Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2018

CHAPEL NOTES Here’s what James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” I think most people assume that infertility was what led us to adoption, but it wasn’t. We were motivated by theology, not biology. I was invited to speak at a youth camp about nine years ago. I began to see passages like James 1:27 where James calls his hearers to be doers of the Word, and not just hearers, and to care for orphans in their affliction. I was convicted by my own preaching. My wife and I ended up going to the Ukraine. We were approved for two kids under the age of 5. And we met a sibling group with ages 4, 6, 7, and 9. And we agreed to adopt them. After about a year, we decided we had room for one more. My sister has five adopted children from Ethiopia. And so my Ukrainian kids have been playing with their Ethiopian cousins, and they wanted an Ethiopian brother. We brought Joshua home in about six months. Get before God’s Word and submit to it as the inspired Word; humble yourself before it, so that you’re teachable. Some of the greatest advocates for orphans and the oppressed are men and women who have done this. Underneath their care for the poor and the marginalized is a deep devotion and humility before the Scriptures. So James 1:27 says this is true religion: to visit. To visit orphans is more than dropping by for a little chat. It means to intervene. It means to get involved. It means to do something, and we do it. That’s the good Father. As a reflection of His own character, we are to be people who care for orphans and widows; we should be the people who are known for this. God has visited us in our affliction. We are not superior to the orphan. We are the orphan. And God has adopted us in the Gospel. We are the widow, and Jesus has become our Groom in the Gospel. We are the sojourner, having no homeland, and we have inherited a Kingdom. In the Gospel we are poor and bankrupt. And God has given us an inheritance. Tony Merida is Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. Word-Obeying Missions The following is an excerpt from a January 10, 2018, chapel presentation by Tony Merida. Merida was the keynote speaker for the 2018 Missions Conference. Listen to his full remarks at cedarville.edu/chapel . As a reflection of His own character, we are to be people who care for orphans and widows; we should be the people who are known for this. Join the University family in chapel each day via the livestream broadcast ( cedarville.edu/chapellive ) or Facebook Live ( cedarville.edu/facebook ) . Past messages are also archived at cedarville.edu/chapel . March 20 Randy Stinson Senior Vice President and Provost Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky March 22 Dannah Gresh Speaker, Secret Keeper Girl Author, And the Bride Wore White State College, Pennsylvania March 28 Freedom to Flourish Conference David French Senior Writer National Review Institute New York, New York 26 | Cedarville Magazine