Sodom and the Poor, part 2

Obedience means help the poor


Isaiah, a prophet to the nation of Judah, rebuked them for desiring the nearness of God even to the point of fasting, but sadly neglected God's standard of righteousness. Isaiah in chapter fifty eight begins with, theLORDs call, "Cry loudly, do not hold back, raise your voice like a trumpet
and declare to my people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins" (Isaiah 58:1, NASB).

The Jewish people were very close to God's cascading judgments rolling over their heads because oftheir sins against the poor. Part of Isaiah's message includes, "Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into thehouse; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh" (Isaiah 58:6)? We should not deceive ourselves thinking that America has no real poor in it. The church of Jesus Christ should not only help the poor in the United States but believer's in other countries. (Please read 2 Corinthians 8).

Sodom not like Israel but still judged for not helping the poor.

Sodom did not have a covenantal relationship with God like Israel. However, both were judged because of their failing to help the poor and the needy. The more light that Israel, in the north and Judah in the south, were given the more severely were they judged in regards the poor. Our Lord Jesus teaches us in the New Testament about sinning against God's special revelation.
In Matthew 10, Christ is ordering the disciples to preach the gospel to Israel.He then tells them, if they are rejected; truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that city.

Pride flowing from fullness of bread

Sodom was an organizd society. It was financially well off. One of the reasons for this was it was located in the valley of Jordan and was rich in well irrigated land which would make for a booming economy. This prosperity created arrogance and a hardening of the heart toward the poor and needy. According to John Calvin, "Sodom’s sin was not merely her notorious lusts but the secret spring of them, pride flowing from fullness of bread,caused by fertile soil producing idleness" (Calvin's commentary, Volume 12, The Book of Ezekiel).

The Economy, the Economy, and don't forget, the Economy

At this time in the United States and many times before, the issue that concerns Americans the most is whether or not we have a good economy. I am thankful I am an American and I am aware that I have benefited financially morethan many my brothers and sisters in other nations. However, there are many inthis country and others who think that they are self made men or women andshould be congratulated for their God given intelligence and health. "Give the glory to God' for whatever you have achieved. In the part 1 of the Ezekiel text, the word arrogance in the Hebrew has its origins ina word that denotes, "excellency, majesty, pride and swelling." Sodomand her sister city-states felt that they should be congratulated for all theprosperity that had come to them.

One step from homelessness

The fact is that any of us are a mere paycheck away from poverty and homelessness. At age 29, when hit by a severe clinical depression, I could notsleep, I could not eat and I could not work. I was a college graduate but I had to go to a government agency to get food stamps and Medicaid. All of oursavings were spent on medical expenses and daily living. My wife, Robyn, and our three children (at the time) had to live in a basement of a relative’s house. (Please see our book, Broken Minds Hope for Healing When You Feel Like You're Losing It. Please see our donation now page if you desire to give a gift to the poor. When you give let us know that it is for the"poverty fund" and it will only be spent on the poor and none to salary or printing costs, etc.

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Sodom and the poor, part 1

Sexual sin was not the only sin of Sodom. When most Evangelicals think of Sodom and her sin, they think of sexual immorality. The Scriptures make it clear that the sexual sin of the city and its neighboring Gomorrah was very great (see Genesis 19). But according to God's prophet, Ezekiel, there was more that displeased a holy God than that particular sin. Ezekiel 16:49, 50 tells us, Behold this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it (NASB).

You could become homeless faster than you think

One heart attack, one accident, one brain chemical gone awry, one stroke could reduce us to ignominy and dependency on others. Remember that born again believers are meant to exist in community with a responsibility to help other needy believers including the poor and homeless of our society. In many ways, this stewardship of help has been relegated to the American government and perhaps the government of the country where you live.

Reach out the poor

The New Testament Church spoke often of helping the poor (Galatians 2:9-19; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15) . The Hebrew word for careless, shaquat means to "be at quiet, tranquil, to be at peace." The Theological Word Book of the Old Testament states, “The word careless in the Ezekiel text overlaps with the word 'security' (betah) which is a feeling of confidence." Sodom had its good times, the best of times. Again like many today, they had the attitude of "Come on; let's party!" There was plenty of apathy toward the poor and needy in the city of Sodom and her daughter cities(Please see Ezekiel 16:48 and Genesis 10:190).

Pleasure and the absence of pain were the ultimate objective of life for these cities. The outcome was ethical and psychological hedonism at its worst. Those who were not in the mainstream were taken advantage of or ignored.

Willful ignorance of the poor and needy

People in Sodom simply walked by the poor. The word Ezekiel uses in Ezekiel 16:49 for help, means literally, "to seize by the hand and set up again." In their insatiable lust and greed they did not reach out and lift up the sick, the afflicted and the poor. The word for poor means to find oneself oppressed, afflicted and wretched. The word "needy" connotes having no clothes, no land and no food.

A friend of mine who was from a nation which had no Christian roots said, "You Americans have to learn how to walk over those who sleep on the sidewalk." Sodom was like that.

Please bear with me. Which would interest you more, five ways to have a better sex life or five ways to help the mentally ill poor? If you are a pastor what is your budget for the poor, especially those who have mental illness? Do you support missionaries to the poor and mentally ill? Do you pray for them?

