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Orphan

Faith

Are You A True Follower of Jesus? Being A Blessing

by Henrietta Decruz June 8, 2020

written by Henrietta Decruz

Today if Jesus were to come to your doorstep asking for food, would you send Him away?

If Jesus was on the street with no clothes to cover Him, would you pretend you didn’t see Him?

Would you visit Him in prison?

Would you ignore Him if He was blind, deaf, or physically challenged?

If He was an orphan with no one to care for Him, what would you do?

If Jesus was suffering the plight of a destitute man, an aged person, a terminally ill person or stranger with no help, would you shrug your shoulders and go away?

Do You Care?

These questions are for every Christian individual, family, and church. How many believers can say that they know a deaf person or have befriended a blind or physically challenged person? How many believers visit the orphanage nearby and share the love of God with the children there?

Jesus cared for each of these people. He cared about the plight of the children and families of prisoners who have no help. Jesus cares about the children whose HIV-positive parents died, leaving them on the streets. Jesus never ignored such people. Yet we find that this is what some Christians and churches do with disadvantaged groups of people.

Jesus Cares For Disadvantaged Persons

In Matthew 25:42, 43 Jesus says, “I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me and entertain Me, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me with help and ministering care.”

Many people from disadvantaged sections of society have not yet witnessed any interaction from believers or churches. If we need the word of God every Sunday, don’t they need to know the Word through actions that express God’s love to them? Sending money to the missions once a year is nothing more than lip-service. Can you imagine the plight of people who suffer unbearable pain and have no one to comfort them? Could they believe that God loves them when not a single believer is showing His love to them?

A Just And Caring God

Psalm 146: 7-9 speaks of the Lord as One, “Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets free the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous [the upright in heart]. The Lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow.“

Isaiah 61:1 says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified Me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up and heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound.”

The Consequences Of Not Caring

Matthew 25:45, 46 tells us, “He will reply to them, Solemnly I declare to you, in so far as you failed to do it for the least [in the estimation of men] of these, you failed to do it for Me. Then they will go away into eternal punishment, but those who are just and upright and in right standing with God into eternal life.” Please note, believers who fail to do these things receive eternal punishment.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to give good tidings of the Gospel to disadvantaged people. These verses show us God’s heart towards them. We need to examine our role as followers and disciples of Christ. In times of recession and economic slowdown, have you wondered how missionaries and NGOs take care of disadvantaged people?

Called To Share Jesus’ Love

Imagine if believers showed love to the disabled. Imagine if they showed love to children whose parents died of HIV. They would grow into healthy members of society. Imagine if believers loved the children of prisoners, who struggle to make ends meet. This is not for those in ministry only. He has asked all of us to do this so we can fulfill the commission He gave us in Matthew 28:19, 20.

This is not a one-time activity. It is meant be a way of life for us Christians. The ‘least in society‘ are ‘the most important people for Jesus.’ Let us think of ways in which we can be a blessing to them so that when we stand before the Lord after our time on earth we can hear Him say,“Truly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least [in the estimation of men] of these My brethren, you did it for Me. Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God and appointed to eternal salvation], inherit [receive as your own] the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34, 40)

Intercepting The Orphan Spirit From Gaining Our Children’s Agreement

by Seth & Lauren Dahl May 16, 2020

written by Seth & Lauren Dahl

Have you ever prayed with someone else, and you realized their view of God was drastically different than yours? When we pay attention to how we pray, it can reveal what we truly believe about God and our relationship with Him. This was made so clear to me one day when my own daughter acted like an orphan; it made me realize asking God for things is vital to our relationship with Him as our Father.

We, as believers, often don’t realize how important asking is. It shows us whether we are thinking and praying as orphans or children of God. John 16:24 says, “Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” If we want to receive, we need to ask. As we receive, our joy is made full. If our joy is made full, we definitely aren’t worrying, which is a symptom of an orphan mindset. There is no stress in our countenance, only a happy heart.

Asking God for what we need and receiving with joy is a way we eliminate worry from our lives, because our focus is not on what could go wrong but instead on what good things are happening and how God is providing for us. I cover all of this more in my brand new book, Curing Worry God’s Way, but one thing I’ve noticed in my own life, as well as in many other people, is that we often don’t keep track of what we’ve asked for. Often, even after we’ve received it, we don’t even notice.

