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SCRIPTURE:
“First let the
children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take
the children's bread and toss it to their dogs. "Yes, Lord," she
replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."
Then
he told her, "For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your
daughter." “She
went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.”
(Mark 7:27-30, NIV)"
Observation:
I asked
myself what we learned about the woman from v. 7:25-26?
-
She
heard about Jesus.
-
She
was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia.
-
She
had a little daughter who was possessed by an evil spirit.
-
She
came to Jesus
-
She
fell at his feet
-
She
begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
I asked
myself how Jesus responds in v. 27?
Jesus responds in three ways:
-
First, let the
children eat all they want.
-
It is not right
to take the children’s bread.
-
It is not right
to toss it to their dogs.
Interpretation:
I asked
myself what Jesus means by His response?
When Jesus speaks of children,
He is referring to the children of Israel or those that are Jewish. When
Jesus speaks of dogs, He is referring to those the people see as
despised Gentiles. Jesus is letting the woman know that the people
around Him see her children as dogs. Jesus expresses it to her that the
people expect Him to take care of their children first and not the
others.
Observation:
I asked
myself what is the woman’s reply?
The woman makes two remarkable
responses:
-
Yes, Lord
-
Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.
Interpretation:
I asked myself what is the significance of
the woman saying 'Yes' to Jesus’
statement?
The woman agrees with Jesus that
they are seen as despised Gentiles and the Jews have a problem with
them. She acknowledges the position she is in without thinking to
herself, “how dare Jesus refers to my daughter as a dog” and leaving.
She does not lash out at Jesus nor leave but does something profound
even though she may have been badly hurt. The woman acknowledges Jesus to
be her Lord too even though she is seen as a despised Gentile by the
Jews and those around Jesus. Even through
Jesus’ statement she knows He is Lord and can heal her daughter if He
chooses to. So, after conceding and calling Jesus Lord, she makes a
remarkable response which is evidenced by response 2.
I asked myself what is the significance of
response 2?
The woman does not deny anything
Jesus had told her, instead she reasons with Jesus and acknowledges the
children of Israel do deserve the best but those that are despised like
her and her child should at least get the children’s crumbs. She is not
asking for great things for her family but at least a small portion of
the blessings that the children of Israel enjoy. In this case, she wants
at least crumbs and not the whole bread since her family is seen as dogs
because even dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs without
being shooed away.
It is amazing to see the woman’s
faith and personality through adversity. She loves her daughter so much
that no matter how insulted or hurt she felt, she did not let that stop
her from wanting healing from Jesus for her daughter. She even
acknowledged Jesus as Lord, agreed with Jesus, and had hope for healing
her hurting daughter.
Observation:
I asked
myself what was the outcome?
"Then he
told her, ‘For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your
daughter. She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the
demon gone.’” (Mark 7:29-30, NIV)
Interpretation:
I asked
myself the significance of the child’s healing?
Jesus was showing the people
around Him that though they may despise people who are not like them, He
will not. Just as Jesus healed Jewish children who were demon-possessed,
now He healed a despised Gentile because of her faith and persistence.
Jesus saw how she reacted through adversity and blessed her for it by
healing her demon-possessed daughter. That is so awesome!
Implications:
I saw important implications for
my own life. As the despised Gentile woman did not let adversity stop
her from achieving the goal she came for, that of seeing her daughter
healed, I should not let adversity or people’s statements stop me from
depending on Jesus for the help I need for others or myself. I know with
faith whatever Jesus has done for the Jewish people, He can do for me
and my family too. Rather than being controlled by adversity and how the
circumstances around me look because others may not agree with me and
give me trouble, I should look to the Lord who oversees the
circumstances knowing He can intervene if He chooses too.
No matter what
area I may face adversity in whether it be in my spiritual life, career, academics,
relationships, etc, I know I can go to my Lord and Personal Savior and
depend on Him for the answers. Help
me Jesus! Amen!
I also learned some adversity
can be just because of words and insults too. I should not let that stop
me from seeking the Lord no matter what others say. For, I know my
Redeemer lives and He is for me. If He is for me no one can be against
me for His power, presence, purpose, and pardon in my life will trump
all other adversity! Praise the Lord! Amen!
I know adversity comes in all shapes and forms. Our greatest
adversity is Satan himself and his vilification of our lives when we
yield to the temptations before us. These temptations are because of the
sin Satan loves to feed people and let them dwell in it.
The Good News is we have a Lord and Savior who wants to deliver us
from the bondage of sin and death, from the enemies oppression, from the
adversities we face in our lives. Jesus has already paid the price and
set us free by dying for our sin on the Cross of Calvary so that we can
be REDEEMED and RESCUED. Praise the Lord.
