Consider First.....
(I found this at Zach Nielson's Blog...)
What Would It Take For Every Child In the US To Be Adopted?
Turns out, not as much as you might think.
Jason Kovacs, The Abba Fund:
Did you know that there are roughly 130,000 children that are waiting for adoption in the United States today? These children have had their parental rights terminated and living in temporary situation (either a temporary foster family or group home). Legally they are wards of the State with no parents but the government. You can adopt these children at no cost! In fact, in most States, you will receive a monthly stipend.
Every child in America (in the world) should have a permanent family. There is no excuse for this! So, what would it take to find each of these kids a family? To start off, I broke down the numbers by Southern Baptist Churches (they were the easiest to find figures for – as I have time I will add up all the other evangelical denominations – my initial count is roughly 170,213).
But, just counting Southern Baptist churches the results and ratios are very powerful. There are roughly 40,000 Southern Baptist Churches in the US. If every church committed to 3 children, every child would be cared for. In 11 States all it would take is 1 church committing to 1 child. Again, that is just counting the SBC!
Will you please 1) Look at the numbers below, and 2) pray with me that God would move in an unprecendented way among His church to see that every one of these children (every number is a child!) have a permanent home. And in the case of the children represented below who are 16-17 years old and about to age out of the system, pray that they would have a family who would commit to care for them when they are left on their own in a couple months or a year.
For the full chart with all 50 States click here to download in pdf.
To go directly to this link where it was found click here.
Now Consider These...
Be sure to read the descriptions why and what motivated those behind these projects...
http://ascendio.com/fbd/ - $130 million campaign
http://www.letsbuildabridge.com/ - $5 million campaign
God help us.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Consider and Compare These Two 'Needs'
Orphan Sunday THIS Sunday, November 8th, 2009
Nine Ways to Know the Gospel is True by John Piper
Great Meditation. I got it here.
1. Jesus Christ, as he is presented to us in the New Testament, and as he stands forth from all its writings, is too single and too great to have been invented so uniformly by all these writers.
The force of Jesus Christ unleashed these writings; the writings did not create the force. Jesus is far bigger and more compelling than any of his witnesses. His reality stands behind these writings as a great, global event stands behind a thousand newscasters. Something stupendous unleashed these diverse witnesses to tell these stunning and varied, yet unified, stories of Jesus Christ.
2. Nobody has ever explained the empty tomb of Jesus in the hostile environment of Jerusalem where the enemies of Jesus would have given anything to produce the corpse, but could not.
The earliest attempts to cover the scandal of resurrection were manifestly contradictory to all human experience—disciples do not steal a body (Matthew 28:13) and then sacrifice their lives to preach a glorious gospel of grace on the basis of the deception. Modern theories that Jesus didn't die but swooned, and then awoke in the tomb and moved the stone and tricked his skeptical disciples into believing he was risen as the Lord of the universe don't persuade.
3. Cynical opponents of Christianity abounded where claims were made that many eyewitnesses were available to consult concerning the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
"After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:6). Such claims would be exposed as immediate falsehood if they could. But we know of no exposure. Eyewitnesses of the risen Lord abounded when the crucial claims were being made.
4. The early church was an indomitable force of faith and love and sacrifice on the basis of the reality of Jesus Christ.
The character of this church, and the nature of the gospel of grace and forgiveness, and the undaunted courage of men and women—even unto death—do not fit the hypothesis of mass hysteria. They simply were not like that. Something utterly real and magnificent had happened in the world and they were close enough to know it, and be assured of it, and be gripped by its power. That something was Jesus Christ, as all of them testified, even as they died singing.
5. The prophesies of the Old Testament find stunning fulfillment in the history of Jesus Christ.
The witness to these fulfillments are too many, too diverse, too subtle and too interwoven into the history of the New Testament church and its many writings to be fabricated by some great conspiracy. Down to the details, Jesus Christ fulfilled dozens of Old Testament prophecies that vindicate his truth.
6. The witnesses to Jesus Christ who wrote the New Testament gospels and letters are not gullible or deceitful or demented.
This is manifest from the writings themselves. The books bear the marks of intelligence and clear-headedness and maturity and a moral vision that is compelling. They win our trust as witnesses, especially when all taken together with one great unifying, but distinctively told, message about Jesus Christ.
7. The worldview that emerges from the writings of the New Testament makes more sense out of more reality than any other worldview.
