Thursday, April 09, 2015
TEXT: MARK 7:24-30
Key Verse: “And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs” (Mark 7:28).
Many Christians pray to God in a commanding and assertive tone that suggests that He has become either their debtor or errand boy in their supposed exercise of faith. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Genuine faith comes with humility, a sense of dependence and calm repose.
When the Syrophenician woman came to the Lord Jesus Christ seeking healing for her sick daughter, she was armed with genuine faith. Indeed, in Matthew’s account of the incident, Christ described her faith as “great”. What made her faith great? Christ had just got to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and checked into a house where He craved privacy. There came this desperate woman whose faith in Christ could not be barred by any human protocol; she sought Jesus out. Even Christ’s seemingly reproof did not dampen her faith. Christ said, “Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.” By this, He meant that the benefits of His ministry was first directed at the Jews and He was not yet done with them. And she was a Gentile and therefore unworthy of such benefit at that time. She accepted her status as a “dog” but unleashed her great faith at securing “the children’s crumbs.”
This woman’s faith had humility, a sense of dependence, confidence and importunity. No wonder Christ instantly healed her daughter. She got more than crumbs! If you desire audience at the throne of grace, you must come to God with the same attitude of genuine faith. Yes, as his children, God has given us various promises and privileges, but we must not approach Him rashly o r
arrogantly. God is neither our debtor nor our messenger. Our faith and prayer must show absolute dependence on Him as our Benefactor and Father.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: PSALM 51 - 60
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Great faith works with no fanfare.
Higher Everyday for Youths - Link: http://highereveryday.dclmhq.org/
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