Faith In Gratitude
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Another demonstration of faith, is gratitude; as demonstrated in the story of Jesus and the ten lepers. Let’s read it.
As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out,
“Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”He looked at them and said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting,
“Praise God!”He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked,
“Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”And Jesus said to the man,
“Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”(Luke 17:11-19 NLT)
In Jewish society, lepers were considered unclean( Leviticus 13), and kept out of the regular human habitations ( 2 Kings 7:3). On this particular occasion, Jesus was heading to Jerusalem, but was accosted by 10 lepers on the outskirts of a village; and asked to have mercy on them. He obliged them, told them to go and show themselves to the priest as required by the law. They got healed as they went. However, only one of them came back praising God. Jesus asked,
“Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”
Then Jesus said to the man,
“Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
A Samaritan, a foreigner, coming back praising God for healing him was a very big deal to Jesus; meaning some of the lepers were Israelites. Jesus counted the action of the Samaritan as faith, which led to his healing. The others missed out because they failed to praise God for being healed.
Often, familiarity leads to ingratitude and blocks our healing. I have often heard people say,
"I don't need to thank A or B; because we are family, or he/she is my friend."
Jesus is telling us that gratitude matters a lot, at least to God! One reason we should be grateful is that it shows we respect and acknowledge the source of our breakthrough. A source you respect will always come to your aid!
May we always walk in gratitude.
MEMORY VERSE
“Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? …Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
( Luke 17:17,19)
QUESTIONS
- What has Christ done for you?
- Have you shown gratitude and said, “Thank you Jesus”?
PRAYER TIP
Father, please forgive my unbelief; demonstrated by my ingratitude. Please help me to be grateful always, even for the very little things. In Jesus' name.
URGENT CALL
Every soul is valuable to God, far more than the entire world! But by nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God, and we ultimately face his wrath!
God in His mercy and love made a way for us to remedy this. He gives us a chance to reverse this downward spiral to destruction, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.
The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.
Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.
It is a very personal decision. No one can make that decision for you.
If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God! A soul, much, much more valuable than the world, has been saved from destruction!
Do you want to make that decision today?
Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer” for guidance if you want to make that decision.
We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page, or the ones at the top of this page. Don’t delay. Make this very personal decision today!
God richly bless you
SPECIAL GRATITUDE
Thank you for visiting the Testimony Devotional Website.
We would not have gotten here without your prayers, goodwill and overall support. We are grateful, and humbled.
We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.
God richly bless you.
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