16 August 2026

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 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.” Matthew 15:21-22

Greetings in the name of Jesus!

Here is a downtrodden woman with great needs. Yet she considered the deliverance of her daughter from an oppressing demon of greater importance. Now, casting out demons is different from healing the sick, cleansing the lepers and even raising the dead because it is about cleansing unclean spirits – soiled by unbelief – and replacing them with the Holy Spirit. Unbelief has its roots in self-conceitedness. It is a spirit of deceit that creeps in unobtrusively even in the hearts of Christians and getting rid of it is a work that only Jesus can do. He does it through Word and Sacrament and all it takes to getting it done for us and our loved ones is ask Him with the same determination of that Canaanite woman.

Pastor Jaime