Ain'ta That Good News?!: FATHER OF ORPHANS

SCRIPTURE

Psalm 68:1-10, 19-20 (NRSV)

God protects the widows

Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee before him.
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
let the wicked perish before God.
But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.

Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds--
his name is the Lord--
be exultant before him.
Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.

O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,
Selah
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;
your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. ...

Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Selah
Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

DEVOTION

Today's scripture calls to mind a cause that is dear to my heart--ADOPTION.

The Psalm says that God is the father of orphans and protector of widows and that God gives the desolate a home to live in.

It is my strong opinion that all Christians ought to have a heart for orphans and widows and that if we have room in our homes and hearts, we ought to at least prayerfully consider adopting a child in need.

There are currently more than 120,000 orphans in the UNITED STATES and countless more around the world. Christianity teaches us to love God and neighbor and to care for the least of these.

I cannot imagine anyone more "least than these" than a child who has experienced neglect and abuse and who does not have a mommy or daddy to call her own.

Today, I want to challenge you to consider adoption. For the last six generations my family has been impacted by adoption and it has enhanced our family richly!

At this very moment my nuclear family is waiting to be matched with a child in need of our love and care. We solicit your prayer for patience, wisdom, and guidance as we wait.

I can't wait for the wonderful day that we are matched and our new daughter comes home! I know that I will see Jesus in her face as I love and care for her day by day.

Let us pray:

God, please give me a heart for widows and orphans. And please help me to put my heartfelt feeling into action. Please grant me wisdom to know whether adoption is a good choice for my family and please help me to find ways, big and small, to support the work of orphan care. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta