God Uses Us To Care For The Orphan
We are His hands and His feetwe represent Jesus in the world . He sends us into the world as an extension of His care and love for the orphan. There is little doubt that all of us can, and should, do something to help those who are fatherless and in need of parental love and support.
The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
Gods Word Gives Light To Your Feet So You Can Walk In The Ways Of The Lord
We all have feet, but if you are without light you wont get very far. God has provided us with the light of His Word. Rarely do we talk about the preciousness of the Word of God. Gods Word should dwell richly in us. His Word guides us so we can remain on the path of righteousness.
His Word aids us in identifying things that will hinder our walk with the Lord. Examine yourself. Is the light of Christ guiding your feet or are you living in rebellion? If so repent and fall upon Christ. Those who trust in Christ for salvation will themselves be a light because they are in Christ who is the source of light.
16. Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
17. Proverbs 4:26-27 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left keep your foot from evil.
To Raise Them In Praise To Our Father
You may raise your hands in praise to God at church, or, at least see others doing it. Raising hands in church is a biblically-sanctioned form of prayer and praise. Lifting the hands is just a way of reaching up to God to exalt Him or seek Him.
In Isaiah 19:16, we see the strength of Gods hand. In that day Egypt will be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He waves over it. The enemy retreats in fear because of an upraised hand of the Lord. So, if the enemy retreats in fear beneath the upraised hand of the Lord, then he has to cower in fear beneath our upraised hand because of our praise to Jesus Christ!
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God Can Strengthen You So That Your Foot Will Not Slip In Your Trials And Tribulations
A hind, a red female deer, is the most sure-footed mountain animal. Hinds feet are skinny, but remember God reveals His strength through the weak and through difficult situations. The hind is able to effortlessly move through mountainous terrain without stumbling.
God makes our feet like the feet of a hind. God equips us to overcome adversity and different roadblocks that we might come across. When Christ is your strength you have all that you need on your journey. Though the situation may seem rocky the Lord will equip you and teach you so that you dont stumble and you press on with consistency on your walk of faith.
7. 2 Samuel 22:32-35 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
8. Psalm 18:33-36 He makes my feet like hinds feet, And sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me And Your gentleness makes me great. You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.
9. Habakkuk 3:19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
Bible Verses About Hands
But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was upon him and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.
Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power,Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.But Moses hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.
But when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
She reached out her hand for the tent peg,And her right hand for the workmens hammer.Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head And she shattered and pierced his temple.
I have set the Lord continually before me Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help,When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
So I will bless You as long as I live I will lift up my hands in Your name.
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God Cares About Orphans A Lot
Because God cares about orphans, it makes sense that we should too. The Bible tells us to love one another as He loves us, and that includes everyone.
God seems to have a special fondness for orphans and widows simply because they are the most vulnerable among us. A society is only as strong as its weakest and most vulnerable, so making the case that orphans deserve our attention and care is easy to do.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
Are You Willing To Wash The Feet Of Others
As believers, we are to emulate Christ. When the Son of God washes the feet of another you take notice. The humility of Christ shows that God is real and the Bible is true. If Scripture was inspired by man, the God of this universe would never wash the feet of man.
He would never come to this world in such a humble way. We are to imitate the humility of Christ. Jesus never allowed His status to affect the way He served others. Dont you understand that Hes God in the flesh?
Hes the King of the World but He put others before Himself. We all struggle with this. We must pray daily that God works humility in us. Are you willing to serve others? Those with the heart of a servant shall be blessed.
18. John 13:14-15 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one anothers feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
19. 1 Timothy 5:10 And is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lords people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
20. 1 Samuel 25:41 She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, I am your servant and am ready to serve you and wash the feet of my lords servants.
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Feet As A Symbol Of Humility
In ancient times, feet were commonly viewed as a utilitarian object. Many people walked barefoot or with sandals made of animal skin. Thus, the feet were often dirty. Culturally, to bow at ones feet, to wash ones feet, or to lay something at ones feet was a sign of great humility and submission.
In an example of how Christians should show humility and grace one to another, John 13:14-15 says, Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one anothers feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
We Cant Call Ourselves Christians And Not Care About Orphans
Its simply not possible. James is clear about this in chapter 1. There is something that every one of us can do to support orphans in the world. Keep reading and youll find a way!
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.
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Why I Care About Orphans: My Dads Story
Certainly not all orphan and foster care stories are of the sad and helpless type you read about in the news or watch on made-for-television movies, but unfortunately, my fathers story is worse. My father was an orphan, well, not really an orphanboth his parents were alivebut he was raised in orphanages and foster homes which ranged from cold to utterly abusive.
His story sheds light on something I had never thought of when thinking of an orphan: a child may still be an orphan even if his biological parents are alive. Its called abandonment and it adds a secondary level of grief and pain to the orphans heart. Knowing your parents are unable to care for you is one thing, but growing up your whole life knowing that your parents didnt want to take care of you is quite another.
My father remembers the day his mother left him and his sisters on the doorstep of an orphanage and made an empty promise, Ill come back for you. She did come back. When I was 16 and when my father was in his 50s.
My grandmother ran off with another man, possibly to escape an abusive marriagethe details are unclear, but what is clear is that my father was left without a protective parent to guard and guide him. He was vulnerable to abuseboth physical and sexualand on that day he became a statistic.
