November 20, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Monday, November 20.
Today we'll take a look at a Bible character... who was thankful.
Leprosy is considered by historians to be the first known and recorded disease. Scientific proof dates back to 2000 BC and Hippocrates wrote about leprosy five centuries before Bethlehem. It was incurable and those who contracted it were quarantined, not for 10 days, but for the rest of their agonizing lives.
The Bible mentions leprosy 68 times and in the Book of Leviticus we find rules for those who suffered from it. One of those rules was that the infected had to remain at least six feet away from other people. Anyone reminded of the Covid pandemic?
On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus encountered a group of ten lepers. He commanded them to go to the priest to be examined - this practice is also found in Leviticus. It is important to note that they were not cured until they turned to go. They made that decision not by sight, but by faith. But faith is not our focus today - we are here to think about thankfulness. And of the ten lepers who were made clean, only one turned back to say thank you.
This one, a Samaritan by the way, came back to the Lord shouting his praise! And then he "prostrated" himself - he laid spread eagled, face down in the middle of the dusty road. The nine others focused on finding the priest, being declared clean, returning to family and friends.
The one leper, instead, focused on the "giver of all good gifts"... and was thankful.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
Free tickets for First Baptist Center's holiday event, "Journey to Bethlehem," December 8-10, are available at fbccenter.org. My local readers are warmly invited, and urged to invite others. Thanks!
