Be The One

 “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.” - Luke 17:15-16

Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one returned to give Him thanks. Why didn't the other nine return to give Him thanks? Were they too excited and forgot their manners? Or was it that only one leper recognized Jesus as the Son of God and returned to thank Him as an act of worship?

In the busyness of our days, it is easy to get distracted from fundamental and vital issues. We can easily forget our blessings and fail to render thanks for them. Sadly, some people don't recognize their blessings until those blessings are taken away.

Blessings are simply gifts bestowed upon us by our benevolent God. Out of love and kindness, the Lord has showered us with countless blessings. If we are honest, we'd have to admit that we are unworthy of these gifts. Yet He demonstrates His mercy and grace by providing these gifts to us daily. What an awesome God we serve!

You'd think that if He were so kind and gracious to us, the very least we could do is thank Him for His blessings. Yet we often fail at that. Certainly His blessings give us reason to give Him thanks, yet they should also lead us to worship the One who is loving and kind. His gifts reflect His generosity. His generosity to us should lead us to be generous to others ourselves. His grace should give us incentive to show grace to those around us.

We can look around and find so many examples of people who are like the nine lepers. Despite God's awesome blessings, they take them for granted, or even worse, act as if they are entitled to such blessings. Many are highly successful, yet act as if their knowledge and skills alone were the cause for their success. The nine lepers went away blessed, but untouched in their hearts. Americans certainly embody that lifestyle today.

If we claim to be followers of Jesus, we shouldn't be like the nine lepers. Instead, we need to be like the one who returned to thank and worship the Savior. Let us never get over what He has done for us.

In a world full of people who live like the nine lepers, I want to be like the one who returned to Jesus. Be the one who glorifies God regardless of the scorn of others. Be the one who thanks Him despite my own flesh and pride. Be the one who worships the One who cleansed me and changed me.

I owe everything to Him, what about you?

The Insult of Ingratitude

 “And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” - Luke 17:17

Jesus healed ten lepers, but nine did not return to thank Him for the incredible miracle. When we read this story, we are stirred with anger at the ingratitude shown by the lepers. Leprosy was a highly contagious and incurable disease of the day. Just the word, leprosy, brought fear to an uninfected population. For men to be cleansed of such a disease was an incredible, life-changing blessing. To fail to thank Jesus for this gift is an insult and disgrace.

Before we issue great condemnation towards these nine men, we must admit that we have been guilty of ingratitude ourselves. Every day, we are recipients of blessings, even miracles, but do we express gratitude for all of them? Do we thank the Lord for the boundless grace He shows toward us?

Surely, ingratitude is an insult towards the One who shows us mercy. We selfishly ask for more blessings --- and even expect them --- yet we often fail to thank Him for the blessings we've already received.

How would you feel if you continually helped someone, but never received a word of gratitude or thanks? What would you think of someone who selfishly welcomed every unmerited blessing, yet failed to recognize your generosity? You would consider such ingratitude to be an insult, wouldn't you?

Like it or not, we are more like the nine lepers than we'd like to admit. You awoke this morning. Did you thank God for that? You had a warm place to sleep overnight. Did you express thanks for that? You had food on your table again today. Was this a blessing you specifically thanked God for? You had a portion of good health. Did you praise the Lord for this? We could go on and on. God has been good to us. Did we recognize Him for this? Are we ashamed to give credit to the Lord publicly for all He does?

Many people only give thanks to the Lord on specified holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. But what about the other days of the year? Every day is a special day, a blessing from God.

It is assumed that the nine lepers went to the High Priest, as commanded, to be declared clean from leprosy. Yet only one returned to the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who preformed the miracle of cleansing. One man returned to give Him heartfelt gratitude for the life-altering cleansing he had received.

As believers in Christ, we have been cleansed from a much more deadly disease than leprosy. We have been cleansed from sin by the power of the blood. This miracle is the greatest of all miracles. Leonard Ravenhill once said that the greatest miracle of all is for God to take an unholy man out of an unholy world, make him holy, then place him back in the unholy world and enable him to live a holy life. That is something only God can do. May we never forget that. May we never cease praising Him for it.

