Pleading the Cause of the Orphan

How many people know that November is Adoption Awareness Month?
How many people know that last Sunday was Orphan Sunday?
Last Saturday we did our Both Hands Project ~
One Hand for the Widow ~ One Hand for the Orphan

In Psalm 68:5-6 The Lord says he is the ... "Father to the fatherless,
a defender of widows ... God sets the lonely in families... "

We know that not everyone is called to adopt children into their home.
But we are all called to care for the orphan.

James 1:27 says, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble ..."

I once asked a pastor, what this really meant. He said basically if you are a Christian, this is what you are supposed to do.

For our family we feel it is a calling from God to open our hearts and our home to orphans. Is it easy? NO. Is it worth it? Absolutely...

Isaiah 1:17 says, "Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the Orphan, Plead for the widow."

So today I am defending the cause of the Orphan.

Let me tell you a little story:

Once there was an old man walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a young man.

As he got closer, he noticed that the young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He called out "May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man looked up, and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"Why are you doing this?" asked the old man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the old man commented, "But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "I made a difference to that one!"

When our son Gezaw first came home, he told us:
At night he would lie down on his face and pray for a family.
For many days he did this.

We believe there are many others out there that are praying.
Today I want to invite you to be the answer to a child’s prayer:
Whether it is through Adoption, Missions or Financially.

They estimate that there are 152 million orphans in the world.
So does it really matter when you rescue 2?
It does to those to those 2.