Healed Of Leprosy
In the mid 1970's I saw leprosy for the
first time. I had read of it in the Bible from the days of my youth.
Leprosy was not just a superficial disease
but it was a deep-seated malady. In Jewish history the leper was to be
excluded from the camp. The leper was required to allow the hair of his head to
go loose and his clothes were to be rent. When meeting someone on the road he
was to cover his upper lip and cry unclean. (Leviticus 13:1-46) The life of a
leper was and is a horrible life.
In Luke 17:11-19 we have an account of Jesus
healing 10 lepers. "Now it happened as He went to
Recognize our blessings. Did the
nine recognize the great blessing they had just received from the Lord? Do we
recognize our blessings? Many of God's blessings are contingent upon man's
obedience. God said He shows mercy "to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments." (Exodus 20:6) The promise
comes after we have done God's will. "For you have need of endurance, so
that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise."
(Hebrews 10:36) Many of God's blessings are Spiritual blessings. Paul wrote,
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in
Christ." (Ephesians 1:3) Some of God's blessings are temporal. Jesus said,
"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall
eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is
not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the
air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better
than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one
of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is,
and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of
little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What
shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these
things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father
knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But
seek ye first the
Remember the source.
Every blessing comes from the hand of God. "Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom
there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:17) Paul was
constantly aware of what God had done and what God was doing in His life.
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly
abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works
in us." (Ephesians 3:20) "God is able to make all grace abound toward
you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8)
Like David let us learn that the source of all our blessings is God. David
wrote, "Lord, by Your favor You have made my
mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled." (Psalm
30:7)
Respond with thanksgiving.
Nine of the lepers did not respond with thanksgiving. Only one returned to say
"Thank you." And Jesus was hurt as a result. We should constantly
"give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying
always for you." (Colossians 1:3) We should constantly practice the words
of Psalm 118:1, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His
mercy endures forever." "O give thanks unto
the Lord." What a challenge it is to develop this spirit of thanksgiving.
These nine words can change your life (1)
Recognize your blessings, (2) Remember the source, and (3) Respond with
thanksgiving. To become a Christian you must hear (Romans
By
Charles Box,