Yes, ingratitude is an insult against the One who has showered us with bountiful blessings. Let us cease from such a sin in the future!

Rest

 “I will give you rest.” - Matthew 11:28

I must confess that I am not an early riser. I get up early every workday morning because it is necessary, not because I am already awake. I love my sleep! When I was young, I didn't understand why older people went to bed so early. Now I find myself going to bed a little after 9 every night. I need my sleep!

Rest is actually a blessing from God. Our bodies need rest. It isn't healthy for a person to only sleep three or four hours each night. While your body can tolerate sleepless hours, eventually it will demand the rest and sleep it has been deprived of.

Most people give little attention to sleep, until they experience sleepless nights. Parents of newborn children learn quickly that rest does not come automatically. Furthermore, illness can rob a person of sleep. In the years gone by, I have suffered from kidney stones, which can easily deprive me of sleep.

I don't take sleep for granted. Neither should you.

When Jesus said, “I will give you rest,” He was offering rest to people who were depleted by the oppression of sin. The devil is a harsh taskmaster. He offers much but delivers little. The devil promises an abundant life but drags his followers into the gutter of despair. Thankfully, God offers such people rest.

Life is demanding. Expectations are high. It is easy to be overwhelmed by it all. I am glad that there is a place where we can go and experience the rest we need. Rest refreshes the spirit. Rest rejuvenates the body. Rest even helps in the healing process.

When you have sleepless nights, it is good to talk with the Master. Often I have asked for the Lord for rest during sleepless nights and soon found myself getting drowsy. He does give rest to those who need it.

God rested on the seventh day of creation. He did not need to rest, but He certainly demonstrated to us that rest is a good thing. The Jews were commanded to learn from God's example and set aside the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath. They were expected to set aside this day and treat it as a holy day.

Christians are promised that there remains a rest for us (see Hebrews 4). While the Jews rested on the seventh day, Christians worship on the first day of the week, remembering the resurrection of Jesus. Our Sabbath rest is yet to come. In Revelation 14:13, John wrote, “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” The saints mentioned in this text experienced rest from their labors. Such rest is a glorious thing.

God created rest. He modeled it for us. We should appreciate this gift and thank the Giver of it. Furthermore, we should invite weary souls to find the rest they need in Jesus.

Thank God for rest!

Homemade Religion

“For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” - Romans 10:2-3

I fear that many people in America have what I call, “homemade religion.” They've taken bits and pieces of Christianity and added their own preferences and opinions. They have crafted their own religion while continuing to use the label, “Christian.”

In their deliberate ignorance, these individuals have a Christ without change, rituals without repentance, sacraments without sacrifice, belief without the Bible, and happiness without holiness. Such superficial religion is a miserable experience. It provides neither help nor hope.

These zealots of homemade religion may or may not be church members. In fact, church has become taboo for so many of them. They fly solo through the dense clouds of uncertainty, unaware of the high mountain of judgment that they are about to crash into. They do not heed the warning lights on the dashboard. Neither will they prayerfully talk on the radio of repentance. Instead, they boast of their independence as they face deadly peril.

It is easier to win a drunk to Jesus than a religious Pharisee. A prostitute is more likely candidate for salvation than the disciples of homemade religion. While a man refuses to humbly acknowledge his lost, sinful condition, he cannot be saved. Like a blind man walking through the woods in the middle of the night, he may brag about his progress, not knowing that the next step may be the edge of a cliff.

Christianity is all about Christ. This is missing from so many sermons these days. Salvation is of the Lord, not our religious deeds. Apart from a real faith in the living Christ, a man or woman is hopelessly lost. There is no other way for a man to avoid the hell he deserves.

The problem is that a person with homemade religion will read these words and be convinced I am writing about someone else. Homemade religion is deceitful. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they sewed fig leaves together in an attempt to cover their nakedness. They deceived themselves into thinking that their remedy was sufficient. Their homemade religion was futile. God had to slay animals and use their skins to cover Adam and Eve. It is a reminder that homemade religion never covers anything. Without the shedding of blood we are naked and ashamed. While blood was shed to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve, it takes the blood of the Lamb, the precious Lord Jesus, to cover our sins today.

