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"One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, 'Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?'" (Luke 17:15-18 ). "Neither were they thankful" (Romans 1:21)."But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
Earlier this year we drove through a small town in northern Maryland we often hear mentioned on our local Christian radio station called "Rising Sun". It's a pleasant sounding name for a town, sort of like Mount Joy!
But as we
drove toward Rising Sun we passed a road named "Thankless Lane".
Now that's a most unusual name for a road. How did they ever come up
with such a negative name? Was there a grumpy old farmer that one
time lived on this lane who had a reputation for being
unthankful? Perhaps a good deed was done for someone and the
kindness was spurned by ingratitude. Brooksyne and I have determined that this
is a road we wouldn't want to live on either literally or spiritually.
We consider people who by their outlook in life seem to live on Thankless Lane. Unthankfulness is one of the most dominant and universal sins in the human race. We see plenty of evidence of that all around us don't we? Let us consider the peril of unthankfulness.
In his sweeping, panoramic view of human depravity in the Book of Romans the Apostle Paul makes this dismal statement, "They neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him." Later in his final epistle Paul lists some of the characteristics evident in the perilous last days. Among them we read that men will be… "unthankful."
Warren Wiersbe tells a story about a ministerial student in Evanston, Illinois, who was part of a life-saving squad. In 1860, a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan near Evanston, and Edward Spencer waded again and again into the frigid waters to rescue 17 passengers. In the process, his health was permanently damaged. Some years later at his funeral, it was noted that not one of the people he rescued ever thanked him.
Jesus often asked questions to get his hearers to think, although He obviously knew the answer. In today's first Scripture text (Luke 17:11-19) He had healed ten lepers but only one returned to say, "Thank you". I've wondered what excuses the other nine might have had in failing to return to give Jesus thanks. I came up with nine possible excuses they might have used and list them below following the message. Notice they are all pertinent to today!
Three great truths concerning the importance of thankfulness can be derived from this passage:
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father,
each of us make our dwelling on Thankful Lane when we daily attribute
thanksgiving to You who provides for all our needs. You give us
shelter from the harsh elements, food on our tables, clothing for our
bodies and people who love and care for us. We've been blessed beyond
measure, both physically and spiritually as You provided for our
greatest need; salvation. We will eternally praise You for Your goodness to us. Amen.
Possible excuses the nine who had failed to return and express thankfulness:
1) One was too busy. (Self-importance)
2) One forgot. (Ingratitude)
3) One was planning to do it later. (Procrastination)
4) One thought somebody else would do it. God does not accept vicarious praise. "Let everything that hath breath…" (Lazy)
5) One wanted to see if the healing would last. (Skeptical)
6) One had a religious prejudice. (Superiority)
7) One thought it really didn't matter. (Thoughtless)
8) One thought "I still have a lot of other problems." Like many he saw the glass half empty. Indeed on this side whatever God may do for us we very likely have or will have other problems. (Negative)
9) One thought "I don't want to bother Him." Scripture is abundant in calls to thank, praise and glorify God. We never bother Him in calls to be obedient! (Inferiority)
"Thankful For The
Thorns": A family reading and exercise that is a
wonderful way to give a thoughtful focus around your Thanksgiving Table (printable webpage) The
Thanksgiving celebration includes family coming together along with the
turkey and trimmings. Often there's a lot of food with little
meaningful
conversation. Why not add some stimulating discussion about the ways
God has worked in your life over the past year! Some of
you are not in charge and are only visitors at your Thanksgiving
gathering, but if it is possible share together
around
the table the theme of "Thankful for the Thorns" or the questionnaire
we've provided in this link "A
Thanksgiving
family exercise" (pdf). We have used this questionnaire as a
stimulus for discussion among family members in the past in our home. We encourage
you to share results around the table at Thanksgiving before or after
the meal.
A Thanksgiving prayer: (written by Joe Sherer, a pastor friend of ours and shared as the benediction at our community Thanksgiving Eve service several years ago.) Webpage For those who enjoy written prayers this would be a beautiful prayer to read together at the Thanksgiving table.
A Thanksgiving Scripture reading: A selection of Old and New Testament readings dealing with thankfulness appropriate for church, family and personal readings. (pdf) (Suitable for printing out and copying.)
The Pilgrims Come to the New World: Webpage
A Day of Rest in Plimouth Colony: This is a summary of a chapter in the lives of the pilgrims that Brooksyne uses to teach about their Sunday worship. (pdf) Note: Although we spell it Plymouth today the old spelling was Plimouth.
