The Children's Bread

A Canaanite woman ... came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." ... He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." - Matthew 15:22, 26

A foreigner asked Jesus for healing. Jesus initially resisted by saying food belongs to the family.

Ignoring the controversy over the way he addressed her and why, notice Jesus equated deliverance and healing to food that a father provides to his children.

There can be extenuating circumstances¹ but we need to see that God considers our health and well being as not just important but essential as food on the table, and the Lord's Prayer request for "our daily bread" for more than just something to eat.

- fritz


^{1 - Paul's thorn in the flesh, 2nd Corinthians 12:7}

Is any sick among you?

"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." - James 5:14-15

The idea that gifts of healing ended with the last apostle is clearly not biblical. It is the role of the church and specifically the "elders" to pray for that healing in faith.

If the church is not doing that, it is not fulfilling one of its intended purposes.

If we are not calling the elders for prayer in our sickness, we are not fulfilling our responsibility, either.

Not everyone has been healed but many have. Our oldest son is quite possibly alive today because we called elders for prayer when he was a year old in the hospital with staff infection. A man named Frank Romanelli came on Christmas Eve and anointed our listless son with oil in name of Jesus. That night our son began to improve and was sent home the next day, well.

Also note the word, "if". Christian health is a complex issue, not always because of sin. I don't believe we are capable of understanding the why and how but we can obey and trust God's goodness.

- fritz