In this passage, God warns us of a very real, very present danger in our walk with Christ. Here, God calls us to set our hearts on the spiritual rather than the superficial. He calls us to set our hearts upon the things of His kingdom rather than the things of this world.

In this passage, some men with hardened hearts of unbelief confront Jesus. They make demands of Jesus. They seek to impose their own agenda upon Jesus. But Jesus won't play along. You and I are going to encounter such people as well, and you and I do not need to indulge their unbelief. We should not -play along- with them. Instead, we need to do what Jesus did- Stay on message with the gospel.

God shows us the heart of Jesus in this passage, showing us how the Lord Jesus Christ feels towards these Gentile people, these sinners. Indeed, God shows us how Jesus feels towards all sinner who come to Him. In these verses, God grants grace to sinners out of the deep compassion of His heart.

In theses verses, God grants grace to sinners in order that they may give Him great glory.

In these verses, the Lord Jesus is putting a gentile woman-s faith to the test. He is putting her faith on display in order to teach her, to teach His disciples and to teach us something that is most important- God responds mercifully to all who call out to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith.

The men who confronted Jesus in these verses were confronting Him on the basis of man-made traditions that Judaism had exalted to the level of or even above the truth of God-s word. The question we must deal with is simply this- Does such elevation of man-made rules, rituals and traditions ever happen in the our own church today- God warns us here of the danger of the conflict between man-made religion and the gospel.

In these verses, God shows us the compassion and power of our divine Savior, Jesus Christ. One question that perhaps you and I need to consider is this- How are you and I going to respond to this Jesus today. We can see how the people responded to Him then, knowing what little they knew about His power and compassion. But how are you and I, who know so much more about Jesus, going to respond to Him today- Are you going to come running to Him today in order to find in Him the deliverance that you need not only for your difficult circumstances, but also for your far greater need for forgiveness and eternal life-

When it looks like to us that our world is falling apart due to a trial or to some other seemingly catastrophic set of circumstances, our Lord urges us not to fear, but to take refuge in Him. We are instructed to cease our inner striving and to rest in the Lord, trusting in His infinite power and wisdom.

Second blessing. Speaking in tongues. Slain in the Spirit. Where did these things come from- And how did they spread to become such common practices- In this study, adapted from a study done by Dr. Tom Nelson of Denton Bible Church, we explore the origin and development of Pentecostalism leading to the movements that are so pervasive in the 21st century.

Has your faith ever faltered, leading you to fear in the midst of difficult circumstances- Then you are no different than Peter, upon whose faith Jesus built His church. In this passage, God encourages us with the assurance of His presence even when we falter in our faith. The message is one of great encouragement for every believer.