Today's Passage - Luke 17:11-19

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 17:11-19   Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, 'Jesus, Master, have pity on us!'  When he saw them, he said, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.'  And as they went, they were cleansed.  One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.  He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him - and he was a Samaritan.  Jesus asked, 'Were not all ten cleansed?  Where are the other nine?  Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?'  Then he said to him, 'Rise and go; your faith has made you well.'   In a small town in Samaria, Jesus healed two lepers.  When they showed themselves to the priest, they were confirmed to be clean; they must have been excited, so they hurried to share the joy with their family and friends, but they forgot how they were healed in the first place.  Only one person went back to Jesus and kneeled before Him to thank Him, and also loudly gave glory to God.  Since the ancient time, it was not easy to give thanks; it's hard for us to be thankful when times are rough, but it's also easy, like the other nine lepers, to forget God's grace when times are good.   We know from the Bible that thanksgiving is the basic attitude for life for the children of God.  Paul said in the letter to Thessalonians that we ought to "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  In the Old Testament Hebrew language, there's no verb that expresses the act of thanksgiving; when the Old Testament talks about giving thanks, the original word is usually to praise.  Thanksgiving is not a payback for what God has done for us; thanksgiving should be centered on God; regardless of how the circumstance changes, our hearts will be overflowing with thanksgiving and praise because God is eternal and He never changes.   May God help us, let us never set our eyes on the environment that is constantly changing.  If we want to have true joy and thanksgiving in our heart, we must base our joy on God and His promise.  As Christians, we sometimes fall into the trap of utilitarianism; when God listens and fulfills our prayer, we are joyful and we give thanks; if God didn't accomplish anything, we don't give thanks.  That is because we are self-centered and we don't see things from the perspective of God.  When we view things that happen around us from the perspective of God, we'll learn to face everything with a joyful heart.  When we shift our perspective, many bad things will not look so bad, and our hearts will be cheerful again.  May God open our hearts, learn to give thanks for all the grace that God has on us.  Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you and I praise you for all the grace from you.  May the Lord help us not to become one who doesn't know how to give thanks, but let us give all glory to you and regain strength from you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!