Jesus and the Ten Lepers

 

How would you like to be 1 out of 10 to get it right?

Well, I suppose that depends very much on what we are talking about. 

Gratitude is a fitting expression for those touched by God.

But not everyone will give thanks.

Some receive what God gives but fail to express their gratitude.

9 out of 10 lepers anyway!

 Let me offer you some proof -

Luke 17: 11-19

“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.

As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance

and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.

He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?

Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”

Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

 

One out of ten came back to express gratitude.

The one who did was a despised Samaritan.

He didn’t come back quietly either, it says he came back praising God in a loud voice and threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.

When he had the leprosy, he and the other nine stood at a distance from Jesus. Now, the lone grateful healed leper comes right up to Jesus, confident of his healing and throws himself at Jesus feet.

Now I can’t prove this next point but neither can you disprove it.

I believe this healed lepers’ response of gratitude revealed what would be a long term commitment and devotion to the one who had just healed him.

I believe Jesus had another Samaritan added to the Kingdom!

Gratitude will cause you to draw near to God.

Mary’s Song of Gratitude

 

“And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”

Luke 1:46-47

 

How often do we find ourselves in troubling circumstances and yet still find  reason to express gratitude to God?

Today’s story of gratitude looks at Mary, the mother of Jesus.

And of course she did just that.

Suppose one of the young women in your family came to Thanksgiving dinner and announced she was pregnant. 

She is unmarried and pregnant but she says she’s not pregnant from her fiancée. She tells you she is pregnant with God’s child.

What would you say – pass the mashed potatoes and Mary would you please leave!

Mary had one of those good news – bad news scenarios to play out and she did. “The good news is,” she say’s “I am pregnant – the bad news is – it’s not Joseph.” But in spite of the turmoil this surely creates for Mary, we find that when she visits her cousin Elizabeth she prays a prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude to God.

In spite of her life likely being the main topic of the village gossips, she expressed gratitude. 

Mary’s gratitude was expressed in song.

Maybe you are struggling in your life with some very difficult circumstances.

In spite of what you face, and as hard as it might be, find ways to express gratitude and gratefulness to God.

It will move your eyes off your problems and fasten them on the one alone who can bring about the needed miracle!

 

Be Blessed This Thanksgiving!

 

FROM OUR HOUSE TO YOURS –

MAY YOUR THANSGIVING

BE FILLED WITH THE

BOUNTY OF HIS LOVE AND GRACE

Hannah Gives Thanks

 

“My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high.

My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.

“There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you;

there is no Rock like our God.”

I Samuel 2:1-2

 

The Word of God is filled with examples of expressions of gratitude.

Allow me to share one with you...

....but before I do I have a question for you –

If you were pregnant, having tried many, many years to be so, at what point would you express your gratitude to God?

Would it be when the home pregnancy test came back positive?

Maybe you might be a little apprehensive about the accuracy of the test so you would save your gratitude for the ‘official’ doctor pronouncement.

Or, let’s say you already had three boys and the heartfelt gratitude comes when you discover you are carrying a girl – at long last.

What about the mom who holds the baby immediately after the delivery room nurse places her or him on your chest?

How about then?

Is that the point at which you would express your gratitude?

It is fascinating to me that the prayer of gratitude prayed by Hannah was when she handed Samuel over to Eli the priest to be raised by him as a servant to the Lord.

I have no doubt that if she expressed gratitude in handing over her long desired child to Eli that we would find in her a lifestyle of gratitude.

I just find it fascinating that it was at this point her gratitude overflows in a prayer of thanks to God.

You can read the full story in 1 Samuel Chapter 1 and find her complete prayer in Chapter 2 of that same book.

Tomorrow, let’s discover a second example of gratitude from the Word of God.

The Grateful Heart – Part II

 

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.”

Psalm 100:4-5

The word grateful has a simple enough definition.

It means that one is appreciative of benefits received. 

I could stop right there because as believers we have received benefits we did not earn and do not deserve.

That alone should be enough to cause anyone to stop and give thanks!