No matter what sin we face, oppression we sense, or adversity that
has come in our lives, we are not alone. Just as Jesus helped the
woman's demon-possessed daughter, Jesus will help us and our loved ones
as we turn to Him and depend on Him. That is exciting to know! Yes, it
is!
The help Jesus gives can be as simple as STRENGTH TO BEAR THROUGH
ADVERSITIES we face in life or DELIVERANCE THROUGH ADVERSITIES. Whatever
the results and outcome, we can know that our Lord Jesus loves us and
cares for us so much! Praise the Lord!
I ask you
now dear friend, what has become of the A.D.V.E.R.S.I.T.Y in your life?
Dear friend, each of us face
adversity in our lives. The question is not where we will face adversity
but how we will handle the adversity. Life is full of adversity at
different turns but there is Good News friend. Yes, there is friend for
amidst the problems there is a way. Jesus is the Way my friend. He is
the Way for you no matter what you are facing. Don’t let the adversity
control you and paralyze you. You may feel so down because of what you
are going through but Jesus is there and wants to help you through. Yes, He does
friend!
As the woman did not give up and lose hope no matter how slim
she thought her chances maybe of receiving healing for her daughter
especially when she heard the word ‘dogs’ she did not let that stop her.
She persisted and reasoned with Jesus acknowledging Him as Lord and
waiting for His healing for her daughter. Through the adversity because
of her faith in the Lord and what He could do, Jesus did intervene and
her daughter was healed by the time she went home. That is awesome to
know. It was not instantaneous but it happened in Jesus' perfect timing.
Friend, I do not know what kind
of adversity each and every one of you is facing but Jesus knows your adversity. Yes, He does
friend and does not want you to face it alone. No, friend He does not
WANT you to face it alone but wants to be there for you. Yes, He does!
You are reading this and could be in agony because of the adversity
of sickness in a loved ones life, the adversity of not having a job, the
adversity of failing your class, the adversity of broken relationships,
and most of all the adversity of Satan trying to keep you away from the
HOLY ONE.
But, I want you to know through the ADVERSITY, you are loved by the
One who went to the CROSS just for you. Yes, He did friend. Even if you
were the only One living, Jesus would have still died for you to redeem
you, ransom you, and rescue you from your greatest adversity, Satan
himself. Jesus died and shed His precious blood to cover you so you can
be freed from Satan's oppression.
You do not have to live in oppression anymore because Jesus is there
for you friend. Yes, He is. Turn to Him as you are and receive the
CLEANSING BLOOD OF CHRIST to SAVE YOU BY GRACE. Now you can LIVE
BY HIS GRACE. Yes, friend He will strengthen you through all adversity
bringing deliverance in your life.
I am not going to write that everyone one who faces adversity will
come through with flying colors but I can say with Jesus in our lives,
we can come away without the adversity scarring us for life. Thank you
Jesus. Help us Jesus. Know how much Jesus loves you so much!
Jesus tells you I will neither leave you nor forsake you, for I will
come to you. Wait on Him and never give up. There are times our
adversity is to bring us to a place where we totally depend on Him and
Him alone, not our strengths, charm, ability, etc. It is to humble
us and let us see that we can only find joy and courage in Christ alone
and not in any of our abilities.
What are abilities without the one who gives us the ability! Without
Christ's intervention, we can use the abilities we have been blessed
with for wrong reasons! Jesus does not want that. When we have done
that, we can go to the Lord and find forgiveness at the throne of grace!
Praise the Lord!
Friend, I speak from experience.
I was so confident about a particular situation in my life that my heart
figuratively shattered for days when it did not happen. But, you know
what friend, through the adversity I faced, I came to spend so much time
with Jesus more than I ever may have within a 40 day span. You see
friend, there are times what we want we do not get and for us that is
adversity but what we want is not what the Lord knows we need at the
time. Also, the Lord's timing is rarely ever in our timing. His timing
is the best and we need to put our complete trust in Him. Help us Jesus! When I
was hurting, I continued to praise the Lord and talked to Him even as I
lay down. I fell asleep and received a wonderful dream.
In my dream, I saw Jesus
climbing the mountain and was so excited. When I woke up, my perspective
changed. The words of Jesus, “Do not be afraid,
just believe” kept resonating in me. Lord knew what I was afraid
of but wanted me to just believe. The ‘just’ word made me see that I
should totally depend on Jesus without ‘what if’s’. I have done that
friend. I still am totally depending on Jesus for a particular situation
in my life for our Lord never abandons us or leaves us. If Jesus wanted
me not to be afraid and just believe, He is handling the situation and I
will see the outcome in His timing.
As I reflected on the dream, I
asked myself why Jesus was going up the mountainside. What came to my
mind was to pray and teach. So, I took 40 days off to spend time in prayer
and mostly spend time reading the Word of God so Jesus could teach me. I
wanted to know all the Lord wants to show me through my adversity. The
adversity began America’s Independence Day of July 04, 2005. So from
that day, I decided to take 40 days which happened to end on India’s
Independence Day of August 15, 2005. In that time, as of Sunday, August
14, 2005 at 4:20 a.m. within 33 days, I was able to read through the
entire Bible starting from Genesis to Revelation.
