Luke 17:19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
Well Friends, it was a beautiful storm; the loud claps of Thor’s hammer, the brilliant flashes of lightning, and the driving, dancing rain, propelled by a potent wind. And irony of ironies, it caught me in a Canadian Tire Store where I had gone to buy a set of windshield wipers for my car. The amusing thing is that I’ve been planning to buy them for a few days now, but kept putting it off until today, when rain was forecasted and I had to go out. And when I did go out, though seeing the dark clouds building and the wind picking up, I ran some other errands around the mall first, persuading myself that there was enough time to buy the wipers afterwards and get home before the storm hit. Hn! However, through bad luck, or the Lord’s subtle sign, methinks the latter, when I finally purchased the wipers and was ready to go home, the full force of the storm greeted me at the store’s exit. Chuh! I wearily exclaimed, but had to chuckle at the situation, for it certainly pointed out the disadvantages of laziness and procrastination. Oh Friends, those are two serious enemies of our cause, which we must constantly keep in check, or better yet, try to conquer, for they lure and lull us into complacency and a false sense of security. If we keep putting off things we know we should do sooner, rather than later, it eventually becomes an ingrained habit that’s not only hard to break, but also impacts negatively on our faith. We end up putting off or taking too many things for granted, and not doing our part when we ought to. Faith, my people, implies action; seeing, doing, believing, while laziness and procrastination promote a sedentary lifestyle. And this is one of the serious failings of our Christian movement today; too many of us put off making a testimony, doing a good deed or something that will help to build Christ’s Church. For whatever reason, too many of us just can’t be bothered. Let’s look at a situation with Jesus. While on His way to Jerusalem, He passes through Samaria and Galilee, ‘And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off.’ (Luke 17:12) Remember, in those days, lepers never mingled with the rest of society, they were more like outcasts, so these men knowingly kept their distance. ‘And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that as they went, they were cleansed.’ (Luke 17:13-15) Praise be to Almighty God! Yes Friends, that should have been a joyous time, one of repentance and glorifying God. But instead, what happened? ‘And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.’ (Luke 17:15-16) According to the scholars the fact that the healed man was a Samaritan, would have been a stinging rebuke to the Jews, who often despised the Samaritans. But Jesus asked him, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? They are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.’ (Luke 17:17-18) But what else is new eh Friends? Ungratefulness also runs rampant in our world today. And the sad part is that the other nine lepers were apparently Jews, hence Jesus statement that none but the ‘stranger,’ a Gentile, came back to say thanks and glorify God. His own people, though He miraculously healed them, thereby allowing them to rejoin the mainstream society, couldn’t even be bothered to come back and say thanks. But my people, that low percentage is so staggering as to be almost unbelievable! Only one out of ten had the decency to be grateful and appreciative! But it shouldn’t really surprise us, things being what they are. I’m sure Jesus was rather disappointed at the outcome, but like we need to learn to do, He calmly went along and played with the hand He was dealt. ‘And he said unto him, Arise, Go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.’ There we have it Friends; ten lepers were miraculously healed, but only one had the good manners and took the time to return and say thanks, while the other nine, ungratefully, just went their way rejoicing. Unknown to them though, the ONLY one that returned, the ONLY one that said thanks and gave glory to God, the ‘stranger,’ was also the ONLY one that received salvation. Those nine others don’t know what they missed. Oh my brethren, let’s not be like the foolish, ungrateful nine nuh. That’s how the world would have us behave. Instead, let’s be like that one ‘stranger’ who was grateful for the mercy and compassion Jesus showed him. Everyday of our earthly lives, good things happen which we don’t expect. Let’s give thanks and praise for them. Don’t be lazy, don’t procrastinate and just ungratefully shrug them off. It only takes a moment to say, ‘Thank you Lord!’ And even when things don’t go our way and disappointment fills our soul, let’s stay steadfast, strong and true, and still thank our Heavenly Father for the breath we breathe and the good things we know He has in store for us. That’s what faith is all about my Friends. Much LOVE!…in good times…or in bad…FAITH…is the elixir that will see us through…
