THE CANAANITE WOMAN'S FAITH

“And Jesus…withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman came out from that region, and began to cry out, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.’ But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came to Him and kept asking Him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she is shouting out after us.’ But He answered and said, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’” “But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’ And He answered and said, ‘It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’” “But she said, ‘Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.’” “Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, your faith is great; be it done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed at once” (Matthew 15:21-28 NASB). When I read this Scripture passage in the past, I got very distracted wondering why Jesus called the woman and her daughter dogs. I looked in a commentary and discovered that in Jewish society in New Testament times, Gentiles were scorned by Jews. So Jesus was just voicing the prevailing point of view. I don’t think it was His point of view. I think He liked this woman very much from the outset, and He was setting her up to be greatly honored. The desperate mommy displayed unwavering faith in Jesus’s power and received a huge compliment from Jesus. Lord Jesus, thank You that we don’t have to make it into a certain social group to receive Your kindness and healing. It thrills our hearts to know that if we persevere in believing in Your power and mercy, You greatly appreciate it, and You will praise us for it.

ABIDING IN HIS LOVE AND OTHER THOUGHTS

ABIDE IN MY LOVE “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:9-12 NKJV). Jesus loves us as much as God loves Him! Wow! There’s a thought that will put joy in our day. And as we experience His love, we will be able to love others in the same way. There are zillions of ways to experience the Lord’s love. I experience His love when I close my eyes and see Jesus’s smiling face. Or when I read about the prodigal son and imagine Father God running to me and giving me a bear hug. My daughter experiences love when she’s with her friends, because they could dump her but they don’t. She’s receiving God’s love through people. God also shows His love through what He has made (Psalm 33:5), through His faithfulness (Psalm 36:5), His comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4), His answers to prayer (Psalm 65:2), His guidance day by day (Psalm 23:1)……the list is endless. I pray that God will guide each of us into a greater experience of His love. PRAYERS AND PRAISES “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?......we will stand…in Your presence…and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save…..we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (2 Chronicles 20:6, 9, 12 NKJV). This prayer of King Jehoshaphat’s is a great prayer because it acknowledges who God is: our powerful, attentive Savior. This is the kind of prayer that strengthens faith. This is also a humble prayer of dependence: “nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” The whole point of prayer is to turn our attention to God; and we need to remain focused on Him until His Spirit communicates a response. In 2 Chronicles 20:14, the Spirit of the Lord spoke through Jahaziel in response to Jehoshaphat’s prayer. God may direct us to hear from Him through another person, or He may speak to us directly (see Acts 13:2). But He always answers (Jeremiah 33:3). I often can relate to Jehoshaphat’s statement, “nor do we know what to do.” There is so much hopelessness in that unless I do what Jehoshaphat and his people did: focus on the Lord. This opens up the opportunity for some very sweet fellowship with our loving Shepherd. The Lord wants us to come to Him as children, in humility, to receive His gentle, loving care. “He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom” (Isaiah 40:11 NKJV). Later in 2 Chronicles 20, we see that on the day of battle, singers were appointed to sing to the Lord, praising the beauty of holiness and saying, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever” (verse 21). Again, praise honors God and also ministers to the hearts of the ones praising. It’s very comforting to remember God’s mercy when facing a powerful enemy, or a challenging day. DISCOURAGEMENT Some days the deceiver attacks me with these lies: You don’t matter. The Lord Jesus is asleep on the job and he’s not leading you. Or maybe he just doesn’t care, because you’re not important. When I start thinking this way, I like to picture the loving face of Jesus as I remember these Scriptures: “The Lord is my Shepherd….He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1a, 3b). “But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.’ ‘Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands’….says the Lord” (Isaiah 49:15-16a, 18 NKJV). HELP IN TROUBLE When I was a small child, I worried about lightning striking my house. This actually happened once, but since we had a lightning rod, there was only some blackening of the siding, and no fire. I also worried about robbers breaking in. But I could set aside my worries because I believed that if disaster struck, my father would take care of us. As an adult, I know that my husband will protect his family with every ounce of his strength. I’ve seen him climb out of bed at night to check on noises outside our house. I also know that some disasters can’t be stopped by a mere mortal. That’s when I need to trust that our heavenly Father is mighty and will be there for us. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2 NKJV). IMMANUEL ….”they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23 NKJV). “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (Psalm 145:18 NKJV). Why did Jesus come to earth as a baby? It was because the desire of His heart is to be near us. His death and resurrection were so that He could reconcile us to Himself and be near us. This is what He wants.

CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY

At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.” ---Matthew 11:25-26 NKJV Being a Christian is like having Christmas every day. Every day God has gifts for us. But we have to be like children to receive from God. My biggest struggle with unchildlikeness is that I go to God’s word or church or a small group meeting thinking that there’s not going to be anything there for me, nothing to meet my need, encourage or inspire me. Or I think that since I’m already familiar with a particular truth, it’s not going to help me grow. The truth is that God’s word, from His book or from His people, is encouraging and inspiring, and meets needs. We just need to have the attitude of children on Christmas morning. God has wondrous things for us, not only in His promises, but also in His commands, which are given for our benefit (Psalm 119:18). Look for those blessings. Open up those gifts!

TRUTH VS. LIE

I have always thought I wasn’t good at relationships. Recently a friend and I were praying about this. I came to realize that I had been believing lies. One of the lies was that I’m not valuable, therefore no one would want to know me. Of course the Lord shot this lie to pieces. He reminded me that He loves all people enough to sacrifice His Son’s life for us. He paid an infinitely high price to redeem us, because He considers us infinitely valuable. He delights in His people, and He loves it when we talk to Him (Isaiah 62:4, Proverbs 15:8). We are precious to Him (Isaiah 43:4).