Luke 17:11-19...
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
The Samaritan Leper whom Jesus healed praised God in a loud voice to give testimony to those within his hearing of Jesus work in his life. The original word used for loud means “Large/great”. When we know that God has done a work in us, we can’t help but glorify him by sharing our testimony with others. Our faith in God is evidenced in our public thanks.
Psalm 22:23 “You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!"
Do you unashamedly praise God in testimony to others of what he has done for you? Your public praise is a measurement of your faith. It says to others that you have personal experience that bears witness to the fact that you believe that God is who he says is and that you believe that God will do what he says he will do.
Jeremiah 20:9 “But if I say, I will not mention him or speak any more in his name, his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”
Acts 4:20 “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
If you have something to praise God for, do it! In so doing, you are giving testimony to God’s work in your life. This Thanksgiving season, let’s remember to praise God.
Written by Major Cheriann Stoops
Asbury Park Corps
As a tech in The Salvation Army, it is best practice to use a disk drive or an external drive that has been formatted. By having the drive formatted, it will reduce the risk of infected files or corruption on the drive. Any time you work with something that is used and has current applications or software, it is best to format first. This will reduce any incompatibilities or current applications and software that are not needed. The assurance of having a formatted drive rules out and eliminates the possibilities of failure.
The Bible (God's Word) speaks concerning how difficult it would be to put something new into or onto something that has been used. In Matthew 9:17, it reads: "Neither
do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will
burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they
pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
I like what the last phrase of v17 says: "both are preserved." God's assignment is to assure both are preserved – HIS word and His people. That's why the scripture points out the story of Nicodemus in John 3:3. In reply, Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again (formatted)."
The Lord Jesus wants to format you that you can receive the Word of what the Father has spoken, concerning Jesus and your relationship with HIM. It's hard to rewrite over an application or program. The possibilities of failure are imminent! The Lord Jesus wants to give you a fresh start and a new beginning with him.
Let's not operate any longer on Windows 98 or XP. There is a new operating system that has worked out all the glitches (sin) and the blue screen (death). Jesus repaired both, and to receive his operating system (Holy Spirit), we must be formatted. It's amazing that the root word of format is form, and God the Father can do just that! Will you open your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, repent (turn away) from your sins, invite HIM into your heart, and let the formatting begin? God Bless you!
Terrell Curry
IT Service Desk