Well Friends, it was a beautiful storm; the loud claps of Thor’s hammer, the brilliant flashes of lightning, and the driving, dancing rain, propelled by a potent wind. And irony of ironies, it caught me in a Canadian Tire Store where I had gone to buy a set of windshield wipers for my car. The amusing thing is that I’ve been planning to buy them for a few days now, but kept putting it off until today, when rain was forecasted and I had to go out. And when I did go out, though seeing the dark clouds building and the wind picking up, I ran some other errands around the mall first, persuading myself that there was enough time to buy the wipers afterwards and get home before the storm hit. Hn! However, through bad luck, or the Lord’s subtle sign, methinks the latter, when I finally purchased the wipers and was ready to go home, the full force of the storm greeted me at the store’s exit. Chuh! I wearily exclaimed, but had to chuckle at the situation, for it certainly pointed out the disadvantages of laziness and procrastination. Oh Friends, those are two serious enemies of our cause, which we must constantly keep in check, or better yet, try to conquer, for they lure and lull us into complacency and a false sense of security. If we keep putting off things we know we should do sooner, rather than later, it eventually becomes an ingrained habit that’s not only hard to break, but also impacts negatively on our faith. We end up putting off or taking too many things for granted, and not doing our part when we ought to. Faith, my people, implies action; seeing, doing, believing, while laziness and procrastination promote a sedentary lifestyle. And this is one of the serious failings of our Christian movement today; too many of us put off making a testimony, doing a good deed or something that will help to build Christ’s Church. For whatever reason, too many of us just can’t be bothered. Let’s look at a situation with Jesus. While on His way to Jerusalem, He passes through Samaria and Galilee, ‘And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off.’ (Luke 17:12) Remember, in those days, lepers never mingled with the rest of society, they were more like outcasts, so these men knowingly kept their distance. ‘And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that as they went, they were cleansed.’ (Luke 17:13-15) Praise be to Almighty God! Yes Friends, that should have been a joyous time, one of repentance and glorifying God. But instead, what happened? ‘And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.’ (Luke 17:15-16) According to the scholars the fact that the healed man was a Samaritan, would have been a stinging rebuke to the Jews, who often despised the Samaritans. But Jesus asked him, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? They are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.’ (Luke 17:17-18) But what else is new eh Friends? Ungratefulness also runs rampant in our world today. And the sad part is that the other nine lepers were apparently Jews, hence Jesus statement that none but the ‘stranger,’ a Gentile, came back to say thanks and glorify God. His own people, though He miraculously healed them, thereby allowing them to rejoin the mainstream society, couldn’t even be bothered to come back and say thanks. But my people, that low percentage is so staggering as to be almost unbelievable! Only one out of ten had the decency to be grateful and appreciative! But it shouldn’t really surprise us, things being what they are. I’m sure Jesus was rather disappointed at the outcome, but like we need to learn to do, He calmly went along and played with the hand He was dealt. ‘And he said unto him, Arise, Go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.’ There we have it Friends; ten lepers were miraculously healed, but only one had the good manners and took the time to return and say thanks, while the other nine, ungratefully, just went their way rejoicing. Unknown to them though, the ONLY one that returned, the ONLY one that said thanks and gave glory to God, the ‘stranger,’ was also the ONLY one that received salvation. Those nine others don’t know what they missed. Oh my brethren, let’s not be like the foolish, ungrateful nine nuh. That’s how the world would have us behave. Instead, let’s be like that one ‘stranger’ who was grateful for the mercy and compassion Jesus showed him. Everyday of our earthly lives, good things happen which we don’t expect. Let’s give thanks and praise for them. Don’t be lazy, don’t procrastinate and just ungratefully shrug them off. It only takes a moment to say, ‘Thank you Lord!’ And even when things don’t go our way and disappointment fills our soul, let’s stay steadfast, strong and true, and still thank our Heavenly Father for the breath we breathe and the good things we know He has in store for us. That’s what faith is all about my Friends. Much LOVE!…in good times…or in bad…FAITH…is the elixir that will see us through…
SCRIP-BITS 