My Daily Pause

Jesus exorcising the Canaanite Woman’s daughter from Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 15th century.

Every time I read the account of the Canaanite woman, the speech and actions from Jesus and the disciples makes me stop. (Matthew 15:21-28) At first glance it is all seemingly contradictory to the core message that Jesus has taught so far. To make it worse, the disciples elevate themselves above this woman for no other reason than her race. They have no reaction to the way Jesus spoke to her!

I wonder if the apostles thought back to this day when they began to realize the gospel was for all. The Jews were going to have to be retrained to think of all people as God’s children, and this is the beginning of that training. Jesus teaches us at least three things in this short passage:

Jesus demonstrates the importance of faith over any entitlements or preconceived notions. We know that God is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34) Wealth, race, beauty, nationality or any other human metric have no bearing with God.

Jesus demonstrates that it is important to maintain faith even when we feel like we are not getting what we need. Sometimes our faith wavers a little bit when we have tough times. Jesus gave the woman two opportunities to walk away empty handed, but her faith kept her there reasoning with him.

Jesus demonstrates that what he provides is more than enough. Jesus did not go back to the house to heal the daughter. He merely spoke the command to the woman that everything was going to be as she had asked. The woman went home without questioning that.

We have been left with enough evidence of God and what he wants from us through his word. It is up to us to protect and nurture the faith that comes from studying that evidence. (Romans 10:17) Our faith will be tested often in this earthly life, but those tests are what helps us grow, and have hope, when we learn to deal with them. (Romans 5:3-5)

What was your last test of faith and what improvement did it make on you?

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee – 1632 – Rembrandt (1606 – 1669)

Did you ever notice that people need constant work to make their faith grow? You might have also noticed that there aren’t many that admit it. It is difficult to show others consistent faith through the thick and thin of life.

Even the disciples had to go through some rigorous training before they were on their own to spread the gospel. As Jesus walked up to them in the middle of a storm, on top of the churning water, they were afraid. They were afraid of Jesus and they were afraid of the wind and the waves. (Matthew 14:22-32)

By the time the event was over, the group – probably euphoric from amazement – were “believers.” (Matthew 14:33)

That was not the first miracle they had witnessed though. Just a few hours before, they had participated in the feeding of the five thousand.

Their biggest show of fear, or lack of faith, was yet to come – they were going to scatter in every direction when Jesus is arrested and put on trial.

This is the kind of thing that people do all the time. There is an ebb and flow of those that say they follow Jesus. Depending on the circumstances, they might or might not be full of faith on any given day. Every time Jesus said “Oh ye of little faith…” to the disciples, he was demonstrating his displeasure with them. That is the same boat we are in when we are not consistent in our faith!

What does it take for us to be more consistent? More study? More worship? It is probably different for all of us, so challenge yourself to grow. What one thing can you do over the next year to make that happen?

Solome with the head of John – Caravaggio (1573–1610)

Previously, in How to Earn Jesus’ Praise, we thought about John the Baptist’s steadfastness in teaching the truth. In Matthew 14:1-12, we get to see how he carried that steadfastness to his death.

The marriage of Herod to Herodias was unlawful in a number of ways and the Jews detested him for it. According to Josephus and others:

• He was already married
• She was his brother’s wife
• She was his niece

While the Jews in general did not have the courage to deal with the situation, John made no bones about it. He went to prison for telling Herod he was in an unlawful situation. (Matthew 14:3-4) The truth in John’s mind was more important than his personal safety. He took a risk in a situation where he had enough influence to try to correct it.

We are hearing more and more about the same type of situation in the news. Those willing to speak up against sinful laws and celebrated lifestyles are finding themselves threatened with financial ruin and endure personal hardships as a result. Some businesses have even made it a condition of employment to remain silent about certain sins.

The odds are becoming quite favorable that each one of us will have to decide how to act in this scenario. This will be the big test of our own steadfastness. Can you look into a coworker’s eye and tell him you cannot go “have drinks” with him because you believe drinking alcohol is a sin? If not, how would you respond to a larger threat?

