OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL: SATURDAY, JANUARY 28TH 2017-BE THANKFUL

Memorise: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Psalm 100:4
Read: Luke 17:11-19 (KJV)
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.
Bible in one year: Luke 7, Isaiah 24:21-25:12

1. One great expectation of the Almighty God is that man, whom He created in His image and likeness, will appreciate His benevolent deeds to them.
2. It is unfortunate, however, that from generation to generation man has been ungrateful. This is even more pronounced in these last days (Romans 1:21, 2nd Timothy 3:2). From today’s reading, we can see how expectant our Heavenly Father is for us to express appreciation whenever He does us good.
3. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to show us the character of the Father, revealed this expectation to us through His reaction when only one leper returned to say “Glory to God in the highest”, even though ten were healed. “And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.” Luke17:17-18
4. When we fail to appreciate God for who He is and for what He continuously does for us, we rob Him of His rightful glory and honour.
5. Indeed, ingratitude is an act of robbery against God. It is also dangerous, because your joy cannot be full if you are unthankful. Of the ten lepers that were healed, the only one we can consider to have received the fullness of joy is the one who returned to give glory to God, because Jesus crowned his healing with wholeness.
6. There is another dimension to being grateful to God, which has to do with our appreciation of what He did for us when He gave His only begotten Son as atonement for our sins.
7. The only way to show our gratitude for this gift is to accept His offer of salvation, which is free for us but which cost the life of the immaculate Son of God.
8. We must embrace this offer with every sense of gratitude because there are consequences for rejecting it. Hebrews 2:3 says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed into us by them that heard him;”
9. Beloved, the most profound gratitude we can show God, for all the things He has done for us, is to accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ and to live by the ideals He brought from His Father. God bless you as you do so today.

Brethren, we can pray amiss but can never praise amiss. The more grateful we are to God the more beautiful our lives become. Thanksgiving brings wholeness as we saw in the Bible reading for today. We should make thanksgiving our lifestyle. His praises should continually be in our mouth. Ephesians 5:20 says “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” The salvation of our soul is a great gift we should be forever grateful to God for. The sacrifice of His only begotten Son should move us to genuinely thank Him daily. May we never be an ungrateful heir in Jesus name. Thank God for blessing us with Pastor E.A Adeboye who through the help of the holyspirit wrote this devotional.

Prayer Point
Father, I thank you for the salvation of my soul through Christ, my Lord. Help me to live by His teachings to the glory of your Holy Name
HYMN
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings—*money cannot buy [*wealth can never buy]
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

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