Hope for AIDS Orphans

"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 1:27

God loves orphans! They are precious in His sight and are made in His own image just like everyone else. My family and I wish we could help all of them. We know we alone can't but the Body of Christ can join hands and make it more plausible. At times, it may seem overwhelming and we might prefer to shut it out. But we're called to look after orphans. Praying...giving... adopting...advocating...doing whatever helps! My 18 year old daughter has been advocating for orphans posted on Reece's Rainbow website on her blog and Facebook.

I'd like to introduce you to Hope for AIDS Orphans (a ministry of Cross International). Their main mission is to care for the AIDS orphans (14,800,000...as of 2010) in Africa. Can you imagine almost 15 million kids suffering with AIDS and having no parents? I can't wrap my mind around this heart-wrenching fact! These are not just numbers; they're precious lives who desperately need Christ's love and our help. Please watch the video below (if the video doesn't work, please go watch it on the website) and consider the 3 ways you can help these orphans: Express Your Care (sign their Angel of Hope Photo Mosaic), Share Their Story (share the orphan video with your friends), and Give Them Hope (donate to this wonderful cause).

We're very excited to help provide for these orphans through Hope for AIDS Orphans. Would you please join us, too? Any amount helps! Please visit the website for details. Thanks for caring!

Review: We Shall See God

Summary: No author in history has more material in print than Charles Spurgeon. During his lifetime, Spurgeon and his writings affected the world far and wide. Today, nearly 120 years after his death, countless people continue to have a passion for this London preacher, and more and more discover him every day. Some of Spurgeon’s most powerful sermons were those that he preached on the topic of Heaven. Up until now, however, very few of these sermons have been accessible to a mass audience. In what is sure to become an instant classic, best-selling author Randy Alcorn has compiled the most profound spiritual insights on the topic of eternity from these sermons and arranged them into an easily-accessible, highly inspirational devotional format complete with his own comments and devotional thoughts. Whether you are familiar with the works of Charles Spurgeon or not, you are in for a treat, as Alcorn invites you to sit at the feet of the Prince of Preachers and discover timeless pearls of wisdom from one of the greatest theological minds of all time.

My Thoughts and Review: This book is a treat for me, indeed! Charles Spurgeon and Randy Alcorn are two of my favorite Christian authors. I believe most Christians don't think much about heaven until they're old, dying, or losing their loved ones. But the Bible says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4) Heaven is our permanent home and we should be storing up our treasures in heaven, not on earth (Matthew 6:19-21). We Shall See God will help you set your hearts and minds on things above. Randy Alcorn selected, arranged, and edited 50 of Charles Spurgeon's Biblically insightful sermons preached on Heaven. At the end of each day/devotional section, Mr. Alcorn shares his comments. Although Charles Spurgeon suffered from chronic depression (most of his life), gout, arthritis, and liver disease, he faithfully served God and his Christ-exalting passion shone through and through. God gifted him much and he glorified God much. This is a wonderful book that helps readers ponder the hope of Heaven and shed their fear of death.

"Oh! Let us not live in this world as if we thought of staying here forever, but let us try to be like a pious Scotch minister who was very ill and, being asked by a friend whether he thought himself dying, answered, "Really, friend, I care not whether I am or not, for if I die, I shall be with God. And if I live, he will be with me." (p.54)

- You can read the first chapter here.

- Visit Eternal Perspective Ministries (Randy Alcorn's website) here.

- Connect with Randy Alcorn on Facebook here.

- Follow Randy Alcorn on Twitter here.

~ I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Our Thoughts on Tithe

"The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1

Everything (more than just 10%) belongs to the Lord! On earth, we are simply His stewards. He entrusts us to manage all He owns in the ways that will glorify and honor Him. We need to use our time, talents, and treasures wisely and according to His will.

We need to give all of ourselves to the Lord. Many give 10% and consider that the rest of their resources can be spent at their discretion. Let’s realize that God owns all of us, including our resources. Let’s spend them as He leads us by His Word and His Spirit. The New Testament portrays the concept of freewill sharing and equity among believers. "Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: ‘He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little." 2 Corinthians 8:13-15

We, as the body of Christ, are called to reach out to a lost and dying world. We need to deny ourselves, carry our crosses, and follow Jesus. We need to live lives of "New Testament" simplicity, and not in luxury and self indulgence. We believe there is a significant mismanagement of God’s money among His Church (the body of Christ) in affluent countries. The Church should not be spending billions of dollars on church buildings, church salaries, and unnecessary/extravagant personal items/hobbies/property. (Certainly, the worker deserves his wages, but his work must be in accordance with the Father’s will. The Church is not a business.) These resources should be spent on reaching the millions of people who have never heard of the Gospel even once, and on providing them with the Word of God in their own language. Sadly, we are spending the majority of our resources on the areas of the world where Christ has already been preached. "More than 95 percent of the total church budget in the United States is spent at home to maintain programs rather than to reach out in mission. Of the five percent that goes overseas to mission, less than half of one percent is used to reach the lost." (K.P. Yohannan, The Road to Reality, p. 118) It is unjust to share the Gospel of Jesus repeatedly to people who have already heard when there are those who have not heard the Gospel of Jesus even once. These resources need to be quickly redistributed so that the majority of the Church’s resources are sent to the unreached people groups of the world.

We need to give to native missionaries who are reaching the unreached, to organizations that are actively sharing the Gospel in unreached areas (i.e., CRU's Jesus film ministries), and to organizations that are actively translating the Bible into unreached languages (i.e., Wycliffe).

We should also generously give food, clothing, shelter, and medical supplies where possible to the neediest from among mankind. We need to give to those who could not otherwise receive the basic needs of life from anyone else. Many of us are so comfortable and wealthy compared to these needy ones. If we live simply and pool our resources together, by God’s grace there will be enough for everyone throughout the world who is in need (remember the five loaves and two fish). We need to join together in praying and giving to those in need across the world as God directs.

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7

"Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Luke 12:33, 34

Striving to be good stewards,
Eric and Urailak

~ To find other Spiritual Sundays participants, please visit here.