Abandoned

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 51-52 Psalm 27


TO CHEW ON: "When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me." Psalm 27:10

"Abandoned on a street corner by his mother at the age of 12, Pastor Bill (Wilson) sat and waited for her at that corner for 3 days. She never came back. A Christian layman who was on his way to see his son in the hospital stopped and picked him up. Anybody could have stopped, but it was the Christian man who stopped. After getting him a hot meal, this gentleman paid for Pastor Bill to attend a Sunday School camp, where he gave his life to Christ. This was the start of his incredible walk with God – one that would change thousands of lives..." - Bill Wilson, founder of the Metro World Child organization, a Christian, non-profit organization dedicated to serving inner-city children throughout New York City and various urban centers around the world.

The love and care of one's parents is pretty well a given. We view it to be foundational to growing up as normal, healthy adults. The belief that kids need their parents is behind the current outrage over the children of people crossing the Mexican US border being separated from their parents. Parents are being jailed for crossing the border illegally while the kids are kept in children's centers while their parents' fate is decided ("Separation of parents, kids at US Mexican border" - CBC news)

 How many stories haven't we heard of messed up adults whose problems are attributed to being neglected or abandoned as kids? Does our focus verse today mean that God can counteract such a basic lack in one's life?

I believe it does. Look at the stories of noteworthy Bible characters torn from parental care and love: Joseph, Daniel, Esther, the little Jewish maid of Naaman's wife.

Look at God's heart toward the abandoned as it comes out in other scripture passages:


Exodus 22:22-23:
“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry"

Deuteronomy 10:18
"He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing."


Psalm 10:14
"But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand. 
The helpless commits himself to You; 
You are the helper of the fatherless."

Psalm 68:5
"A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
 Is God in His holy habitation."

Psalm 146:9
"The LORD watches over the stranger
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked He turns upside down."

Proverbs 15:25
"The LORD will destroy the house of the proud,
  But He will establish the boundary of the widow."

Jeremiah 49:11 
"Leave your fatherless children,
I will preserve them alive; And let your widows trust in Me.”

Malachi 3:5
"And I will come near you for judgment;
I will be a swift witness
Against ... those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans,
And against those who turn away an alien—
Because they do not fear Me,”
Says the LORD of hosts."

If you have been abandoned, remember that God is for you. He promises to take care of you. He will fill in the physical and emotional holes that your experiences have caused. You can say with confidence:

"When my mother and father (or my spouse, or my children) forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me."

PRAYER: Dear God thank You that You are for the abandoned, neglected, forgotten, bereaved, and passed-over ones. Help me, as Your child, to inherit Your heart of compassion, concern and care for them. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 27

MORE: Covenant House
Covenant House is an organization that houses and takes care of homeless and abandoned youth in cities around North America.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Hagar the single mom

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 19-21


TO CHEW ON: "And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said to her, 'What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.'" Genesis 21:17.


I can't help but feel sorry for Hagar. First she is pressed into service as surrogate mom by her mistress. When she gets pregnant, Sarah is so cruel to her (after she senses Hagar now despises her for her [Sarah's] inability to get pregnant) that Hagar flees to the wilderness. There an angel finds her and tells her to return to Sarah. She does and births Ishmael.

Now, about 16 years later,* at the party to celebrate Isaac's weaning, Sarah catches sight of teenage Ishmael "scoffing" (Genesis 21:9; Galatians 4:29 says that Ishmael "persecuted" Isaac). And Sarah insists that Hagar and Ishmael must go.

An aggrieved Abraham sends Hagar away and again she's with her son, abandoned in the wilderness. But no, she's not abandoned. For again an angel of God comes to her, points her to water and promises a future for her son. (And he does live a long life of 137 years - Genesis 25:17).

There are other instances of God making special provision for single parent families.

• He provides for the widow of Zarephath and her son by sending Elijah to them. During his stay the oil and flour for bread never run out  - 1 Kings 17:8-16. Later when her son dies, Elijah restores him to life - 1 Kings 17:17-22.

• Another widow avoids her sons becoming slaves of the person she owes money to when Elisha performs the miracle of the oil that keeps on pouring till all containers are full - 2 Kings 4:1-7.

• Jesus restores a widow's son to her - Luke 17:12-16.

• God promises to take the place of the absent spouse: "For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name" - Isaiah 54:5 (also Hosea 2:19,20).

• He will help parent the fatherless child: "You are the helper of the fatherless" - Psalm 10:14 (also Psalm 68:5 and Psalm 146:9).

What a comfort to know that God has a special compassion for single parents and their kids. If that includes you, claim and live in that. For those of us who aren't single parents, let's do all we can to be God's caring hands and feet to them and their children.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your care for those single parents needing help with their children. Help me to have empathy and an alertness to help them. Please be with widows and divorced and abandoned wives in a special way for all they must face, whatever stage they are at in life. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 6

The Bible Project VIDEO: Exodus 12-50 (Torah Series)



*"16 years later" because Moses was 86 years old when Ishmael was born (Genesis 16:16). He was 100 years old when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5). This party was for Isaac's weaning, which would have happened when Isaac was about two or three years of age.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

God's heart for the poor

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Micah 2:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "You who are named the house of Jacob,
Is the Spirit of the Lord restricted?
Are these His doings?
Do not my words do good
To him who walks uprightly?" - Micah 2:7

From Micah's scoldings we begin to understand the extent of Judah's sin. Not only were the people guilty of idolatry but also injustice.

