Which One Are You?

From Couples' Nest, Volume 2

gardenofpraise.com

And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. Luke 17:19

As I was reading my Bible this morning, I came across Luke 17:11-19. The LORD then stopped me and did not allow me to go any further till I settled what I needed to get right with Him. Conviction set in greatly that when I wrote what  happened in my personal diary, what He had done and how I saw myself in that passage, I decided to share a bit with you, but not all as it is between Him and me. What I am sharing you now is just a few thoughts of the goodness, mercy, and grace of our LORD that we tend to overlook and take for granted.

If you read what I learned with your heart into it, you will be touched. What I saw were 10 lepers ALL cleansed, yet only one turned back to give Jesus the glory and thanks due Him. You see, all ten had to walk afar off from people due to their disease. They had to restraint themselves so as not to contaminate others. They lifted up and protrude their voices above normal tone to communicate with people. They did these for Jesus to hear them and He heard their plea of mercy.

But, after their faith had made them whole, who came back? Did all ten to thank Jesus for what He had so mercifully done for them? Did they made effort to glorify Him and shout the victory in Jesus for the great miracle that Christ the Lord had done for them? NO! Nine out of the ten left, went their good old merry way and took for granted what Jesus had just done for them. Don't you think after such a miracle, they all would of returned to give Jesus thanks and fall at His feet as one did?

So I ask you, which one are you? Are you 9 of the ten that the Lord has given everything? The you who constantly accept what He gives you, yet you NEVER return to Him to give Him the glory due Him? Do you give Him the thanks that He so faithfully deserves? Do you glory in yourself, your own lusts and indulgences and never give one iota thought of what God Almighty has done in your life? Do you get on your face to cry out to God and thank Him for the life He has given you by not throwing you in Hell yet? Do you even give Him one moment of your time in prayer each day, or do your bible studies on a regular basis? Or do you do so little that you think you are good and righteous enough to get by each day with reading and praying as little as you can, making yourself to be a spiritual giant for our God?

Now, about the one that returned, he came running back all excited, happy and thrilled to the bone because after he had gotten healed by the Lord Jesus, he acknowledge His greatness and went out to proclaim the name of Jesus to others. I saw in this one cleansed leper that he witnessed to others about what Jesus had done for him. I am sure he led many others to Christ by testimony. He was once spotted by the blight of sin and disease, he is now clean. I myself personally believe this one who 'turned back' with a loud voice, glorified and thanked Jesus at HIS FEET; probably in tears and his heart full of joy, is in heaven now.

So again which one are you young man or woman? Are you the one who glories, thank and praise God every day for ALL He has done for you? Or are you one of the nine who has been given everything by the grace of our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, yet ignore His goodness and mercy? Do you just live for yourself portraying as a just and righteous person who THINKS you walk with God, if saved? Or if you are not saved and born again, you may have that same attitude like many do, yet proclaim "saved" as they do.

In this great passage I can see our Lord Jesus Christ's great compassion as He healed the lepers. I saw His abounding grace as He decided to give to them all , even to the 9 who never returned to give Him glory, thanks and reverence. I saw the Lord Jesus' righteousness as He did not condemn those who did not return to give glory due to His holy name. I saw His mercy which He did not have to give, but He did because He knew they did not deserve it, yet He still gave to them His healing. I saw His goodness as the Lord Jesus immediately saw their desire and need to be made whole.

Though Jesus never had to do anything for them, yet, He chose to show them His unique goodness by allowing the bondage they were in to be released and cleansed. I also saw Jesus as He is the only one who can cleanse anyone who is under the chains of the self life. These lepers were under a chain of heaviness after which Jesus Christ lifted it off them. They were relieved and though the others may have been thankful in some little ways, they were not really like the one who returned. I felt this man who returned was convicted and he loved Jesus in a way that he was so excited when he thanked and glorified Him.

What about you friend? Do you want to have a walk with the Lord each day and have His blessings pouring down on you ? He can give you much. If you have never trusted Jesus as your personal Saviour, you will never be released from the bondage of your sins together with the chains of this old world. It's carnality will drag you down into an inferno of hellfire. You shall never see the face of the One who can save you from such a fiery, tormenting place.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will give you peace, happiness and joy. After salvation, you will still go through trials and bad times. Never listen to fake televangelists who say you will never go through any bad times anymore. They will just lead you astray. Listen to people who know better, even if they speak in biblical truth and hurt your ego. They do mean well and you will be directed to the truth.

Yes, as a Christian, we will all go through many trials, and will be tested by the world or by God Himself. We all go through things that are unpleasant, but that does not mean God is not with us. He is there with us through everything. We just need to keep our faith and trust in the Lord to help us through all things. He will help us in our walk each day with Him.

John 3:16, probably the greatest verse in the Bible on salvation, tells you that 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.' God is where you are, the distance between the floor and your knees. Your religion, works, penance, or keeping His commandments will not save you. Only trusting in Jesus as your personal Saviour can. You will be delivered from a hell, and saved by the blood of Christ to be with Him in heaven forever.

My prayer is that the Lord will convict those who read this, and will do a miracle in saving a dear soul from the pits of hell. He will give that person His grace and that person will make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. He will be cleansed from the chains of sin and be renewed in soul, mind, spirit. He will call on the name of the LORD in humility and tears, and have a life that is committed in serving our risen Saviour. He will turn from all sins and live for Jesus Christ.

If you come to be saved, please drop us a line here on our blog. We love to hear how the Lord delivered you, how you are serving Him and all the blessings He is giving you.

God bless us!

(c) August 2010, Michael Carey