Good day dear friends.
A special prayer for those going before district committees on ministry. A dear friend of many from FUMC and this area, Steve Peyton, is going before the San Antonio dCOM this morning at 10:45 a.m. Steve surprised our Emmaus reunion group this morning, arriving in a suit with best friend, Michael Pearce. May the Lord bless Steve and others going through this process. Steve is a student at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY, and flew in for this important day.
Here is our study guide for today as we continue to help those who wish to see Jesus:
Thursday: Read Luke 17:11-19. Here again someone comes to seek the Lord. Read this story and see who it is who has come to see Jesus and the reason for which they sought Him. Are you living your life in a grateful way for all that He has done for you? Or do you have an “entitlement” mentality that ‘we deserve this and more!” about all that God does?
Here is that passage from Luke 17:11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13 they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 14 When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19 Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."
This is a passage that comes to us usually on Thanksgiving holidays. It is so recognized during this time that as a young preacher invited to fill in for an ailing colleague on Thanksgiving, one elderly lady came to me as I'm sitting down at the start of the service, "Mother has asked that you not preach on the ten lepers because she loses her appetite for Thanksgiving dinner." Here I add what we use online: LOL. I can Laugh Out Loud now, then it terrified me. I had already written (literally) my sermon. It was typed, double-spaced and in my folder and there was no way I could access a typewriter (kids ask your parents what that is)! I had no choice but to preach it!
It is a powerful story of gratefulness and about seeking Jesus. To have this dreaded skin disease in those days was to face a life among the dead. To have leprosy in Jesus' day meant you had to live among the tombs away from "normal" society. To get close to clean people was forbidden and frowned above. Your very appearance would terrify most. So, to seek this One who had the power to heal was a bold thing. They had no other option. There was no known cure, and to have been declared unclean by your priests/rabbi meant you lived among the tombs until you went permanently into one. So, as Jesus walked by they cried out to him, and notice the scripture says they kept their distance. Jesus simply told them to go show themselves to their priests. This meant taking steps of faith to go to the one who had declared them unclean, for he was the only one who could declare them clean again. It was only one, who realized all that had happened to him. Not only did he have new skin, he now had a new life. And this new life was marked by a new faith in God. Luke is sure we know that this one grateful person was not a Jew but a Samaritan. The other nine simply went home with that "I deserve this and more" mentality that plagues our society. The one man who realized all God had done for him for the only one who humbled himself before Jesus to thank Him.
As people seek Jesus in us, we need to live a life that is thankful for all things. They need to see the spirit of joy and gratitude in all that God has done for us. If we are to share Jesus we must do it first in living a life that glorifies God for all God does for us. They won't see Jesus in a life that wants more and more and is never satisfied with what we have. A life of possessions that possess us is not one others want to live. Possessions are not evil in and of themselves, but when they dictate how we live, then they are. One can be rich both financially and spiritually, if we control our wealth and live a life that is grateful and shares what God has shared with us.
PRAYER: Lord, all this week we have been around those who are seeking You in us. We've been true to You in some cases, but not in others. We pray that you help us today to live a life of gratitude for all You have done, so that others will see in us that life that glorifies You. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
Please don't forget our noon Lenten Liturgy and Luncheon. It starts at 12 noon in Lowman Chapel, followed by a soup luncheon in Todd Hall.
e.v.