Back to the story of our daughter acting like an orphan. When our daughter was learning to ride a scooter, we lived in a house with a gravel driveway so the only smooth concrete we had was in our garage. For several months we would park our cars just outside the garage, that way she could ride her scooter around in circles. One day I was sitting on the steps watching her, when all of a sudden, as she was circling around by where I was, she fell down. I had seen her scoot around the garage many times without falling, and she’d been so proud of how she could do it all on her own, so this fall looked to me like she did it on purpose. She didn’t just do it the one time though; she kept doing it over and over. She then started saying it was too hard and she couldn’t do it anymore.

After a few times of attempting to explain to her that I’d seen her do it before, and I knew she could do it, I finally asked her, “When you fall, are you trying to trick me into running around with you as you ride the scooter?” She looked up sheepishly at me and admitted she was. I gave her a hug and told her she didn’t have to trick her daddy into helping her. All she needed to do was ask me. From that point on, when she wanted me to run around with her, she would simply ask, and I would.

No parent wants their children to trick them into helping them with things they know the children are capable of, especially when all they really want is for the parent to do those things with them. If my daughter wasn’t a young child, I would not have used the word “trick” in this scenario, because actually, this is manipulation.

Obviously, this translates over into our children’s relationships with God. The unfortunate thing in all this is that sons and daughters don’t use manipulation to get what they want, orphans do. It is absolutely possible to raise children in a home with parents who still live like spiritual orphans. By talking my daughter through what was happening, I didn’t just teach her to ask me when she wants me with her; I didn’t just teach her not to trick me when she wants something; I intercepted the orphan spirit from gaining her agreement.

All people are tempted to use manipulation with God at some point, which forces the question, why do they try it? In this particular instance with my daughter, she was worried that if she didn’t convince me that she couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t help her. She wasn’t certain I wanted to help her. Not only help her, since she really didn’t need help, what she really wanted was me to be with her. In other words, she was worried that I didn’t want to spend time with her. An agreement with worry is an agreement with the orphan spirit. An agreement with the orphan spirit is shattered by a revelation of the Father. It was worry about who I was as her dad that invited the orphan spirit to influence her. It was my demonstration as her dad that removed that worry.

This is obviously important for us as parents to watch for in our children, but this is also something to watch for in our own lives. What do we teach our children about God if they see us trying to manipulate Him into things instead of asking Him for them? How do we recognize if we have partnered with worry in our relationship with Him? How can we tell if we aren’t certain about who He is as our Father? It can be as easy as paying attention to the way we think and pray.

Here are some thoughts that will help us recognize if we are praying like sons and daughters or trying to “trick” like an orphan:

Maybe I need to make more declarations so God will do this for me. I must have not prayed right, that’s why the person didn’t get healed. God, it’s in your Word so you have to do this for me. I must have not spent enough time with God today, that’s why He hasn’t answered yet.

We have a good Father who wants to give us good things. He doesn’t need to be tricked to want to bless us. He doesn’t rely on formulas to be a good Father. He deeply desires our lives to be filled with joy, so much so that He tells us plainly how to get that level of joy. The more we realize this, the easier it is to trust, ask, and receive, removing all need to trick or manipulate for what we need.

Earlier I quoted John 16:24, but I only included the second half of the verse. Here’s the entire verse in context, “In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” Our joy being made full comes from asking and receiving from our Father as sons and daughters.

When you pray, do you ask God for what you need? Do you thank Him for all He has already done? Take some time to connect with God as your loving Father, who is eager to spend time with you and Whose good pleasure it is to give you the kingdom.

HOW TO TEACH THIS TO YOUR KIDS:

Watch for times when your children are trying to get you to help them with something without asking. It can be something as simple as saying “I can’t reach my toy!” In these moments, we want to redirect them toward asking for what they need instead of announcing what they can’t do. What do you need? This a great question to ask in these moments. When they know what they need, you can then ask them to form it into a question, so instead of saying “I can’t do this!” they may ask something like, “Mom, will you help me get my toy from the top of the closet?”

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE A LIFE WITH WORRY AND ANXIETY!

Living a life of worry has become so common now, many believers have even considered it to be a normal part of their lives. Worry is one of the main elements of many Christians’ relationship with God. The truth is, Jesus paid it all on the cross so you can live worry free with Him as sons and daughters.