Why Gratitude then?

There are few things in life less attractive that an ungrateful person.

When we are blessed it is becoming of us to recognize that blessing and to acknowledge it through the act of expressing gratitude.

How many parents can recall an incident in the life of your child when they were ungrateful and needed to be instructed in the more excellent way?

We’ve all been there.

Sometimes the childish behavior can even be exhibited by someone who is much older.

If you hear what I am saying!

Gratitude is a trait that is to be cultivated in our lives.

I want to give you several benefits of gratitude in the life of the believer.

Why is it essential?

Why does it matter and what does it mean for me?

Perhaps, more importantly, what does gratitude, expressed in my life, mean for others and for God?

But before we delve into that, the scriptures are filled with examples of gratitude so let’s take the next couple of days and look at some examples....

The Grateful Heart

 

“O magnify the Lord with me and let us magnify His name together.”

Psalm 34:3

I am going to be both very predictable and very seasonal today.

If you are reading this and thinking to yourself - I wonder if he is going to speak on thankfulness, BINGO, you would win the prize.

But 2020 hardly seems like a year we can pick much to be grateful and thankful for does it?

How can we be grateful with Covid-19 in our midst?

250K+ fellow Americans are dead.

We have learned new terms like social distancing and contact tracing and had to put them into practice.

Everybody is telling us not to gather in large groups even when that large group is just your extended family.

Thanksgiving gatherings are all but forbidden and who knows what our Christmas traditions will be like this year.

2020 has also brought us a contentious national presidential election that still is not decided and which has polarized Americans of every stripe like never before.

Add into the mix now lawsuits in several states over voting irregularities and it promises to be a bumpy ride between now and inauguration day.

This year has brought us violent riots, protests, looting and racial strife in cities near and far, the likes of which we have not seen in decades.

Few have come away unscathed.

We had calls to defund the police on one side and defend the police on the other.  Rallies for and rallies against.

In a society or culture that has been buffeted by so many traumas recently it is easy, some would even say justifiable, that gratitude would fall to the wayside.

Yet, with all of that recent history and a whole lot more I am still here today to exhort us to maintain a grateful heart and a thankful attitude in each of our personal lives.

Let’s look more closely at gratitude this week...

Who Doesn’t Want to Be Blessed?

 

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.”

Psalm 1:1-2

Do you suppose when the writer of these verses wrote them that he was inspired to write them knowing that someday obedience to them would not be possible?

Well, of course not.

The admonition penned thousands of years ago is just as relevant today is it was when the ink was still wet.

Are the distractions today different?

Sure

Television, news, advertising, a shrinking globe with its competing interests bombard every one of us.

But as an individual believer I am blessed when I follow after and meditate on the word of God.

There are many voices clamoring for our attention.

As the scripture says: don’t walk, don’t stand and don’t sit in their counsel.

There is but one voice we can confidently trust.

God speaks through His word.

Every verse, every chapter, every book of the Bible remains relevant to us today!

Sure culture, traditions and customs may change but through all of these changes do not let go of the firm grasp on His book.

It is life, light, truth, wisdom, correction and so much more for you.

 

 

Don’t Feed the Monster!

 

“And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.”

 Genesis 45:5 

So how do you guard your heart from rejection?

Some people believe the best way is to never trust anyone again.

That would prove to be a very lonely response and not one characteristic of a believer.

Certainly, a more effective response, and one of the first ones we must make, is to choose to move on in life; not allowing our walk with God to be paralyzed over what has happened.

It’s essential to move on if we’re to be of any use to God.

And, it’s not a choice God will make for us.

It’s up to you and me.

Joseph recognized this.

That is why he could counsel his brothers as he did in our verse today.

Sometimes we may think God waves a magic wand over us and the pain and hurt of rejection is no longer with us.

Instead, it is a deliberate choice we must make.

Not just once but every time the resentment or desire for retaliation and revenge begins to well up in us.

The more we are committed to making that good choice and the more often we do it, then the strength of the temptation to seek our own vengeance dissipates and the desire to see God’s purposes fulfilled grows in us.