Micah paints the picture of someone lying awake at night, conniving how he can add to his property and in the morning enacting that plan (Micah 2:1,2). Instead of protecting society's most vulnerable, the powerful act like returning warriors as they ruthlessly strip their trusting neighbours of life's essentials and evict women (probably widows) and their children from their homes (Micah 2:8,9).

If there's one thing God hates, it's injustice to the poor, the alien, and the helpless. His passion for the vulnerable comes out again and again in the Bible, no less here in Micah's condemning words: "Arise and depart for this is not your rest." In plain English: "Those who had removed others from a restful life would be removed themselves because they had defiled God's land with their sinfulness" - Willard S. Elijahson's commentary on Micah, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1206.

At this time of year, when we tend to focus on ourselves and the upcoming Advent season and Christmas celebration, let's not neglect to remember the poor. How might we do that?

• Put money in the Salvation Army kettles when they make their appearance in December. Or volunteer to man a kettle for a few hours (it's probably not too soon to contact them now and arrange to be a volunteer in December).

• Take part in church and community initiatives that help the poor (collecting toys and food for special Christmas hampers, contributing to Christmas funds like our local Christmas Bureau).

• Donate to the local foodbank (grocery items or money).

• Welcome the poor when they come to church and perhaps invite them for a meal to get to know them.

• Pray for wisdom when panhandlers and beggars approach on the street asking for money. Consider buying them a meal instead of giving cash.

• Volunteer to help out with Christmas dinner events served to the poor and homeless (locally Union Gospel Mission serves an annual Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners).

• Give money in your loved one's name to World Vision or other organizations that offer proxy gifts to impoverished peoples in the world, instead of lavishing on each other gifts we really don't need.  (Browse the World Vision Gift Catalogue)

PRAYER: Dear God, please give me Your heart for the poor and unfortunate. Help me to be obedient when I sense You stirring me to love in practical ways. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Abandoned

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 27:1-14


TO CHEW ON: "When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me." Psalm 27:10

"As a child, Pastor Bill (Wilson) experienced the pain and hopelessness of abandonment. One day, as he walked down a street with his mother, they stopped to sit for a while. She instructed him to sit there and wait for her to return. He sat and waited for three days straight. She never returned. A Christian gentleman who had seen Bill stranded and alone stopped and picked him up..." (from the About Us page of Metro Ministries).

Bill told us a little bit more about that time when he visited our church several years ago. The Christian gentleman who picked him up gave Bill water and something to eat, then paid the $17.50 it took (in 1961) to send him to camp. Five hours later, Bill was at an Assemblies of God youth camp where his life was turned around. He now heads up Metro Ministries, a Christian, non-profit organization dedicated to serving inner-city children throughout New York City and various urban centers around the world.

The love and care of one's parents is pretty well a given. We view it to be foundational to growing up as normal, healthy adults. How many stories haven't we heard of messed up adults whose problems are attributed to being neglected or abandoned as kids? Does our focus verse today mean that God can counteract such a basic lack in one's life?

I believe it does. Look at the stories of noteworthy Bible characters torn from parental care and love: Joseph, Daniel, Esther, the little Jewish maid of Naaman's wife.

Look at God's heart toward the abandoned as it comes out in other scripture passages:

Exodus 22:22-23:
“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry."

Deuteronomy 10:18
"He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing."

Psalm 10:14
"But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
         To repay it by Your hand.
         The helpless commits himself to You;
         You are the helper of the fatherless."

Psalm 68:5
 "A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
         Is God in His holy habitation."

Psalm 146:9
"The LORD watches over the strangers;
         He relieves the fatherless and widow;
         But the way of the wicked He turns upside down."

Proverbs 15:25
"The LORD will destroy the house of the proud,
      But He will establish the boundary of the widow."

Jeremiah 49:11
"Leave your fatherless children,
      I will preserve them alive; And let your widows trust in Me.”

Malachi 3:5
"And I will come near you for judgment;
      I will be a swift witness
      Against ... those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans,
      And against those who turn away an alien—
      Because they do not fear Me,”
      Says the LORD of hosts."

If you have been abandoned, remember that God is for you. He promises to take care of you. He will fill in the physical and emotional holes that your experiences have caused. You can say with confidence:

"When my mother and father (or my spouse, or my children) forsake me,

Then the Lord will take care of me."

PRAYER: Dear God thank You that You are for the abandoned, neglected, forgotten, bereaved, and passed-over ones. Help me, as Your child, to inherit Your heart of compassion, concern and care for them. Amen.

MORE: Covenant House
Covenant House is an organization that houses and takes care of homeless and abandoned youth in cities around North America. The first Covenant House was begun by Father Bruce Ritter in Manhattan in 1972. Read the history of Covenant House - Vancouver (only one of two Covenant Houses in Canada - the other one is in Toronto). Their BLOG tells the stories of some of the kids they help and describes their daily triumphs and challenges.