St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 28, The Lost Children of God: Let it be done.

Our paragraph topic is: (The Canaanite woman) Part 7.

And the Canaanite woman crawled up from the depths of her heart, admitted to her wrongs and begged Christ for crumbs.  She begged for forgiveness and asked for crumbs.  She begged for healing and asked for crumbs.  She begged for understanding and asked for crumbs.  She gave her heart and asked for crumbs.  For Christ saw the faith in her.  He saw the love in her.  He saw the hope in her and he knew what was in her heart.

In her heart was a need.  In her heart was a desire.  In her heart was a hope.  In her heart was the word that brought her out of the village into the wilderness to meet Christ.  In her heart was the belief that Christ was the one who would save her daughter.  She knew when he spoke to her.  She knew in her heart that he had the power.  She knew in her heart that he had the truth.  She knew in her heart that what she had heard about him was true because of the words he spoke to her concerning the children.  And yet she still believed.

For she had searched everywhere for a cure.  She had asked everyone for help.  She had sought the wisest and the knowledgeable and none could help.  But when she came to Christ she knew that he was the one.  For Christ saw beyond her need.  Christ saw into her heart.  Christ saw into her soul and knew the medicine that would help.  But Christ did not just want to cure her daughter.  He wanted to cure the Canaanite woman also. 

So Christ posed a cure that would bring forth the deep seated beliefs from her soul and cleanse her of her wrongs.  And the Canaanite woman opened herself and allowed her soul to be cleansed.  She admitted her wrongs.  She spoke forth the errors in her beliefs.  And she humbled herself before Christ and asked for the crumbs from his table that she may be healed.  And Christ saw her humility.  Christ saw her desire.  Christ saw her belief and opened the door for her prayers to be answered.   Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is thy faith!   Let it be done to thee as thou wilt." And her daughter was healed from that moment.

The Canaanite is an example to us today.  She heard the word of Christ and set out to find him.  She found him and she worshipped him.  She praised him and he opened her heart.  And she humbled herself and Christ healed her and her daughter.  It was her belief in what she heard that drove her.  It was her desire to know that led her.  It was her hope in him that humbled her.  And it was her faith in him that healed her.  Many today hear the word but do not seek.   Many find but do not worship him who gave.  Many praise but do not open their hearts.  And many have faith but do not humble themselves because they live in a world that holds them, a world of their bodies.

My own journey led me to him.  My own path took me through many tricks and turns on the path to him.  It was only as a last resort that I turned to him for help.  And in seeking that help I gave up everything else.  I released all ties to this world.  I wanted to establish ties with him.  What do you seek?  What are your desires?  Do you wish to know?  Do you seek to find?  Christ awaits you that you may receive your treasures.  Christ awaits you that you may know the truth of who you are.

Come follow the path that I followed!  Come read the truth that was given to me! Come seek the knowledge that has been before mankind for ages yet hidden by the world!  Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ.  And in that knowledge will come the Advocate who will teach, who will guide, who will protect, who will provide, and who will reveal the kingdom of heaven where Christ Jesus our lord awaits with loving arms.

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 27, The Lost Children of God: The needs of the children.

Our paragraph topic is: (The Canaanite woman) Part 6. 

Christ said it is not fair.  Christ told the Canaanite woman that it was not fair to take the children's bread.  It was not fair to not care about the children.  It was not fair to have a selfish attitude without consideration of one's actions.  It was not fair to take and take and take no matter who one took from, including children.  It was not fair Christ told the Canaanite woman to have such an attitude, to be so careless, to be so self absorbed, to be so selfish, and yet she pleaded with Christ for help.

She believed that her daughter could be saved.  She believed that Christ could save her.  She believed that he was the one, out of all the others she had sought for help.  She knew within herself that he was the one.  And she came and cried out.  She pleaded with the disciples.  She begged for help and Christ did not answer her because he knew what was in her heart.  He knew of her carelessness.  He knew of her deeds.  He knew of her attitude.  And he did not answer.  But that did not dissuade the Canaanite woman.  That did not turn her around.  That did not stop her from pressing on, from continuing to believe, from having no doubts as to the help that Christ could provide.  And Christ told her that it was not fair to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs.