In other words, don’t feed the monster!

 

How to Avoid Stubbing Your Toe

 

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

Psalm 119:105

 

 

Who doesn’t need light to navigate life?

If you have ever stubbed your toe trying to inch your way around in the dark you know how painful it can be to move without light.

It is true in the physical realm but even more so in the spiritual realm.

God’s word illuminates where we are standing (a lamp for my feet) and it also shines in the direction in which we are headed (a light on my path).

We need both.

How many times have we cried out to God for wisdom or guidance but failed to spend any time on His word.

It is primarily through His word that the wisdom and guidance is given to us.

  Asking for His direction but not availing ourselves of His word would be like getting behind the wheel of a car and without turning on the ignition asking after 30 minutes – “Are we there yet!”

That would be a foolish question.

Equally foolish would be the expectation that God will lead us when we never take the time to go into His word.

Lord –

Let the light of your word shine forth for all who are reading this blog.  

May they take the time to quiet themselves and find an alone place to spend time in your word.

May they come to understand that they are never truly alone as you faithfully guide and instruct them through your Holy Spirit.

I pray Lord that they seek you and linger in your presence as you shine the light of your holy word to answer all of their questions.

I pray this in the matchless name of Jesus Christ.

Amen!

 

A Confident Walk with God

 

“Jesus left the city and went, as he usually did, to the Mount of Olives to pray.”

Luke 22:39

Are you bold in accomplishing the will of the

Lord as you go about your day’s activities?

Are you filled with confidence that you walk in God’s plan for your life?

Many people would answer those two questions by saying, “Not really.”

Do you want to know how to grow confident in these areas?

To do that you must d-a-i-l-y set aside time to be with God.

One-on-one just as Jesus did.

He cherished His alone time with the Father.

He would often get way early while others slept and commune with His Father.

These were times, to be sure, that He placed His life into God’s hands for that day.

And it was not a once a done affair.

Daily Jesus fellowshipped, daily He spoke to the Father and daily He listened.

Can we do any less?

Should we do any less?

There is a confidence only gained through these times with God.

It adds strength, purpose, courage, boldness, and resources too.

Are you cultivating that quiet alone time with God?

 

 

A Choice in Fellowship

 

“So God created man in His own image....”

Genesis 1:27

 

Who do you fellowship with?

Before you respond think about this:

I would suggest that far, far too often our greatest fellowship as believers is with our own thoughts.

Stop and think about it.

When we are left alone with our own thoughts and we do not have that transformed mind, what do you suppose the end result will be?

If your life is dominated by fear, anxiety and losing debates with yourself, then perhaps it’s time to change who you fellowship with.

When you spend time with God, getting alone with Him then He, by His Holy Spirit is given the opportunity to speak into your life.

What might He say?

How about this –

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Or this –

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Or maybe even this –

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

So let me ask you again – who do you fellowship with?

I would much rather hear from God and His thoughts of me than to fellowship with my own thoughts.

How about you?

 

 

All the Saints

 

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in

Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,”

Colossians 1:3-4

 

Do you have love for all the saints?

It’s easy to answer yes but always a little tougher to actually mean it.

Among all the saints are some people who hold different views than you...

Do you have love for all the saints?

Among all the saints are some people who come from a different culture...

Do you have love for all the saints?

Among all the saints are some people who may have hurt or offended you...

Do you have love for those saints?

In answering this question it is helpful to consider Jesus.

In particular these words: “...while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

You were in the group of ‘yet sinners’ but are now part of ‘all the saints’.

How did that happen?

Must have been amazing grace!

So, after that grace applied to your life let me ask you one last time –

Do you have love for all the saints?

Don’t Carry Dual Citizenship

 

“Do not love the world or anything in the world.

If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”

I John 2:15-16 

 

“... for everything in the world...”

Those five words certainly take in a lot, don’t they?

It demands we often examine how much we love this world and all it contains.