"Hymns
of Hope" Brooksyne
has compiled eleven hymns that deal with
the
recurring theme of loss and ongoing trial and titled it "Hymns of Hope"
based on Romans 12:12, "Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer." Amber
Martin plays the hymns on the keyboard and Lauren Gingrich accompanies
her on six of the hymns with the viola. Tracks 12-22 play each hymn
softly in the background while Brooksyne shares a personal devotional
thought, the biographical setting of the hymn text, and an intercessory
prayer. We recorded this in the very modest and limited computerized
recording studio of Daily Encouragement so that we could make this
ministry project available to all who are in need of such encouragement. Thus we realize the audio
quality is not what most are accustomed to. You can go to this
site
to listen to the songs. You can download one song at a time if you find
this to be of special blessing or know someone whose spirit
might be lifted by listening to these meditative hymns.
"ThanksLiving" Bob Southard, a friend of ours shares a weekly online sermon. Here's a pdf version of his thanksgiving sermon.
Resources used in Brooksyne's research on the Pilgrims:
Saints & Strangers By Vision Video
Three Young Pilgrims By Cheryl Harness / Simon & Schuster
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Cucumber Falls in Ohiopyle State Park, Pennsylvania
(photo by Howard Blichfeldt)
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player.
Cucumber Falls in Ohiopyle State Park, Pennsylvania
(photo by Howard Blichfeldt)
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player."The Peril Of Unthankfulness"
"One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, 'Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?'" (Luke 17:15-18 ). "Neither were they thankful" (Romans 1:21)."But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
Earlier this year we drove through a small town in northern Maryland we often hear mentioned on our local Christian radio station called "Rising Sun". It's a pleasant sounding name for a town, sort of like Mount Joy!
But as we
drove toward Rising Sun we passed a road named "Thankless Lane".
Now that's a most unusual name for a road. How did they ever come up
with such a negative name? Was there a grumpy old farmer that one
time lived on this lane who had a reputation for being
unthankful? Perhaps a good deed was done for someone and the
kindness was spurned by ingratitude. Brooksyne and I have determined that this
is a road we wouldn't want to live on either literally or spiritually. We consider people who by their outlook in life seem to live on Thankless Lane. Unthankfulness is one of the most dominant and universal sins in the human race. We see plenty of evidence of that all around us don't we? Let us consider the peril of unthankfulness.
In his sweeping, panoramic view of human depravity in the Book of Romans the Apostle Paul makes this dismal statement, "They neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him." Later in his final epistle Paul lists some of the characteristics evident in the perilous last days. Among them we read that men will be… "unthankful."
Warren Wiersbe tells a story about a ministerial student in Evanston, Illinois, who was part of a life-saving squad. In 1860, a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan near Evanston, and Edward Spencer waded again and again into the frigid waters to rescue 17 passengers. In the process, his health was permanently damaged. Some years later at his funeral, it was noted that not one of the people he rescued ever thanked him.
Jesus often asked questions to get his hearers to think, although He obviously knew the answer. In today's first Scripture text (Luke 17:11-19) He had healed ten lepers but only one returned to say, "Thank you". I've wondered what excuses the other nine might have had in failing to return to give Jesus thanks. I came up with nine possible excuses they might have used and list them below following the message. Notice they are all pertinent to today!
Three great truths concerning the importance of thankfulness can be derived from this passage:
- Thankfulness matters to God. Jesus was disturbed that the others did not return with thankfulness to give Him thanks: "Jesus asked, 'Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?'"
- Thankfulness is an act of the will. The healed leper chose to return and give thanks. He did so very publically and expressively. He "came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him."
- Thankfulness is an excellent testimony. Others observed this and the story became part of the Scriptural record.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Amen.
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Amen.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father,
each of us make our dwelling on Thankful Lane when we daily attribute
thanksgiving to You who provides for all our needs. You give us
shelter from the harsh elements, food on our tables, clothing for our
bodies and people who love and care for us. We've been blessed beyond
measure, both physically and spiritually as You provided for our
greatest need; salvation. We will eternally praise You for Your goodness to us. Amen.Possible excuses the nine who had failed to return and express thankfulness:
1) One was too busy. (Self-importance)
2) One forgot. (Ingratitude)
3) One was planning to do it later. (Procrastination)
4) One thought somebody else would do it. God does not accept vicarious praise. "Let everything that hath breath…" (Lazy)
5) One wanted to see if the healing would last. (Skeptical)
6) One had a religious prejudice. (Superiority)
7) One thought it really didn't matter. (Thoughtless)
8) One thought "I still have a lot of other problems." Like many he saw the glass half empty. Indeed on this side whatever God may do for us we very likely have or will have other problems. (Negative)
9) One thought "I don't want to bother Him." Scripture is abundant in calls to thank, praise and glorify God. We never bother Him in calls to be obedient! (Inferiority)
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
Click on the link to open and play.
