Fields of the Fatherless that is.
I'm currently reading this book by Tom Davis.
In Chapter Two, Tom starts out talking about how some people tell him that Jesus said that we will always have the poor with us. (I believe He said that when He was anointed with oil, and the woman wiped it with her hair.) I love how he is just so frank in this book. (I've realized that if I'm gonna do much advocating for orphans, I'm gonna have to do some of that. Not so easy for a recovering people-pleaser, yes-man, ah woman.)
Tom's response, "Hmm...is that supposed to be some kind of acceptable excuse to go about our lives in comparative luxury while the rest of the world starves on less than a dollar a day?"
Wow, how many times have I used excuses to not do anything when faced with knowledge like that (people in need around the world).
They seem to just automatically pop into the brain, excuses that is.
"Once the words of Scripture are illuminated, the truth of what they say doesn't allow me to make excuses. This issue of how to treat the poor is something we have to pay attention to." Tom writes.
He goes on to quote Deuteronomy 15:7-11.
In that passage, God says, "If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother." v.7 The next verse he pulls out is
Matthew 10:8 Freely you have received, freely give.
Tom asks, "What do the fatherless look like today?"
He gives examples. Among them are these:
The grandma who lost her husband ten years ago and spends her days watching soap operas. The unruly little boy in your child's class who keeps getting moved from foster home to foster home. The little girl who in Africa who has to sell her body for a loaf of bread because she's starving to death. The prostitute in Russia who knows no other way to live because both of her parents died and nobody would take her in."
Do you have any to add. If you comment and leave some I'll share them in my next post.
Some of mine...
An eleven yr. old boy in prison for stealing because he was hungry and living on the street. His mom threw him out because all she cares about is her new boyfriend and alcohol.
A fourteen yr. old boy living in a sewer to stay warm, selling himself just so he can eat.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
God's Heart for the Orphan
Recently, I have been convinced of God's plan and decided in my heart to be faithful as He unfolds His plan to advocate for orphans. I am also discovering God's heart for the orphan.
My daily devotion led me to Jeremiah chapter 5. I was really hoping to be led to another passage to read, since Jeremiah is the weeping prophet. It is a book filled with warnings about unfaithfulness and turning from God.
Jeremiah 5:28
They are fat, they are sleek,
They also excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper,
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
Isaiah 1:23
They do not defend the orphan
Zechariah 7:10
and do not oppress the widow or the orphan
Jeremiah 22: 3b
And do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow
Proverbs 23: 10-11
Do not move the ancient boundary
or go into the fields of the fatherless
For their Redeemer is strong;
He will plead their case against you
God must be serious about giving aide to the orphan and not harming them.
I know that no matter what I can not give up on this endeavor to aide the orphan.
It is not such an easy journey. I have been easily discouraged. God's word is always there to confirm and comfort. For instance, right before this passage in Jeremiah, I read:
Isaiah 66: 7-9a
Before she travailed, she brought forth;
Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.
Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forthall at once?
... "Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?", says the Lord.
This is going to be difficult. This aspiration to advocate is going to be tough. It's gonna take courage. I thought of this post by Dr. David. I must be willing to press through the pain. Because their is no stopping, their is no turning back.
You parents who are adopting, you can't stop and you can't turn back. The ones you desire to give a home, love, yourself to, you know their pain. It has become your pain. Push through the pain, because at the end their is love and happiness, healing and strength, joy and hope.
Don't give up. The hurtles seem high, God is higher.
My daily devotion led me to Jeremiah chapter 5. I was really hoping to be led to another passage to read, since Jeremiah is the weeping prophet. It is a book filled with warnings about unfaithfulness and turning from God.
Jeremiah 5:28
They are fat, they are sleek,
They also excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper,
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
Isaiah 1:23
They do not defend the orphan
Zechariah 7:10
and do not oppress the widow or the orphan
Jeremiah 22: 3b
And do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow
Proverbs 23: 10-11
Do not move the ancient boundary
or go into the fields of the fatherless
For their Redeemer is strong;
He will plead their case against you
God must be serious about giving aide to the orphan and not harming them.
I know that no matter what I can not give up on this endeavor to aide the orphan.
It is not such an easy journey. I have been easily discouraged. God's word is always there to confirm and comfort. For instance, right before this passage in Jeremiah, I read:
Isaiah 66: 7-9a
Before she travailed, she brought forth;
Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.
Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forthall at once?
... "Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?", says the Lord.
This is going to be difficult. This aspiration to advocate is going to be tough. It's gonna take courage. I thought of this post by Dr. David. I must be willing to press through the pain. Because their is no stopping, their is no turning back.
You parents who are adopting, you can't stop and you can't turn back. The ones you desire to give a home, love, yourself to, you know their pain. It has become your pain. Push through the pain, because at the end their is love and happiness, healing and strength, joy and hope.
Don't give up. The hurtles seem high, God is higher.
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