May 17, 2019 -- Ephesians 6:1-3 -- Know your charity!

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Ephesians 6:1-3 ESV

Perhaps you have been listening to the news and hearing references to Oxfam? This organization is advocating for a federally funded day care program in Canada. It is calling on all political parties to get behind this initiative. Hmm. What is Oxfam all about? For a long time I believed it was an organization that fed people. Ah, but that apparently is the small portion of its work. You have to really look around their website to find evidence that this is a priority. Prominent on the website is this tagline: “Endling global poverty begins with women’s rights”. When you read “What we do” you find it is an organization with a radical agenda for women and girls’ rights that has no reference to the family. One of the last statements is “Gender in Emergencies”. Worse, this agenda has no reference to Christian faith or even “Christian values” and the emphasis on families such would bring. Empowerment of women and girls with no reference to family—husbands and brothers—contributes to the radical destruction of the family and violates God’s purposes.

God’s great gift to families is marriage: one man and one woman married and giving themselves exclusively to one another and raising the children God gives them. The feminist agenda of Oxfam adds its voice to our country’s skewed political agenda and the perverseness of post-secondary institutions which are promoting raging, man-bashing feminism. Oxfam is revealing itself as another lobby group masquerading as a charity, which is mounting a direct attack against the fabric of society and its most basic unity: father, mother and children. Prominent in Oxfam’s agenda is reproductive rights. That is a euphemism for exporting the genocidal policy of abortion around the globe. It is not a defense of women, but inducing women to be murderers. It is not a defense of children, it is a violation of the great gift of life.

Believers in Jesus know the various “charities” that are littering our Canadian landscape and what their agenda is. Know that any money you give you give to a charity like Oxfam is in direct violation of your vows to serve Christ as the Bridegroom of His Church. The Church is called to support families. The Church is called to care for the widow and the orphan, not in opposition to families, but recognizing the widow and the orphan represent a broken family.

Oxfam’s lobbying in our political process (despicable as their agenda is) is something they are free to do in our democratic society. But I am challenging us as Canadians, as Christians to speak to our MP’s and tell them our agenda. We defy the cruel agenda of Oxfam, which is not just about Day Care, that is just the camel’s nose butting into the tent bringing with it the whole gamut of murdering the unborn and ignoring the God-given role of men, women and children as family.

People of God, hold up the splendour of God’s design for life.

People of God, lobby your MP and speak for the purposes of protecting life and family. Here is a link so you can find and email, phone or snail-mail your MP. https://www.ourcommons.ca/Parliamentarians/en/constituencies/FindMP

Pray. From start to finish pray. Pray that the knowledge of the glory of God will cover our land as the waters cover the sea. Pray that your heart will be inclined to serve the most vulnerable in society with the Good News of the Gospel as you feed the hungry and care for the widow and orphan as well as promoting the blessing of family.

King Jesus Your just rule and reign will outlast the current policies of charities and various governments around the world. Give us the holy conviction and joyful assurance You are bringing history to its rightful conclusion. As we read Scripture we know one day all evil and rebellion against God the Father will be stamped out and at that day even death itself will be captive led to terrorize no more. Empower us Jesus, by Your Word and Spirit to be vigorous in prayer for Your Kingdom to come. Move us to speak up as soldiers of Your cross who march under Your banner. Protect vulnerable women from the tyranny of voices calling for the culling of our future generations by abortion. Move us as Christians and church members to care for those children and youth who are in foster care. Let our lives be poured out for the sake of Your glory. Amen.