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?

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?

Romans ends the same way it started – the description of faith as something to be obeyed. (Romans 1:5, 16:26) Almost like bookends, Paul defines the faith he says is needed to get salvation.

I wonder if the convenient chapter headings make it difficult to see these verses. In my Bible, Romans 1:5 is in a section called Greeting and Romans 16:26 is  in a section called Doxology. While these handy subheadings are great for helping us find stuff in the Bible, they are not part of the Bible and should not be trusted as if they are.

Since these are essentially sections called “hello” and “goodbye,” it seems like it is ok to skim them. Those who do miss the two verses describing the faith needed for salvation. Take a look at Romans 1:5:

through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations

This verse is chock full of information:

• The Gospel is from the Christ (The “through whom” is continued from v4)
• An apostle empowered to preach it is delivering it
• The requirement of faith in Jesus
• Obedience, the consequence of faith
• The gospel is for all nations

Absolute, unwavering faith is required for salvation. We see Paul discuss it throughout the book of Romans (and his other letters for that matter.) The faith of Jesus Christ is a lot more than just making a statement of belief – it requires action. It requires response. It requires obedience. To get a sense of the extent we might have to go, take a look at the people in Hebrews 11. Now answer this: What if one of those people said to God, “I believe you can, but I’m not going to do that”?

Worry, Fear, Panic. Just a few of the symptoms of one that doesn’t trust. If we lack faith in something, then we do not expect to be able rely on it.

How do you supposed Jesus felt when he had to ask his disciples where their faith was? (Luke 8:25) Jesus had demonstrated his power to them time and time again, but they still feared the storm. (Luke 8:22-24)

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt, 1632.

Every day will bring new challenges. This might be especially true for those trying to be faithful to God. When we allow those challenges to consume our attention, we will eventually overthink the situation. Fear and worry can use that to get a foothold.

To get a head start on the day, we have to expect the unexpected. Sure, that’s a little cliché, but preparing ourselves to handle anything that life throws at us is how we deal with it. Here are a few things we can do get that head start:

• Bible reading – an excellent way to build faith (Romans 10:17)
• Prayer – The prayers of a righteous person gets results (James 5:16)
• Review our priorities – Seek God’s kingdom first (Luke 12:31) and select our treasure wisely (Luke 12:34)

Faith in God is the first step (and often the only step) needed to avoid worry and fear.

Daily Bible reading for September 12

Psalm 41
2 Samuel 2
Ezekiel 1
Luke 8:22-56