Do Not Disavow

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Do Not Disavow By: Rick Davis   When Charlemagne established law Salic in barb’rous land, The gospel flourished, and he saw Christ’s praise on every hand.   (“Do you approve his methods now?”) I do not disavow.   King Godfrey took Jerusalem From bloody paynim hands And brought a halt to Musselmen Invading Christian lands.   (“He did some mean things anyhow!”) I do not disavow.   King Richard with his scarlet shield And passant lions ‘bossed Rode forth again unto the field To regain what was lost.   (“His deeds at Acre you allow?”) I do not disavow.   Unto the Germans Luther brought The gospel full restored, And Calvin at Geneva taught The glory of the Lord.   (“The Jews? Servetus? Holy cow!”) I do not disavow.   Stonewall and Lee like knights of old Fought for their native soil, The true and lovely to uphold Against the tyrant’s spoil.   (“Those vile racists ...
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Dogs Under the Master's Table

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Mark:7:27-28
And He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
But she answered Him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."
The woman’s response is the highlight of this passage. Mark goes out of his way to emphasize what the woman says here. It may not come out in the English translation, but he’s doing everything he can to get his readers focused in.
Notice the humility of her answer. “Yes Lord” She doesn’t disagree with His assessment of the situation. She doesn’t resent or argue about the derogatory label He placed on her. She doesn’t demand that He take back the “dog” comment. She recognizes that she cannot demand His help, that she does not deserve His help. And she counters by saying that even dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs. She is happy to be humbly allowed to participate in His blessing in any way she can, even if it means being a dog under the table.
What about today? Even though there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile today, none of us can come to God’s table of blessings as if it is owed to us or as if we deserve it. We are able to receive God’s blessing solely because of His mercy. We are able to become His sons and daughters only because He graciously chose to enter into a covenant with us and to send His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. The breach between God and man caused by human sin cannot be bridged by anything we can do. God has to be the one who initiates the relationship.
We come to God recognizing our unworthiness as dogs to the table, and He lifts us up to the status of children. He adopts us and He blesses us not for what we deserve, but because of His love to us. This is the basic gospel message that you all know, and that we all need reminded of regularly. We can’t come to God puffed up, full of ourselves, and demanding that He meet us as people deserving His grace. Part of the joy of salvation consists in the fact that God has blessed us far more than we deserve.

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