Defend Their Cause

Some nights when I was a little girl, I would sneak in my parents' bed after they'd tucked me in for the night. There was something reassuring and safe about being in that king size brass bed that was so popular in the 80's. Many times, I would still be awake when my parents discovered me. Even at eight years old, I remember making myself go as limp as possible to feign deep sleep when my Dad carried me to my bed. I'm sure my Dad caught on as I was too young to fake my breathing pattern, but he indulged me anyway. I suspect he knew that the whole ritual - being snug in their bed and then being gently carried back - made me feel safe and cared for.

Fast forward 21 years. I am a Mom now and I had a very sick little boy. My son could get very little relief between bouts of vomiting. As we laid on the floor, me massaging his weak, fever -racked body and praying over him, I had a distinct feeling of deep sadness wash over me. There was a sudden realization that, though Noah was sicker than a dog, he at least had someone to watch over him. I thought of all the children around the world who have no one to rub their back, hold a cool wash towel to their forehead or whisper words of comfort and love over them.

November is Adoption Awareness Month. There are an estimated 143 million orphans around the planet. Some estimates go above 200 million. That's 140+ million children who may never know what it feels like to be carried by a loving Daddy. That's 140+ million kiddos who will catch a bug, some from lack of access to clean water, and they won't have a Mommy to rub their back and console them. There are that many children who will never know the taste of a Thanksgiving turkey or know what it's like to sit around a dinner table and give thanks with a family. Their family.

"Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God." I love that quote by Dr. Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision.

So, what stirs the heart of God? Isaiah said, "Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." No wonder God made him a prophet. He spoke some rich stuff.

For a God who spoke so much into the Scriptures about defending the cause of the fatherless, it seems we believers ought to open our hearts and pay attention. Lest we develop a religion that is holey, gaps conveniently left where it would be too inconvenient to act, instead of a faith that is holy.

We have so many options - supporting an orphan or child with one parent through World Vision or Compassion International. All for the cost of eating out once a month. One meal at a nice restaurant or providing food, safety and an education for a child.

Then there are children in need of a foster home. There are refugee children escaping volatile situations in their countries who arrive in the U.S. in need of a home and a family. You can pray about becoming involved with the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program either as a foster parent or a mentor. There are refugee children in the area in need of a mentor as I type this.

And, most obvious, is actually adopting. To bring home a child that needs a Daddy to carry her. One that will know the tenderness of a Mom's hands and care. To show a child what it feels like to laugh around a table and eat turkey with a family. Their family.

As our church often discusses core and non-core, it is evident that caring for orphans is one significant calling of and command to all believers. Am I saying you're a rotten Christian if you don't adopt? No. Am I saying all believers need to take up the cause of orphans and it comes in many forms?

Yes.

All believers.

So, I'm asking, what can and WILL you and your family do to show the love of Jesus to a fatherless and motherless child?

Disobedience vs. Obedience. Holey vs. Holy

Choose Obedience. Choose Holy.

"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."

James...God spoke good things through him, too!

God's Will

Phillipians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As I continue to ponder Balance, I keep coming back to peace. Last month, I ended my blog thoughts with Paul's exhortation to pray without ceasing. Phillipians adds that the God of peace will be with me to guard my heart and mind, when I pray and let His will be mine. How do I know if I am in God's will?

Take a look at these thoughts from Shelly Radic, Director of Ministry Life at MOPS International:

Years ago, tuning in to a television show meant walking up to the television and adjusting antennae until the picture and sound came into focus. Tuning in required a physical engagement unknown to current viewers. Today, we sit at a distance and with the click of the remote, control everything- volume, channel, brightness. Tuning in is easy.

We often expect to hear God in the same way. We sit at a distance, fire off a prayer and expect God to instantaneously fill our minds with a clear picture of his perspective on a situation. And when that doesn’t happen, we wonder why we aren’t hearing from God.

Hearing God’s perspective involves engagement with him. To know his perspective requires moving ourselves mentally into his presence, acknowledging that we are always physically in his presence, and adjusting our thoughts and daily activities until his voice is our primary focus. Tuning in to God often requires that we tune out all the other voices clamoring for our attention.

John 10:2-5 says The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

How do the sheep know where the shepherd is leading them?
Why don’t they follow a stranger?
What voices are most familiar to you?
How might these voices make it difficult for you to hear God?

Daniel was a busy leader, with many voices speaking to him every day.
Daniel 6:10-11, Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.

How will you organize your day to ensure God’s voice is increasingly familiar? The sheep in John 10 and Daniel, the busy leader, could each follow God because they were familiar with his voice.

In Psalm 48:14, God promises to be our guide forever! I think of how He sent the pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day to the Israelites to let them know when to move. I don't need to pray every day and ask God, "Am I still in your will? Am I still where you want me to be?" The Holy Spirit is even better than a cloud. It is God in us, His very presence. I have learned that when He wants me to move, God will move the "cloud" -- change the circumstances, present a different opportunity, allow a crisis to occur, inspire anger or passion about something, reveal or validate the same thing over and over again in different ways.

Romans 12:2 says Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. You might be surprised where God's will leads you, but it is the safest place to be.

As a postscript, I found this video by Martina McBride, that I had to share! It's called God's Will http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJnoBbueEc0. Be sure to get out the tissues before you listen.