We are a small non-profit. I hear at the end of the year, non profit organizations asking for anywhere from five hundred thousand dollars to two million dollars to help them exist. We brought in twenty thousand dollars in donations. Why is this? True religion is helping others who cannot give you anything back. Heartfelt Ministries ministers to anyone who is need. We never turned anyone away.

I don't consider myself much of a fund raiser. So please pray for our non-profit ministry and enlist others to pray and give. Robyn and I will continue to help the afflicted, poor and sick.

Rev. Steve Bloem

P.S. We will speak more of this in Sodom and the Poor, Part 2.

Sodom and the Poor, Part 2

Isaiah, a prophet to the nation of Judah, rebuked them for desiring the nearness of God even to the point of fasting, but sadly neglected God's standard of righteousness. Isaiah in chapter fifty eight begins with, the LORDs call, "Cry loudly, do not hold back, raise your voice like a trumpet and declare to my people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins" (Isaiah 58:1, NASB).

The Jewish people were very close to God's cascading judgments rolling over their heads because of their sins against the poor. Part of Isaiah's message includes, "Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh" (Isaiah 58:6) ? We should not deceive ourselves thinking that America has no real poor in it. The church of Jesus Christ should not only help the poor in the United States but believer's in other countries. (Please read 2 Corinthians 8).

Sodom did not have a covenantal relationship with God like Israel.

However, both were judged because of their failing to help the poor and the needy. The more light that Israel, in the north and Judah in the south, were given the more severely were they judged in regards the poor. Our Lord Jesus teaches us in the New Testament about sinning against God's special revelation. In Matthew 10, Christ is ordering the disciples to preach the gospel to Israel. He then tells them, if they are rejected, Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city .

Sodom was a well organized society. It was financially well off.

One of the reasons for this was it was located in the valley of Jordan and was rich in well irrigated land which would make for a booming economy. This prosperity created arrogance and a hardening of the heart toward the poor and needy. According to John Calvin, "Sodom’s sin was not merely her notorious lusts but the secret spring of them, pride flowing from fullness of bread, caused by fertile soil producing idleness" (Calvin's commentary, Volume 12, The Book of Ezekiel).

The Economy, the Economy and don't forget, the Economy

At this time in the United States and many times before, the issue that concerns Americans the most is whether or not we have a good economy. I am thankful I am an American and I am aware that I have benefited financially more than many my brothers and sisters in other nations. However, there are many in this country and others who think that they are self made men or women and should be congratulated for their God given intelligence and health. "Give the glory to God' for whatever you have achieved.
In the part 1 Ezekiel text, the word arrogance in the Hebrew has its origins in a word that denotes, "excellency, majesty, pride and swelling." Sodom and her sister city-states felt that they should be congratulated for all the prosperity that had come to them.

The fact is that any of us are a mere paycheck away from poverty and homelessness. At age 29, when hit by a severe clinical depression, I could not sleep, I could not eat and I could not work. I was a college graduate but I had to go to a government agency to get food stamps and Medicaid. All of our savings were spent on medical expenses and daily living. My wife, Robyn, and our three children (at the time) had to live in a basement of a relative’s house. (Please see our book Broken Minds Hope for Healing When You Feel Like You're Losing It.

Please see our donation now page if you desire to give a gift to the poor. When you give let us know that it is for the "poverty fund" and it will only be spent on the poor and none to salary or printing costs, etc.

A letter from a pastor in Myanmar (formerly Burma)

I would like to share with you a recent email that I received from a pastor who has an orphanage in the country of Myanmar. I had emailed him about the news report of Christian orphans being killed by evil men in his country. His email below helps show how God has used Heartfelt Ministries in his life and ministry.

He has asked that we come and minister to his church and orphanage. We also have had pastors from Pakistan and Australia ask us to come and share our ministry. Our problem is we don't have the funding. I will publish his email as sent.
If you would like to support our non profit ministry please go to our donate now link at the bottom of the page. If you get the check in the mail before January 1 2011 you would be able to get a IRS tax reduction (America Only). You can also donate be credit card on our website.


The letter

Dear Steve,
Thank you for your continually praying and sharing for my orphans. Yes, this bombing in our country is very tragic. They slay the widow and the stranger, And murder the orphans.(Psalm.94:6).I ask question myself that Why God allow the wicked people to kill theorphans, I thought, my tears felt down, I pray for them, I could notstop crying for them,as we the Christians excite to use thisChristmas, how the orphans would have hoping to use the birth day ofour Lord Jesus Christ.I, my orphans and Bible students have two daysfasting prayer for them,and we keep them in the hand of the Lord.I pray that, Remember this, O Lord, that the enemy has reviled, And afoolish people has spurned Your name, Do not forget the life of Yourafflicted forever. Consider the covenant, for the dark places of theland are full of the habitations of violence. Let not the oppressedreturn dishonored; let the afflicted and needy Praise Your name. Thank you for your great love and consider for my orphans.We pray that the Lord may fulfill your desire and visions what youwant to serve for His glory.may God richly bless you.
In His great Commission,
Name witheld