Pastor Stephen Dedman

All Praise To God

Where there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?
Luke 17:18

Luke 17:11-19 tells the story of a marvelous miracle of Jesus healing ten men from the dreadful disease of leprosy.  Luke tells that there were ten healed physically, but only one was healed spiritually.  Jesus used this event to open the eyes of the spiritual blinded especially the priests.

Leprosy was associated among the people as a curse on mankind.  Lepers were the most miserable people.  Their physical pain was awful enough but they also endured complete isolation from family and friends.  

By law they were considered outcasts and remained so until their death because there was no cure.  And that is where we find these ten men, standing afar off, as Jesus passed through their village. As soon as they saw Him, they lifted their weak and raspy voices and cried out for mercy and help.  

Luke doesn’t tell us that Jesus heard them but rather He saw them.  With great compassion and mercy Jesus sent them to the priests in order to fulfill the Levitical law of healing.  And as they walked toward the temple they were all healed of the deadly disease.

Verse 15 is the climax of the story.  One of them, when he saw he was healed, returned and worshiped Jesus.  With thanksgiving in his heart and praise in his voice, the Samaritan received the spiritual blessing of salvation because of his faith.  The other men didn’t consider Jesus as God.  They were healed but not saved.

We should always be thankful for our physical blessings but we certainly show our gratitude to Jesus for saving our souls.  We do so through faithfully worshipping and serving Christ and showing compassion and forgiveness to all people.  If the only blessing we received was salvation, it is enough.  All other blessings are extra benefits.

Is there something God has done for you and you didn’t praise Him for it? Take a moment and praise Him.

Pray

Lord, I thank You for giving me spiritual insight.  I confess You as my Savior and I worship You only. I give You glory and honor for who You are.

Staying On Mission

“Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us; and, God has visited His people.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭7:16

In Luke 7:11-17 Jesus stopped a funeral procession when He saw a widowed woman who was just moments away from laying her only son to rest. This woman had lost her husband and lost all hope of any future because her only son had died. But when Jesus saw her He felt compassion for her. He touched the casket and told the dead man to get up. Immediately and miraculously the man sat up and began speaking. The large crowd was amazed at what they saw but most importantly verse 16 says they glorified God because they recognized Jesus as God.

This passage of Scripture gives us a perfect portrait of how a church is to minister to people. We must realize that the church is who represents Jesus in today’s society. We must see the needs of others and reach out and touch them with compassion and love. When the lost are touched with the love of Jesus, they come alive, spiritually. A church will glorify God when they are on mission and ministering to His people. We can’t miss any opportunities of serving people. And we can never lose our focus of the mission.

An encouraged church congregation can be effective in fulfilling its mission. A discouraged church will not be effective. Every church needs faithful members using their God-given gifts. Members who are not using their gifts are wasting them. Compassion brings people together and to the cross of Jesus. If a church is not loving people it’s not a real church.

Are you fulfilling the command of Jesus and making disciples? We must do the work of Jesus while we still can. The day is soon coming when God will gather His church and it will be too late for the lost to be saved.

Pray

Lord, make your church a place and people who are just like You. Help me to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Prepare To Worship

‘Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him.’
Psalms 95:2

Do you love to worship? Spiritual worship is much more than just showing up for a church service. Worship requires participation. When we meet together for public worship we need to make sure we are do our part.

Our hearts need to be prepared in order to worship effectively. It’s almost impossible to receive the most out of a worship experience just by showing up and going through the motions half heartily. We need to prepare our hearts for what God is going to do during our time of worship.  

Spending time in prayer before it’s time to worship makes a difference. Before we worship we should confess our sins and humble ourselves before the Lord. This will open the door for a wonderful opportunity for God to speak to our hearts.

Our attitude makes all the difference. If you worship with a negative attitude you should expect nothing in return. But if you expect great things to happen during worship, God will show up and bless you tremendously. You don’t want to miss out on a great blessing. The author of Hebrews says, “Don’t forsake or neglect the assembling together” (Hebrews 10:25).  There are wonderful blessings for those who desire to worship the Lord.

Prayer

Lord, as I prepare my heart for worship, I thank You for being a great and awesome God.  Let my mind and heart be in tune with Yours. Speak to me, Lord.