We need help to care for the home and children of our departed widows. Please call: 08033285737.
JAMES I:27: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.”
GOD, WIDOWS AND US!
Taking care of widows is not a shameful thing for the widow or an act of mere generosity by those who would endeavor to obey the command; it is a direct application of the gospel as we do what our Father has done.
Caring for the “fatherless” orphans and the widows is a long tradition under the Law of God. But it seems that in today’s policies that we have as churches, individuals and as communities forgotten that the Law of God still applies. It is as if because we are “free from the bond of the Law” we seem to think that it allows us to ignore the needs of our church families and the needs of the many people throughout the world that are in special need of Christian Love.
When we say to God that we love Him and yet neglect those in the most need of care and assistance, we forget that Jesus said that we are to care for the least of these, and in it, we lend to Him. Proverbs 19:17. When God spoke to Moses and gave him the Law, He spoke to the Nation of Israel. He established the Church and the nation of His people. The Law was not only for the individual but for community.
Not only for the Nation and its people but also for the leaders of the Religious community and for the leaders of each tribe of the Sons of Abraham. It became the responsibility of the Church, the Government and the individual to Obey and to serve God’s will.
The point here is that just because Jesus may not have addressed the caring of widows and orphans directly, it is still our responsibility to see to the welfare and care of them. James 1: 27. Just because we are not “bound” to the Law does not excuse us from honoring it. We cannot ignore or allow the churches, governments or each other from neglecting, abandoning or abusing the needs of the elderly or the very young. This is not a debate over the liberal or the conservative outlook of our governments; it is the critical responsibility of all. It is a matter of understanding and obeying God’s will as set down by his Law given to Moses in the desert.
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 reads as this: And now, O Israel, what does your God ask of you but to fear the LORD, your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.” (NIV).
It is followed by telling who God is to the people and how His might is great. Verse 17 states that God is impartial and takes no bribes. What is the next thing on His list is (Deut 10:18) “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widows, and the alien, giving them food and clothing.” This begins a long history of how God looked upon the care of the needy and the homeless. This was the beginning of God’s Law for the care of the fatherless and the widows. Those who were without defenders had God as the advocate. The third year tithe was for the purpose of supporting the Levies, the sojourners and the fatherless and widows.(Deut 14:29) It was to be shared responsibility of the community for the needs of the helpless and for those who had no support. God told His people that they shall not pervert justice: to the fatherless (orphans), the Widows (Deut 24:17) He also commanded that they “When you reap your harvest,…beat your olive trees,…gather your grapes…. do not go back. It is for the fatherless orphans, the sojourners and the widows.”(Deut 24:20-21)
When the Children of Israel were to enter in the feasts of the Passover, they were to include the fatherless and the widows and the travelers in with their own families so that they would not be excluded. This was also true of the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths. God did not want them to be left out of anything that pertained to His Blessings.
The last verse that I want to include here is Deuteronomy 26:12-13. “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levites (priests), the sojourner (migrants), the fatherless (orphans and abandoned children), and the widows, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, then you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.’”
Taking care of widows is not a shameful thing for the widow or an act of mere generosity by those who would endeavor to obey the command; it is a direct application of the gospel as we do what our Father has done.
You and I were dead in sin, totally alone, unable to believe and devoid of all righteousness. We were completely lost, completely separated from God, and without any means of making up the distance. But God in his gracious love reached down from heaven and literally stepped into our world. For the sake of his glory he left his riches behind and embraced his own poverty so that he could provide for us all of the riches of heaven. How then could we do any less?
For us to fail in providing for a widow indeed is a denial of our faith because it is a denial in practice of the very core truths of our faith.
Let us decide today to make it a practice and a priority to provide as needed for God's precious women and children in need.
Widows today may be looking so well because someone has given her beauty products, her rent may have been paid by someone, someone may have given her their extra car which is useless in the garage, or she may have found a lady who gave her clothes. So, when you see these, you think she’s rich. But may need extra help paying bills that may have been left to them from their deceased husband and father.
Why would anyone over look a widow and fatherless? Why would anyone not want to give his or her own to complement others already contributed offerings?.
Church and Government aid is not always as enough as should be.
Many widows today lose their homes because of taxes they cannot pay. Every widow whom God has placed in our lives must know about her true redeemer, Jesus Christ, who purchases us from sin with his blood on the cross. It is our duty to be a witness of Him, as was Boaz.
"Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, and of peace."
Make a difference today!
Chances are, you many not yet have found it necessary to think about what you should do to help a woman who has lost her husband. So when a friend, loved one, or even your own mother suddenly becomes a widow, you may be caught without an appropriate response.
