DON’T BE AN INGRATE
Memorise: We love him, because he first loved us. 1st
John 4:19
Read: Luke 17:11-19, (KJV) 11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he
passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as
he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers,
which stood afar off:
13 And
they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 And
when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And
it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
15 And
one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice
glorified God,
16 And
fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17 And
Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There
are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
19 And he
said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
Bible in one year: Romans 1-3, Psalms 1-2
MESSAGE
The attitude of ungratefulness
irritates God. Where I come from in the western part of Nigeria, our people
would say, “Don’t follow-up your benevolent act so that you don’t give the
impression that you want a ‘thank you’ or some ‘hero worship’.” This saying is
very correct because only God deserves our worship. As a matter of fact, it is
only God that is capable of constantly following up His benevolent act and that
is why He said;
“…When ye be come into the land which I give unto you,
and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the
first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf
before the Lord, to be accepted for you….”
Leviticus 23:10-11
Love is reciprocal. The question
is how many people reciprocate the love being showered on them by fellow
humans, not to talk of their attitude to God’s benevolent acts. The Psalmist
saw the danger in the act of ingratitude and preached vehemently to his soul
when he wrote:
“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me,
bless his holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:”
Psalm 103:1-2
The story in our Bible reading
confirms that God expects us to appreciate Him sufficiently for His goodness.
Our Lord Jesus Christ queried in Luke
17:17:
“…. Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?”
He went further to bless and
perfect the healing of the grateful Samaritan. It is unfortunate that many
children of God are already so used to the miraculous act of God that they are
no longer moved by these acts. New comers into the Church who still remember
clearly what they have suffered by the hands of the devil and his cohorts give
thanks to God for every miracle. Whereas, some people don’t give testimonies of
how God healed them of headache because they don’t see it as a “big deal”. Such
people have forgotten that the headache they consider as ordinary has claimed
the lives of thousands. My prayer for someone using this devotional is that you
will never be ungrateful again in Jesus’ name. When you continue in your sins
after you have been cleansed of them or when you backslide, you are ungrateful
to God who gave His Son as ransom for your sins and to Jesus Christ who paid
the supreme price of laying down His life for you. When you don’t forgive your
brother who offends you, you are ungrateful to God who pardoned your numerous
sins.
Prayer Point
Father, forgive me of my sin of ingratitude. Holy Spirit, help me to
be grateful to my Father in Heaven always in Jesus’ name.
Open
Heavens Daily, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye
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