Memorise: And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. – Luke 17:19
Read: Luke 17:12-19 (KJV)
12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 3-4; Ezekiel 16:23-43, Hymn: Sing hymn 5 – The Great Physician
MESSAGE:
After reflecting on the goodness of God, David wrote in Psalm 103:1:
“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”
The lame man in Acts 3:1-8 must have taken a cue from David in praising God. After his burden of 40 years was lifted, he praised God in a very dramatic way, just like David did in times past. When David praised God, his entire body was fully involved. He went to such great extents as removing his royal robes and dancing before God like one of his subjects (2 Samuel 6:14-16). He was used to leaping in praise and honour of the Most High. Have you ever leaped to give God praise?
After God has lifted your burden, in addition to praising Him, you can give Him generous thanks – not the kind of thanks that has to be squeezed forcefully out of you. Thank Him from a heart overflowing with gratitude. Some people are just too stingy! Not only do they find it difficult to give God a good offering from what He has already provided for them, they also find it difficult to give Him thanks. What such people fail to realise is that stinginess has never helped the stingy. What you hoard will go stale, become useless or be lost. Give God thanks and do it with a heart full of gratitude.
Moreover, if you give God quality thanks, you will definitely receive something in return. In other words, when God does something for you and you thank Him generously, He becomes so impressed that He gives you something else in addition to what precipitated your thanksgiving. When all is said and done, you end up with double blessings. Those who give shabby thanks or do not give thanks at all cannot get a second blessing, and if care is not taken, they may even lose their initial blessing to the devil. If you look at the example of the 10 lepers who were healed by the Lord Jesus Christ in today’s Bible reading, you will discover that thanksgiving opens the door to a very special blessing: wholeness! This is a type of blessing that no gate of hell can prevent. When God makes you whole, everyone will know about it. Wholeness is the height of restoration. It is a return to the original state you were in before a burden was placed on you. As you thank God from today, you shall receive the blessing of wholeness in Jesus’ Name.
Prayer Point: Father, as I thank and worship You today, please make me whole.
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