Yet the care of widows is so important that God uses it as a measure of true spirituality. James 1:27 says, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.” And in 1 Timothy 5:3-16 the Lord gives specific guidelines for the care of widows, clearly explaining how a family and church can offer godly compassion and protection.
God has given us widows to serve in the church—making them among the most valuable asset your church can have.
God promises blessings to those who care for widows. Let this study enable you to practice the pure religion that pleases our Father in heaven.
As we reflect on the Law of God, let us realize that when we pass laws of man that impede the welfare of those who have no fathers and the widows and those who are unable to work, we are impeding God. And as He is the finial Judge, he will give justice to them in Heaven while we are to receive another form of His Justice. This goes back to the Matthew 25, and to Luke 16 and to many other times that Jesus told us that we are to be judged as to how we chose to accept or reject His Word in our lives.
As one old revivalist once told me, we may not be able to earn our way to Heaven but we can surely earn our way to Hades. Because we spend so much time in the New Testament, we tend to forget that the Love of Jesus was in fulfillment of the Old Testament and that when the disciples taught and referred to the Scriptures, they were referring to the Law of God in the Old and to the Prophets.
Somehow we have blocked the commandment of community aid to the orphans, widows and, yes, to the immigrants, as we were told to by God’s own words.
We have not only put up borders on our nations to keep people out, we have put up barriers on our hearts to prevent us from helping the ones who most need our assistance with in our own cities and towns.
We complain about the taxes we pay and we don’t pay our tithes as we should. Our churches are stopping their food pantries and most do not even have a program slotted to aid orphans and low income widows. And yet, as we have read Deuteronomy, we should direct one third of our tithe to the wellbeing of these members of our society. If our pastors are to be housed or fed by the churches, then so should the orphans and widows and the homeless.
Let us return to the Law of God in this area of our lives and we shall be blessed. Because we fail in the care of our weakest members of society, we have transgressed against God, we have forgotten how he has commanded us to protect the weak and defend the defenseless.
Now, will you be a partner in the mission?, we ask that you HELP OUT.
• GIVE support by your family.
*Make your monthly financial support an act of worship to our Father and compassion for others.
•Pray for widows’ ministries and mission outreaches, our mission partners and friends in the field, and our caring and committed staff.
•Tell others about this life-saving ministry and encourage your family and friends to pray for and support this ministry.
Be a Partner or Sponsor/ adopt a widowed family TODAY. Let’s start where the LIFE stops.
God’s Wives International Mission
“Zarephath House”
350,ikorodu Road (Entrance Through Conoil Petrol Station) Maryland. Bus –stop. Lagos
www.godswivesinternational.org, Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser., Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser., Facebook: God’s Wives, Zarephath Widows Home
Telephone: 08033285737, 08052058516, 08023136083
God’s Wives International Mission is a full time ministry to WIDOWS,WIDOWERS, FATHERLESS and ORPHANS
Visit Us Today! MAKE A DIFFERENCE
PLEASE PARTNER WITH US! IT’S BEEN 20 YEARS
Join me, and other donors
If you would like more information about this ministry or to invite AYJ to your community/church to speak or help work with your leadership team, or if you would like to help contribute by coming to the aide of widows, contact us at the following:
DONATION ARE ACCEPTED IN CASH AND ITEMS
You may make a donation by sending a cheque to: Serendipity House Nigeria.
ECOBANK: Account number: 3482015725.
UBA: A/C NO:1003828909
Serendipity House Nigeria,350, Ikorodu Road.(Entrance through Conoil service station)Maryland. Lagos.
Tel: 08033285737, 08023140023. E-mail: Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser. , Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.
JAMES 1: 27. The Religion that our God accepts, to care for Orphans, widows and fatherless in their troubles.
Ecclesiastes 11: 1-2. Give generously, for your gifts will return to you later. Divide your gifts among many for you do not know what risks might lay ahead.
Sponsor a Widow- In Jesus’ name
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress …” James 1:27
Do you know that wherever you go, you are surrounded by a widow or two?
It’s not their choosing. It is God’s will for them at the time of their lives.
You make a tangible difference in their homes as HELPERS!
By this, they gain dignity and Self respect.
Their children and families respect them as BLESSED when you offer to help.
LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS
Your sponsorship will help a widow by providing the basic necessities, but it will also help develop long-term solutions, for example, setting up income generation schemes. Many widows want to earn an income for themselves that restores their dignity and self-respect. We offer counseling, and skills training at our centre to help to equip the widows for employment. We are continually evaluating and developing projects to help widows and families earn a living.
