[Faith-talk] FW: [thefamilyoffaith] "The Power Of Thankfulness": Daily Encouragement (11/25/09)

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: Jesus at Your Door <sharoongill2004 at yahoo.com>
To: sharoon gill <sharoonshah759 at yahoo.com>,
CcHhEeSsTtEeRr at yahoogroups.com, ChesterWong at yahoogroups.com,
Christians-Harvesting-End-time-Souls at yahoogroups.com,
ChristiansHarvestingEnd-timeSouls at yahoogroups.com,
ChristiansHarvestingofEnd-timeSouls at yahoogroups.com,
ChristiansHealthExpositionSupplementations at yahoogroups.com,
ElectOfGodPrayerMinistry at yahoogroups.com,
ENDTIMESSAGEradiobroadcast at yahoogroups.com,
Expectamiracle2day at yahoogroups.com, GODS-ABIDING-LOVE at yahoogroups.com,
GodsFamily at yahoogroups.com, Harvest-of-The-Redeemed at yahoogroups.com,
Harvest-of-The-Shepherd at yahoogroups.com,
intercessors-allnations at yahoogroups.com, maggie_92374 at yahoo.com,
PAKISTAN-Intercessors-Prayer-Team at yahoogroups.com,
Pearls-of-The-Harvest at yahoogroups.com,
Purpose-Driven-Harvesting at yahoogroups.com,
StandersforGodswordrestorationministry at yahoogroups.com, susu8258 at aol.com,
The-End-time-Harvest at yahoogroups.com,
The-Intercessory-Prayer-Network at yahoogroups.com,
The-Omega-Harvest at yahoogroups.com, thefamilyoffaith at yahoogroups.com,
Treasures-of-The-Harvest at yahoogroups.com, sg_gill at hotmail.com,
aamir.alfred at hotmail.com, gill57999 at yahoo.com, mehar1957 at yahoo.com
Subject: [thefamilyoffaith] "The Power Of Thankfulness": Daily
Encouragement (11/25/09)
Date: 
Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:14:26 -0800 (PST)



--- On Wed, 11/25/09, Daily Encouragement Net
<scweber at dailyencouragement.net> wrote:





Daily email version
Daily
Encouragement
Net - A
daily,
Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
Trouble
reading this message?  Read
online
or see archives

              
    
  
 
  The online Bible teaching
ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
A
daily,
Bible-based
perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.

  
Home
· About
Us ·· Podcast ·
Free
email

 <Previous
Message  ·  Archives 
·  Archive edition 

Wednesday, November 25, 2009


  
Listen to
us share this message on your
audio player.

"The Power Of Thankfulness"

"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?'" (Luke 17:15-17).

My
mother quoted an etiquette poem to her children frequently, as we were
growing up, hoping we would practice good manners not just as children
but as we entered adulthood.  She later shared this poem with
her grandchildren as well.

Perhaps some of you have
heard it. "Hearts, like doors, swing wide with ease to very, very tiny
keys, and don't forget, that two of these are "Thank you, sir" and "If
you please." The poem was so embedded in her memory that she couldn't
resist sharing it with young children who'd visit our home, even to the
last year of her life at 84 years of age!

There's a
lot of truth to Mom's lessons, but where did she get the original
teaching that their children should learn to be thankful?  Its
origin comes right from the Bible:  "In everything give thanks; for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (I
Thessalonians 5:18).

Inspired by the
Holy Spirit Paul expresses the importance of having a spirit of
thanksgiving not just once a year, celebrated with turkey, stuffing and
pumpkin pie, but every day and in everything.  It's not giving
thanks if, but giving thanks in.  We're to be thankful even in
the difficult circumstances of life and look for those things in which
we can give thanks, since this is God's will for our lives.

Jesus
Himself taught the importance of being a thankful people.  One
day on his way to Jerusalem he entered a certain village where ten men
with leprosy stood at a distance. Leprosy is a chronic infectious
disease and at that time many thought that those who had it were under
a curse. Lepers were covered with ulcers; their bodies often disfigured
and many were blinded from the dreaded disease. They also emitted a
foul smell due to their open sores and were considered unclean along
with their clothing and house.