(In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.)
"In Everything Give Him Thanks" Video Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
"Worthy Is The Lamb" Video Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
"You Are Worthy Of My Praise" Video Vineyard Singers
Thankless Lane near Rising Sun, Maryland is here.
Today's photo of Cucumber Falls in the mountains of western PA was taken by our friend Howard Blichfeldt. He is a professional photographer with outstanding nature photos along
with correlating Scripture passages. Here's a portion of his mission statement: "A
greater reward comes from knowing that my experience and love of nature
has drawn me closer to the God who created it. If through my artwork I
can aid others in accomplishing the same, then in some small way, maybe
I will have made a difference." (I use his photos with his permission).
Click on the link to open and play.
(In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.)
"In Everything Give Him Thanks" Video Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
"Worthy Is The Lamb" Video Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
"You Are Worthy Of My Praise" Video Vineyard Singers
Thankless Lane near Rising Sun, Maryland is here.
Special Thanksgiving Resources
We want to offer these ideas to families and church leaders
to enrich the spiritual impact of the Thanksgiving holiday.
(We will post these resources through Thanksgiving.)
We want to offer these ideas to families and church leaders
to enrich the spiritual impact of the Thanksgiving holiday.
(We will post these resources through Thanksgiving.)
"Thankful For The
Thorns": A family reading and exercise that is a
wonderful way to give a thoughtful focus around your Thanksgiving Table (printable webpage) The
Thanksgiving celebration includes family coming together along with the
turkey and trimmings. Often there's a lot of food with little
meaningful
conversation. Why not add some stimulating discussion about the ways
God has worked in your life over the past year! Some of
you are not in charge and are only visitors at your Thanksgiving
gathering, but if it is possible share together
around
the table the theme of "Thankful for the Thorns" or the questionnaire
we've provided in this link "A
Thanksgiving
family exercise" (pdf). We have used this questionnaire as a
stimulus for discussion among family members in the past in our home. We encourage
you to share results around the table at Thanksgiving before or after
the meal.A Thanksgiving prayer: (written by Joe Sherer, a pastor friend of ours and shared as the benediction at our community Thanksgiving Eve service several years ago.) Webpage For those who enjoy written prayers this would be a beautiful prayer to read together at the Thanksgiving table.
A Thanksgiving Scripture reading: A selection of Old and New Testament readings dealing with thankfulness appropriate for church, family and personal readings. (pdf) (Suitable for printing out and copying.)
The Pilgrims Come to the New World: Webpage
A Day of Rest in Plimouth Colony: This is a summary of a chapter in the lives of the pilgrims that Brooksyne uses to teach about their Sunday worship. (pdf) Note: Although we spell it Plymouth today the old spelling was Plimouth.
"Hymns
of Hope" Brooksyne
has compiled eleven hymns that deal with
the
recurring theme of loss and ongoing trial and titled it "Hymns of Hope"
based on Romans 12:12, "Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer." Amber
Martin plays the hymns on the keyboard and Lauren Gingrich accompanies
her on six of the hymns with the viola. Tracks 12-22 play each hymn
softly in the background while Brooksyne shares a personal devotional
thought, the biographical setting of the hymn text, and an intercessory
prayer. We recorded this in the very modest and limited computerized
recording studio of Daily Encouragement so that we could make this
ministry project available to all who are in need of such encouragement. Thus we realize the audio
quality is not what most are accustomed to. You can go to this
site
to listen to the songs. You can download one song at a time if you find
this to be of special blessing or know someone whose spirit
might be lifted by listening to these meditative hymns."ThanksLiving" Bob Southard, a friend of ours shares a weekly online sermon. Here's a pdf version of his thanksgiving sermon.
Resources used in Brooksyne's research on the Pilgrims:
Saints & Strangers By Vision Video
Three Young Pilgrims By Cheryl Harness / Simon & Schuster
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Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided
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cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not
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Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials)
1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only.
2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print.
3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.)
4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.)
5) Print!
Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials)
1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only.
2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print.
3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.)
4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.)
5) Print!
Scripture
references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version.
© 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD
BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation,
New King James
Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the
King
James Version.
Personal
Mission Statement:
"I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ
I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord.
My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and
to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
Daily
Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com
©
Copyright 2010
Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
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