the ten lepers

Then one of [the ten lepers], when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan (Luke 17:15–16, ESV).

Thankfulness is the attitude that perfectly displaces our sinful tendency to complain and thereby releases joy and blessing into our lives. Thankfulness is the ideal replacement for complaining, and it’s illustrated clearly in the story of the ten lepers.

“Jesus, Master, have mercy on us” (Luke 17:13), ten voices called loudly from a distance. This is nothing new. Since the beginning of time, humanity has been calling forth in an unbroken stream, “God, do this . . . I need this . . . help me!” Many of us make no time for God when things are going well, but in our moment of need, we beg. In His infinite grace, He never tires of our calls, fickle and ungrateful though we are.

“EVERYONE CAN MAKE THE CHOICE TO GIVE THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE GOODNESS AND GRACE OF GOD.”

“When he saw them he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went they were cleansed” (17:14). Realizing they had been healed, nine kept going, while only one “turned back” (17:15).

One. That’s 1 in 10. Or 10 percent.

Only one “turned back, praising God with a loud voice”(17:15). He was fired up with gratitude! “And he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan” (17:16). Such humility—his posture showed his respect and awe for the Master, who had healed him. And he was a Samaritan, which is a small but significant fact. As part of a complex, ancient code of racial prejudice, the Samaritans were hated by the Jews. Though this man was technically outside the household of faith and had, on a human level, the fewest reasons to thank a Jewish man, he alone returned humbly and gratefully. No one has an acceptable excuse for ungratefulness—not even a Samaritan, who, based on the social prejudices he’d endured, could have had many excuses for not coming back. And surely he was in a hurry to get his official, clean bill of health. If he could overcome all of that to express sincere gratitude, how could the others walk away?

Everyone can make the choice to give thanks and acknowledge the goodness and grace of God. Sadly, however, only a small fraction of the human population ever personally thanks God for His grace. Notice the stark contrast: a thankless nine vs. a thankful one. Ten gifts received and ten attitudes chosen, but only one was an expression of gratitude. And Jesus noticed too; the Lord always notices those who are ungrateful.

Without a doubt, He was aware of and disturbed by such a flagrant instance of ungratefulness. “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner” (17:17–18)? These were rhetorical questions. Jesus wasn’t trying to figure it out. He was intentionally pointing out their outrageous, thankless attitudes.

Then, fixing his eyes on the thankful man, He said, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well” (17:19). Jesus was not talking about physical wellness. All ten lepers, even the nine ungrateful ones, were physically healed, so a statement about physical cleansing would have been redundant. Instead, Christ was saying, in effect, “Because of your gratitude, you have been made well in a much deeper way than those who chose not to be thankful.”

The same is true for us. Gratitude heals our hearts. It displaces toxic complaining. It opens our eyes to the myriad graces of God in our everyday lives. So which attitude will we embrace today: ungrateful, majority thinking or overflowing, God-glorifying, minority gratitude?

Journal

• In our hurry through life, we neglect gratitude. Rather than rushing off to the next thing, spend some time thanking Jesus for specific gifts in your life. Make a gratitude list.
• How does gratitude make your soul well?

Pray
Our Father in heaven, please forgive my shallow, immature, faith-choking ingratitude. You lavish gifts on me, yet how rarely I stop to truly thank You. I choose gratitude. Thank You for all that You have done for me. Please replace my complaints with thanks. I want to be like the one, healed leper, who through his gratitude, was made truly, wholly well. Thank You for Your Son, Jesus, who heals me through and through. It’s in His name I pray, amen.

http://jamesmacdonald.com/

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Trusting God

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

- Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

My father was a pastor in another state and truly devoted to the church. He had diabetes and was insulin dependent. One day, after visiting him, I prayed that God would not let my father die alone. Three weeks later, on a Sunday morning, I received a call that he had been found deceased in the church office. I felt hurt and angry that he had died alone, and no one had checked on him. I was also angry at God because I felt that God had not heard my prayer. I wept.

Then I remembered the verse quoted above. Although I was still angry, I sought comfort through prayer and reading the Bible. I cried out to God as I read my Bible, many times falling asleep with it in my arms. Soon after my father’s funeral, I began to feel God’s peace again.

Trusting God is about having faith that no matter what happens, God’s word is true — and then obeying that word. God welcomes us when we’re hurt, lonely, afraid, or just don’t know what to do. Whatever we experience — whether the loss of a loved one or problems in our jobs, in our homes, or in relationships — we can trust in God.

http://devotional.upperroom.org/

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I am the Truth and the Way

Jesus answered:

I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14 v. 6

Thought: The Lord is only one true way, He is the truth, Jesus is a path to liberation, Jesus is the way to forgiveness and peace, Jesus is the way that we should never leave. The only way to salvation is Jesus. and you, which way this traveling? this life

por: MSM

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THERE IS OUT!

Word of God to you:
"For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king, he will save us. "- Isaiah 33:22

We make mistakes, but we make mistakes too, sometimes committed serious mistakes that create dire consequences humanly unforgivable.
But how to live if one is already condemned (a), which direction to go on living?
For men forgiveness is a very difficult and in some cases impossible, but Jesus is different, He forgives us!
Our repentance before God generates patch, a repair that only the Lord can do and there is no man even able to do so.
But there was the intervention of God in the life of the repentant what would David, murderer and adulterer, Paul (formerly Saul), persecutor and indirect killer of Christians, Peter, who betrayed the Lord Jesus himself, Matthew (before Levi ) the corrupt tax collector, Mary Magdalene, the possessed girl, Moses killed an Egyptian and many others in the bible.
The Bible verse above shows us the power of God and his sovereignty, which gives us all WARRANTY that for every situation in the life of a repentant SERVO be saved.
Think about it!
In Christ,
Pr Eder Garcia - Project DeusBom

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Deuteronomy 7:26

Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

—Deuteronomy 7:26

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

A little corruption, a little poison, and a little rotten are all oxymorons. God has made us pure and perfect in Jesus. What a glorious thought! Why would we want to stain his perfection with what is evil. Our Father wants us to dedicate ourselves to him, and to living as his holy people (Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Pet. 1:13-16).

My Prayer...

Holy and Righteous God, please empower me to resist temptation and to run away from sin. Give me a more passionate desire to cherish and protect the purity you have given me by the sacrifice of Jesus. Give me a holy revulsion to evil and wickedness. Draw my heart closer to your own and give me a passion for your holiness. Thank you for making me holy and precious in your sight. In Jesus' name. Amen.

http://www.verseoftheday.com/

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