It not only fits the human heart, but also the cosmos and history and God as he reveals himself in nature and conscience. Some may come to this conclusion after much reflection, others may arrive at this conviction by a pre-reflective, intuitive sense of the deep suitability of Christ and his message to the world that they know.
8. When one sees Christ as he is portrayed truly in the gospel, there shines forth a spiritual light that is a self-authenticating.
This is "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 4:6), and it is as immediately perceived by the Spirit-awakened heart as light is perceived by the open eye. The eye does not argue that there is light. It sees light.
9. When we see and believe the glory of God in the gospel, the Holy Spirit is given to us so that the love of God might be "poured out in our hearts" (Romans 5:5).
This experience of the love of God known in the heart through the gospel of Him who died for us while we were yet ungodly assures us that the hope awakened by all the evidences we have seen will not disappoint us.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Was Jesus Adopted?
"How to Adopt" Guide
Free Books About Adoption
Desiring God For Free!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Should We Save or Give? By Randy Alcorn
I am not sure about you, but I have often wondered (when considering the radical call of Jesus regarding money and possessions) where the line is between saving for the future and giving for kingdom causes. It is something that I really wrestle with. On the one hand, I long to be wise for the present and the future; and on the other hand, I don't want to stand before Jesus with piles of money in the bank unaccounted for except my greedy and untrusting heart. So, where is the line? Randy Alcorn has written much about money and possessions from a biblical perspective. His web-site/blog is here. I encourage you to utilize the vast resources he has there. Below I copied an article he wrote about this very issue. I found it extremely helpful and I hope you do as well. I would love to know your thoughts on this as I prepare to preach on the wisdom of money from the book of Proverbs next Sunday (November 8th, 2009).
To whet your appetite and encourage you to read the article, I thought this quote was incredibly insightful: "The distinction between financial responsibility and financial foolishness is this: Saving becomes hoarding when it is exercising our own sovereignty and financial independence so that God doesn't have to come through for us."
How do we balance financial responsibility with the scriptural imperative to give sacrificially?
Q. For several years my husband and I have enjoyed giving most of our discretionary income to our church and various missionaries. But lately we have been counseled that we need to be more "responsible" about preparing for our future, especially since retirement is only a few years away. How do we deal with the guilt we would feel about decreasing our giving, since we still desire to meet the needs we see all around us?
A. There are two sides to the issue of savings. Scripture tells us that the wise man anticipates future needs, while the foolish man spends and consumes all his resources with no thought for the future. "In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has" (Prov. 21:20). Even ants store up provisions for the coming winter (Prov. 6:6-8).
It's a shortsighted person who fails to store up provisions (money, food, or materials) for upcoming times of predictable need. If you are planning to retire and have no other means of income, then it would be wise to make some plans for how and where you will live after retirement.
On the other hand, Jesus commended the poor widow of Mk. 12:41-44 because she did something most of us would consider foolish. She gave her last two pennies to God, having no idea where tomorrow's provision would come from, except that it would come from her Lord. In 2 Cor. 8:3-15, the Macedonian Christians gave "beyond their means" to the point of leaving themselves impoverished. Paul commends them for it.
So, when it comes to the "retirement dream," we must ask ourselves, Whose dream is it? Is it God's dream or the American dream? Consider one man's plans for retirement: "I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink and be merry'" (Lk. 12:18-19).
We aren't told that this man was dishonest or irreligious. His plans make sense by our standards. But in the verses that follow God calls this man a fool. He tells him his life is over and asks, "Who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" Jesus promises, "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God" (Lk. 12:21) .
The distinction between financial responsibility and financial foolishness is this: Saving becomes hoarding when it is exercising our own sovereignty and financial independence so that God doesn't have to come through for us.
James condemned the spirit of selfish stockpiling and indifference to a suffering world that had spread into the early church (Jas. 5:1-5). And in Exodus 16 there is a graphic lesson against hoarding. We must beware of any savings or retirement or insurance plan that becomes a God-substitute.
You mention that you have "enjoyed giving" to the Lord. The joy of giving is at the heart of a walk with God, so don't stop giving sacrificially. Saving can be wise, but it is never a substitute for giving. If ever we don't feel we can save and give, by all means we should give. Some people in Scripture are rebuked for saving too much, but no one is ever rebuked for giving too much.
You have been counseled to be more responsible. In the truest sense, generous giving is not just compassionate, it is also responsible. By giving we prepare for our eternal future, because we lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven (Mt. 6:19-24). Laying up treasures on earth is ultimately irresponsible. Why? Because it's investing in something worthless, that will be annihilated in the coming holocaust of things (2 Pet. 3:10-11).
