AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then He said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Luke 17:11-19

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Ask yourself this: How many times does the Lord do something that is praiseworthy?

I would wager to say that there is not a single second that goes by in any single day where the Lord has not done something worthy of our admiration and commendation. He is at work everywhere within His creation making a difference in the lives of everyone.

Now take this truth, that the Lord is doing something worthy of adoration every single second of every day, and then consider there isn’t a day that passes where he isn’t like this. Our Lord is indeed always working things out for the good of those who love him, 24/7, 365 days a year, year after year after year after year. He has been doing it for the ages since He brought mankind into being and He will do so until that day of glory when Jesus returns to judge the world and everyone within it.

Indeed, we serve a Lord who deserves our perpetual, unceasing praise. And yet, too often, people forget to take the time to say, “Thank You” for what He has done for them.

You see, our Lord is so good to us all the time that we take His goodness for granted. It’s a flaw in our humanity but it’s one that is correctable, a correctable as any other sin we might suffer from. The correction point is nothing more than an attitude adjustment, an adjustment from an attitude of indifference to one of gratitude.

That’s right, we need to commit ourselves to an attitude of gratitude to the Lord and keep it in place in step with the amount time He is with us and for us, which as we have covered is always.

It’s this matter of having an attitude of gratitude that is central to our scripture passage as we continue to look at the 17th chapter of Luke. Here we find Jesus coming upon ten lepers in dire need of healing. Look again at this account here:

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? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then He said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”  Luke 17:11-19

Here we find Jesus continuing His journey toward Jerusalem and the fateful last week of His earthly life. The scriptures tell us He was traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee when He entered a village and encountered ten men who were stricken with leprosy. Anyone with this condition was considered unclean and so they stood away from Jesus at a distance and called to Him with loud voices:

“Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

Their words revealed three key things about how they viewed Jesus:

1. He was their Master which meant they saw themselves as completely subservient to Him.

2. They knew He could change their condition, believing He possessed the power to heal them.

3. They hoped that Jesus was compassionate and would have pity on them in their diseased state.

Well, as we have seen in the past, Jesus honored those who showed faith and trust in Him. This would be no different for after the men had called out to their Master, Jesus replied:

“Go, show yourselves to the priests.”

And as they went, they were cleansed. The leprosy that had crippled them, pushing them to society’s fringes, was gone. They were made new by the One who always makes all things new.

Now you would have thought such an amazing act would have caused all the men to come back to Jesus with an attitude of gratitude. But that’s not what happened, did it?

No, only one man returned and he wasn’t even a Jew but rather a Samaritan, a man who would have been despised by the Jews even if he hadn’t had leprosy. Coming to Jesus and throwing himself at His feet, this man was the only man who would come back to Jesus and say, “Thank You”. The scene asked Jesus to simply ask:

“Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”

Indeed, it was a sad testament to the way people approach God and the goodness He pours out on them. It was true back in the days of Jesus and sadly, it’s still true today.

Friends, how could we ever let this happen? How could we ever go through any day without completely looking to the Lord with absolute thanksgiving?

The good news is that we won’t if we go into every day with an attitude of gratitude. And we can start by looking at every micro aspect of our lives as a chance to give praise.

You wake up. Give thanks.

You’re breathing and your heart beats. Give thanks.

You stand up on two legs and feet. Give thanks.

You can walk. Give thanks.

You can use your hands to do things. Give thanks.

And so on and so on and so on. Never take anything for granted. Appreciate all the little things and watch you days turn into exercises in rejoicing.

Not just some days. Every day.

For the Lord is good, all the time, and so there is no time when He is not worthy of our praise.

Let’s commit ourselves to give it to Him with all our heart and mind and soul and strength, now and forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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JUST DO YOUR JOB

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Luke 17:7-10

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“Just doing my job.”

I’m not sure how many times I have said these words during my life but I’m pretty sure it’s been quite a few, especially since I am celebrating my 58th birthday today and have worked my entire adult life.

The saying is one that means what it says. If we have been given a job, then we have work to do and if we accomplish what we were tasked to do, then we were just doing our job. Sometimes the job we do might exceed the expectations of someone and they may wish to commend us for what we did but in the end translation, we were doing what we were employed to do.

And with that, there’s not much time to rest on our laurels because it seems work never stops needing to be done. As soon as we have finished one task, we have another one to get to, followed by one after that, and one after that, and so on and so on.

In today’s devotion, we are to take this work mentality and apply to our ministry work, the work that Jesus called us to do. We know this because of the words He teaches from as we continue to look at the 17th chapter of Luke. Look again at the words of our Savior here:

“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”  Luke 17:7-10

The words of Jesus couldn’t be easier to understand.

