The Tenth Leper

Bible Reading: Luke 17:11-19

"He fell face down on the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done.". - Luke 17:16.

He's one of the nameless people in the Bible, one of ten lepers who saw Jesus at a distance and cried, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" He's the one who went back to thank Jesus. Wouldn't it be cool to travel back in time and talk to that leper?
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"Yeah," he might say, if he could talk to us, "it was something, all right!

Jesus said to show ourselves to the priests. So, even though we didn't feel any different, we started heading that way. All of a sudden I noticed my hand-it wasn't white anymore! The leprosy had disappeared! And then I pinched it-and it hurt! My hand was no longer numb. That was sweet, the sweetest pain I ever felt."
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The old man leans forward to hear your next question. "Well, I stopped right then and there. I didn't need any priest to tell me I was healed; I knew it! 

There was no doubt. One minute I was a leper, and the next minute, I wasn't." He snaps his fingers. "Just like that!"
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He pokes a stubby finger behind one ear and scratches. "That's when I turned back to find Jesus. I ran back toward the village, and there he was, almost in the same place he was in before. I just pushed my way through the crowd and dropped at his feet. I could hardly speak, I was so happy, but I had to say thank you!"
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He shakes his head. "I thought the others would be close behind me," he says. "I didn't know I was the only one until Jesus looked around and said, 'Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?' That was the first I knew that none of the others had come. But that didn't bother me. I mean, no matter what the others did, I just had to say thank you after what he'd done for me, you know? I mean, wouldn't you have done the same?"
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Ah, that's a pretty good question, isn't it? After all, think of all the Lord has done for you; hasn't he given you many blessings? Hasn't he been good to you in a hundred-a thousand—different ways? No matter what others may do, such a good God deserves your thanks and your praise-don't you think so?
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REFLECT: Whom have you been more like in the past: the tenth leper (who showed his gratitude to Jesus) or the other nine (who didn't thank him at all)? If you were to thank the Lord for all the good things he's done for you, how long do you think it would take you? How can you be more like the tenth leper from now on?
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ACT: Take a single sheet of notebook paper. List at least three or four things you thank God for today. Add three or four things to your list every day, until every white space on the sheet is covered with thanks to God.
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PRAYER:"Our Loving Father in in Heaven, you have done so much for me and given so much to me. I especially thank you today for ____________."
Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, In Jesus Loving Name I Pray, Amen."

Forgiveness: The Power That Heals

"Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results." - James 5:16 (NLT).

In response to a recent post on the relation between confession and healing I received the following email from a man I will call John:
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"Dear in Christ, I am a pastor of 39 years of age and have found what you said about confession and physical healing to be absolutely true. It has happened to me.
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"This occurred after I confessed guilt regarding holding onto bitterness against a person who hurt me when I was a child. Even though I had often said that I had let the hurt and the bitterness go, I hadn't.
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"But God showed me I needed to confess and repent of my bitterness and I heeded His voice this time. And so I told this person's marriage partner, who is a dear friend of mine, that I needed forgiveness for having borne that grudge for so many years. I received it--with love and affirmation--and since I confessed my guilt I have lost a severe backache which had afflicted me for 17 years (and for which I had many medical sessions of manipulation, etc). You see, the root of my problem had actually been a spiritual [as well as an emotional] issue and not merely a medical / physical one.
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"So, thank you for your insightful and thoroughly Biblical spiritual ministry."
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God has given us directives and / or principles that cover every area of life and death. The smartest thing we can do is to adhere to and follow these.
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Prayer: "Our Loving Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word that contains directives and principles for healing, wholeness and happiness. Give me the hunger to learn these, the wisdom to understand them, and the good sense to apply and follow them. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, In Jesus Loving Name I Pray, Amen."