OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL-THURSDAY-07/07/2016-DON’T BE AN INGRATE-BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
DON’T BE AN INGRATE
Memorise
We
love him, because he first loved us. 1st John 4:19
Read
Luke 17:11-19,
11 And
it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem that he passed through the midst of
Samaria and Galilee.
12 And
as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers,
which stood afar off:
13 And
they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 And
when he saw them, he said unto them, go shew yourselves unto the priests. And
it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
15 And
one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice
glorified God,
16 And
fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17 And
Jesus answering said, were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?
18 There
are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
19 And
he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
KJV
MESSAGE
The attitude
of ungratefulness irritates God. Where I come from in the western part of
Nigeria, our people would say, “Don’t follow-up your benevolent act so that you
don’t give the impression that you want a ‘thank you’ or some ‘hero worship’.”
This saying is very correct because only God deserves our worship. As a matter
of fact, it is only God that is capable of constantly following up His
benevolent act and that is why He said;
“…When ye be come into the land which I give unto you,
and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the
first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf
before the Lord, to be accepted for you….”
Leviticus 23:10-11
Love is
reciprocal. The question is how many people reciprocate the love being showered
on them by fellow humans, not to talk of their attitude to God’s benevolent
acts. The Psalmist saw the danger in the act of ingratitude and preached
vehemently to his soul when he wrote:
“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me,
bless his holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his
benefits:”
Psalm 103:1-2
The story in
our Bible reading confirms that God expects us to appreciate Him sufficiently
for His goodness. Our Lord Jesus Christ queried in Luke 17:17:
“…. Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the
nine?”
He went
further to bless and perfect the healing of the grateful Samaritan. It is
unfortunate that many children of God are already so used to the miraculous act
of God that they are no longer moved by these acts. New comers into the Church
who still remember clearly what they have suffered by the hands of the devil
and his cohorts give thanks to God for every miracle. Whereas, some people
don’t give testimonies of how God healed them of headache because they don’t
see it as a “big deal”. Such people have forgotten that the headache they
consider as ordinary has claimed the lives of thousands. My prayer for someone
using this devotional is that you will never be ungrateful again in Jesus’
name. When you continue in your sins after you have been cleansed of them or
when you backslide, you are ungrateful to God who gave His Son as ransom for
your sins and to Jesus Christ who paid the supreme price of laying down His
life for you. When you don’t forgive your brother who offends you, you are
ungrateful to God who pardoned your numerous sins.
Prayer Point
Father, forgive me of my sin
of ingratitude. Holy Spirit, help me to be grateful to my Father in Heaven
always in Jesus’ name.
Bible in one year
Romans 1-3, Psalms 1-2
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