There’s an old country song (don’t be frightened, I’m not going to serenade you)

That had these lyrics –

“This world is not my home –

I’m just a-passing through.”

Not that I suggest we take our cue form country tunes but let’s not ever get to comfortable in this world.

It is at enmity with God.

That word enmity is pretty strong – it is defined as ‘active hatred’.

We are cautioned by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:2 not to be conformed to this world.

Why else would he need to sound that alarm unless it is a temptation we all too often succumb to.

Have you found yourself more in love with the things of this world than the Kingdom of God?

If so, it’s time for some repenting and the renewing of our minds.

Remember, our citizenship is not of this world.  

Are you trying to carry dual citizenship?

Maybe it’s time to let one go!

The Leap of Faith

 

““Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.”

Mark 11:22

Abraham took the leap of faith and God provided a lamb.

Moses took the leap of faith and Israel was delivered out of Egypt.

David took the leap of faith and Goliath came crashing down.

Hannah took the leap of faith and a prophet was born.

Mary took the leap of faith and the Messiah was brought into the world.

Quite a roll call, isn’t it?

And yet it hardly begins to include all who have trusted God well beyond their own abilities.

But let’s make it personal.

What about you?

Will you too take the leap of faith?

Will you believe the God of the impossible to accomplish His purposes through you?

But, you protest, I am not an Abraham, Moses or David.

Good.

Because God has called you and fashioned you uniquely to accomplish what He desires.

I dare you.

Take the leap of faith into total surrender to God.

The watch what He does through you!

 

 

 

From Scarlet and Crimson to White as Snow

 

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:

though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;

though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Isaiah 1:18 

We are sinners.

God is gracious.

He doesn’t whitewash what we are.

The verse above declares: “...though your sins be as scarlet...”

But in His great mercy He declares:

“...they shall be as white as snow...”

How is that possible?

Does God decide to wink at our sin and let them ‘slide’?

No, of course He doesn’t.

You see, He knew the price would be paid by His Son on the cross.

Though it was still a long way off – He knew it would be a completed work.

That which was filthy was made clean.

Not through ignoring or some cheap, easy way out but only through the blood of His Son, the innocent Lamb of God offered up for us all.

We are abundantly blessed when we realize and receive this free gift from God.

Is that you today?

Don’t reject what God has provided for you.

He declares:  “Come now, let us reason together.”

 

 

Not Just for Me

 

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed,

because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:21-23

 

So when you call to mind the Lords’ mercies, for whom does it apply?

I’ll be completely honest with you; more often than not it is me needing to apply His great mercy in my life.

And yes, as the song says - morning by morning new mercies I see.

But what if we become deliberate in our effort to not only appropriate that mercy for ourselves but to go out of our way in extending to someone in need of it.

Don’t tell me you don’t know anyone like that.

 If you truly believe that then I would challenge you to ask the Lord to reveal someone as you travel through your day.

Maybe a one-time enemy of yours resurfaces.

Maybe it is as simple as extending mercy to the sales clerk who badly bungles your order.

It is wonderful to have Gods’ great mercy lavished on me.

How much more wonderful when we extend it to another?

Will you do that today?

 

 

Dig a Little Deeper

 

“I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”

Isaiah 45:3

I remember a bible teacher once admonishing his students –

“If you are reading scripture and you come across a

‘therefore’ find out what it is there for!”

In other words – dig a little deeper.  

Sometimes we are so driven to do our bible reading plan ‘religiously’ that we can miss the opportunities for the Holy Spirit to shine a light on a verse or even a word.

That verse or word may be the key to a pressing problem we have been praying about.

Some bible translations are filled with words you may not be familiar with –

propitiation, succor, Sadducees, etc...

Don’t simply shrug your shoulders and move on – dig a little deeper.

Our Pastor said something this past week that resonated with me.

“When studying the bible – go for depth and not for distance.”

Treat your time in the Word as a hunt for buried treasure and not as a marathon.

Maybe you end up in the same chapter for a month.

If the Holy Spirit is speaking to you and teaching you from that chapter, don’t be in such a hurry to move on.

