Orphans

This is from our favorite Bible Study group & organization: Please read if you are considering adoption.

James 1:27, NIV "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"

James 27, KJV "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

Adoption offers a chance at a new beginning for many children cared for by state and private agencies and international orphan situations. Families constitute the building blocks of God's Kingdom. A strong family unit provides an orphan with the love and security that is needed to ensure that they grow into healthy adults and a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Adoption is part of the Great Commission, and we see that God's heart of compassion for the fatherless is clearly expressed throughout Scripture. We see adoption by believers as "missions in reverse" because adoption provides an opportunity to reach across the globe and bring children into homes where Jesus is present and God's Word is central.

“Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan…”

Psalm 82:3-4 “Vindicate the weak and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.”

Psalm 10:14, 17-18 “But you do see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you. You are the defender of orphans LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so people can no longer terrify them.”

If you can help the needy children of the world, here's a place to start: The Cry of the Orphan.