Of the entire Word of God I
read, the Lord made me see two things that stand out to me:
“But life
is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the
Lord Jesus --- the work of spreading the Good News of God’s mighty
kindness and love.” (Acts 20:24, TLB)
The Lord
does not look at nationality, race, education, or social status.
The first verse has been my
springboard since August 15, 2005, to this day. Also, I am confident and
dependent on the Lord that He will open a better situation for me from
the situation I hurt from.
He will do that for you too
friend! Do not give up but wait on the Lord. Jesus is the Answer! Yes,
He is friend, yes He is!
If you are facing adversity in
career, academics, relationships, etc take it to the Lord in prayer. Let
Him know what you are going through by opening up to Him. Do not think
it is useless especially if something you really wanted did not happen,
for Jesus loves you and will give you the choicest blessings as you lean
on Him and depend on Him but the blessings will be His definition and
not what we think about blessings. Even through pain, He will give you the
strength to endure as He has given me.
But to experience Jesus in your life and for Jesus to help you, you
need to choose to serve Him and Him alone. We cannot have two masters.
We will love the one and hate the other. If we are not following Jesus,
we are automatically following Satan. That is what the Word of God says.
To fight adversity, you need to fight Satan with the help of the
Lord. This means you need to be willing to acknowledge that you are a
sinner in need of a Savior. You need to confess your sins to the Lord
and repent of them. You need to ask Jesus to take control of your life
and surrender to Him totally depending on Him as the woman did for her
daughter.
You cannot let the adversity of family, friends, etc of what
they may think if you give your life to Jesus affect your decision
because without Jesus we will be serving Satan even without knowing. The
Good News is Jesus wants to deliver you from Satan, our adversity who
pounces as a roaring lion. Satan is the greatest adversity we will face
if we are apart from the Lord but the Lord Jesus died on the cross for
you and me to set us free from Satan as Jesus shed His precious
cleansing blood for you and me. Jesus came back to life on the 3rd day,
is alive and here to save. We need to accept what Jesus did for us
by claiming the promises in John 14 - John 21.
Once we have the Lord Jesus in our lives, He will take care of the
rest. Yes, He will. Amidst problems there will be a way.
I want to share with you a poem,
the Lord Jesus helped me write few years ago to help those facing
problems.
Amidst
Problems There Is A Way (Read John 14)
By Ramesh C. Reddy
Is your life full of pain?
Do you feel like every decision you made seems in vain?
Do you feel like your
mistakes made a permanent stain?
And you are now walking in life's wrong lane?
Do you feel like there is nothing to gain?
Cause you have taken your own
path?
And do not know where you are headed or at?
"Only If" you keep thinking to yourself, as you alone sat?
Your decisions make you feel
full of guilt?
Your decisions made your daily life upside down tilt?
You feel it is now hard to have your life properly built?
No matter what is going
wrong!
HOLD ON, BE STRONG!
Someone mightier than your problems will show you the Way.
With His love and kindness, He will guide you day by day.
(Psalm 32:8)
He loves you so much that with His Blood, your sin He did pay.
As He on the Cross crucified lay.
On the Third Day, God brought
Him back.
And He is ready to save us with Salvation we all lack.
And in our life put us back on the right track.
(Isa
20:31)
Regardless of the problems we have been carrying in a sack.
(Psalm 50:15)
We can have Jesus Christ, God's Holy Son (John
3:16)
Who wants to have all your problems though they weigh a ton.
With Christ's help we can handle problems w/o having to run.
And Jesus will let you know, you have well done!
Please accept Jesus into your heart. (Romans 10:9)
In your life, Jesus will always do His part
(Phil
4:13)
And help you Satan's fiery arrows Dart.
As you give Jesus a Start. (Rom 10:13)
Amen!
May you rest in the loving arms
of Jesus Christ, who wants to be your Lord and Personal Savior now and
forever knowing He is the Answer!
“As Devil Vilifies Everyone, Remember Savior Intentionally Treats You!”
(A.D.V.E.R.S.I.T.Y)/”What has become of the A.D.V.E.R.S.I.T.Y in your
life?”
