Month: September 2015

by

Don’t Forget To Say Thank You

5th & 6th September

Weekend Edition

“One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet thanking Him for what He had done. This man was a Samaritan.”

Luke 17:15-16

The Lord is gracious, kind and compassionate. His love for the lost runs deep and wide. He showed that when He came to the earth in human form. Yet how often do we thank God for the kindness, grace and compassion He shows? Furthermore, is thanks on our lips when He so lovingly answers our prayers? Is our thankfulness ‘shout’ louder than our cries for help?

As we return to this passage in Luke 17 we read that unfortunately, only one of the 10 lepers that were healed in this passage took the time to thank Jesus for His healing. The one man’s response is of someone who knew that Jesus was more than just a healer. As the man approached Jesus, He fell to the floor at His feet, shouting “Praise God!!!” What a response. A healed man, recognising his healing was from God and falling at the feet of Jesus in gratitude.

Yet Luke includes an important piece of information. This man was a Samaritan! Not only was he an outcast because of his disease but also because of his race. A Samaritan leper was surely the biggest outcast in Jesus’ time. Yet Jesus saw straight through his earthly identity and saw the man how He created him to be and in response to Jesus’ loving and kind heart towards him, he returned and gave thanks to Jesus for all that He had done.

Jesus, is as alive today as He was when this story happened 2000 years ago. His healing power is a true today and it was then. Let us believe God for His healing and remember to thank Him. For in thanks, even more blessing are received. Thankfulness enables our heart to recognise God’s goodness. Let us cry out to God in thanksgiving; not just in our requests. God answers our prayers and deserves our thankfulness.

Sometimes thankfulness means you need to stand out from the crowd!

by

The Ten Lepers

4th September

“As He entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.”

Luke 17:12-14

In the Bible, leprosy was a disease that led to insolation, loneliness, and severe pain. Due to its title of being an ‘unclean’ disease, those who had it, could not associate with anyone else. This is why the lepers could only stand at a distance and shout out to Jesus for their healing.

However, as soon as they saw Jesus, they acknowledged straight away that He was no ordinary man, hence why they called Him Master. They knew that Jesus could heal them. They knew He had the power as they cried out to Him for mercy. So Jesus in His mercy, healed all ten of them. Yet interestingly Jesus’ healing required a step of obedience and faith from the lepers too.

The law requires that after you are healed from leprosy you must present yourselves to the Pharisees, so you can be given the all clear to interact with society again. It was only the Pharisees that could say you are completely healed. So in asking them to go to the Pharisees, it was like Jesus had already healed them. It needed a huge step of faith though. They knew they could not associate with ‘clean’ people, especially those who thought they were the cleanest of all, the Pharisees. Yet, they had nothing to lose. They had to trust Jesus; and because of their trust, they were all healed as they walked to meet the Pharisees.

Sometimes, Jesus’ healing comes in ways and forms that we don’t expect. However, what we can expect is that Jesus is a healer. He graciously and merciful healed the lepers. Yet again Jesus showed His compassion for the marginalised and His grace to heal to sick. May we too live as Jesus lived, imitating His heart for the lost and praying in His Name for healing for the sick. God is alive!

by

Our Rock

3rd September

“I love you, Lord; You are my Strength. The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and my Saviour; My God is my Rock, in whom I find Protection. He is my Shield, the Power that saves me, and my Place of safety.”

Psalm 18:1-2

David spent years running away from Saul when he was driven with madness and jealously towards David. Literally David’s very life was in danger on a daily basis. So great was David’s anguish that when he talked about his struggles in the rest of this chapter, he used phrases such as ‘death laid a trap in my path’ and ‘the grave wrapped its ropes around me’. This is heartfelt imagery; imagery that conjures up a hopeless situation. Yet hope was always at hand because David had the Lord by his side.

David knew that God was his rock, fortress, Saviour, strength, protection, power, shield and a place of refuge from the enemies. Although danger was at his doorstep, he knew that God would save him. In fact this poem is written after God saved David from his enemies and from the hands of Saul as a reflection on God’s saving grace.

David shared such an intimate walk with God. Yet his intimacy came from the knowledge of who God was and is. He knew he could fully trust and rely on his God to save him. And time and time again, God did just that. When we are walking through a tunnel that seems to have no light at the end, let us remember that our God, is our strength, He is our fortress and very present help in time of need. He hears our cry, and stretches His hand to us. We can have hope in hopeless situation because He is our hope and He never fails.

by

The Samaria Revival

2nd September

“Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. ……When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 8:6,14-15

Jesus’ actions on the day when He ministered to the Samaritan woman, changed Samaria’s identity forever; not just at the time but even years later. If we look back to Jesus’ last words just before His ascension in Acts 1:8, we read the following words….“And you will be my witnesses telling people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, IN SAMARIA, and to the ends of the earth.” This prophetic statement about Samaria came to fruition in Acts 8.

Although it is not stated in the text, it can be concluded that Jesus had already scattered the seeds of salvation on that day when He revealed Himself to the Samaritan woman and her fellow villagers. Because of the word Jesus spoke, years later, people were still receiving His salvation. The Samaritans were eager to hear Philip’s message about Jesus and many believed and received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus, in His grace, has poured out to us His children, the gift of salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit. This was never a gift to be hidden but shared with the world. For in sharing His gift, others can also receive it too. The power of one life changed can ultimately affect a whole city. If we understand that, it will change the way we share our gift with people and help us to realise the value of the people we are sharing it with. Just as one life changed a whole town in Samaria, so can one life make a difference today.