In the beginning, I was ready to sell everything and GO wherever He called us to go. I knew it had something to do with orphans, but I had no idea where, and I was ready to go where He led us.

But as I dug deeper into His Word, and spent more time with Him in prayer, He spoke very plainly to my heart:

You don’t have to GO anywhere, you have that right here where you live.

We do not have orphanages here in the United States like we think of orphanages in other countries. We have a foster care system and we have Children’s Homes. (Coincidentally, Mike and I were houseparents for the Children’s Home in Owasso in 2003.) However, sadly, our foster care system, and those that foster these children, have gotten a bad reputation…whether rightly earned or not.

I believe it’s time to change this.  God called Mike and I specifically to foster children.  We did not go into this to add children to our family, only to be obedient to Christ and care for the “fatherless”.  We also had no idea we would be getting a sibling group of 3 children, we only know that God sent them specifically to us.  So, we have gone from 3 children to 6.  What God holds in the future for our family, we have no idea.  We are only obedient now to the calling of raising Warriors for Him.

The Bible speaks very plainly on the heart of God towards the orphaned and fatherless:

Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Psalm 82:3

You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. Ps 10:17, 18

He defended the cause of the poor and needy,
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know me?”
declares the LORD. Jeremiah 22:16

Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this. Deuteronomy 24:17,18

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

When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. Deuteronomy 24:19

But the one that God put on my heart was 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. James 1:27

God’s heart is for the orphan. I believe that as a church, we need to take up this call and step forward in defense and love for these orphans through the foster care system (or in whatever capacity God has called you. I think of the Dreeson’s). I believe those that can, should foster.

Does this mean that everyone should foster? No. Most assuredly not. However, God gives us all several ideas or calls-to-action in His Word. Here are a few ideas for those that cannot foster themselves:

1. Support those that can. This is a hard job. We are dealing with broken children. We need the support of our church. Some days are difficult to parent, encourage them. We support our Missionaries in many different ways all over the world. Missionaries are here as well and need our love and support just as much. Fostering is also a Mission if you are doing it from a call from Christ.
2. Lend a hand: God gave us all individual talents:
3. a.) those that can babysit, offer a night out for the foster parents.b.) offer a meal occasionally to give the foster mom a little break from cooking and a little extra time to enjoy the family.c.) have a skill that can used to help out? Offer to help the foster family by using the skill you possess: ei: plumbing services, electrical services, building bunk beds, or better yet, adding additional room onto their house, photography services, financial advice, home repair, lawn mowing, cooking, etc.

   d.) Send clothes or shoes that your kids have outgrown

4. Adopt a child to pray for and support. Some foster families do not have close family for the foster children to learn how the family dynamic works. Their view of family is already skewed, be a “grandmother” or a “grandfather”, “aunt” or “uncle” to that particular child. Send birthday cards and Christmas cards to that child. Take them out for a day of fishing or a day of baking cookies. Encourage them in their school activities. Be a mentor to them.
5. Have your Sunday School class adopt the family for Christmas!
6. Help to fill a pantry with groceries. Someone having a sale on milk? Buy an extra gallon and offer it to the foster family. Someone having a big meat sale? Buy a little extra! Every little bit helps.
7. PRAY. Pray for these foster children. Pray for their emotional and spiritual needs. Pray for the foster parents. Pray for patience and provision, as well as their emotional and spiritual needs as well. And don’t forget the other children in the home. Lift them up in prayer as well. Pray WITH them. Above all else, PRAY. Pray with them, pray for them.

I believe that we, as a church, as Christians, can make a big difference to the foster care system, and to the lives of these foster children. No, not all of them are orphans, however, they still need that solid foundation that Christ can and will give them.

I don’t believe God only called the professional clergy to the Mission field. I believe He’s called ALL of us. Sometimes, God sends us on Mission trips to far away countries, and sometimes He calls us to Missions closer to home. Fostering can be that Mission for most of us, whether directly or indirectly. And, God’s already called us. All of us. Every one.

Please consider accepting that Call in whatever capacity God lays on your heart.

In 2011, the State of Oklahoma had 8,712 children in the foster care system. For information on how you can help directly through the State of Oklahoma, contact Department of Human Services at 1-866-612-2565.

For more information call (918) 272-4418 or 918-836-8686

John Eliot, an English Puritan clergyman and pastor in Roxbury, Massachusetts, translated the Bible into the Natick dialect of the region’s Algonquin tribes to aid in the propagation of the scriptures. One thousand copies were to be printed by Samuel Green and a young English press assistant, Marmaduke Johnson, an order so large that it required a special shipment of paper from England.

For more information check out: http://www.bibles-online.net/1569/

NEW: Beginning in January 2012, the Day of Prayer and Fasting for East Asian Peoples will be on the second Monday on each month rather than on the second Tuesday. Also, the prayer profile is now available in simplified Chinese characters, along with traditional Chinese characters, Korean and English.