Now, if you have been counseled to be more thrifty, to reduce your lifestyle expenses in order to provide savings for retirement, this is probably wise. I believe that having less because you give is different than having less because you spend.
We know a missionary family who took their retirement savings and poured everything back into the mission. I suggest that God looks very differently at these people than at the Christian who spends his money on short-term indulgences with no thought of saving for upcoming needs or providing for his family's future. To those who seek first His kingdom, and to those who sacrificially give of their assets to His kingdom, His promise is one of material provision (Mt. 6:32-33; Phil. 4:19).
I suggest that you look for ways to save without reducing your giving. To that end, there are some practical questions to ask yourselves: Can we presently reduce some expenses that would allow us to continue to give generously and save money? Are there other means to supplement our income during retirement? Can we liquidate certain assets? Can we sell our home and buy or rent a smaller one? Or buy a comparable home in another area where it is cheaper to live? Is it necessary for us to maintain our present standard of living, or can we cut costs in our retirement?
The old saying goes, "You can't take it with you." But when Jesus spoke of laying up treasures in heaven he added a corollary. "You can't take it with you, but you can send it on ahead."
Instead of spending our lives backing into eternity and clinging to our earthly treasures, we can turn around, walk forward and lay up our treasures in our eternal home. Then, instead of moving away from our treasures we'll spend our lives moving toward them.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Benny Hinn on Nightline
Friday, October 23, 2009
Al Mohler and the Story of Lottie Moon
Russell Moore on Why Orphan Sunday Should Be Recognized at Our Church
Dr. Russell Moore blogs here.
Several weeks ago he posted the article provided below on his blog. I thought he provided some helpful thoughts on ideas and results for recognizing Orphan Sunday on November 8th.
Why Your Church Should Recognize Orphan Sunday
— Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 —
Orphan Sunday is November 8th. Your church should recognize it, and I hate to say that.
I hate to say it not because I don’t believe in the mission of Orphan Sunday, churches from every denomination and tradition calling us to orphan care and adoption. I do, enthusiastically. I hate to say it because I know the probable reaction of many of my fellow preachers and church leaders when they see another special emphasis Sunday, especially one that’s part of parachurch ministry: slack jaws and glazed eyes.
After all, our church calendars are marked up enough as it is with everything from, it seems, “Clown Ministry Awareness Sunday” to “Week of Prayer for the Wives of Retired Interim Pastors.” Our “special emphasis” days are so usual that they’re neither special nor particularly emphatic.
But this one’s different.
Orphan Sunday isn’t an emphasis on a program or a “cause” or a special interest group. It’s not an offering or a volunteer recruitment tool. Orphan Sunday could be the Pearl Harbor for spiritual warfare in your church.
Orphan Sunday reminds us all that orphan care isn’t a special emphasis at all. Every Christian is called to care for the fatherless (James 1:27), in different ways to be sure. No one is exempt from this mark of the Christ’s followers. Orphan Sunday carves out a space for us all to encourage one another, together, toward that end.
You don’t have to have a huge program in place for Orphan Sunday, now just a little while away. Go to the website, www.orphansunday.org, and pray through some of the ideas there, to see which, if any, would work in your context.
For some of you pastors, Orphan Sunday might be the first time you preach about our adoption in Christ (Rom 8; Gal 4), and our task to rescue orphans and widows. It might be an opportunity for you to ask some families in your congregation to pray about whether God is calling them to foster or adopt a child or children. Or to ask others in the church if God is calling them to financially empower an adoption or to take a mission trip to an overseas orphanage or to a local group home.
For some of your worship leaders, it might be a time to build up the body in song with some of the recent hymnody about orphan care and our adopted identity in Jesus.
For some of you Sunday school teachers or deacons or women’s ministry leaders or “regular” members, Orphan Sunday might be a time to encourage your fellow members of the Body to pray for God’s heart for orphans to pierce through your church, to just start asking the question of where you fit in orphan care ministry.
For some of you, Orphan Sunday might just be a time to confess you don’t know how to care for orphans. It might just be a time to pray, perhaps with groanings too deep for words, for fatherless children in North America and around the world and for Christians missing the joy of obedience in finding Jesus in his little brothers and sisters.
Whatever it is your church can do, however broad or limited, don’t miss the chance to join with the household of God everywhere in highlighting orphan ministry, foster care, and adoption.