And she was devastated.  She was crushed.  She was cast down because this was what she did.  This was her life.  This was her attitude,where she did not have any concerns about who she hurt, even the children.  And she crawled up from the depths of her soul and admitted that she was wrong.   But she said, "Yes, Lord; for even the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."  

Yes, Lord, she admitted.  Yes, Lord, she was wrong.  Yes, Lord, she was selfish.  Yes, Lord, she took the children's bread.  Yes, Lord, she admitted and asked for help.  Even the dogs feed.  Even the dogs have a place.  Even the dogs get the crumbs.  Even the dogs are taken care of.  Lord, I have been wrong in my actions.  Lord, I have been wrong in my deeds.  Lord, I have been wrong in my selfishness.  But, Lord, even the dogs have a place to go.  Lord, even the dogs have a master to feed them.  Lord, even the dogs eat.  Lord, let me be a dog and feed from the crumbs of your table.

The Canaanite woman believed.  The Canaanite woman knew.  The Canaanite woman sought the help of Christ.   Even confronted with her wrongs, she still believed.  She still believed that there was a place for her.  She still believed that the master would take care of her needs, even though she was lower than the dogs who feed from their master's table.  She continued to believe.  She continued to have faith.  She continued to know that Christ would see through the depths of her heart and know her change in heart.  Christ would know her humility.  For she truly humbled herself from her high status and came to see the wrongs of her ways.  She humbled herself and let go of her selfish beliefs.  She cried out from the depths of her heart, "Lord let me be a dog at your table that I may feed of your crumbs." 

Lord, may I feed of your crumbs.  Lord, may I know of the goodness of your mercy.  Lord, may I find peace at your table.  Lord, may I know that you are the master.  Lord, may I believe that you are the protector, the provider, the healer.  Lord, may I know the truth of who you are.  Lord, may I know of your love.  Do you believe?  Do you know?  Do you see that you may not be blind?  For there is one who would have you deaf.  There is one who would have you blind.  There is one who would have you ignorant to the truth.  Lord, let me feed from the crumbs of your table.  Where do you feed?

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 26, The Lost Children of God: It is unfair.

Our paragraph topic is: (The Canaanite woman) Part 5.   

What are beliefs?  Are they the stuff that our dreams are made of?  Are they the desires of our hearts?  Are they the thoughts that we have about what we want, think, see, feel.  A writer I once read described a belief as a feeling of certainty about something.  The Canaanite woman had a belief.  She believed that her daughter could be cured of the demon that possessed her.  She had an idea and she became certain that she could find a way to restore her daughter to the way that she knew her before being possessed.

She followed that idea up with action for she knew that there was a way.  She consulted all the known cures of the time, met with the best physicians, doctors, healers, sorcerers of the time but found no answer.  Then she heard the word.  She heard of Christ.  She heard of his miracles, she heard how he made the lame walk, the blind see, cured the sick, and made the demons depart from the possessed.  Then the word she heard convinced her, with certainty, that her daughter would be cured.  She had no doubts, she believed with certainty.

She had to find this Christ.  She had to ask him for help.  She had to beg and plead with his disciples that she might see him, get near to him, speak with him that her daughter might be saved.  She knew that she was not a Jew.  She knew that she was a gentile.  She knew that Jews and gentiles did not associate, did not live together.  The former considered the latter less than.  The former did not associate with the latter.  The former considered the latter unclean.  But all this did not change her belief that her daughter could be saved.  All of this did not deter her purpose or change her from her goal, her desire, her belief.  She was certain that she could persuade the Christ to save her daughter.

So she came to him and falling on her knees she worshipped him and pleaded for his help.  And Christ,  he saidin answer, "It is not fair to take the
children’s bread and to cast it to the dogs."

Christ made this statement in expressing the sentiment of the times.  Food was scarce and there were many mouths to feed.  Who got to eat first?  Who would go without food?  Who would make the decision, the judgement as to who would eat and who would not?  For it had come to be, that the scales of fairness played into the decisions of men.  It was not fair, it was not right to take bread from children and give it to the animals.  But the wealthy did.  It was not right, it was not fair that the dogs of the rich eat better than the poor.  It was not right, it was not fair that the poor were taxed out of the food to feed the children and those same taxes fed the dogs of the rulers, the dogs of the wealthy, the dogs of the powerful.

Christ made this statement to the Canaanite woman because he knew that just as strong as her desire, her belief, that her daughter needed help, she had the same belief that her dogs would eat before the poor.  You see the Canaanite woman was a woman of means.  She was a woman of power and influence.  She did not know hunger.  She did not know poverty.  She did not know want.  For she was of the ruling class and was a wealthy person.  And Christ admonished her with the statement that it was not fair for her to think and believe that her dogs should eat and be fed from the wealth taken from the poor.

And where are we today?  Do we believe the same?  Are we the selfish ones who feed ourselves, our children, and our pets while those less fortunate go hungry?  Do we pass up an opportunity to help others, thinking that they are bums or beggars seeking a hand out?  We tell ourselves that they are drug addicts.  We tell ourselves that they are drunkards seeking another drink.  We look down on them from our high position without considering that they too are the children of God created in his image and likeness.  And we even get indignant and angry that they would ask us for help.

They are on every corner.  They are under every bridge.  They are without house, without clothes, without means, without hope.  And we pass them by, avoid them, and yet, feed our pets and our dogs before we would feed them.  It is not fair to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs.  What do you do?  What is your excuse?  What is in your heart?  Judge not and feed the children of God. 

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 25, The Lost Children of God: Their Worship of God.

Our paragraph topic is: (The Canaanite woman) Part 4.

We have to ask ourselves today, "What is it about this Canaanite woman that applies to us?"  Her daughter was beset of demons and she loved her daughter.   For she watched as her daughter did unspeakable things and she was tormented by the actions of the demon inside.  So she sought solutions.  She went to all the known scholars of the time.  She sought all the physicians.  She may have even sought the sorcerers of the time for help.  But none could help her in her quest to rid her daughter of the demon that possessed her.

Then she heard the word.  She heard about the words of Christ.  She heard of his miracles.  She heard of his preachings.  And then she knew.  She knew that he was the one.  She knew that he was the solution because his words carried the power.  His words carried in it the seed of hope.  His words carried in it the truth that filled her heart with the belief that her problem would be solved.  And she knew without a doubt that Christ would save her daughter.

So she came out of her town.  She came out of her village.  She resolved within herself that she would find Christ and she would petition him with her pleas to help her daughter.  She would not be turned, she would not be moved.  And when she found him, she cried out.  She followed him and begged to be heard.  She called to the disciples and asked for their intercession.  She cried out in a loud voice so that she would be heard and they wanted to send her away.  They wanted to turn her around because she made such a noise that no one wanted to hear. 

Christ heard but did not answer.  He understood her need but did not respond.  He listened to her pleas but did not say a word.  He listened to her faith.  He listened to her hope.  He listened for her belief in him as the solution to her problems but did not respond.  And then she was allowed to come before him and she worshipped him.   But she came and worshipped him, saying! "Lord, help me!"

What does this Canaanite woman have to do with us today?  She came to Christ and she pleaded for her daughter.  She would not be moved and she would not be deterred.  She knew that he was the answer.  She knew that her solution was with Christ.  And she believed that he would heal her daughter.  She had resolution.  She had determination.  She had faith.  She had hope that was solid as a rock and would not be changed, for she knew.  Do we know today?  Do we believe today that Christ is our answer?  Do we have the faith that will not be moved?  The Canaanite woman had no answers.  She had no proof.  She had no evidence that would convince her that he would be the one.  After trying all other solutions she heard his words.  And the word filled her with hope.  The word filled her with faith.  The word filled her heart with the truth that Christ was the answer and she came in search of that answer.

The world puts answers before us.  The world tells us that it has the solution to all our problems.  All we have to do is believe that the solution is in the world.  All we have to do is resign ourselves to the world and go to sleep in its solutions.  It tells us that our problems will be solved.  Resolve yourself to the world and you will find the peace of the world.  But you will not find the eternal peace of Christ.  You will not find eternal solutions.  You will not find the faith that tells you of the eternal joy and the eternal peace that comes from Christ.  The Canaanite woman knew.  The Canaanite woman believed.  The Canaanite woman took action and sought him out.  Will you do the same today?  Will you seek him out?  Will you know that he is the solution?  Will you believe?

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 24, The Lost Children of God: He was not sent.

Our paragraph topic is: (The Canaanite woman) Part 3.

The Canaanite woman came out of the country.  She came to plead for her daughter.  She came because she knew that he was the answer.  She came because she believed that he could save her daughter from the demons.  She came because she had faith in the word that she heard about him.  She came because nothing or no one else could help and she had tried them all. 

She cried out to him.  She pleaded with his disciples.  She wept for her daughter that she may know peace.  And Christ answered her not.  But she would not be turned.  She would not be moved.  She would not relent.  She had heard the word and she believed that he could.  She had heard the word of what he had done for others and she knew that he would save her daughter.  She knew that he would help her if only she could plead with him for her daughter.  So she came out of her country and cried out to him to save her daughter.  Christ answered her not.  But he answered and said,  "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Christ was not sent.  He came of his own.  He came to save.  He came to free.  He came to sanctify.  He came to justify.  He came that mankind would be restored to their rightful place before God our Father.  But he was sent by God to lost sheep of the house of Israel.  He was sent by God to bring back the lost.  He was sent by God to restore to the house of Israel, those that had gone astray and were lost.  And to the rest he came. 

The Canaanite woman came.  She came for her daughter.  She came because of the word.  She came because she knew that he would save.  Why do we come?  Why do we seek him out?  Why do we pray?  Why do we plead to him for mercy?  Do you know that he is the one?  Do we believe that he can save?  Do we know in our hearts that Christ is the Son of God and can provide for us?  Do we believe that Christ is the Son of God and he can protect us from harm, can heal our wounds, can bring us joy and peace and happiness?   Or do we seek him that we may know worldly goods?  Do we seek him that we may live prosperously in this world?  Do we seek him that he may provide for us in this world.  For the world is corrupt.  The world is evil.  The world is on the path of destruction.  Do we know this and accept it or do we believe that having Christ with us in this world will redeem us?

Christ died that we may have spiritual life with the father.  For God said that if you eat of the forbidden tree then you must die.  And the spirit of man died on that day that he eat of the forbidden fruit.  But Christ came and restored what was lost.  Christ came and gave mankind new life that we may know spiritual life in him.  He did not come that we would know worldly life.  He came that the life that is within us, the spiritual life, would be restored, the spiritual life would be given back to mankind, if they chose to believe.  For it is through belief that we are restored.  It is through belief that we have eternal life in him.  It is through belief that we are baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  And new life is restored and given.  Christ came of his own to save all mankind.  But he was sent by God to the lost house of Israel that they may be given new life in him. 

Do you believe?  Do you know?  Do you seek because you seek worldly relief?  Or do you seek because you believe that he is the one, that he is the truth, that he is the way to eternal life?  For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that we may have life everlasting.  The Canaanite woman believed.  What do you believe? 

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 23, The Lost Children of God: The Cry of the children.

Our paragraph topic is: (The Canaanite woman) Part 2.

And the Canaanite woman came.  And she cried out to the Lord.  And she cried out to the disciples.  And she cried out that all the people heard.  And she did not receive an answer.  For she was desperate.  She was determined.  She would not be moved.  So, she cried and she cried and she cried.  And she did not despair.  She did not quit.  She did not turn around.  She did not allow hopelessness to come in.  For she knew that Christ was the answer.  She knew that he was the one.  She knew that through him her prayers would be answered.  So, she did not relent.  She cried out for her daughter who was beset with by a devil.

And the disciples heard her cries.  The people heard her cries.  And they wanted her to stop.  They wanted her to turn around.  They wanted her to be quiet from all the woes that she felt.  But Christ did not respond.  Christ did not answer her.  Christ only heard her cries and her tears and her pleases for help.  But the disciples wanted her to stop and they sought Christ to send her away but he would not.   He answered her not a word.  And his disciples came up and besought him saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after us."

Who cries out to God today?  Who beseeches Christ that their prayers might be heard?  Who will not be moved?  Who will not turn away?  Who will be relentless?  Who believes that he is the one?  Who knows within themselves that their prayers will be answered?  Only those who believe greatly, only those who know that their belief is truth and that no one or nothing will turn them around.  The world would detain us.  The world would turn us.  The world would have us not believe.  The world will test our faith.  The world will question our belief.  But only those who know will not be moved.  Only those who know will not turned from their faith in Christ.  For they know without a doubt the Christ can solve their problems, cure their ills, bring peace, give joy to the heart, bring salvation, and restore happiness to those who believe in him.

The Canaanite woman believed.  The Canaanite woman knew.  For she had heard the words that had come to her of the testimony of Christ.  She had faced the evil that was in her daughter without finding relief.  No one was able to help.  No one was able to cast out the demon.  But she had heard of the miracles of Christ and she knew that he was the one.  Do you know that he is the one??  Do you believe that he can save?  Do you believe that he is the answer? 

We seek answers in the world today.  We seek ways to cure our ills, to solve our problems, ways to provide wealth that we believe will bring us peace.  What do we find?  We find temporary peace, temporary joy, temporary love, temporary happiness, but not the peace that comes from the Father.  Christ knows our desires.  Christ knows our wants and our hearts.  And he answers not a word.  How long will you cry out?  How long will you seek him?  How long will you wait for his answer?  How long will you believe?

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 21 - 22, The Lost Children of God: The Canaanite Woman.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The Canaanite woman) Part 1.  

Jesus left the land of Genesar and traveled to the district of Tyre and Sidon where he stayed and taught the disciples and the people.  The word spread.  The word was spoken of his greatness.  The word was heard by many far and wide that knew him not, but heard of his deeds.  And many came to be a witness, for themselves, of the truth that was taking place in their time.  For others did not believe.  Others scoffed at the idea.  Others ridiculed the word.  Others warned of fake and fraud and forgery and trickery.  And others persuaded the people that no such person existed that could give them hope.  For evil was at work in the land.  Evil possessed the people.  Evil turned their minds and their hearts that they did not believe the Messiah had come.  Their eyes did not see, their ears did not hear and their hearts were closed less the word would enter them and they believed.  

And yet there were those, lost children of God, that did believe.  There were those, the lost children of God, who heard the word.  There were those, the lost children of God, who had a ray of hope when the word entered and sparked new life.  And evil would not relent.  Evil would not pass.  Evil would not yield until the appointed time.  For evil possessed the people and held them within its grip.  And no one knew of the hope that would rid them of the evil. 

And so, the Canaanite woman came.  And so, she was filled with hope.  And so, she knew the truth had come.  She would not be turned, she would not be deterred, she would not relent, she would not accept defeat, she would not give up to the evil that had possessed her daughter and taken over her body.  For she knew that the time had come.  She knew that the Messiah had come.  She believed that he was the one who would defeat the evil that was in her life and the life of her daughter.  So, she came out to meet Jesus and to plead for his help.   And leaving there, Jesus retired to the district of Tyre and Sidon.  And behold, a Canaanite woman came out of that territory and cried out to him, saying, "Have pity on me, O Lord, Son of David!  My daughter is sorely beset by a devil."

Does the Canaanite woman cry out today?  Can you hear her crying for her children?  Can you hear her weeping for the lost children of God?  For they are blind.  They are deaf.  They are hungry.  They are dirty.  They have no place to sleep.  They are possessed of evil that turns them away from society to seek their own survival.  And the evil stalks them day and night without relenting.  They know no rest.  Who would weep for them? Who will care for them?  Who will feed them.  Who will give them the true spiritual food that they need to renew the life within.  Physical food will not suffice.  Only the spiritual food that Christ brought will heal, will save, will conquer, and will give new life. 

The Canaanite woman came.  She came because she heard the word.  She came because she believed.  She came because she knew that this Christ was the answer to her prayers and she would not be deterred.  She would not be turned.  She would not be changed.  She knew that her prayers had been answered.  So, she went out to meet him.  She went out to see him.  She went out to know him that her prayers would be answered.  And she cried out to the Lord.  Save my daughter.  Save my child.  Save my beloved, for she is beset by a devil.  Who will cry out for the lost souls of today?  Who will weep for those possessed of evil?  Who will pray for them?