Generally relegated
to the outskirts of town they became outcasts; out of other's view and
touch.  But should a passerby be nearby the leper was required
to speak up with this warning, "Unclean! 
Unclean!"  Can you imagine how it would feel to
verbally declare oneself to be "Unclean!" to strangers or friends in
addition to the obvious discomfort, loss, and isolation associated with
leprosy. When we get sick we desire others to pamper us with extra TLC,
a sympathizing shoulder, and medical expertise. Instead the lepers'
admission of "Unclean" drove people away.

On this
particular day the ten lepers lifted their voices and rather than cry
out, "Unclean"
they called out, "Jesus,
Master, have mercy on us!"  Interestingly, Jesus
didn't respond to the lepers with a healing message such as "Be healed"
or "Your faith has made you whole" as He did in many other miraculous
healings.

Instead he told them, "Go and show yourselves to the
priests." Scripture does not indicate that there
was a physical change in their appearance at that point, so it required
faith for these men to head in the direction of the temple where they
could show themselves to the priest to be declared "clean".  I
can't help but wonder how far they walked before the healing took
place, but then I realize that's not the point of this story.

The
teaching point is that only one of the ten lepers returned to Jesus to
offer his heartfelt thanks after being declared "clean" by the
priest.  Interestingly Jesus highlighted the fact that the one
from whom His listeners might least expect humility and gratitude was
the Samaritan who was despised by the Jews. Perhaps their mothers
didn't adequately teach them how to show appreciation.  Or did
they forget because they were so excited about their cleansing that
they immediately returned to their families and communities, got
involved in all they had missed out on, and simply forgot to return
thanks to the very One who made it all possible.

There
are many excuses we could come up with if we think on it for
awhile.  But more importantly Jesus teaches us that He is
pleased when we remember to express thankfulness and acknowledge where
our blessings come from.  He showers them upon us hour by hour
and He also uses other people to bring blessing to our lives. 
It is important that we remember where our blessings come from and to
express thanksgiving for them regularly. Let us be a thankful people!


Be
encouraged today,


Stephen &
Brooksyne Weber

Daily
prayer:  Father,
in thanksgiving we praise You for the first bright light of morning to
the last warm glow of dusk.  Every breath that we take is
sacred, for it is Your gift to us.  In the season of our
plenty and in the season of our need we find Your grace sufficient, for
we find Your love complete.  Safe within Your hand You guide
us, hiding us in Your healing wings. Day by day Your love provides us
every good and perfect thing.  We thank You for it
all.  Amen.

(Prayer
adapted from the Hymn, "In Thanksgiving, Let Us Praise Him")


Here
is a suggested Bible Study we developed from today's message suitable
either for small groups, family gatherings or individual study. 

1. 
Read Luke 17:11-19

2. 
When the lepers spotted Jesus what did they do?  Do you think
they were looking for Him?

3.  List five
possible excuses that the nine lepers might have used when confronted
with the question, "Why didn't you return to Jesus and thank Him for
your healing?"
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Note: Several years
ago we shared a daily encouragement message using
this text and listed nine possible excuses!

4. 
In what ways do you identify with the nine lepers who forgot to give
thanks?

5.  In what way do you identify
with the Samaritan who returned to give thanks?

6.
What was his attitude when he approached Jesus?

7.
What was significant about his being a Samaritan?

8. 
List other attitudes that lead to a thankful spirit:

9. 
Share with the study group at least one thing for which you are
thankful (in addition to the typical answer such as food, your house,
your family, etc.).


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.)

Highly Recommended!
On searching for music related to today's message I found this very
interesting video that
really puts things in perspective. It's a little early for the
Christmas song background but it also has a very powerful Thanksgiving
message.

"Thanksgiving
Medley"  Video

"Now Thank We All Our God"
 Video

"Let
Your Heart Be Broken"  Video  

"Count Your Blessings"
 Video


Special Thanksgiving Resources

We want to offer these
ideas to families and church leaders

to enrich the spiritual impact of the Thanksgiving holiday.