Pre-order my latest book today, Curing Worry God’s Way, and get an exclusive bundle for FREE:

A Week Without Worry: 7 Day Devotional (PDF)
Video Teaching from Seth: Curing Worry with Humility
Living Worry Free: Sermon (MP3)
Introduction + Chapter 1 of the book (PDF)
Your book will be personally signed by me!
Live Q&A with me after you get your book

This exclusive bundle is only available with pre-orders! The devotional, teaching, sermon, and first chapter will be emailed to you right away so you can enjoy them now while you wait for your book.

Yes, I want this bundle.

May 16, 2020 0 comment

Video

WATCH: Ed Sheeran Meets an Orphaned Boy on the Street & it Changes Both Their Lives

by GOD TV November 19, 2018

written by GOD TV

In a visit to Liberia, British pop sensation Ed Sheeran agreed to film a Red Nose Day ad to raise awareness and money for impoverished African children. You’ve seen ads like these; they’re meant to tug on your heart strings by revealing the sad story of one child–a story that is repeated in the lives of many other children. But God had a different plan for this particular project.

Halfway through the film, there is a noticeable shift in Ed Sheeran. God begins to stir inside of him, blessing him with a fresh perspective. What if God is calling me to do something for these kids? Watch the video to witness Ed’s powerful transition from talking about what he wishes he could do to what he will do. It will leave you speechless.

Here’s what happened…

Sheeran gingerly walks across a Liberian tropical beach with the sound of waves crashing in the background. He steps over the pile of trash, moves past men smoking, and finds small, vulnerable children sleeping in crevasses.

One of these children is JD. Sheeran’s encounter with JD is almost too much to handle. He learns that JD’s mother died from the Ebola virus. As if that wasn’t enough, as he grappled with his mother’s death, his father abandoned him on the streets. He’s been living on the streets for six months, and already he is “quite shut off from the world.”

Imagine a young child going from a two-parent, middle-class household to living on the street as an orphan outcast–all in the matter of a few weeks. Now imagine that this all happens in the context of war-torn, disease-laden, crime-ridden Liberia. It is mind-boggling and tragic to even the most resilient and optimistic among us.

In the video, Ed Sheeran emphasizes that these impoverished children are no different than children in America, who run the streets kicking soccer balls and dancing to music during the day. But at night, instead of being tucked into a warm, cozy bed, these children sleep in a boat in the middle of Liberia’s slum beach.

Ed’s transformation…

But while Ed’s busy tugging on the audience’s heartstrings, God tugs on his. This amazing transformation is recorded live, as Sheeran laments, “Leaving JD and those kids is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do … My natural instinct is just to … put them in a hotel until we can get them sorted.” Wait for it, wait for it … “Can we do that? Can I pay for them to stay in a house until they can go to school?”

Go for it, Ed! With God on your side, anything is possible!

Now it’s your turn …

Ed’s donation took care of five boys, including JD. But as Ed points out, there are still millions of children across African in the same desperate situation. He encourages the audience to donate via www.rednoseday.com.

Jesus’s call on our lives

Although Sheeran doesn’t tend to discuss his faith publicly, some of his song lyrics have Christian undertones. No matter what he believes, in his latest act of kindness toward JD and his friends, it is clear that God gave Ed His eyes; he exhibited unshakeable compassion and love toward these children.

Proverbs 23:26 seems to be talking right to Ed (and maybe us!): “My son, give Me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways.”

But what exactly are these “ways?” In Mark 6:34, we see Jesus coming across a multitude of people (nothing new there!) and having “compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.”

Jesus didn’t just have compassion for Christians; He ministered to anyone and everyone, taking care of unique spiritual and material needs. That’s right–He didn’t just bless people spiritually and leave them in their misery; He understood that material poverty can lead to spiritual poverty.

As Christ-followers, we are called to do just what Ed Sheeran did and what Jesus does every day… to care for others–spiritually and materially.

November 19, 2018 0 comment

Articles

A Father to the Fatherless: “We Are Their Training Wheels”

by Ken Hammer October 14, 2018

written by Ken Hammer

We Are Their Training Wheels

Being a House Parent at a children’s home certainly has its challenges and rewards. One of our 14-year-old girls has never learned to ride a bike because she didn’t have a parent to teach her. It really is a right of passage to expand horizons to make their world a bigger place. This is one of a child’s first steps to overcoming fear.

It’s ironic, however, that some of our girls who have never learned to ride a bike, have had to overcome fears much darker and less innocent than other little girls who peddle their way into adolescence. Tragically it’s an accurate analogy for so many of our girls who have been left behind. All they want to do is catch up so they can ride with the pack.

