"We shall individually be held responsible for doing one jot less than we have ability to do...But when we give ourselves wholly to God, and in our work follow His directions, He makes Himself responsible for its accomplishment. He would not have us conjecture as to the success of our honest endeavors. Not once should we even think of failure. We are to cooperate with One who knows no failure." ~Messages to Young People, p. 309

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Blogging Through The Gospels: Luke 17


Luke 17--so much to cover, such little time to talk about them! I really encourage you to read this chapter for yourself--it talks about some pretty amazing stuff, like sin, faith, and duty, Jesus healing 10 lepers, and Jesus coming back soon!

Scripture:

"Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"" ~Luke 17:18

Observation:

Jesus and his disciples were between Samaria and Galilee, en route to Jerusalem when ten lepers called out to Jesus for healing. Jesus told them to go to the priests. (To come back into society, you had to be declared "clean" by the priests.) When the lepers started running to the priests, they were still lepers. But as they ran, Jesus' promised miracle occurred, and the ten lepers became whole again. 

In this ex-leper group, there were nine Jews and one Samaritan. The Jews viewed the Samaritans as enemies. So now you understand what Jesus said in our Scripture today, when just the one Samaritan came back to thank him! The other nine never showed their heads again.

Application:

Sometimes, I think we forget to thank God for all that he has done for us. Sure, maybe we mumble a "thanks God for everything" at breakfast, lunch, and supper, but do we really sit down and think about all that God's done for us? Wise Solomon knew that when the heart was happy, you would live longer:

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." ~Proverbs 17:22

I'm challenging you, starting right now, to write down five things you're thankful for each day--for the next week. Even if you've had a totally rotten day, if you write down five things you're thankful for, you'll feel like your life really isn't that bad! I know I've felt that way. 

So take a lesson from that Samaritan.....give thanks to God!

Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for everything that you've done for you. You are truly an awesome God. Please help me to remember to say "thanks" to you more often. Amen. 

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P.S.--To learn more about this blogging-through-the-gospels program, or if YOU would like to join yourself (you're more than welcome-jump right in!!) go to: http://www.momstoolbox.com/ 
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1 comment:

  1. FriendJune 11, 2011

    Good points! We have SO much to be thankful for....and yet get so busy that we do not notice all that we should notice. Blessings abound all around us!

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