by Gina Brummett | Oct 29, 2020 | Devotions
I’m captured today by the scenario recorded in Matthew 15* about a desperate mother who came to Jesus. “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”
In my personal life, there is a “daughter in the faith” who is battling the demons of past addiction and abuse. Along with a few faithful friends, we are doing our best to nurture her like spiritual mothers, loving her with discipleship into health and wholeness. In this respect, we can relate to the Gentile woman who has no other solution than to lay the situation completely at the feet of Jesus.
When the woman in scripture pled with Jesus, He initially did not respond. “But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word.” That pause caught the attention of the disciples and prompted them to interject their opinion that Jesus should turn the woman away. “She is bothering us with all her begging,” they said.
Jesus used the crisis and the conversation as a teaching moment. (Doesn’t He always?) Fully knowing what he was about to do for the woman and her tormented daughter, He declared, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep – the people of Israel.” That might have been enough to satisfy the disciples, who were ready to be finished with this “interruption”, but the woman was not to be so easily dismissed.
“But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, ‘Lord, help me!’” (v. 25) It strikes me that the most honest form of worship is our admission that we are totally dependent on the Lord.
Jesus’ next words may have been said with a compassionate but playful smile that signaled to the woman that he was teasing her a bit. In my imagination, He turned slightly toward the disciples and increased his volume so they wouldn’t miss His next words. “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” Now He really is pouring it on and she – hoping with all her heart that she is reading Him accurately– joins in the witty exchange. “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.” By now, I think there’s a happy but nervous giggle that erupts into joyful tears when she hears Jesus say, “Dear woman, your faith is great. Your request is granted.”
The disciples were catching on. Shortly before the episode in upper Galilee, they had been witness to a debate in Jerusalem between Jesus and the religious. Some Pharisees and teachers of the religious law had cornered Jesus about ritual handwashing. Jesus said of them “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.”
The disciples’ response had been quite different in the company of the religious elite than their response to the Gentile woman. “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” And here is where we get the expression “the blind leading the blind”. Unruffled, Jesus settled his nervous disciples with another life lesson. “They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
So, between the lines of these two stories in Matthew 15, I am learning about worship that pleases my Lord.
- It’s completely a matter of the heart. No ritual, no creative gimmick; and no clever script impresses Jesus. He looks for worshipers who adore Him with passionate, honest abandon (“spirit and truth”). See John 4:24.
- Nothing exalts Jesus more than my white-flag cry for help. Demons of every kind must flee at His command.
I love how songwriter Amy Grant said it in “Better than a Hallelujah”:
We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah.
*scriptures cited from Matthew, chapter 15, NLT.
by Gina Brummett | Oct 9, 2020 | Devotions
During this week of prayer, we are sharing the writings of two of our precious ladies, Pam Lundy and Nanci Larkin. Pam has experienced many difficult trials in life, but has used her poetry as a way to express her petitions and praises to the Lord, who has been her constant help. Nanci shared thoughts at our January prayer breakfast, based on James 5:16. We are publishing a manuscript of that presentation to encourage you to pray fervently and effectively!
JESUS LEADS THE WAY
by Pam Lundy
Dear Lord, I pray,
That I will walk each day,
With faith, hope and a life that you willed,
For me to be fulfilled.
I love you Jesus,
Through you I have picked up the broken pieces,
Putting one foot in front of the other, going forward,
Filling my heart with joy and never looking backward.
Jesus, lead the way,
Through each new day, I pray,
For strength, understanding and love,
And someday I, too, will be with you in heaven above.
THE FERVENT PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN
Presented January, 2020 at SW AG Prayer Breakfast
by Nanci Larkin
This week has been set aside for prayer and fasting. Today we end our congregational fast, but as Christians, prayer will always continue to be our focus.
My key verse today is James 5:16 (KJV) “The effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
So, what I have observed from the daily emails with the stated prayer focus for the day is that:
First, the needs are MANY
Second, the needs are BIG: bigger than ourselves.
Third, the needs are desperate.
And finally, You are not alone. There are others to your right and to your left that carry the same prayer burdens you also carry.
So when we look at the key verse James 5:16 (KJV) “The effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” And then look at our many, needy, and desperate prayers, let’s ask some tough questions.
