Bogota June 2011: Day 8

Jesus the Protector

Jesus Protected Women

Woman at the well

John 4:27   At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?” 

Woman taken in adultery John 8:10 Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”  11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

Woman at Simon’s house Luke 7:36-50

Widow of Nain Luke 7:13 When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.”  14 And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!”  15 The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.  

Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus John 12:3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.  4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said,  5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?”  6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.  7 Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.  8 “For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.” 

Mary Magdalene – Mary stop clinging to me…

Jesus Protected Children

Mark 10:13   And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.  14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 

Mark 9:36 Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them,  37 “Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.” 

Matt. 18:1   At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,  3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  5 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;  6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Jesus Protected Minorities and Outcasts

Samaritans Luke 10 & John 4

Gentiles Matthew 21

Luke 7:22 And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.  

I love that Jesus is a protector…

Job was a protector as well.

Job 29:1 And Job again took up his discourse and said, 

2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by,

As in the days when God watched over me; 

3 When His lamp shone over my head,

And by His light I walked through darkness; 

4 As I was in the prime of my days,

When the friendship of God was over my tent; 

5 When the Almighty was yet with me,

And my children were around me; 

6 When my steps were bathed in butter,

And the rock poured out for me streams of oil! 

7 “When I went out to the gate of the city,

When I took my seat in the square, 

8 The young men saw me and hid themselves,

And the old men arose and stood. 

9 “The princes stopped talking

And put their hands on their mouths; 

10 The voice of the nobles was hushed,

And their tongue stuck to their palate. 

11 “For when the ear heard, it called me blessed,

And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me, 

12 Because I delivered the poor who cried for help,

And the orphan who had no helper. 

13 “The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me,

And I made the widow’s heart sing for joy. 

14 “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;

My justice was like a robe and a turban. 

15 “I was eyes to the blind

And feet to the lame. 

16 “I was a father to the needy,

And I investigated the case which I did not know. 

17 “I broke the jaws of the wicked

And snatched the prey from his teeth. 

Job 31:16 “If I have kept the poor from their desire,

Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, 

17 Or have eaten my morsel alone,

And the orphan has not shared it

18 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,

And from infancy I guided her), 

19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,

Or that the needy had no covering, 

20 If his loins have not thanked me,

And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep, 

21 If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan,

Because I saw I had support in the gate, 

22 Let my shoulder fall from the socket,

And my arm be broken off at the elbow.

This is what God said of Job 1:8 The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” 

Stats… every year in Bogota, Colombia 800 orphans are put out on the street by the system because they have “aged out” at age 18. 15% of them will be dead within 2 years, many by suicide. 60% of the girls will end up in prostitution and trafficking. 70% of the boys will end up in prison.

Russell D. Moore – “Think of the plight of the orphan somewhere right now out there in the world. It’s not just that she’s lonely. It’s that she has no inheritance, no future. With every passing year, she’s less “cute,” less adoptable. In just a few years, on her eighteenth birthday, she’ll be expelled from the orphanage or from “the system.” What will happen to her then? Maybe she’ll join the rebels or find some job training. Maybe she’ll stare at a tile on the ceiling above her as her body is violated by a man who’s willing to pay her enough to eat for a day, alone in a back alley or in front of a camera crew of strangers. Maybe she’ll place a revolver in her mouth or tie a rope around her neck, knowing no one will have to deal with her except, once again, the bureaucratic “authorities” who can clean up the mess she leaves behind. Can you feel the force of her desperation? Jesus Can. She’s his little sister.”

One hero from history who particularly exemplified Jesus the protector was…

Amy Carmichael

Heard Hudson Taylor, decided she was going to China… was rejected by CIM because of her frail health. She suffered neuralgia, a disease of the nerves that made her whole body weak and achy and often put her in bed for weeks on end. Ended up in India.

Amy became a protector of little girls being trained as Hindu temple prostitutes. It all began the day a convert brought her a little girl named Preena who had escaped from one such temple.

“Come up here with me,” said Amy in Tamil, lifting the girl onto her lap. “Why, your tiny hands are scarred!”

     “From burns,” said the convert. “She was punished after an earlier escape.”

     “What a brave little soul you have, Preena.” Amy hugged and kissed her. The girl melted.

     “How desperately Preena wants that affection from her own mother,” said the convert. “But the first time Preena escaped from the temple and ran back to her mother – her ‘Amma’ – she was delivered right back to her pursuers.”

     “Amma, I want to stay with you always,” sobbed Preena.

     Amma! Amy had become the girl’s Amma, her mother, her protector…

Rescues…

Amy would stay 55 years in India and rescue over 1000 little girls. She died in 1951 but her work still continues today, completely overseen by the children of the girls that she rescued.

Orphan Hope International is working to open several SAFE HOUSES in Bogota.

Your presence here is helping us…

Once again today we returned to Amparo De Ninas orphanage in Bogota but on the way we made a stop at the national headquarters of ICBF, the Colombian family welfare department. They gave us a presentation about their work with children and thanked us for our work in the orphanages.

We arrived at Amparo and they were ready to take our annual 3 mile walk to “Lovers Park” (Parque De Los Novios). It is a beautiful park with a pretty good-sized lake in the center. One of the girls from our upcoming vacation host program, Yuly, walked with me hand in hand the entire way and I worked on my Spanish and she on her English. It was a fun time.

I was stunned when somehow the subject of God came up and Yuly said, “I didn’t used to believe in God but when I was selected for the Texas Vacation Host Program I knew immediately that it was a gift from God and that He hadn’t forgotten me.” I thought my heart would fall out of my chest. It’s hard to comprehend just how desperately these children long and hope for a family. This is why we do what we do, to give hope.

My pretty nails

We had a wonderful day at the park with lunch on the ground. After lunch a beautifully sweet girl named Tanya came up with a bottle of bright fuchsia/purple nail polish and demanded to paint my fingernails. I explained that I had been to Colombia on 9 trips and so far I had escaped, unlike many others of my comrades, having my nails painted. She smiled sweetly and said, “Well then, it’s your time.” Needless to say, I got my nails painted. Sarah John and Kim Williaford helped me out though they decorated my thumbnail with a white skull and crossbones over the purple to make it look more manly… Thanks so much ladies!

After lunch, Jair broke out the guitar and led us in some songs and then Liliana shared her testimony of how she came to faith in Christ and challenged the girls to give their lives and hearts to Jesus. Soon the rain came and we had to head back to the orphanage. Once there they opened up a large room they call the theater and we sat around in chairs and visited until it was time to go. Yuly and Tanya held on to me the whole evening like they knew that our time to leave was drawing near. We handed out Bibles and Spanish/English dictionaries and many of the girls had us sign their Bibles. Tanya asked me to show her a verse that she could memorize and I gave her John 3:16 and underlined it for her. She was so happy.

Then it was time to go. They clung to us weeping as we made our way to the gate. Girl after girl came to me crying, “Mateooo no nos dejan” (Matthew don’t leave us) and kissing me on the cheek and hanging on my neck or arm or leg. This is why I call the dirty little alley leading away from here the trail of tears. When the last hug and kiss and sweet words of parting close behind that iron gate all that is left are the tears. I walked onto the bus weeping and John and Matt, two of our faithful OHI soldiers hugged me tight as I wept and lamented to God for Him to let me do more for them in the years to come. I went to the back seat of the bus and wrestled with Him all the way home, “God give us more laborers, money, and spiritual power because the harvest is plenteous.”