The last time I "blogged" it was on the subject of God's heart for orphans. I spoke of how much He cares for them and how He expects them to be taken care of. Recently I have been touched by reading the accounts of Jesus' interaction with children in the gospel of Mark. Jesus makes no specific reference to orphans but He does speak clearly about children in general. Mark 9:36-37 says, "Then He (Jesus) took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 'Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me, receives not me but Him who sent me'." Wow! This is saying that welcoming a child on Jesus' behalf is the same as welcoming God Himself! This idea had never really hit me before. Children are VERY IMPORTANT to Jesus! Then Mark 10:13-14+16 states, "Then they brought the little children to Him (Jesus) that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased(indignant)and said to them, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God'. And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them and blessed them." Jesus was "hands on" with children and He blessed each one that came to Him! I get so excited when I read passages like this and I see God's love for children in action!
25 years ago Every Child Ministries came into existance for the purpose of receiving children in Jesus name. ECM started by opening Sunday Schools for children. The people in Africa used to hold church services but not allow the children to attend. Children would be "shewed" away due to lack of space, in order to make room for all of the adults. The people didn't understand the importance of children in God's kindgom. Jesus would not have allowed them to be left out! Since that time, ECM has been educating adults about the importance of teaching children and doing teacher training with them. Over 2,000 Sunday Schools have been started out of this effort reaching an estimated 200,000 children! Of course the whole purpose of ECM is to reach out to every child in need. They do this in many different ways using various avenues, from Sunday Schools to orphanages to rescuing child slaves and prostitutes to helping child soldiers to reaching out to street children and beggars, plus many others! I am thrilled to be a part of this ministry which places great value on children, just as Jesus does!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
God and Orphans
First - NEWSFLASH!!! Target departure date for Uganda, Africa set for June 5th, 2011! Necessary Start-up expenses are covered! Monthly support and prayer commitmens are coming in! I praise God for all of this and so much more.
How does God think/feel about fatherless and orphan children? During the Christmas season I was at home with my famiy. It was a great but busy time of preparing for our annual Christmas Eve celebration. I did a lot of cleaning, decorating, buying, wrapping, cooking, and baking. Needless to say, there wasn't a much time left over to focus on my ministry preparation. However, I did decide to take some time each day to do some studying of my own on what God's heart is for the orphan and fatherless child, since these are the children I plan to be ministering to the most while I'm in Africa. I searched the Strong's Concordance for every reference to fatherless and orphan in the Bible and then looked the verses up. It was awesome to see the passion God has for these children. His love and care for them is made perfectly clear as is His anger toward any who would oppress or take advantage of them. Here is a small portion of what I found: Psalm 10:14 says that God is "the helper of the fatherless." In Psalm 68:5 God declares that He is "a father of the fatherless" and Psalm 146:9 states that the Lord Himself relieves the fatherless and the widow while Hosea 14:3 tells us that "in God, the fatherless find mercy". Also, Isaiah 1:17 says, "Learn to do well, seek justice, relieve the oppressed, vindicate the fatherless, and plead for the widow." And many of you are familiar with James 1:27 (which is the verse I use most often in my support-raising) "Religion (worship) that God our Father accepts are pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
For as long as I can remember I have had a desire to minister to orphans. Even as a child, I can remember watching them on t.v. and my heart yearning to help them and to show them love. It is clear to me that this desire did not come from within myself alone, but it originated with my God. It is His heart at work in me and leading me to follow Him into this ministry of His. The children whom I will be ministering to in Northern Uganda have suffered greatly due to the 2 decade long war and the AIDS epidemic which left many fatherless or orphaned. They live in immense poverty and disease having little or no education! However, thanks be to God for using Every Child Ministries to bring hope and help to the children. Through sharing the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and providing child sponsorships that offer food, clothing, schooling, and medical care ECM has done much for the children in the village where they are serving. I am ready and excited to join them there and do my part to "look after the orphans in their distress." and therein begin to fulfill my calling and life-long dream!
How does God think/feel about fatherless and orphan children? During the Christmas season I was at home with my famiy. It was a great but busy time of preparing for our annual Christmas Eve celebration. I did a lot of cleaning, decorating, buying, wrapping, cooking, and baking. Needless to say, there wasn't a much time left over to focus on my ministry preparation. However, I did decide to take some time each day to do some studying of my own on what God's heart is for the orphan and fatherless child, since these are the children I plan to be ministering to the most while I'm in Africa. I searched the Strong's Concordance for every reference to fatherless and orphan in the Bible and then looked the verses up. It was awesome to see the passion God has for these children. His love and care for them is made perfectly clear as is His anger toward any who would oppress or take advantage of them. Here is a small portion of what I found: Psalm 10:14 says that God is "the helper of the fatherless." In Psalm 68:5 God declares that He is "a father of the fatherless" and Psalm 146:9 states that the Lord Himself relieves the fatherless and the widow while Hosea 14:3 tells us that "in God, the fatherless find mercy". Also, Isaiah 1:17 says, "Learn to do well, seek justice, relieve the oppressed, vindicate the fatherless, and plead for the widow." And many of you are familiar with James 1:27 (which is the verse I use most often in my support-raising) "Religion (worship) that God our Father accepts are pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
For as long as I can remember I have had a desire to minister to orphans. Even as a child, I can remember watching them on t.v. and my heart yearning to help them and to show them love. It is clear to me that this desire did not come from within myself alone, but it originated with my God. It is His heart at work in me and leading me to follow Him into this ministry of His. The children whom I will be ministering to in Northern Uganda have suffered greatly due to the 2 decade long war and the AIDS epidemic which left many fatherless or orphaned. They live in immense poverty and disease having little or no education! However, thanks be to God for using Every Child Ministries to bring hope and help to the children. Through sharing the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and providing child sponsorships that offer food, clothing, schooling, and medical care ECM has done much for the children in the village where they are serving. I am ready and excited to join them there and do my part to "look after the orphans in their distress." and therein begin to fulfill my calling and life-long dream!
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