Luke 17: 11-19 - KJV - "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 show 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."

Giving God the Praise for what He has done for you. How often do we come to
God, ask for a certain need, the Lord fills that need, and we don't even
take the time to say thank you. Think back just over the last year of your
life. Think back on those prayers that He has answered. What was your
response when the answer came. A moment of thanksgiving. Relief that God
has come through again. How quickly did you forget that answer to prayer
you needed so bad, and started focusing on the next problem you wanted God
to handle for you.

Much of our prayer life is taken up with asking God for this and that, like
He is some kind of genie in the bottle we send our wishes to. Don't get me
wrong. God has told us to bring our needs to Him. To come to Him in prayer
with our problems. It is His pleasure to bless His children. I am simply
trying to focus you today on your response to those answered prayers. Like
the 10 lepers in the verses today, 9 never even bothered to come back to say
thank you. Are you like the 9....or the 1 who returned to give thanks?

So often we take for granted God's blessings, His love for us. The logical
question is how do I show my appreciation to God for what He has done for
me? Start with loving Him. Loving Him means to obey Him. You obey your
parents, not so much out of fear, but because you love them and don't want
to disappoint them. You are thankful for all they do for you and the best
way to show that thankfulness is to obey them and do what they have asked you to
do. So is our relationship with our heavenly Father. Our greatest way to
show Him how much we love and appreciate all He does is to obey Him. Live
our life in a way that is pleasing and acceptable to Him.

I want to challenge you today. Be thankful for all God has done for you.
Show that gratitude by living your life in obedience to His Word. The Bible
tells us that one of the things satan can't stand is the "word of their
testimony". Your praise reports give others going through similar situations the hope to
carry on. Think back over the last few months, and send me your praise
report of something God has done for you. Simply go to www.liveprayer.com and
click on the PRAISE REPORT section and type in your praise report.

I love you and am praying for you. Make sure you spend a few extra minutes
today giving God the thanks for all He has done for you. No matter how many
trials you may be facing, there is still so much to be thankful for. I
often think I am having things rough. Then I read the problems others are facing
and I realize how richly God has been blessing me. The best way to show
your thanks to Him is by the way you live your life today. He is worthy of our
praise and our lives dedicated to His service. Praise Him today!!!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller