Voice of the Orphan Blog

Showing Up

By Scott and Kerry Hasenbalg

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” - Proverbs 13:12

In terms of Jesus as our example, certainly Jesus took the time necessary to sit before the Father in prayer, seeking Him for direction in order to do the will of His Father.  But once God spoke, Jesus did the will of His father, and the word “did” implies action!

One key characteristic of Jesus was that HE SHOWED UP. Story after story in the Gospels portrays how He showed up to heal, and through Jesus, God wanted to demonstrate His character of being always present.

When we, as the body of Christ, show up and show hope in the lives of orphans, many of whom have had a lifetime of deferred hope, we are part of planting life-giving seeds, which by the power of God, in due season, will bear fruit and will continue to bear fruit for years to come.

Because the hope we give orphans, both in word and in action, is the sharing of Christ in us—the hope of Glory, it is a real, eternal and living hope.  We are part of revealing to them a God who hears their cries for help in their distress now: cries for food, for clothing, for shelter, for love, for a family, and we are part of answering the cries of their young souls for God’s presence for eternity. Jesus was and is the true hope, and we bring Him to them when we show up.

Romans 15:13- “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Showing Hope

By Scott and Kerry Hasenbalg

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
–Hebrews 11:1

Faith!  It is a word used to describe the state of a man’s soul, and we know from the Word it is a very powerful thing.   According to the scriptures, faith has the power to heal the one who possesses it, and that through it a man is able to access the grace of God needed for eternal life. The Word says that without faith it is impossible to please God, and it is one of three things that last for eternity – faith, hope and love.

So, what is true faith really?  Isn’t faith just that strong belief of God found in your heart that only you know is there?   Or is faith something more? Can faith really be seen by others?

It is amazing that a word like faith can be used so frequently, yet be so misunderstood.  God knew such a word would need clarity, so He defined it for us in the book of Hebrews, saying, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” And He gave us further clarity in the second chapter of James telling us, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”   

In the second chapter of Mark, it says that when Jesus SAW the faith of those who had brought a paralytic to him, he said to the paralytic man, “Son, your sins are forgiven… Get up, take your mat and go home.”  He saw their faith with his human eyes.

Yes, faith indeed is something that can be seen.  It is something that can be shown to others. Faith by definition is actually the showing of the Hope of God.  Faith is Hope Shown! We long to see the people of God evidence their faith by taking action to love and care for orphans!

Loving Close Up

By Scott and Kerry Hasenbalg

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” -1 John 3:16

There seems to be a trend in the church today to separate those who are considered “evangelical” from those who are “humanitarian”, those who pray and serve in local churches versus those who give to the world’s poor and hungry.  Many such “humanitarian types” often found among our youth are even abandoning the notion of the local church. However, these two seemingly different factions are meant to be one. Those who pray and worship in church are also the ones who should go and give of themselves to the poor and needy.

For the One in whose name we pray and whose life was intended to be an example for ours, Jesus Christ, worshipped and prayed in local synagogues and also went to the poor and hopeless and met their needs in real tangible ways. He touched them, He fed them, He held them, He walked with them, knew their names, and dined with them. He loved them close up, not just from far away. 

It’s All God’s

By Scott and Kerry Hasenbalg

“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” -1 Chronicles 29:11

In 1 Chronicles 29, King David told the people of God that he was giving all of his own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction of the temple, and he asked, “Who is willing to give offerings to the Lord today?” Then the families, tribes, generals, captains, and king’s officers “all gave freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.”

David then praised the Lord, saying, “Everything in the heavens and on earth is Yours… But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to You?  Everything we have has come from You, and we give You only what You have already given us… It all belongs to You!”

And in Acts 4 we find the very same kind of wisdom and understanding: “All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had.  And this gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great favor was upon them all.” 

Let us then, as God’s people, step out and show the hope we know to be true! Everything we have first came from God. So may the Lord lead us now, and may each of us be used to build God’s living temple through which He is a Father to the fatherless. Are you willing to join us by giving to this Kingdom work, whether it is by your time, talent, or treasure?

Just as was true of the apostles, may the sharing of our gifts and talents give powerful witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For we desire the Lord’s favor and His renown most of all.

Building God’s House

By Scott and Kerry Hasenbalg

“I will raise up one of your descendants, one of your sons, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for me” -1 Chronicles 17:11-12.

I’ve heard it said that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and that the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. Through the Holy Spirit, the New Testament has unlocked many of the mysteries of God that were closed to us in the Old.

In 1 Chronicles, after God had established His people in their new homeland in peace, David’s son, Solomon, would build a dwelling place for the Lord. This was but a taste, a foreshadowing; of what God is doing today. However, His dwelling will not be in a temple made of human hands, but in us, His people: “And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple” (1 Peter 2:5). He has raised up His own Son, a descendant of David, to build His temple, for Jesus came that we might be a holy dwelling for our God.

Now it is in this new dwelling, made up of living stones, that God will show His love for orphans: “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling” (Psalm 68:5).

It is in us, then, as God’s dwelling, that He desires to express His care for the orphan. “Pure and faultless religion before God our Father is to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27). God has chosen to extend His love, His generosity, His justice and compassion through us, His holy dwelling!