Why Are Feet Important In The Bible
Just as men and women stand upon their feet as the foundation of upright posture, Bible verses also use feet as a euphemism to represent a strong foundation in various circumstances. Feet are not referenced as we see them today, but they are used as symbols to represent greater metaphorical concepts, such as guidance or direction.
The feet represented something that was common to all people but used differently. For example, one of the most noted scripture texts involving feet is Psalm 119:105, Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. This emphasizes how the feet are used to travel and traverse. Yet, without the word, the traveler is left walking in the dark without a known path.
Essentially, the feet are referenced as a critical part of life as walking was commonplace. We naturally travel where our feet lead us and the Bible verses use feet to represent a means of traveling through life itself. If we walk down a dark path, we are likely to stumble. If we walk down a holy path, we are sure to please God. All of this is facilitated symbolically by the feet.
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There Are Warnings And Blessings In The Bible About Caring For The Orphans
God takes the business of looking after orphans so seriously that He includes several scriptures of warning about dealing with the orphan and the widow. He makes it clear that no society should tolerate abuse or unfair treatment of an orphan. He also includes this as a condition for His blessings. If you want to know how to get Gods attention, take care of the orphans!
Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless.
if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this placethen I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors forever and ever.
Christ Has No Body On Earth But Yours No Hands But Yours No Feet But Yours Yours Are The Eyes Through Which Christ’s Compassion For The World Is To Look Out Yours Are The Feet With Which He Is To Go About Doing Good And Yours Are The Hands With Which He Is To Bless Us Now ~saint Teresa Of Avila
I posted the quote above as my Facebook status one day last week and was interested to see how many people responded positively to it. Since then, I have been thinking about what it means to be Christ’s hands and feet on earth. Clearly, this idea resonates with people, but how do we go about doing it?
It seems to me that we might begin to “be” Christ’s hands and feet by considering how Jesus used his hands and feet while He was walking among us. Jesus, God Incarnate, lived on earth in human form and, before He returned to the Father, promised that we who had faith in Him would do “greater things than these.” Through the writers of scripture, we have a record of the way Jesus lived out His earthly existence and these stories offer us clues on how we might continue His work.
First, Jesus knew that He had to spend time with the Father in order to know where to go and what to do next. Throughout the gospels, we hear that Jesus often “withdrew to a solitary place” in order to hear from His Heavenly Father. Jesus says this in John 5:19 :
I’m telling you this straight. The Son can’t independently do a thing, only what He sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does. The Father loves the Son and includes Him in everything He is doing.
And the space between ourselves sometimesis more than the distance between the stars.By the fragile bridge of the Servant’s bowwe take up the basin and the towel.
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What Does It Mean To Be The Hands And Feet Of Jesus
Being the hands and feet of Jesus means that Christs followers, past, present, and future, are obedient in their commission to preach the gospel and co-labor with Christ to love, serve, and heal the broken, hurting, and hopeless of this world.
- Joel RyanContributing Writer
- 20207 Jul
There are numerous stories in the Bible where God called men, women, and even children to step out in faith and follow him. This often meant stepping away from jobs, homes, families, and even their personal comfort and security to follow Gods plan for their lives and the world.
The First Appearance Of They Pierced My Hands And Feet
Christians first began to use this Greek translation after our gospels were written. Justin Martyr refers to this passage in his Dialogue of Trypho, paras 97 and 104. The Gospel of Peter likewise appears to know of it. At least it says explicitly narrates a scene where nails are being pulled from Jesus hands. Whatever the case with this gospel, it is clear that the earliest indisputable knowledge of this Greek text of Psalm 22:16 is from the mid-second century with Justin Martyr.
It appears that some time between the time the canonical gospels were written and the time of Justin Martyr, this famous prophetic verse was introduced in a Greek translation of the Psalms by Christian scribes.
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How Often Do You Use Your Feet To Witness To Others
How dedicated are you in spreading the gospel of Jesus? God has given us different features, talents, and abilities so we can glorify Him with them. God has given us finances so we can give. God has given us breath so we can breathe for His glory and praise His name.
God has given us feet not only so we can walk around and do what we want to do. He has given us feet so we can proclaim the gospel. How are you bringing the gospel message to those around you?
Fear should never stop your feet from moving in the direction of the lost. There are going to be people who God puts in your life who will only hear the gospel from you. Speak up! God walks with you so never let fear hinder you.
11. Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, Your God reigns!
12. Romans 10:14-15 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!
How Often Do You Lay Yourself At The Feet Of Christ
Have you ever wondered how some believers remain so calm in adversity? There is a zeal for God and His Kingdom unlike any other. It feels like they are always in the presence of God. They inspire you to examine yourself and seek Christ more. These people have learned to lay at the feet of Christ. When you are in His presence He is far more real to you than anyone.
There is a great sense of awe in the presence of Christ. Im not talking about some charismatic thing. Im talking about His glory being before you. The feet of Christ will change your life. There is nothing like being in His presence. When you lay at the feet of Christ you learn to be still and your entire perspective on life changes.
Have you gotten to the heart of worship at the feet of our Savior? Have you been so consumed by self? Have you been focusing on the world lately? If so, you must submit yourself to the Lord and rest at His feet. When you do this, you will see the great power of the Lord through you and around you.
1. Luke 10:39-40 She had a sister called Mary, whosat at the Lords feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, Lord, dont you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!
3. John 11:32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
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