God honors his Word, you know. He loves to hear prayers, and to answer them. Take the time to recognize orphans on November 8th. You might find next year some extra children in the pew next to you, or maybe on your own pew. And you might find that the next great preacher or missionary or evangelist comes to faith in Christ through a ministry started in some little way on November 8th.
Whatever Orphan Sunday looks like in your church, I pray it will spark something for you. And I pray it will start something that makes the emphasis on orphan care less and less “special” and more and more “normal” in your congregation, and in mine.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Orphan Statistics
I found the information below at Zach Nielson's blog. He found them from Jason Kovacs.
Breathtaking....
New Orphan Statistics
Jason Kovacs:
These are the most recent and reliable statistics on the global orphan situation.
The most recent estimate is that there are approximately 145 million orphans in the world (UNICEF 2008). For this number, an orphan is defined as a child who has lost one or both parents.
More than 15 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS, over 11.6 million of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2007 67.5 million Children in South Asia and East Asia had lost one or both parents due to all causes.
Included in the 2008 estimate of 145 million orphans are more than 92 million that have a surviving mother—-with whom they most likely live.
Another 38 million have a surviving father.
Approximately 15 million children are “double” orphans—growing up without either mother or father. That’s about ten percent of the whole 145 million.
The UNICEF orphan numbers (145 million) are only for deceased parents. If you were to factor in single parents in general, we’d be talking a number many times higher.
The UNICEF orphan numbers DON’T include abandonment (millions of children) as well as sold and/or trafficked children. Are the millions of kids abandoned in China not orphans?
The UNICEF orphan numbers DON’T include many non-reporting nations (namely, Middle Eastern Islamic nations) where shame and divorce abandonment are rampant. 200,000 + orphans in Iraq, for instance, are not part of the count.
I think we’re looking at a number quite higher than 15 million “double orphans.” We often communicate that the real number of kids that fall into our care categories is somewhere around 40 or 50 million.
According to data released in 2003 as many as eight million boys and girls around the world live in institutional care. Some studies have found that violence in residential institutions is six times higher than violence in foster care, and that children in group care are almost four times more likely to experience sexual abuse than children in family based care.
As of 2002 in Europe and Central Asia, over one million children lived in residential institutions.
Worldwide an estimated 300 million children are subjected to violence, exploitation and abuse, including the worst forms of child labour in communities, schools and institutions, during armed conflict, and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage.
In the US there are approximately 500,000 children in foster care (Based on data submitted by states as of January 16, 2008)
130,000 of those children in foster care are waiting and available for adoption. Children waiting to be adopted include children with a goal of adoption and/or whose parental rights have been terminated. Children whose parental rights have been terminated, who are 16 years old and older, and who have a goal of emancipation are excluded from the “waiting” population. An individual child is included in the count for each year that he or she has these characteristics on the last day of the year.
Approximately 51,000 children are adopted from the foster system each year.
That leaves 79,000 children annually in the US needing an adoptive family.
Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people “age out” of the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services. Several foster care alumni studies show that without a lifelong connection to a caring adult, these older youth are often left vulnerable to a host of adverse situations:
Outcomes:
Earned a high school diploma 54%
Obtained a Bachelor’s degree or higher 2%
Became a parent 84%
Were unemployed 51%
Had no health insurance 30%
Had been homeless 25%
Were receiving public assistance 30%
Sources: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/trends.htm, http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/GlobalReport/2008/2008_Global_report.asp, http://www.unicef.org/sowc09/docs/SOWC09-FullReport-EN.pdf, Young adults ages 18-24 years old 2.5 to 4 years after leaving foster care: Cook, R. (1992). Are we helping foster care youth prepare for the future? Children and Youth Services Review. 16(3/4), 213-229. Cook, R.; Fleishman, E., & Grimes, V. (1989). A National Evaluation of Title IV-E Foster Care Independent Living Programs for Youth (Phase 2 Final Report, Volume 1). Rockville: Westat, Inc., http://chrisitianallianceblog.org/?p=74, http://abandoned-orphaned.typepad.com/paulmyhill/2009/08/the-count.html
I list these statistics with a broken heart and realization that each number represents a real, living child who is in desperate need of care and a family. We can become easily overwhelmed with these statistics but I pray for my self and for the church that they would lead us to pray more specifically and passionately for them. I pray they will move us to act with greater urgency to see each one of these children cared for in the name of Christ.
Videos from GIC 2009
David Platt twice
Al Jackson
Jerry Rankin
Enough said...
Oh yeah,
Matt Pearson
Click here.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Two GREAT Quptes from Dr. Jerry Rankin
