"True Religion"

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:27

Meet the Kovacs family. Now, folks, let me tell you: People like them are the ones who inspire me. Actually, this post is an addendum to my last post (before the Phillies one) and I'm applying it to the whole subject of abortion. Actually, I was going to incorporate this in Tuesday's post but kept writing and writing, so I decided to make this separate. At any rate, this family is a prime example of how we can make a positive impact while abortion by choice is still the law of the land. I know from experience that there are many organizations out there who are trying to counsel women away from the decision to "get rid of" their babies in the womb, and lead them towards the courageous decision to carry the baby and place him/her for adoption. These organizations are working with them and helping them in more practical ways than you can imagine. I know, because our family was once a part of one of these organizations. I'll give a few links at the end and would encourage you to pray about the possibility of you and your family and/or church being positively involved in this national fight for the right to life.

So, the Kovacs are one of the families at the receiving end of this great work. I read their story in this month's World Magazine, which tells the story of them as a newly married couple developing a strong passion for adopting. Actually, the story is about organizations which help churches that want to establish adoption funds so they, in turn, can help families like this one. I cannot tell you how strongly I feel about this, friends. Most evangelicals are appalled at the fact that our country has fallen into the "legal" position which it has regarding the choice of the mother over the life of the unborn. But are we doing more than complain? Sure, we can vote with the hope that down the road something will change, but in the meantime, what can we do? Well, this idea of establishing adoption funds in our churches is a wonderful answer to the question, and then, pray that the Lord will raise up more couples like Jason and Shawnda above. Look at that family, will you? Now don't tell me that God is not pleased!

About those organizations, here are a few of them:

The Abba Fund: This is the organization that World's article was about. A lot of money is needed to cover the costs of an adoption. The Abba Fund helps with that by helping churches. My personal opinion is that churches, not government, should be doing more to deal with many of the economic woes we're experiencing. This organization is just one example of something that can be done.

Lifesong for Orphans: This is another organization that provides adoption grants and loans and also works with churches that have adoption funds.

Family Legacies: The mission statement of this group is "The mission of Family Legacies is to provide interest free loans to couples who practice the Christian faith and are called by God to expand their families through adoption, who might otherwise not be able to adopt. "

Bethany Christian Services: This is the organization our family was once a part of. We were interim care foster parents, taking care of newborns while their moms were making the difficult decision as to whether to place them for adoption or raise them themselves. Bethany works with crisis pregnancy centers all over the country. They can help those who want to adopt to find help with funding and logistics. Our youngest child was adopted through them and I can attest to the fact that they work with you if you sincerely want to adopt. They'll help you find a way to do it, even if your resources are low, and of course, for most people, they are.

There are more, but in the interest of time and space I'll leave it at that. I want this post to be an encouragement for anyone stopping by who may have been thinking about how they can have more impact regarding our nation's abortion crisis. You might think about adoption as something you might do, but if not, perhaps you can give to one of these organizations, or even start something in your own church. Maybe your church just needs someone to get things going. Maybe that's you.

Also, if by chance anyone should stop by here who's pregnant and it's a crisis situation, I implore you, call Bethany. I can tell you without a doubt that they'll pray for you and that they'll help you. If any person has any questions about Bethany that you think I could help with, please feel free to email me. You can do that from my profile.