Let the Holy Spirit set the pace for you.

Just as I have encouraged you in the past to linger in His presence I would likewise encourage you to linger in His Word and dig a little deeper!

 

Are You Contained?

 

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:36 

“The enemy strategizes to contain you so you can’t advance the Kingdom of God on earth.”

Are you ‘contained’?

Does the enemy have you in a box of fear or poverty or pride or any other “lay-away” plan?

Has his containment of you effectively stifled the Kingdom of God flowing through your life?

Have you ever seen the container ships that cross the ocean?

The containers are filled with all kinds of products which are being moved from the country of origin to the destination country.

Imagine arriving dockside in the shipyard but never unloading the containers.

So it is with us if the enemy’s strategy is effective in containing you.

You ‘carry’ light.

You ‘carry’ the Kingdom of God.

Wherever your ‘ship’ goes is the potential for the Kingdom of Light to pierce the Kingdom of darkness.

But if you are ‘contained’ with fear you will not speak to that coworker who desperately needs to hear of that hope that is in you.

If you are ‘contained’ by poverty you will not believe God is able to bless you in order to give to His Kingdom work.

If you are ‘contained’ by pride God resists you rather than working through you.

Who gets the glory in that?  

God spoke to our Pastor this word of ‘containment’ some time ago.

It was in order to see His people set free.

So, are you ‘set free’ or ‘contained’?

Who Has the Final Say?

 

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

II Timothy 3:16-17

How much scripture is God-Breathed?

Our verse today says: A-L-L!

How much room does that leave for scripture that is not God-breathed?

Of course the answer is no room at all.

That means a couple of things to me.

First of all – I don’t get to pick and choose what is truth and what isn’t.

The hard parts are not negotiable, I can’t dilute their meaning or their intended purposes for my life.

It really is a choice of all or nothing.

Secondly - from Genesis 1:1 all the way to Revelation 22:21, every part of the Word of God is useful to teach me, to rebuke and correct me and to train me in righteousness.

Allow me to frame what that means to me (and to you) in the form of a question for our consideration.

Will I accept God’s Word as the final authority for my life?

Something to honestly consider, wouldn’t you say?

Careful to Do

 

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.

Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Joshua 1:8 

Inform – to communicate knowledge

Transform – to change in character or condition

Every time you open the Word of God you have a choice to make.

And what is that choice?

Simply this – will I allow the sacred scriptures to do nothing more than fill up my head or will I allow them to change my heart?

We are to be transformed into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Simply being puffed up with a whole lot of knowledge is not enough; even if that knowledge comes from the Word of God.

Satan had a level of knowledge in the Word.

He was informed but not transformed.

The Scribes and Pharisees likewise were very knowledgeable in the Law of Moses – every jot and tittle – but they didn’t even recognize their Messiah when He came.

Their heads were informed, their hearts were never transformed.

Listen to the admonition of the Apostle Paul.

His words, inspired by the Holy Spirit, are as essential to any believer today as they were the day he penned them.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

II Timothy 2:15

Go beyond information allowing God’s Word to transform you.

This is how we present ourselves to God as one approved!

 

 

 

Not One, Not Two, But Three Healthy Habits

 

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands

is not quickly broken.”

Ecclesiastes 4:12

 

Here is a three stranded chord of extraordinary strength:

Memorize, meditate on and model the Word of God in your life.

When you combine these three and surrender yourself to the Holy Spirit you become an unstoppable force for the Kingdom of God.

Who among us has not felt emboldened when you are standing shoulder to shoulder with a friend or older brother?

You are willing to do things you might not venture to do when you are alone.

There is indeed strength in numbers!

It is good to memorize scripture.

It is good to meditate on scripture.

It is good and essential to model scripture in our life.

It is far, far better and effective when we combine the three.

Today, take that verse you have committed to memory, spend some time mulling it over and digging deeper into its meaning and most importantly ask the Holy Spirit for the opportunities throughout the day to model it to others.   

That is a three stranded chord not easily broken!