As you can imagine, teaching a 16-year-old compared to a six-year-old is interesting as I go from one size to another trying to find the proper bicycle. The problem is, adult bicycles don’t have training wheels. Being personally childless, I guess that’s what I’m learning; we are their training wheels.

To provide the sturdiness, stability, and reassurance it’s going to be OK. If you waiver, kiddo, I’ll be there to hold you up. If you fall, I’ll be there to pick you up. And if you get discouraged, I’ll be there to cheer you up.

Hopefully with God’s help, somewhere between a parentless teenager learning to ride a bike 10 years later and me, as a late blooming childless parent; we can one day both graduate from our training wheels.

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families.” (Psalm 68: 5-6)

October 14, 2018 0 comment

Faith

An Open Letter to Myself in Middle School: Save Me a Seat at the Unpopular Table

by Jenny Kutz July 18, 2017

written by Jenny Kutz

Save Me a Seat at the Unpopular Table

Do you remember being a kid at lunchtime where you always wanted to be the kid at the cool table?

It was this striving to be surrounded by the coolest kids. I feel like there was no greater goal to me in 8th grade than to gain my own seat at that popular table. And I would do whatever it took, whether it meant throwing someone’s Furby down the toilet (sorry, Chelsey), putting a half-eaten box of chocolates in a boys locker at school as a cruel joke (sorry, Nathan), or just being a bad friend because I thought that was the key to sitting next to those everyone thought were important.

And the amount of value I placed on the people at the popular table, was the amount of disvalue I placed on whoever didn’t have a place there.

Why would I be seen in friendship with them?

That would mean a seat at the weird table and that would taint my coolness and identity a bit.

Thankfully I am out of those 8th-grade years and have greater goals in life than being cool. However, the sad thing is this mentality has somehow crept back into many Christian lives.

We’ve created our own striving to put together a popular table of our lives. We think we’ve made it once we have the right friends and the right connections at our reserved tables. As if who we know would add any weight to our lives and identity. And so it once again becomes our purpose and our utmost importance.

But friends, this is my prayer and I believe it’s yours:

I want what is important to God to be important to me and what has no value to Him to be of no value to me.

How important was it the truth is, Jesus took on Himself of no reputation.
Because He loved those lost hearts more than He loved His popular reputation.
Jesus wasn’t trying to get the cool kids at His table.
It was quite the opposite. It was the outcasts of society. It was the sick. The leper. The lame. The poor. The normal and unimpressive.

But I ask you to think a little differently.

I want to say this, most “Christian celebrities” actually are some of the most humble men and women on the planet.

Usually, others will put them on a pedestal.
Honor is one thing. Idolizing is another.

As the Church, let’s check our hearts.

If we treat someone well known with the greatest kindness and love, but then treat someone who could do nothing for us like they have no value, we have completely missed the heart of Jesus.
We have missed that which is important to Him.
This isn’t a post to bring condemnation, but to turn our eyes back on Jesus, back on what is weighty to Him.

What He considers beautiful life and ministry

Friend, at the end of the day I want my table to look messy. Where everyone is treated with love because they are important to God.

Does God put us in classes according to our social status like we do? Upper, middle, lower?

No. He’s looking with the greatest compassion at the heart.
At a true Kingdom table, there’s a seat for the needy; a seat for the hungry.
It’s the place where you’ll find the widow is sitting by the orphan.
The orphan is sitting by the king; the king is sitting by the beggar.
There’s even a seat for a Pharisee, but he misses his seat because he’s too busy still fighting for a place at the cool table.

Some may strive for flashy, to live a life and host a table impressive to man.
But what truly pleases the Father is pure and undefiled religion.
And you cannot have pure and undefiled religion without messy hands, in the dirt of relationship with people.
It’s a messy and risky business, this Kingdom life.

This is how Jesus loved, taking risks and putting His reputation aside because He loved the one more than His spot at the cool table.

But He’s the servant King and this is how He loves.

Can you pray this prayer together with me? I want to love people more like Jesus did.

Father,
Stir our hearts to love like you did and still do.
May our hearts be set on your kingdom. We want the fullness of your love. I ask that you show me what is important to you. I repent for making anything that has no value weighty in my life.
Bring people to my life that I can love well.
Because you first loved me.
Show me how to love like you do.
In the name of Jesus,
Amen

July 18, 2017 0 comment