There is no homemade substitute for this.

Sacred Obsession

 “My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.” - Psalm 63:1

If you spend time with a person, you'll quickly learn what he or she values. We tend to talk about the things that are most important to us. We can even be preoccupied with these things. In fact, for some, priorities have grown into obsessions.

According to yourdictionary.com, obsession is defined as the act of letting a thought or action rule your thoughts or actions. On social media, I find some who are obsessed on differing sides of the vaccination topic. Many have been obsessed about the last election. Many are obsessed with their favorite football team.

Where are the people who are obsessed with Jesus? Where are the folks who have a sacred obsession?

A while back, I watched a video about the Jesus Movement that occurred in the United States around 1970. I was struck with the obsession these young people had. They worshiped with excitement, witnessed everywhere with boldness and studied their Bibles with expectation. They had a sacred obsession. Many of these young people are now leading churches, seminaries and para-church organizations.

Let me pose this question. Is there a valid reason why Christians shouldn't obsessed with Jesus today? More to the point: Why aren't you obsessed?

We have allowed the world to mold our thought-process. We have been influenced too greatly by our society. A man with a spiritual obsession is considered to be “weird.” We try to avoid such a reputation. Instead, we have conveniently reduced our spiritual involvement to a few minutes in church on Sunday mornings, if at all.

Let's be honest about it. If the Gospel is not true, we shouldn't be obsessed with it. In fact, we should shove it aside and label it as a lie. However, if the Gospel is true (and it is), shouldn't it be something we are obsessed with? The Gospel addresses a life and death situation bringing good news to a hopeless race. The Gospel is the message desperately needed by a dying world, but rarely articulated by those who claim to believe it. Even worse, as recipients of grace, we act as though the Gospel is not so great after all.

It is time we remember what it was like to be lost. Think of the great guilt that we accumulated. Consider the magnitude of our crimes against a holy God. Then we need to spend quality time thinking about Calvary and Jesus dying in our place so we could be saved. The Gospel was good news to us when we were saved. We passed from death to life. It thrilled our souls.

It is time to get back to where we started. Too many of us are like Martha. She was busy and stressed out over little things while, simultaneously, missing out on sweet fellowship with Jesus, who was just feet away from her. Let us strive be more like Mary who sat at Jesus' feet, listening to His Word. She was captivated with her Lord. She had a sacred obsession.

Jesus is near right now. How sad it is to avoid Him while trying to do His work. It is tragic to neglect Jesus because you are consumed with “more important things.”

Push aside everything right now and spend quality time with Jesus. Share your thoughts, burdens and concerns with Him in prayer. Open your Bible and receive His Word in your heart. Return to your first love and bask in His love once more.

We need to have a sacred obsession once more!

Solitude

 “Be still, and know that I am God” - Psalm 46:10

We are living in a fast-paced world. The hustle and bustle of everyday life drains our time quickly. Everywhere we turn there are high demands on our time. We are expected to work 40+ hours a week on the job. Family-time is difficult to squeeze in. We are expected to exercise, attend church and get involved in community activities. It is nearly impossible to meet all these demands.

To make things worse there are many time-consuming distractions that lure us into wasting precious moments. Television and social media are among the many distractions that are burning up our precious time.

Because of time limitations, we are giving little or no time for spiritual growth. Our moments with God seems to be little more than leftover time … if He even gets that. No wonder that spiritual vitality is anemic among professing believers.

In spite of all the demands being made on our time, what could be more important than our time with God? We need times of solitude to meet with God, commune with Him and learn from His Word.

We need a time of solitude every day. I am not suggesting the length of time to give. That is something you need to work out. I am suggesting that a block of time be given for fellowship with God.

I know this is easier said than done. Let me make the following suggestions:

First, set an appointment daily. Just as we tend to keep medical appointments, we need to set and keep an appointment to meet with God daily. Just like a doctor's appointment, we should protect this appointment from distractions and demands. If necessary, get up a little earlier each day to keep this time of spiritual solitude.