(We'll be posting 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 the link below.  A
Thanksgiving
family exercise - We have used this questionnaire as a
stimulus for discussion among family members in the past. We encourage
you to share results around the table at Thanksgiving before or after
the meal. (pdf)
Perhaps you could just use
it as a
discussion guide to provide stimulus for other's reflections.


 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.)

  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)


Resources  used
in Brooksyne's research on the Pilgrims:

  Saints
& Strangers  By Vision Video

 Three
Young Pilgrims  By Cheryl
Harness / Simon & Schuster

Send
a message to Stephen &
Brooksyne
 
    
     "We
want
to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!"
 
 Personal
Ministry Update

Revised 10/21/09
 
    
Each
weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute
them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you
please consider a financial offering to support us in
this daily encouragement ministry?
Donations
are tax deductible and will be receipted directly by my chaplaincy
endorsing ministry.
Thanks!  See here for details. (2009
YTD financial offerings
through 11/24/09:
$10,447.00)
 
 
SUBSCRIPTION
INFORMATION
   
 Were
you forwarded this
edition of Daily Encouragement Net?  If
you desire you can receive your own free! To
receive these "Daily
Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email
see this
page to
subscribe. This
newsletter is never sent
unsolicited. It was sent to you because you either signed up to receive
it OR
a friend forwarded it to you. You can also subscribe to the rss
feed. or as an email subscription update through
feedburner. You
can also subscribe
to Daily Encouragement feed updates by email.
 

Cancel: We
respect and value your time and privacy. If these messages no longer
meet your needs (providing encouragement) you can remove your address by
merely
use the link automatically inserted by
the
mailing list
software at the very bottom of each email message. (To
change addresses cancel your old address and then join
again using your new address.) 
 

Weekly Version: The
weekly version is intended for those who may not check their email
regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous
messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to
this address. 
 

Please
feel free to pass these messages on!
 
         
   Our other blogs:
 "A
Daily Prayer" -
A blog simply posting the daily prayer. We keep this up each day since
it's merely the prayer from the Daily Encouragement Net message!

"A
Little Foolishness" - Humor/satire blog (a great outlet for
non-serious writing
but at
times with a subtle message!) Last updated with the
story of Mildred Swanson, who joyfully discovers
her "spiritual gift" is sending forwarded emails! (Note: This material is
satire!)
   "Clear
Minded" - Longer,
periodic
articles on specific issues impacting the faithful believer and church.
(Actually this is my intent but I haven't done much with it!)
   "Hymns
of Hope" -
Brooksyne along with two friends made a CD using classic hymns.
Brooksyne
tells the background story of the 11 hymns. All of
these songs are also available
for download on the site.

 Daily
Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com. Any orders
placed
to
Christian Book Distributers using this link
or any specific product link to
a recommended resource in a daily encouragement message will help our
Daily
Encouragement ministry through a small commission on the sale. Thank
you for using these links when purchasing online through CBD!
 
  
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."
 
  
 

 How
to become a child of God 
 
 
 

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.
 

©
Copyright 2009
Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved  

 Daily
Encouragement Net

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
  495
Kraybill Church
Road -
Mount Joy, PA 17552
 Contact
us
  

Endorsed
chaplain
 
 "Living
securely today anchored in God's solid foundation"

www.dailyencouragement.net
     
   




Daily Encouragement is issued Monday-Friday.  To make sure you continue
to receive these e-mails in your Inbox (so they're not sent to a junk
folder), please add scweber at dailyencouragement.net to your address book or
safe sender list. You are receiving these recurring messages as a
subscriber to Daily Encouragement Net because you signed up on our website
or otherwise requested it unless someone forwarded the message to you. If
you desire to unsubscribe use the link below.  However, please do not use
this link unless your address is the subscribed address below as you will
otherwise unsubscribe the person who forwarded it to you!

        

        



 

 
   
     You are currently subscribed to dailyencouragement as:
sharoongill2004 at yahoo.com 

       Add scweber at dailyencouragement.net to your email address book to
ensure delivery 

       Forward to a Friend  |  Manage
Subscription  |   Subscribe  |   Unsubscribe