A Life Of Thanks!

A Life Of Thanks

An Elderly lady just finished shopping and she walks toward the door with her hands filled with bags and there is a young man coming into the store who sees that her hands are full and he graciously opens the door for her to walk through. She turned to that young man with a sigh of relief and says thank you. The little boy who is just thrilled with the parents God gave him decides he is going to scrub the floors, vacuum the rugs, Windex the windows, and wash the car to show his appreciation for his parents. A young married man just bubbling over with joy as to the wife that he has been so privileged to spend the last ten years of his life with, decides he is going to buy his wife a gold necklace and matching gold bracelet to express his gratitude. The owner of small business is so thankful for the job done by his employee’s; he gives them each a raise and takes them out for a special lunch.

Each one of these situations involve different people and different circumstances, but each are connected by one very simple, but powerful word. Thanks! Lets Pray!

Rudy Kipling lived from 1865 to 1936. He was English, yet born in Bombay, India. He wrote poetry and is the author of many books including the Jungle Books. Kipling’s writing’s not only made him famous but also brought him fortune. A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, “Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writing’s amounts to over one hundred dollar’s a word.” The reporter reached into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred dollar bill and gave it to Kipling and said, “Here’s a one hundred dollar bill, Mr. Kipling. Now you give me one of your hundred dollar words.” Rudy Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and said, “THANKS!”

The word thanks is definitely a one hundred dollar word.

The word thanks in some form appears 150 times throughout the Scriptures. Thanks means to express gratitude, aware and appreciative of a benefit, grateful feelings or thoughts.

Let’s look at Luke 17:11-17 in order to find some lessons learned when it comes being thankful. Verse 11-13 say 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!”

Leprosy: leprosy was the most terrible disease in the day of

Jesus; it was greatly feared. It was disfiguring and sometimes

fatal. In the Bible leprosy is a type of sin.

1. The leper himself was considered utterly unclean—physically and spiritually. He could not approach within six feet of any person including family members.

2. He was judged to be dead—the living dead. He had to wear a black garment so he could be recognized as from among the dead.

3. He was banished as an outcast, totally ostracized from society—earthly and heavenly. Leviticus 13:46 says As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp. The leper could not live within the walls of any city, his dwelling had to be outside the city gates.

4. The leper was thought to be polluted, incurable by any human means whatsoever. Leprosy could be cured by God and His power alone.

Can you imagine what these men are going through? I can just hear the thoughts of some of them. “I have struggled for so long with this terrible disease, and now a chance to be healed, a chance to be normal, a chance to be clean, a chance to be free!” “JESUS HAVE PITY ON US!” For those who have been through or are going through some disease that ravages your body. You can relate to these men. Senator Richard Neuberger once said the experience of contracting cancer changed him. “A change came over me which I believe is irreversible. Questions of prestige, political success, of financial status, became all at once unimportant. In their place has come a new appreciation of things I once took for granted-eating lunch with a friend, scratching my cats ears and listening for it to purr, the company of my wife, reading a book or a magazine in the quiet cone of my bed lamp at night, raiding the refrigerator for a glass of orange juice or a slice of cake. For the first time I’m actually savoring life!”

Verse 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.