Next, prepare for this time. Find a good place you can go to for solitude. It may be the living room, front porch, a walk through the woods or sitting on the front porch swing. This place needs to be free of distractions. Also, have your Bible with you. You want two or three things to happen in this time of solitude. First, spend some time reading the Bible. Secondly, pray. Finally, reflect and quietly soak in the things you've learned from the Word.

Third, keep going. Turn this ritual into a habit. Anticipate resistance from the devil and your flesh. Remember that nothing worthwhile comes easy.

Finally, start today. Don't wait for the first of the month or first of the year. Make today your starting point.

We need times of spiritual solitude. These precious moments permit us to feast on spiritual food.

Don't settle for the junk food of the world.

Liberty, License or Legalism

“Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” - Romans 14:5

Our country has major problems, not the least of which are the internal conflicts that are unraveling the thread of civility from our land. Social media is greatly responsible for this. Right now, the big issue at the center of our conflicts is our personal response to Covid-19.

The President has issued executive orders mandating the vaccination of certain groups of people. Some believe he has exceeded his power with such a wide-scale mandate. While this is an issue that is open for debate, I want us to focus on the Christian's response to Covid-19, wearing masks and being vaccinated.

As an American, I believe in personal liberty. In my personal opinion, the government should not be running our lives. Some things are simply up to the individual. While others may disagree, we do not want to have governmental interference with our personal lives. Personal liberty is an important aspect of our nation's freedom.

We cannot say that the government cannot ever tell us what to do. The government orders us to pay taxes. The Bible instructs us to pay our taxes. According to the Scriptures, we are to obey the government … yet we must practice civil disobedience if the government tries to force us to disobey God.

While I may strongly disagree with our government and its leaders at times, my faith does not give me permission to violate our laws simply because I don't like them. We are commanded to live in harmony with others … as much as possible.

So what about mask mandates? What about vaccination mandates? What is to be our response to these things?

When it comes to the laws of our land, the legality of such mandates are to be determined by the judicial branch of government. I admit that I don't always agree with the judgments rendered by our courts. Often judgments are influenced by the political preference rather than the Constitution.

What bothers me are the Christians who are hostile towards others who do not share the same view about this virus. Those who are vaccinated and wear masks seem condescending and judgmental towards those who don't. Those who object to masks and vaccination openly question the patriotism and convictions of those who've been vaccinated.

Before you condemn the unvaccinated, let me remind everyone that there are many who cannot receive the vaccine because health issues or the medication they are taking.

Personally, I have received the vaccination and here's why. While we don't know about all the long-term consequences of receiving the vaccine, we do know that it is keeping many from being infected. Plus, the small percentage of vaccinated people who still get the virus often do not suffer as badly as those who don't and the mortality rate is significantly lower.

I have an elderly mother, elderly church members and deal with the public in my work. I don't want my carelessness to be the means of infecting those I care about the most. The consequences of infection could be harsh on me and deadly on others. I don't want that on my conscience.

Nevertheless, I understand why some refuse the vaccination. I understand why some are harshly against wearing a mask. I also understand that they may be putting themselves and others at risk.

The Bible says, “Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” I think this should be the proper response we have concerning this matter. Don't be harsh in judging others who disagree with you. Each person must make their own decision. Of course, the decisions we make do have consequences. We should demonstrate sympathy and love towards those who are suffering, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not.

I do not agree that the vaccine is the “mark of the beast,” described in the book of Revelation. However, I can see how governmental mandates are opening the door to that wickedness. I know that this fueling some of the vaccination resistance.

While we may have strong opinions on this matter, we shouldn't allow our opinions to mold us into Pharisees. Legalism is more dangerous than this virus. Many Christians may strongly object to my thesis on this subject and that's okay. As an American, I have the freedom to express myself. As a Christian, I have the responsibility to respond to my own convictions and conscience. I suggest that we all do the same.

Personally, I can't wait until this whole pandemic is behind us.