Join us Monday, January 9th, for a day of prayer and fasting for the Nong Zhuang people of China.

Nong Zhuang people of China

The Nong Zhuang people, 601,000 strong, comprise an unengaged subgroup of the 17 million Zhuang people. Living on the border of two provinces, as well as on the borders of China and Vietnam, they are influenced by several languages and dialects. That makes the job of reaching them more complex.

Less than one-quarter of 1 percent of the Nong Zhuang people claim to be Christian. Most of them are animistic, worshipping their ancestors and offering incense to idols that represent different spirits and “gods” related to current needs or festivals. Fear is the greatest tool Satan uses to keep these people in bondage, yet they will never be free of fear without Christ, and few have ever heard His name.

If the Nong Zhuang people are to be reached, earnest prayer is needed for God to send workers who will plant and water until He brings the harvest. Long-term commitment by church planters who will plant Nong Zhuang churches utilizing the heart language of the people is greatly needed. With no written script for their language, and no audio Bible in their language, it will take a movement of God to reach these people.

Prayer starters

• Pray God will raise up workers who have hearts to boldly share the Gospel and, to do so, are willing to learn the Nong Zhuang language.

• Pray that vibrant, healthy, Christ-honoring churches will form among the Nong Zhuang.

• Pray that a movement of Nong Zhuang believers will bring them into fellowship with their loving Creator and Savior.

Bible reading leads to spiritual growth

Ed Stetzer, vice president of research and ministry development for LifeWay Christian Resources

I am a student and teacher of God’s Word. I went to school — a lot of school — committed to studying things rooted in the Scriptures. I write books and articles; I lecture, preach and speak at conferences all around the world on the centrality of God’s mission expressed in Bible.

For me, reading the Bible is essential to my spiritual growth. I make a habit of consistent and regular study in the Word of God — not just for messages I preach on Sunday but to be changed by the Word of God. Every time I open the Word of God and teach at church I ask the Lord to speak through it. As believers, it is essential that we read, memorize, study and meditate on the Word of God.

There is much research that shows the correlation between spiritual maturity and reading the Bible. In Brad Waggoner’s book The Shape of Faith to Come, which is based on a LifeWay Research study, and in George Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life material, we see that reading the Bible is the best predictor of spiritual maturity. In other words, if you are in the Bible, you are growing spiritually.

Many people are realizing that we aren’t making as many disciples as we would like. Studies done by LifeWay Research show a lack of discipleship among many evangelical Christians. So we need to ask what’s the answer to that? Issues such as preaching, missional living and “doing life” in a covenant community are all part of the solution. But I think there’s no question that an essential element is leading God’s people to consistently engage God’s Word through reading, studying and memorization. Biblical illiteracy is prevalent and personal commitment to God’s Word is the only real answer.

It is critical for church leadership to challenge believers to be in the Word of God, consistently growing in their knowledge of the Scriptures. One way to do that is to teach and encourage study of the Scriptures in the context of the grand narrative of redemption. I try to read the Bible in the way it unfolds. The Bible is not a series of isolated morality tales. Instead, by looking at it as a whole through a Christ-centered lens, I read the Scriptures with the whole story of redemption in mind.

I regularly hear of people who would rather read devotional books than read the Bible. Certainly, when wading through Leviticus, the chapter on identifying and treating skin diseases doesn’t exactly bring great joy and warmth to the heart. But we need to remember that even that passage plays a part in the unfolding plan of redemption.

All parts of the Bible are equally inspired, but not all are “equally applied to my life in this very moment.” I recognize my view can be easily misunderstood, but I think that I probably need to spend more time praying on and thinking through Philippians chapter 2 than I do Leviticus chapter 13, the skin disease chapter. So, I think what we have to do is remember why they’re both there.

With that being said, one of the things I do is make it a habit to read through the Bible once a year. If I simply read the parts I think I need the most, I will miss a big part of God’s design for my growth. Even though my tendency, like a lot of Christians, is to only read the New Testament, I need to spend time in the Old Testament as well. It is essential for all believers to get the full picture of God’s revelation.

Churches today face some big challenges. One of the greatest is the evangelical angst occurring in North America. Evangelicals in our country are just not sure of who they are or where they’re going.

Perhaps what evangelicals need most right now is a strategy for biblical literacy. We need to reengage the biblical narrative and immerse ourselves in consistent (or daily, if that’s your thing) study. It will help us be more gracious and winsome in the way we communicate. It will help us have a clearer view on controversial issues. It will help us to understand and communicate a clear gospel as laid out in the Scriptures — a gospel of the cross and of the Kingdom. The Word of God is essential to where we are right now.

Then [Jesus] said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

A Disciple is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and making disciples like Jesus!