His Father, God, has given Him authority over all things on heaven and earth. That makes Jesus not only our Savior but our Master. He gave up everything to save us, dying in our place, and in turn, we are to die to self and surrender ourselves completely to Him and the work He has called us to do. The passage here says we are to be His servants but the Greek word in the passage is “doulos” and it is more appropriately translated as “slave”, especially in the context of this passage.

Substitute slave for the word servant and this passage holds a lot more bite. A servant has rights. They can choose what they do. This is not true for the slave who is completely subservient to his/her master.

Now go back to the passage and remember that in the audience are His disciples and some Pharisees. Substitute the word “slave” everywhere you see “servant”. It would read like this:

“Suppose one of you has a (slave) plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the (slave) when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the (slave) because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy (slaves); we have only done our duty.’”  Luke 17:7-10

A slave’s sole job is to do what the Master wants. After they come in from working, fulfilling the Master’s tasks, they will return only to make sure the Master’s needs are met before addressing their own needs. And they do so, not wanting any appreciation or accolades. Rather, they view themselves in the most humbly way possible as they do their duty, whatever that might be.

Let’s apply this to the church now and the collective call of all Christian believers to do the following:

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20

Here, we find our Master Jesus giving His slaves (all His disciples) their marching orders. There isn’t any room for negotiation or discussion. None. The calling isn’t optional.

Rather, the Master of all is giving commands and all are expected to comply, to carry out their Master’s will. Period.

In the end translation, we are the unworthy slaves of Jesus, unworthy of anything because of our sins, undeserving of His love and mercy. Outside of Him, we have no worth but in Him, we are priceless and trust me when I say we are priceless in His eyes. The Master loves His unworthy slaves, reflecting the affection of His Father.

It truly is amazing grace, unmerited but yet so freely given. The ultimate reward we will gain one day after we have done our jobs.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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WOE TO THE ENTICER!

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Jesus said to His disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.”

Luke 17:1-3

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

My wife and I were talking the other day about the Bible and the big picture presented by the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. We agreed that after the creation account, the entire landscape of the Bible centers on the fall of man into sin at Eden’s garden and God’s loving, merciful work in bringing redemption and salvation to mankind through His Son Jesus.

Given this, we know that sin is a given in life for everyone, an affliction instituted by the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. No one is free from it. But as we see in today’s scripture passage, Jesus, the One who had come to take away the sin of the world, tells us that this will never be an excuse for someone who leads another into sin. Look at His words here from the opening verses of Luke 17:

Jesus said to His disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.”  Luke 17:1-3

Here Jesus acknowledges the truth all people deal with, things (aka sins) that cause people to stumble. Our Savior admits that these “things” are “bound to come”. It’s a part of the human condition. But what isn’t supposed to be a part of the human condition is taking the initiative to cause someone else to sin. To these people, Jesus is sending a message:

“Woe to the enticer!”

What is the extent of the woe Jesus is talking about?

He tells us:

“It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.”

A millstone was a large weight used to crush grain. It was extremely heavy. Now picture this millstone around the neck of any individual who would be thrown into the sea. Any person in this perilous predicament would sink to the bottom of the sea, drowning in the process. They would probably be eaten by sea life before they would ever come back to the surface again. It’s not a pretty picture but that would be mild compared to the punishment one would expect if they tempted another person to fall into sin. This is why Jesus commands His listeners:

“Watch yourselves.”

So how can we avoid falling into the enticer category and avert the judgment Jesus is talking about?

The answer is very simple. We have to live as He lived.

Jesus lived a perfectly sin-free life and in Him was no sin. It’s just one thing that separates Him from us, even though He walked the earth as one of us. But just because we can’t be exactly like Him, doesn’t mean we can’t be like Him. We can and that goes for living a life where we stay away from committing sins in our own lives and definitely turn away from any thought about leading someone else toward sin. Jesus never did that and if we pledge and devote ourselves to live as He did then we will follow His lead.

If we don’t, well then we can expect Satan to step in and take control of what we do and if that happens, then get the millstone ready because I guarantee you he will not only lead you into sin but utilize you in some way to accomplish his evil intentions by getting someone else to get involved with you. He’s done it for the ages and he will do it until Jesus returns and takes him out for good.

So in sum, although we are all sinners, we don’t have to submit to our sins. Through Jesus, we can put ourselves in remission from this sin affliction we all suffer from. If we don’t, if we reject Jesus and choose to do our own thing, then we can expect to walk down the path of transgression and lead others to do the same with Satan as our guide, the Satan who will lead anyone into nothing but woe.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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TOO LATE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.”

