Thursday, October 22, 2015

October 22



Matthew 15:21- 28
21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Impossible—“Send her away! Impossible for a gentile dog to be included!” the disciples spit out. “She’s a Canaanite, our age-old enemy!”

But God… But God sent his Son into the gentile regions of Tyre and Sidon. His very presence there spelled hope for all nations. “I was sent to the lost sheep of Israel,” he says, reaffirming God’s plan of redemption to choose one nation, Israel, and then to bless all nations through them. Yet, here in his answer he shows himself to be the true Israel, the true channel of blessing—he heals. How great is his mercy and riches! That even the crumbs from the table are so great and powerful that they bring life in a death-impossible-situation! Impossible for the Gentiles to be included—but yes! The dividing wall of hostility was broken down by Christ and blessings flowed to all (Eph. 2:14; Gal. 3:14).

But God…. But God sent his Son to change the hearts of these disciples. To them, she was a mere dog, an annoyance. Only Christ saw a woman, truly saw her heart and desire. Perhaps this event was to test her faith; perhaps this event was to prepare the disciples’ hearts. For shortly after, Jesus would feed the 4,000, yet another miracle showing the inclusion of the Gentiles (Mat.15:32-39). And later, these same disciples would be sent out with the gospel to Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth, and to the Gentiles (Acts 1:8; Acts 10). Impossible for these hard-hearted to reach out to those they considered enemies—but yes!

In Christ, all nations can be blessed. Missionaries and his church today serve as his channel in which to make known this great mystery (Eph. 3:6). To those who represent enemies and Canaanites, the outsiders and Gentiles, the looked-down upon and dogs, missionaries go with the impossible love of Christ saying that even they can have the love of the Father and the blessings in Christ! Like Christ, they go to the “gentile” regions. Like Christ, they show compassion for those the world casts out. It is not easy; in the world’s eyes it is foolish and impossible. There are just some who can’t be saved, who aren’t fit, who don’t measure up. Yet, it is exactly those who are included, the poor in spirit, for Christ has died for the sins of the whole world—grace! (1 Jn. 2:2).

Your Mission
·         Pray that our missionaries have open doors to bring the gospel to the least and the downtrodden. Pray that they have the love and courage to do so.
·         Pray that these least will have the eyes of their hearts opened, that they realize what is impossible in their own eyes—to be included and welcomed and loved unconditionally—is possible in their Savior Christ!
·         Are there people or groups that you see as excluded? Do we give up hope that some will be saved? AIDS victims? Drunkards? ISIS? Boko Haram? A politician? A celebrity?

Mission Impossible Made Possible—Field Notes
Mike & Sarah Harwood, GVSU and Ferris


Athletes InterVarsity (AIV) began at the end of 2014/2015 school year with only 3 months left before the summer. Ten students, who had been involved last year, began with us. We prayed as we began that God would place in each of our paths other students we could invite to join in our vision. Over the course of the past 6 weeks God answered out prayers in ways we could not even imagine. We were able to connect with 2 local pastors who had started ministries directed toward athletes who were ecstatic to have us provide training for students to lead Bible studies on their teams. During a campus wide student organization fair we were able to walk around to every sports team on campus and personally invite them to join in our vision. God has allowed students on the Lacrosse, Basketball, and Soccer teams to start Bible studies. A regional advisor from AIV was able to come out to visit Grand Valley and share the vision of AIV, and from that we are meeting with athletes from the track, dance, and cross country teams to begin the process of planting a Bible study on those teams as well. With the explosion of interest in AIV at Grand Valley the need for students to step up and take on leadership rolls is essential, and God has continued to be faithful in providing students that are willing to step up in those rolls for the sake of the Gospel!

Currently we have connected with 38 student athletes at Grand Valley since the beginning of the semester. God is moving in the athletic department and we are so excited to be a part of it. We currently have started a Bible study on the 3 teams with the addition of a weekly meeting for student athletes who are interested in starting one on their teams in the near future. The vision AIV is twofold. One piece of the ministry is to provide a place of training and encouragement for students to gain vision for reaching their team with God’s love, the other part are the actual studies we desire to see on each sports teams. With so much demand on the time of each student athlete between practice, games, workouts, school and a social life, the need to be strategic in what we invite athletes to is great. Time is the main factor in this ministry, and we desire to help student athletes see that their time with God is the greatest investment in their future they can make in college and the rest of their life.

Prayer:
Wisdom in continuing to figure out the structure of the ministry and how to be most strategic with the time we have with student athletes.
Vision to see how to best pour into students’ lives and help them figure out how to love their team with the goal of introducing them to Jesus.

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