There are some here today who have been praying the same prayers for even up to 10 years! Maybe 20 years! And maybe longer, yet they remain unanswered today. (Remember Tomorrow is just a day away so hang on to your prayers).
Very recently as I was praying for the lost, I fell under the weight of the knowledge of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Genesis 6:5 (NLT) says “The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness…. & He saw that EVERYTHING they thought or imagined was CONSISTENTLY and TOTALLY evil.”
I sobbed in tears most of that night, crying out and asking: Why does He bother with us? Why was He willing to dies for the likes of us? How could He love us in our wicked condition?
Mostly, I am immune to the common sins all around us. They are part of our culture—we get desensitized from advertisements, news articles, TV, and every worldly voice, even our workplace rules of ‘tolerance’. I mean the Bible says to dress modestly and it is incredibly difficult to find modest fashions in our current culture. But I digress.
This night my own heart was full of anger, disgust, and horror at our worldly sins. I wanted judgment and justice to fall on those trapped in these horrible sins—which are so offensive to my Savior. And I was so disappointed and sickened by my own unsaved loved ones trapped in their ugly sins. How could God love them in light of this deep sin? I was having a very hard time with love myself.
But He does love them and scripture says it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), not the sternness or lectures from Mom and Dad. Though sternness if often a very healthy thing as well.
The discrepancy here is sometimes we cry out for justice and judgment out of our hurt, anger, and our disappointments and God says in Romans 5:8 He died for us in our current, stinking rotten condition! (NIV) “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And He also tells us in Mark 2:17 (NIV) “….
It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
And so we step back, bow our heads and ask Him to teach us to love.
We circle back to our key verse now, “The prayers of a righteous man…” and cry out: O God, am I righteous? Show me my own moral failings!
I am sure you are all familiar with Galatians 5:22-23, the fruit of the spirit list. It starts with the big bang of LOVE and ends with the grand finale of SELF CONTROL. (ouch).
But if you back up a few verses and read Galatians 5:19-21 you find a different list, the sin list. Discord and envy are just a few, the list is long, take some time to read it—just sayin….. When I got saved, as I read my Bible, I kept finding myself on the wrong list! It took years of fervent prayer for me to slowly change lists. I asked God to move me from one list to the other, and He was faithful to answer my prayers.
But as our Christian walk continues, our moral failings become more subtle. However, God remains faithful and still convicts us and moves us to the right ‘list’, if we cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
We read again: James 5:16 (KJV) “The effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” And still this congregation has our many, our big, our desperate unanswered prayers, so we ask, “Am I fervent?”
All of our fervency waxes and wanes, it surges, and it rests, it wells up and it ebbs away. Do not despair, my beloved. Do not grow weary. Be encouraged. The LORD inclines His ear to hear you.
So we close with the final phrase of this verse: “Availeth much”. This is not a guarantee God will give us OUR exact answers on OUR timetable according to OUR instructions.
If your unanswered prayer is for yourself, lean in hard to your LORD and ask, “What do You want me to learn from this situation?”
If your unanswered prayer is for another, lean into your LORD and Thank Him for His kindness which is leading your loved one to repentance.
And finally, all of us should ask for increased fervency and perseverance in prayer.
Be encouraged—He may not change the situation exactly to your liking or on your schedule, but I guarantee He WILL CHANGE YOU! And it will be GOOD!
And remember, God does hear your prayers. They remain awake even when you are sleeping. He is not mad at you and delayed answers are not for your harm.
When we get unexpected blessings, we stand amazed and in awe of our most Holy God. When we get unexpected delays, also remain amazed and in awe of our King and Savior.
Be blessed and Keep Praying!
by Gina Brummett | May 12, 2020 | Devotions
SILENCE is ______________________. You might fill in the blank with “golden” (unless you are void of companionship, and you crave conversation.) You might fill in the blank with “deafening” (especially if you’ve extended an invitation that was ignored.) My husband has been known to say, “Silence cannot be misquoted.” He’s correct. But though silence cannot be misquoted, it certainly can be misunderstood.
For example, when Jesus slept in the tempest-tossed boat, the disciples roused him with the urgent question, “Don’t you care if we drown?” Perhaps they were thinking of Jesus’ safety, as in “How can you sleep through this? You’d better wake up and take whatever precaution you can!” More often, we interpret these words in Mark 4 just as they were said, “Don’t you care….?” (v. 38) The disciples wanted Jesus to do something! Reactionaries that they were (Remember the one who sliced off a soldier’s ear in the garden?), they believed this crisis called for action – or at least a show of concern!