Based on the Biblical examples, we do not have permission to opt out of teaching others about what is sinful. Like John, Pricilla and Aquila, (Romans 16:4) and all the apostles, we have to teach the full counsel of God.

Now is a good time to practice not being “a reed in the wind.” As Christians we need to become mature enough – to be courageous enough – to say something when we see sin.

What if we start small and practice on those close to us? Most often, those are the ones who are willing to accept correction given in a loving way.

Do you have a situation where you could begin practicing?

Jesus teaching in the Temple, from the book Standard Bible Story Readers, Book Five (1928) Authors O. A. Stemler and Bess Bruce Cleaveland

Matthew 13:58 makes me sad.

The people of Jesus’ hometown did not get the benefit of his blessings because of their unbelief. If you let that sink in and then read Hebrews 3, we see a similar statement at the end of that chapter:

” … they were unable to enter because of their unbelief.” – Hebrews 3:19

The children of Israel failed to enter the rest because of their lack of faith  – even after all of the signs and miracles they witnessed.

So many that were born and raised in a Christian family turn away from the God. They have been given the knowledge and lived the lifestyle, but they choose to believe something else.

They have been warned and God has turned away from them without offering a single blessing. Why bless them when there is no desire for blessings? Why fill needs when they think they don’t need anything?

There are so many in that precarious state right now – What are some things you can do to help the ones you know?

Elders and deacons were prescribed and defined as an essential element in building a strong congregation of worshippers. The interesting thing about the qualifications of these positions (1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5ff) is that they aren’t intended just for the leadership – all of them describe commandments and goals of Christians in general. (Obviously I am not talking about the ones related to marriage here.)

It takes everyone

Christianity involves one another more than self

Since every member of the church is required to grow and mature, (Hebrews 6:1-3) it follows that it takes every member working together to make a strong church. When I talk about a strong church, I am talking about just a few basic things:

• The membership enjoys being together
• Members are all inclusive and do not tend to clique
• A high percentage of the membership meet at every opportunity
• It is easy to find willing contributors
• The focus is God and not the programs

There are no “perfect” congregations because the membership is made up of people. The point is that each one is doing everything they can to try to become perfect.

New Testament Examples of our Responsibility to “One Another”

Paul made extensive use of the idea that we are responsible for “one another” and depend on “one another.” In the context of strong Christianity, here are a few things he said about the people involved:

• We should prefer one another (Romans 12:10 KJV)
• We admonish one another (Romans 15:14 KJV)
• We have forbearance for one another (Ephesians 4:2)
• We are kind to one another(Ephesians 4:32)
• We are forgiving to one another (Ephesians 4:32)
• We are to encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18)

The focus of Hebrews on the Membership

Since the whole point of Hebrews is to change the mind of the Christians backsliding to Judaism – or just outright falling away, the writer spoke directly to the membership to warn and remind them of the part they play in Christianity.

While leadership in the church is important, it is not the only thing required to keep a group together and motivated. It takes the involvement and example of each and every member of the body. As such, relying on one another is a recurring commandment in the New Testament, as I listed above, and as the Hebrews writer did in at least three places:

• We are to exhort one another (Hebrews 3:13) – Christians are to rely on each other to get through our weaknesses and temptations. So many of our sins are hidden from our own eyes through their own deceitfulness.
• We are to provoke or stir up one another to love and good work (Hebrews 10:24) – It is very difficult to attend a worship assembly of a close knit church and come away with no refreshment. The desire to know each other more and to work together grows at every meeting.
• We are to encourage one another through our attendance (Hebrews 10:25) – It is impossible to be an influence to fellow Christians if we are not there to influence them! We should take advantage of every opportunity to meet with the saints, whether it is a scheduled formal worship or less formal opportunities to study and work together.

The church is not the preacher.

The church is not the leadership.

The church is each and every one of us. The strength of which depends on each and every one of us.