True Thanksgiving

Give God the thanks He deserved for all that he has done for you.

In this Thanksgiving message we learn an important lesson about thankfulness from Luke 17:11-19.  In these verses, the Bible tells the story of ten lepers who cried out to Jesus for healing. Their condition of leprosy was used as an illustration of sin and its corruption of the human soul: leprosy, like sin, separated these people from their friends, family, and even God Himself. We learn that after being healed nine of the men disappeared, but the one remaining man, a Samaritan, threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him.

That's true Thanksgiving. How many of us do the same? Are you like the Samaritan or the men who fled once healed?  God gave us Jesus to cleanse us from the corruption of sin and do we thank Him for it? Often we pray and pray, but never think to praise.  Once our prayers are answered we move on with our lives without ever taking a moment to thank God. Prayer is asking God for things while praise is recognizing the things the Lord has done for us.

The single Samaritan who praised Jesus did it for himself, not on behalf of anyone else from the group. And so we see that we must give thanks for ourselves. Although we can sin in company and go to hell in company, you must come to Jesus alone, and reflect alone on what He has given you.  The healed leper was granted granted both physical and spiritual healing. This healing was tied to his faith; it was his faith that asked Christ for help and faith that brought the man back to thank Jesus. If you place your faith in God and praise Him for his blessings, you can trust that He will work on your behalf.