It's Orphan Sunday...

It's Orphan Sunday...

...and I cannot stay silent.

There are a thousand ways to honor the fatherless in the world...but I'm going to suggest just 

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One way to make the biggest difference in the most places around the planet...and specifically in your own heart.

One thing to do that will move heaven.

One thing that you can do while you wash the Sunday dishes.

One thing that you can do to bring hope and healing to the hearts of the millions of orphans around the world today.

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Pray.

That's right, prayer unleashes the power of God. We are commanded to pray about all things...and I suggest that today as a way of honoring the dear children who have no voice and no ability to speak up for themselves.

Using a suggested prayer guide from Katie Davis who works in Uganda with some of the neediest orphans and children in the world, I urge you to not just read this but to PRAY.


-Pray for the children in our world with no parent at all, with one parent, or with absent parents – that they will be comforted by our mighty God and will feel hope today.

-Pray for an 

increased awareness for the needs of vulnerable children in your own community, and for God to reveal to you how you might help.

-Pray that God would inspire His people – both your church and the Church worldwide - to speak up for the fatherless and become active in foster care, adoption, and global orphan care.

-Pray for Amazima’s outreach in Uganda to the vulnerable children we encounter. Pray that we serve well, love generously, and always direct them to Jesus Christ. Pray also for other parachurch ministries that are responding to Christ’s call to serve the widow and the fatherless around the world.

-Seek the Lord and ask whether He might want you to be the family for a child who does not have one.

You never know how your simple obedience in prayer will impact the world! Well, I take that back, you WILL know...but not till the other side of heaven! 

Get your kids involved in praying for orphans! Some of the biggest mountains I've seen moved have been as a result of the powerful, faith-filled prayers of a CHILD! One precious mommy I know prays with her children each morning, "Lord, how can we love on orphans today?" I can tell you that they have seen God move in BIG WAYS.

My prayer is that many who would not have normally prayed for the fatherless of this country and all over the world will be moved to do MORE than they have in the past.

I love when the people of God pray to Him about things on His heart! The results are amazing! (I look at our own Zeb and see how true this is!) 

I have Doubters.

Yes. It's true. I have people in my life who doubt. They doubt me. They doubt God. They wonder if they should say something. "What if..." they formulate their questions that stem from their doubt. "...you don't have enough money," "...the judges rule against you," "...you break that little boy's heart because you can't get him home?"


On the spot, I'm not very good. Answers rarely pop into my head, but their questions mull. 


They roll around. And around.


My God is MIGHTY. My God loves. His very definition is LOVE. His heart breaks for the fatherless. The orphan makes Him cry. Wouldn't these children remain homeless and family-less if we followed the fears of the doubters? (I really should pose that question to them!)


Let's take a quick look at what God's Word says about these beloved children who are left fatherless in this world: 

Deuteronomy 10:18
 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien giving him food and clothing.

Deuteronomy 14:29

The fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

Deuteronomy 24:17
Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice...

Deuteronomy 27:19 
“Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

Psalm 10:14

You [God] are the helper of the fatherless.


Psalm 10:17-18
 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed

Psalm 68:5-6
 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. He places the lonely in families.

Psalm 82:3 
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Psalm 146:9
 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless...

Isaiah 1:17
 Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

James 1:27
 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Micah 6:8

He has showed you, O man, what is good. 
And what does the LORD require of you? 
To act justly and to love mercy  and to walk humbly with your God.

WOW.


That little tour of Scripture was pretty impacting. God's Word is true. It reflects His heart. And it's abundantly clear that He loves the fatherless and He wants us to too.


So...perhaps it comes down to a question of FAITH.


Do we (you fill in your name here!) have the FAITH to believe that God will accomplish His passions, purpose and will in OUR lives? I think we quickly want to answer yes. But slow down a bit, do you R-E-A-L-L-Y mean YES?????


Faith says, "I'll adopt even though I don't have the money upfront." And right now it's saying, "We'll fly to Uganda using up our adoption money and trust Him to provide the rest when we need it."


Faith says, "Yes," when asked to adopt a child with a special need.


Faith says, "I may not have what it takes right now, but I believe He'll supply all my needs just as He promises."


Faith says,  "I'll do whatever it takes," knowing full well that the path may be full of great obstacles and  be asked to go through extreme difficulties. But one also knows the strength does not lie in oneself, but in the God they trust.


What IS the cost of obedience anyway? Let's go back to the book and just see:

Luke 9:23
 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

John 12:24
 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Hmmmm.


 So, just because this is HARD it doesn't mean I'm supposed to stop? 


NO!!!


And as Brian so often reminds me, "Everyone wants to have miracles in their lives. But not many people are willing to be in the place to NEED a miracle." He's so right. Who wants to seek out being desperate???? 


No one wants to be desperate. No one wants to be uncomfortable. Yet it is in that very state that we experience God as our Rescuer, our Healer, our Provider. So...is that worth it to you? Is obedience to God--a very act that will put you in a DESPERATE state--worth knowing your God as MIGHTY? Are you willing to exchange some comfort for knowing God better? 


So, dear doubters, I say to you: I have no idea what we'll do in these "if" situations you create for me. But I know that MY GOD DOES, and that's good enough. Yep. It is. And I guess for you, well, you'll just have to watch and see.

A Day of Love!...but why love on ORPHANS?

This clip says it better than I ever could.

Why do you want to adopt?!?!

It's worth it all...

At the end of it all: the endless essays, the fingerprinting, the paper chase and all the fundraising...this is what it is all for. It is such a great reminder to me that the children are God's children and they wait to have their Momma and Daddy come and hold them for the first time and take them home. It's worth it all....it's worth it all.