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you so much how loving you are and for helping the
woman's daughter in both of their adversity. Thank you for interceding
on behalf of the daughter when she was demon-possessed when her mommy
came to you and asked for your help. I thank you that you are here to
intervene in our adversities too. We you Lord. Thanks for being
our Savior too and that we can always turn to. I totally depend on you. Thank you for the work you have
already done in our lives. You alone are God eternal throughout earth
and heaven above. Thank you for the work you will continue to do in our
lives. Please help Oh Lord and deliver us. Thank you that you do! Thank
you for dying for our sin and coming back to life to save us. Thank you
for the blood you shed on the cross to give us Eternal life when we turn
to thee. We turn to thee Oh Lord and thank you for your blessings and
intervention in our lives. We are so sorry for our sin and ask you to
please forgive us, hear us, and answer us Oh Lord. We want to lift your
Name on High! We trust in your unfailing love. Jesus thank you for being
the Answer for us! I pray right now for the one facing so much adversity
that amidst the problems, they will see a way in you for a way out of
their adversity. Oh Lord,
you can provide that way. You know Lord, their pain and what they
suffer. You can restore the broken. So, Oh Lord, amidst the problems,
help us to trust in thee. Thank you Jesus you will show us the way. You
will guide us with your loving kindness day by day. Thank you for loving
us so much. We turn our heart to thee and accept you into our heart.
Thank you Jesus, for doing your part! I thank you Jesus, for helping us
Satan's fiery arrows dart. We acknowledge you as our Lord and Personal
Savior! Thank you for being our Lord and Personal Savior! Thank you that
you have heard us and answered us! IN YOUR NAME I PRAY JESUS! AMEN!!
May
you experience the POWER OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION this day, and give Him
the LOCKED areas of your life too so you can experience His PEACE as you
become an ACTOR in the film called LIFE being directed by your DIRECTOR,
JESUS CHRIST who comes to give JOY and PEACE.
You
don't have to be locked away anymore for Christ is here to free you and
give you peace to live out your actions.
How
do you look at GODISNOWHERE?
One
of my pastors, Pastor Hugo shared this example this past Sunday at the
RESURRECTION DAY SERVICE in the combined worship service of Pittsburgh
Chinese Church-Oakland & Oakland International Fellowship:
If
you look at it as GOD IS NO WHERE, you will still be lost in your sin
and be in bondage locked away in your sins and problems finding no
peace.
But
as my pastor spoke to the congregation and spoke to me, I am here to
tell you that GOD IS NOW HERE.
Yes,
friend God is alive and wants to bring a transformation in your life
through the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ for He paid the penalty on
the cross to rescue you and me and came back to life to save us and live
with us.
Yes,
friend that is exciting to know that we can experience HIS SAVING GRACE
& LIVING GRACE.
When
we mess up, we can go to Jesus with our shortcomings and He will forgive
us and restore us to Him and we will find peace in Him.
"Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the
world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he
has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore
Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him
who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God." (Colossians 5:17-21, NIV)
"For the wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his
Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9, NIV)
Friend, we need Jesus because we have been separated from God due to our
sin. Because of our sin, Jesus had to pay the price to become our bridge
so we can reach God now not of our own good works but because of the
finished work of Christ, the Lord on the cross.
"For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not
by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)
May
you come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Personal Savior becoming
His offspring so you can spend Eternity with Him. He is waiting for you.
Come as you are. Please do not reject the gift of God.
If
you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a
daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be
alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them
come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to
wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as
you pray this prayer, meaning it in your heart and finding your new
identity in Christ Jesus.
Make this your prayer. Don’t let
the enemy deceive you into thinking you need all the answers before
coming to Christ. Let me just assure you though you may not have all the
answers right now before coming to Jesus, He will answer them slowly.
Yes, He will for I know our Redeemer will! Amen!
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for foreshadowing once again about SAVING US when
you spoke to the disciples about the KERNEL OF WHEAT. Thanks for dying
for our sin so we can have Eternal Life and be saved when we turn to
you. The previous day, you allowed Mary to wash your dirty/stinking feet. Anything
you do has a reason and you foreshadowed what you would do for us one
day on the cross. You washed away all our sins with your precious
cleansing blood on the cross. Thank you so much Jesus. No matter what we
have done or where we have been, we can know that you love us and paid
the ransom to deliver us from the stench of sin. Thank you Jesus. I
accept the antidote you offer and want you to wash me clean with your
precious cleansing blood so I can have new life. My sin I give it all to
you so you can cover me with your righteousness. Help me Jesus. I don't
want to live like I have been living. I don't want my life to smell
because of the stinky/dirty sins of my life. I know you offer cleansing
and washing so I come to you now and receive it. Thank you for forgiving
me of all my sin when you paid the price on the cross for me which I
accept now. Please give me new life Jesus. Come into my heart and make
my heart your home. Live in me Jesus and I will live for you and help me
to serve you the rest of the days of my life so I can say, "Lord Jesus,
ANYTHING, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, I am ready" as you strengthen me and walk
with me and talk to me. I love you Jesus. I accept you as my Lord and
Personal Savior. Please be my Lord and Personal Savior. Thank you for
helping me learn about what Mary did for you and the implications for
our own lives. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me
giving me new life. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!
