December 19, 2025
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in our Lenten readings from “The Life of Jesus”? Here’s today’s reading:
Advent 2025 – Day 19 in the Book: “The Life of Jesus“
The Year of Growing Opposition
Read Sections 4.8 through 4.11 (pages 76-80)
This book is an account of Jesus’ life and teachings told through in chronological order from the four Gospels to create one continuous story.
*If you do not have a copy of the book please contact the church at (401)667-0775 and we can get you a copy.
Religion and relationship. When we only see the religion, it is about checking boxes and doing things because we are supposed to. Relationship is about clearly seeing that the one way is Jesus because of the work He did on the cross out of His unconditional love for us. Our efforts to be “good” to follow the “religious rules” can never be enough and Jesus was trying to show the people that. Jesus demonstrated this through the example of the Canaanite woman, sin is what makes a person unclean, not religious traditions, ethnicity, or good deeds. It is our heart and mind God is after. He wants all of us in total surrendered relationship with Him and when that happens, when we are following Christ’s example out of gratitude and obedience then goodness, kindness, and love are a natural result not a checked box.
So many people question what Jesus meant by eating His flesh and drinking His blood and they leave Him because rather than backing away from the teaching, He reveals the spiritual source of it (which to me points to the spiritual essence of it as well). But I love what Peter says which should be our response whenever God does something that we don’t like or understand. Where else are we going to go. We know who you are and everything else you have done has been right and good. And then Pharisees come to Jesus to question what he allows his disciples to do around hand washing. Jesus then proceeds to show them the things that they are hypocritical about as well as explain that God’s focus is what is going on, on the inside, not the outside. And they were preoccupied with the outside and their hearts were far from God. It makes perfect sense that it is not what goes into the mouth that matters, it is what comes out of the mouth that reveals the nature of our hearts. And it is important to realize that at times Jesus does not make things easy for us in order to test our faith and our persistence. Just like this Canaanite woman. After hearing Jesus’s answer, she continues to engage because she believes that Jesus is the answer. And her faith and perseverance are rewarded. And it is significant that all these things are happening in Gentile territory. And He does spectacular miracles. So many that they are just generalized. But for this deaf man, Jesus shows there are different means that He uses to heal: sometimes with physical contact and sometimes without it. The power is always in Jesus and faith though….
Jesus is trying to explain that people eat bread to sustain them physically, but for spiritual hunger, you can only obtain by having a relationship with him, the bread of life.
we must Partake in the bread of life every day to sustain our spiritual life. , as Jesus argues with the Pharisees about them, obeying their laws instead of Having a fulfilled spiritual life with a relationship with Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. not too much different today so many people in religion are told if you’re baptized or confirmed or first communion or confession or given the last rights or matrimony if you do those things you might have a chance
Jesus uses all forms of ways to heal people the Gentile mother who needed her daughter healed from Demon possession. To think that Jesus has power over demons is so great. He doesn’t need to be present physically in order to free someone, his power goes any distance. And then he uses spit and mud to heal a deaf man. God uses all different ways to heal us today, whether by prayer or medicine or combination many ways in which God works in our lives every day.
Advent 2025 – Day 19
Psalm 54; Jeremiah 31; The Life of Jesus 4.8-4.11
Life of Jesus 4.8-4.11
Advent day 19
I’ve never understood the story about the Canaanite woman, except that she had great faith and that is the answer for all of us.
Trying to catch up I fell way behind, but I love the story of the Canaanite woman when she said even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters table. she is acknowledging that she is a sinful person, but her faith in Jesus is what makes Jesus respond in the way he did .
Good to have you back, Richard!
Day 19