OBSERVATIONS:
I asked myself what did the man who was healed of leprosy do?
1. He came back, praising God in a loud voice.
2. He threw himself at Jesus' feet.
3. He thanked Jesus.

INTERPRETATIONS:
I asked myself why are the actions of the man so significant?
It becomes so significant knowing that he was a Samaritan (Samaritan's do not associate themselves with Jews and vice versa). Yet, this Samaritan, when healed of leprosy, came back to Jesus, praising God in a loud voice. The Samaritan could have gone his own way after offering the sacrifices required of those healed of leprosy but he did not. He came back to Jesus, praising God in a loud voice. He was not self-conscious of what people would think of him if he praised God in a loud voice in front of Jesus. He wanted to show God gratitude publicly for what transpired in his life.

This is more evident by what happens next: 'He threw himself at Jesus' feet'. In many cultures, the act of throwing yourself at someone's feet can be a sign of either two things: Begging them for mercy or showing tremendous honor. The man had already begged Jesus for his healing and now shows Jesus how much gratitude he has for what transpired in his life by throwing himself at Jesus' feet. The man knew as a Samaritan that he was despised by the Jews but Jesus on the other hand did not despise him but loved him to bring healing into his life.

So, he now thanked Jesus for his healing knowing there is nothing he could have done on his own to have healing in his life if it were not for the mercy and grace of Jesus to bring that healing into him.

OBSERVATIONS:
I asked myself what was Jesus' reaction to this Samaritan's thankfulness?
1. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed?"
2. Jesus asked, "Where are the other nine?"
3. Jesus asked, "Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?
4. Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

INTERPRETATIONS:
I asked myself the significance of Jesus' reaction to the Samaritan's thankfulness?
Jesus makes the Samaritan stand out among the crowd for his act of gratitude by recognizing him for what he did, to what the other nine did not do. There is an element of restoration too here for the man. Jesus is breaking down the barrier of racism here and proclaiming that He is available to all who turn to Him even those terribly despised by others. Jesus is restoring him to society among the Jews who saw themselves unlike the Samaritan.

Jesus is alluding to those around him that it does not matter that this person is a foreigner. What matters is that person's heart of thanksgiving before the Lord. Jesus saw the heart of thanksgiving in this Samaritan compared to the nine Jews that were healed by Jesus but who did not come back to give praise to God.

As the Samaritan was still on his knees throwing himself at the feet of Jesus, Jesus accepts his thanks and tells him to "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." There is a correlation here now between the man's thankfulness and his well-being because of not separating faith and thankfulness.

IMPLICATIONS:
I asked myself what are the implications for my own lives?
Just as the Samaritan who was healed of leprosy reflected on what transpired in his life after the touch of Jesus and the work of Jesus, by coming back to Jesus, praising God in a loud voice, throwing Himself at Jesus' feet, and being so thankful to Jesus for the blessings in his life, I too should do the same by praising God publicly, figuratively throwing myself at Jesus' feet and being so thankful to Jesus for all the blessings He has showered upon me. I hope to share with you at least 26 things I am thankful to my Lord Jesus this past year using A - Z as a guide.

A - Always remembering, you died on the cross and shed your precious cleansing blood to ransom me from the power of sin and death, and came back to life on the third day to save me, providing me a new identity and life in you by calling me your very own precious child becoming my Lord and Personal Savior, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

B - Birthday prayer request, while blowing the candle, you answered amazingly Lord when I asked you to send me to India to personally bring my loving wife Chandra here, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

C - Chandra, my loving wife being so lovingly welcomed and cared for by Oakland International Fellowship/Transformers small group, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

D - Daily my loving, sweetie wife Chandra being by my side since Dec 22 - Dec 30 in India and Dec 31 - Nov 22, 12 in U.S.A, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

E - Esther, our precious daughter, coming into this world on the Lord's Day of Sun, Sept 30, 12, whom you intricately wove together in Chandra's womb for 9 months, making her so wonderfully complex as we prayed and reflected on Psalm 139:13-18 each day, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

F - For the entire time Jesus, you watched my sweetie through the weeks of pregnancy from the miracle of conception to the miracle of birth of Esther, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

G - Giving Esther life, even though her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

H - How you have brought my darling wife Chandra through the operation of the C-section safely and helping her to recover safely through the weeks, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

I - In India, you protected my precious wife Chandra and our marriage as she waited on her visa for 16 grueling months and then her visa finally came through so I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

J - Joyful to have celebrated New Year's Eve & New Year's Day in U.S.A, Valentine's Day, Easter, and Birthdays together for the first time since marriage, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

K - Keeping my loving mommy here to take care of my loving Chandra during the many, many weeks of her pregnancy and now after Esther is born, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

L - Loving in laws to have fun, food, and fellowship you have given me in my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law: Vidhya, Sunandha & her husband Paul, Pravalika, Suneetha, brother-in-law: Elisha in India, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus

M - Many times when my younger brother Rohit has visited Esther and how you have given my brothers Raj and Ravi time with Esther, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

N - Now and always that my beloved dad is with you and my father-in-law is with you because you have saved them by your sanctifying grace, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

O - Over the year for keeping our families in your precious care Oh Lord Jesus, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

P - Precious voice you have given my cheerful Chandra to sing your praises at church and at home while Esther and I listen, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

Q - Quiet Times that I have had with you and the devotionals I have been able to post with the support of my devoted wife, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

R - Remembering how you have brought my loving Chandra and me together to finally live in the U.S.A after all the struggles to get her here and how you used Jomei, Daniel, Matt, Steve, Johannes, David, and Yvonne to help me move stuff, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

S - Support Pastor Hugo Cheng and all the brothers and sisters of Oakland International Fellowship, especially Yvonne, Suzanne, