Life Recovery Bible - Flipbook - Page 35
9
Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as
commands from God.’*”
10
Then Jesus called to the crowd to come
and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth
that defiles you; you are defiled by the words
that come out of your mouth.”
12
Then the disciples came to him and
asked, “Do you realize you offended the
Pharisees by what you just said?”
13
Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted
by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so
ignore them. They are blind guides leading
the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
15
Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us
the parable that says people aren’t defiled by
what they eat.”
16
“Don’t you understand yet?” J esus asked.
17
“Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the
words you speak come from the heart—that’s
what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come
evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual
immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These
are what defile you. Eating with unwashed
hands will never defile you.”
The Faith of a Gentile Woman
21
Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to
the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile*
woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of Da
vid! For my daughter is possessed by a demon
that torments her severely.”
23
But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a
word. Then his disciples urged him to send
her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said.
“She is bothering us with all her begging.”
24
Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent
only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of
Israel.”
25
But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”
26
Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take
food from the children and throw it to the
dogs.”
27
She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even
dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall
beneath their masters’ table.”
28
“Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your
faith is great. Your request is granted.” And
her daughter was instantly healed.
RECOVERY PRINCIPLE DEVOTIONAL
FAITH
READ MATTHEW 15:22-28
Sometimes the insanity of living with our
own addictions or with people who are acting in bizarre ways can cause us to become
desperate for help. Jesus once dealt with
a woman who was driven to him out of
desperation.
“A Gentile woman who lived there came
to him, pleading, ‘Have mercy on me,
O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is
possessed by a demon that torments her
severely.’ But Jesus gave her no reply, not
even a word. . . . Then Jesus said to the
woman, ‘I was sent only to help God’s lost
sheep—the people of Israel.’ But she came
and worshiped him, pleading again, ‘Lord,
help me!’ Jesus responded, ‘It isn’t right
to take food from the children and throw
it to the dogs.’ She replied, ‘That’s true,
Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat
the scraps that fall beneath their master’s
table.’ ‘Dear woman,’ Jesus said to her,
‘your faith is great. Your request is granted.’
And her daughter was instantly healed”
(Matthew 15:22-28).
It took a lot of courage for this woman
to even speak to Jesus because of the
racism of their time. She was despised
and ridiculed for seeking an end to her
family’s torment, but she didn’t give up.
She believed God was the only one who
could help her, and she would not be
deterred. Our own desperation can lead
to sincere faith that can be of tremendous
help to us in recovery. Turn to page 1223,
Matthew 16.
15:8-9 Isa 29:13 (Greek version). 15:22 Greek
Canaanite.
1221
