It has been suggested by a very wise businessman that part of any budget should go for recreation. There should be some time each month when the family can get away from the pressures of life. Maybe it can be a picnic in the park, a fishing trip, or possibly a night away from home in a motel or resort. Recreation includes anything to get away from the constant pressure and to allow your mind to be recreated in God.
Along with recreation, I recommend a Sabbath rest. You cannot work seven days a week. There must be one day a week that is dedicated to God, to thinking about Him, praying to Him, studying the Bible, and resting. All of these things are necessary to prepare your mind and spirit to win the battle.
Then, with all of these things going for you, you need a renewed faith in God. He is the source. As you give to Him and trust Him, God will begin to take you from bondage to debt into His blessings. He will open doors for you and will give you concepts and ideas to help you overcome your situation. You must believe this and expectantly look for His answer rather than to some other person as your source. God is your source.
Every day, speak words of confidence. Say out loud that you are going to be free from debt and that God is going to put you in a different position. Memorize scripture verses where God says things such as, "He raises the poor from the dust/And lifts the beggar from the ash heap./To set them among princes" (I Samuel 2:8). Speak these words over and over again, confidently, knowing that God can do all things and do them well.
With that frame of mind, you should be on your way. It may take a year to pay off your debts. In the instances that I know of, the average was about eighteen months. But it may take three, four, or even five years. You will win the battle if you use the weapons that God has made available to you! You can be debt free!"
" Poverty is a condition in which a person or community is deprived of or lacks the essentials for a minimum standard of well being and life. An absolute poverty measure was developed in the mid 1960s as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on poverty. Based on this measure, the poverty line is set at approximately three times the annual cost of a nutritionally adequate diet. It varies by family size and is updated yearly to reflect changes in the consumer price index.[2][3]
Currently roughly 13% of the US population fall below the federal poverty threshold. There is however some controversy regarding the federal poverty line, arguing that it either understates or overstates the problem of poverty. The poverty rate in the United States is one of the highest among the post-industrialized developed world.[4] It should be noted that poverty rates only provide a snap-shot of the percentage of persons who are currently poor. Poverty in the U.S. is cyclical in nature, with individuals rising above and falling below the poverty threshold from time to time; as a result, far more than 13% of the population fall below the poverty line at some point over a given period of years."
Donnie McClurkin song with Will Smith clips
Reviews: IMDB "In 1981, Chris Gardner was a struggling salesman in little needed medical bone density scanners while his wife toiled in double shifts to support the family including their young son, Christopher. In the face of this difficult life, Chris has the desperate inspiration to try for a stockbroker internship where one in twenty has a chance of a lucrative full time career. Even when his wife leaves him because of this choice, Chris clings to this dream with his son even when the odds become more daunting by the day. Together, father and son struggle through homelessness, jail time, tax seizure and the overall punishing despair in a quest that would make Gardner a respected millionaire. "
"Poverty is the state for the majority of the world�s people and nations. Why is this? Is it enough to blame poor people for their own predicament? Have they been lazy, made poor decisions, and been solely responsible for their plight? What about their government? Have they pursued policies that actually harm successful development? Such causes of poverty and inequality are no doubt real. But often less discussed are deeper and more global causes of poverty.
Behind the increasing interconnectedness promised by globalization, are global decisions, policies, and practices. These are typically influenced, driven, or formulated by the rich and powerful. These can be leaders of rich countries or other global actors such as multinational corporations, institutions, and influential people."
*see Greedy
"Descriptions of material need, typically including the necessities of daily living (food, clothing, shelter, and health care). Poverty in this sense may be understood as a condition in which a person or community is deprived of, and or lacks the essentials for a minimum standard of well-being and life. These essentials may be material resources such as food, safe drinking water, and shelter, or they may be social resources such as access to information, education, health care, social status, political power,[2] or the opportunity to develop meaningful connections with other people in society.[3]
"Volunteers are the life-blood of many organizations and businesses. If you use volunteers, you depend upon their passion and commitment to get much of your work done. But utilizing volunteers is much more than making an appeal and then giving assignments to those who show up. They need to know they are a valued part of your business or organization. And they need to be appreciated and cared for, even as you appreciate and care for your staff.
This book offers you 101 ways to show appreciation to your volunteers - that's part of keeping them. We also offer tips on recruitment, placement, management, and retention of these very special people."
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