Hey everybody, welcome to the podcast, I’m Nick and it’s an honor to be here with you today.

Today is June 20.
Each day, we follow a simple rhythm: Slow Down, Read, Notice, Reread, Meditate, Respond, and Exercise.

Let’s begin.

Slow Down

Jesus is here.

He’s sitting in your favorite spot, waiting for you to join Him.
You have a million things on your mind that need your attention, but right now it’s time to be with Jesus.
Set those things aside, relax, and calm your body.
Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in, then slowly release it.
As you inhale, whisper: “Jesus, even the crumbs from Your table are enough.” 
As you exhale, pray: “Give me faith that does not give up.”
Do this three times, then rest in His presence.

Read

Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret. Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.
Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.”
“Good answer!” he said. “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.  
(Mark 7:24–30, NLT)

Notice

What hits you in this passage?

Is there a word or phrase that makes you stop in your tracks?

Ponder it for a moment.

Reread

Hear this story again — and pay close attention to what this woman says in response to Jesus’ difficult words, and how He responds to her answer.

Meditate

This is one of the most surprising and searching encounters in the Gospels. A Gentile woman — a Syrophoenician, an outsider by every religious and cultural measure — comes to Jesus on behalf of her demon-possessed daughter. And Jesus says something that sounds, on the surface, harsh: It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.
Commentators have wrestled with this exchange for centuries. What is clear is that Jesus is testing something — or revealing something — about the nature of this woman’s faith. And what she does with His words is extraordinary.
She doesn’t argue. She doesn’t demand. She doesn’t walk away offended. She takes the very image He used and turns it: That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps that fall.
She is not claiming more than she has been offered. She is saying: whatever falls from Your table is enough for me. Even the overflow of Your mercy toward others is more than sufficient for my need.
Jesus is stopped by it. Good answer. And her daughter is healed from that very moment.
This woman’s faith is remarkable not for its size but for its tenacity and its humility. She held on when the first response was discouraging. She didn’t demand what she hadn’t been promised. And she found, in the crumbs of His mercy, more than enough.
Take a few moments to reflect on this question:
When God’s answer seems slow or discouraging, do I hold on with the tenacity of this woman — or do I tend to give up before the breakthrough comes?

Respond

Jesus, I want the faith of this woman — humble enough to ask for the crumbs, tenacious enough to keep asking when the first answer is hard, and confident enough in Your mercy to believe that even the overflow of it is more than I need. Where I have given up too soon, renew my persistence. Even the scraps from Your table are enough. And I believe You are more generous than that.

Exercise

The rush of life will meet you again when you leave this sacred place—but you can carry this moment into your day by forming new habits.
Habit: Persistent Faith 
Today’s habit is an act of persistent, humble faith: identify one prayer — one request, one situation, one person — that you have nearly given up on because the first response felt discouraging or slow, and bring it back to Jesus today with the tenacity of the Syrophoenician woman.
You don’t need to demand. You don’t need to perform. Just come back. Hold on. Say: “Lord, I am not giving up on this. Even the crumbs of Your mercy are more than enough. I trust You — and I keep asking.”
Then keep asking. Every day this week if you need to. The woman who wouldn’t give up went home to a healed daughter. Don’t stop before the breakthrough.

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That’s your two minutes with Jesus for today.

Now, take what you’ve heard…share it and live it.

Until next time, keep slowing down, keep listening, and keep walking with Jesus.