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’”

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’”

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’”

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’”

“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’”

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Luke 16:19-31

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

What does life after death look like?

It’s a question that many people have discussed and even written about with any number of interpretations published in some form or another. Some people have even had near death experiences and then shared what that was like with the public at large. Indeed, many books have been published and movies made on these matters.

Why?

Because it’s something of interest to everyone because everyone is going to die. And as much as people are in the know about life from either their present experiences or by learning from those who lived before, death still remains much of a mystery because no one has ever come back from the dead to talk again with others. No one that is except Jesus.

Given this, it should be no surprise to see our Savior shedding some light on what things will look like after death as He continues doing what He does best, teaching others as we finish our study of Luke 16. Look at these words here:

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.”

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’”

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’”

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’”

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’”

“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’”

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”  Luke 16:19-31

Before we get started, it’s important to remember that Jesus has been addressing a group which included His disciples and some Pharisees, the latter having just been tweaked by Jesus because of their love of money (“You can’t serve God and money”). As Jesus tells the story we study today, it should be no surprise that wealth is a primary element at work.

And so as this story begins, we find one of the main characters is a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen (a symbol of affluence) and living in luxury every day. He has mastered the ways of the world and gained all it had to offer. Life was good for him.

Life was not so good for the man, Lazarus, who was stationed at the rich man’s gate. His existence was mired in deep suffering, covered in sores, starving, and forced to beg for what little he had. The scriptures tell us that dogs would come and lick Lazarus’ sores. It was imagery basked in misery.  

Two very contrasting scenes, sharply divided socioeconomically. But as far as apart as the men seemed to be from a worldly perspective, there was one great equalizer between them, one that would quickly level the playing field and indeed, usher in a whole different period for them both.

That great equalizer was death.

Interestingly enough, both men died concurrently and the outcome for both became just as strikingly different as it was when they were alive, only this time, the roles were reversed.

For after his passing, Lazarus found himself carried by the angels up to Abraham’s side. This is the place it was believed someone would end up if they lived a life deemed righteous by God, a place where they would find themselves on the beside the one who believed in God and was credited with righteousness (Genesis 15:6).

As for the rich man, there were no angels to attend to him. Rather, he was buried before entering Hades where he found himself in constant torment, much like Lazarus must have felt when he sat day after day at the gate. He could see Abraham and Lazarus far off and called out for some relief, asking for Lazarus to “dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.”

The rich man was now in need of help from the man he refused to assist before, the man he allowed to languish in suffering while he lived in extravagance.

Well, as we see by the words of Abraham, the chasm between Lazarus and the rich man could not be bridged. The rich man had enjoyed all his wealth and all the world had to offer, reluctant to share and make a difference in the life of someone who sat right by his gate, a man he had walked by countless times. Lazarus had lived in humility, doing what he could to survive and trusting that God would provide for him. And so each man reaped what they sowed, the rich man misery and Lazarus comfort.

Quickly assessing the hopelessness of his condition, the rich man finally showed an ability to care for someone outside of himself. He asked if Abraham could send Lazarus to warn his family which we know consisted of five brothers. We get a sense that they were much like the rich man because he felt an urgency to warn them about what had happened to him so they could repent and not have to face the same fate, agonizing anguish in Hades.

Unfortunately, it was too late for that just as it was too late for the rich man to reverse his outcome.

Abraham told the rich man the truth, that his family had the same Moses and Prophets that he had, the same Moses and the Prophets that he refused to follow. No dead man coming back from the dead would be able to convince them to believe if they didn’t already.

I find this teaching by Jesus very fascinating in that it parallels what He would talk about later regarding the coming judgment when He will come a second time. Look at His words from Matthew:

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.”

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.’”

“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?’”

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.’”

“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’”

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?’”

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’”

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”  Matthew 25:31-46

Note here that there will be a sorting at judgment day. Those who believed in Jesus and took the time to live as He did, selflessly committing themselves to make a difference in the lives of others, would be counted among the righteous and on their way to eternal life. For all the others who lived as selfishly as the rich man, they would find themselves entering into a similar destiny, in their way to eternal punishment and it was too late to reverse course.

Friends, both of these teachings by Jesus serve as advance warnings to anyone who has chosen to reject Him as Savior. He wants to make it well known in advance as to the two options awaiting anyone after death and He does this with the hope that no one will have to languish in everlasting misery and affliction. Such is the love of God’s only Son, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world.

My prayer today is that if you haven’t accepted Jesus as Savior, you will right now. Please do yourself a favor and secure your place in glory for all eternity and do it before it’s too late.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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