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.NKJV

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ESV

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. NASB

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. NIV

So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” NLT

Así que, somos embajadores en nombre de Cristo, como si Dios rogase por medio de nosotros; os rogamos en nombre de Cristo: Reconciliaos con Dios. RV1960

所 以 ， 我 们 作 基 督 的 使 者 ， 就 好 像 神 藉 我 们 劝 你 们 一 般 。 我 们 替 基 督 求 你 们 与 神 和 好 。Simplified Chinese

اذا نسعى كسفراء عن المسيح كأن الله يعظ بنا. نطلب عن المسيح تصالحوا مع الله.  Arabic

]]> http://eastwoodtulsa.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/scripture-memory-verse-for-january-2012/feed/ 0 eastwoodtulsa http://eastwoodtulsa.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/great-thoughts-about-christmas-by-ravi-zacharias/ http://eastwoodtulsa.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/great-thoughts-about-christmas-by-ravi-zacharias/#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:17:03 +0000 eastwoodtulsa http://eastwoodtulsa.wordpress.com/?p=1041 ]]> To repress worship is to repress the irrepressible.

Everyone is a worshipper. Every person has his or her God: The only difference is that some can defend what they believe with sound reasons while others do so in a vacuum. Not only individuals but nations have their gods.

I am an Indian, born and raised in India. Before I moved to the West I readily accepted the fact that during Hindu festivals the nation would be celebrating the occasion. This was understood, even though technically India is a secular democracy. But there is an underlying worldview behind the culture. Whether it was Ganesh puja or Diwali, India celebrates its festivals based in a Hindu worldview.

I am not a Hindu but I respect the Hindu’s right to express the foundational ideas of the nation. The same applies to a Buddhist nation or to an Islamic nation. I am neither a Buddhist nor a Muslim. But I respect the right of those in these countries to express their faith during their festivals and am not offended by them.

I am a Christian. When I came to America decades ago, I was thrilled to see Christmas celebrated and the reason for the season so obvious: the birth of Jesus Christ. Did I assume that every American was thus a Christian? Certainly not. But I expected the charitable heart of even the dissenter to allow that which has been practiced in this country historically and traditionally to continue. But alas, it is not so. In Thailand and Indonesia Christmas carols are sung in shopping centers and Christmas trees adorn airports. But in America the anti-Christian bias of silly advertisements like Bloomingdales’ “Merry, Happy, Love, Peace” reflect ideas firmly planted in midair and proclaim no reason for the season.

Who is offended by a public celebration of Christmas? The anti-Christian secularist who lives under the illusion that values are cradled in a vacuum. Peace and love for what? What do these terms really mean? Are they self-evident? Not by any means.

America may not be a Christian nation per se, but only the Judeo-Christian worldview could have framed such a nation’s ideas and values: “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” No other religion or secular assumption can affirm such a statement except the Judeo-Christian worldview. But today that very worldview on which our systems of government and law are based is expelled from the marketplace.

Democracies that are unhinged from all sacred moorings ultimately sink under the brute weight of conflicting egos. Freedom is destroyed not just by its retraction, but more often by its abuse.

Is it not odd that whenever it has power, liberalism is anything but liberal, both in the area of religion and politics? We now have something called “spirituality” because people don’t like the word “religion.” What does spirituality mean? It means you may believe anything you wish to believe but regarding ultimate things, “No absolutes, please.” The relativism and spirituality with which our society lives have one thing in common: they are both sophisticated ways of self-worship.

It is not accidental that even as Christian values have been jettisoned, the world is economically and morally on the verge of bankruptcy. Oh, but Jesus’ name still surfaces in the West. Maybe more often than any other name. Why? Because profanity still reigns. Oh yes, and God still figures in our philosophy: even when “Mother Earth” quakes and thousands die, we still blame “Father God.” The banishment of Christmas may be the anti-theists’ great longing. But they still want the gifts of Christmas—love, joy, peace and reason. Malcolm Muggeridge once opined that we have educated ourselves into imbecility.

What are we celebrating at Christmas? What is the message of Christmas? It is the birth of the One who promised peace, joy and love. Try as we will, we cannot realize such values without acknowledging the point of reference for these absolutes: the very person of God and his gift to us of a changed heart and will. That message needs to be heard around our world that is reeling with problems and rife with hate. For we have proven we are not fit to be God.

G.K. Chesterton was right: “The problem with Christianity is not that it has been tried and found wanting, but that it has been found difficult and left untried.”

Some years ago, I walked into the Forbidden City in Beijing. It was a cold and grey January. I paused as I saw deep inside its walls a shop with the banner still fluttering, “Merry Christmas.” That which was happily displayed in the Forbidden City is now all but forbidden in our cities. A Chinese professor once remarked to me, “You Christians need to thank God for Communism, because we left the souls of our people empty, making room for the gospel.”

Maybe someday we will thank the rabid secularists as well, when Merry Christmas will no longer be forbidden in our cities. Exhausted and disappointed in self-worship, we may turn to God again and hear his story afresh.

Ravi explores these issues in greater depth in his forthcoming book, Why Jesus? available January 25, 2012.

God bless you dear friends.

The Bible says that ” the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy” Psalm 33:18.