Are you fatherless?

I read recently that there are 115,000 children in the US foster care system waiting to be adopted. In comparison and according to The Washington Times there are about 65 million Americans that call themselves Christian(evangelicals). HELLO! These numbers don't match up. Are these 65 million "Christians" skipping the parts in the Bible that COMMAND us to care for orphans? Are they missing what "true religion" is? 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." This verse along with at least 40 others spell it out for us in black and white. Were we not orphans once? Our heavenly Father has adopted us unto Himself, we are no longer fatherless. Will you do what He has done for us? Will you step out in faith and obedience and bring an orphan under your wing? Are you satisfied with your comfortable life, your mini-van, your 5 bedroom home and white picket fence? Have some CONVICTION people! DO SOMETHING! (I have added a feature on the bottom of my blog, How to follow James 1:27... scroll all the way down and check it out- no more excuses!)

As I sit and write this I am humbled and honored to know that I belong to a community and a church where this is recognized. Thursday night, in support of our adoption and our Ethiopian daughters we had an estimated 250 people show up at the doors of Harvest BC. Donations and support came in all forms and we were in awe. I couldn't even allow myself to actually stop and let it soak in for fear of having a complete emotional breakdown in PRAISE and JOY of what the Lord was doing. (warning: this might happen on Sunday morning in church)

This adoption is not only about our family and our Ethiopian girls. This is about the 115,000 orphans in the US, the 4.5 MILLION orphans in Ethiopia, the members and visitors of Harvest BC, our town, our neighbors, our extended family and friends. This is about doing the LEAST we can do after what the LORD has done for us.
Obey Him.