Isn’t it interesting that the disciples were disturbed by Jesus’ silence, and then when He did speak, He actually commanded nature to be silent? “Peace! Be still!” is one translation, which reminds us of another scripture where stillness is commanded: “Be still and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:10) In stillness, we often gain confidence that God is working in ways that we cannot see.
At the same time, we learn from Solomon “There is a time to be silent and a time to speak.” (Ecclesiastes 3:7). This wise man said it another way in the Proverbs when he acknowledged that sometimes we need to swallow our response, and other times a swift but thoughtful comeback is required.
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself. (Prov. 26:4)
Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. (Prov. 26:5)
Contradictory advice? No. The discerning person knows the difference between stooping to the level of immature, foolish babble and standing up to correct erroneous or untruthful accusations. Jesus illustrated this in Pilate’s judgment hall when He withheld His response to the jeers about His kingship.
Silence is a curious thing – every bit as powerful as words! “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength. (Isaiah 30:15)
But it is never wrong to break the silence by giving praise to God!
For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:20)
My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long. (Psalm 71:8)
It is also never wrong to voice my concern to God. He invites me to do so.
Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. (Psalm 62:8)
Again, “There is a time to be silent and a time to speak.” May God help us to understand the times!
by Gina Brummett | May 10, 2020 | Devotions
The “COVID CLEANOUT” – the closet cleaning and office reorganization that has been the positive side effect of coronavirus – has, for me, unearthed a pastoral greeting from our long-time friend and mentor, Pastor Bobby Wilson. He titled it “The Overcomer’s Inch”, and it is just too good to not share. In a spiritual sense, the COVID Cleanout may have unearthed for us all some things we want to tackle in the days ahead, so receive this encouragement to persevere.
The Overcomer’s Inch
There is no future for the person who does not overcome. Jesus said, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). What is your struggle? Have you identified it? Are you willing to face it?
Well, overcoming is not for wimps, nor is it reserved for heroes. It is the journey to our desired destination. Some think overcoming is a giant leap. It is not, it is going one more inch in the right direction. We cannot overcome the foe without until we conquer the fear within. Overcoming is not a seasonal challenge – it is a daily challenge. Win the minute, you can win the hour, the day, the year – the future.
The living sacrifice of Romans 12:1 is the key to discovering and living in God’s will. Everything goes when we sacrifice. It is not natural to our carnal mind or manners. It echoes to the call “Deny yourself and follow Me” that Jesus put out there for all who will overcome. The 12th chapter of Romans ends with these words, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”. This can only be accomplished by the inch – one good choice at a time.
As Pastor Bobby would say, “Plod on!”
by Gina Brummett | May 7, 2020 | Devotions
My craft room has become a little mask factory, as we prepare for returning to public worship services and the need to supply masks. Some good friends have supplied fabric remnants and extra hands for the work, and I am grateful!
There’s been some confusion about how much our cloth masks really help in preventing the spread of COVID-19, and the prevailing reason for their use is to keep our own germs from others and train us to touch our own faces less. Object lessons abound these days!
At a certain time in Jesus public ministry, He got the crowd’s attention when He said, “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes hm unclean.” (Matthew 15:10-20) So the most serious problem wasn’t what might be taken in, but what might be coming out!
You see, there had been nit picking from the religious about washing up, while other rules were conveniently being set aside. Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy and quoted the prophet Isaiah:
These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. (verses 8 and 9)
The disciples weren’t getting it, and Peter, specifically asked for an explanation. “Don’t you see,’ Jesus said, “that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’ but eating with unwashed hands does not make him unclean.’ (v. 17)
In a spiritual sense, the “germs” we most need to be concerned with are those of the sin nature that infected all of Adam’s descendants. No amount of hand washing, mask wearing, or social distancing will remedy these matters of the heart. Only repentance will do.
In contrast to the Pharisees, the very next story in scripture is that of the Canaanite Woman who begged Jesus to deliver her demon-possessed daughter. (15:21-28) “Have mercy on me, Lord,….Help me!” Jesus responded to her faith and granted her request. He will do the same for all who sincerely cry out for mercy.
