Last week my wife cooked a oriental dish and a small pot of rice. I started to clean the rice pot after dinner and I noticed there was a small amount of rice stuck in the bottom of the pot. Looking at those few grains, a thought came to mind. I wonder how many places in the world would like to have those few grains of rice? Would it be a small starving child in Africa or a mother somewhere wishing she had a little more for her sick and undernourished children? Or could it be an elderly person with little or no income? Could it even be an abandoned mother with several children and very little or no support? Those few grains of rice reminded me of something in the Bible. How are we going to respond to the poor and needy? They have been here shortly after the beginning of mankind on the earth and there will always be poor and needy people, (Matthew 26:11). God does not like it when we oppress or ignore them, (Psalm 109:16) and He likes it when we help or give to them, (Proverbs 14:31, Acts 11:29&30, 2 Corinthians 8:1-4). It is the time of year we celebrate the great gift God gave to us, His only Son, Jesus Christ, (John 3:16) so let us not forget those in need and how we can help them. See you in Church next Sunday.