Are you a Dog?

²⁵ A woman whose daughter had an evil spirit in her, heard about Jesus and came to him at once and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Gentile, born in the region of Phoenicia in Syria. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ But Jesus answered, “Let us first feed the children. It isn’t right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”  MARK 7:25-27

W

here we have read is a remarkable story of a woman who came to Jesus to seek help. She was not the only one who came to Jesus for help at that time. But a discussion took place between her and Jesus that explains the operation rules in the Kingdom of God. This discussion sets the standard that qualifies one for help by God. Let us examine this story step-by-step.

When Will You Turn Back?

 ^Image

³¹Simon, Simon! Listen! Satan has received permission to test all of you, to separate the good from the bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff. ³²But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you turn back to me, you must strengthen your brothers. Luke 22:31&32

Simon Peter is one of Jesus’ most remarkable disciples. The Bible contains many incidents where he was engaged in arguments with Jesus himself. And in the passage we have read above, Peter was again engaged in a discussion with Jesus. If we read ahead, we will discover that Jesus was predicting Peter’s denial. He said when the cock crowed, Peter would already have denied him three times. 

What’s the Foundation of your Life? 1

²⁴“So then, anyone who hears these words of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵The rain poured down, the rivers overflowed, and the wind blew hard against that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on rock. ²⁶But anyone who hears these words of mine and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain poured down, the rivers overflowed, the wind blew hard against that house, and it fell. And what a terrible fall that was!”  MATT. 7:24-27

In this life we live, there are two categories of houses or temples. And remember that each of us is someone’s temple; we are either the temple of the Holy Spirit, or the temple of Satan. One temple is built on rock, and the other is built on sand. Since we live in this world, we are both subject to the same kinds of weather conditions. The thing that determines our fate during these storms is the foundation we are built upon. What are you built upon? What’s the foundation of your life?

Whoever Believes in the Son is not Judged

God has been merciful to mankind. His plans are perfect. When the first covenant was established, the law was its guiding principle. But sinful man broke the law and deserved to die. God in his mercy decided to save the man he had made from death. He replaced the old covenant with a new one which depends no longer on the law but on faith. 

I Give You Peace

"Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid" (John 14:27). 

When it was time for Jesus to accomplish the mission of redeeming mankind and return to the Father, his disciples were worried and he knew it. So in the first verse of the chapter, he told them: "Do not be worried and upset. . . Believe in God and believe also in me." From all he had, he chose to leave his disciples with peace. They had power to perform miracles but that was not enough. They needed the peace of God.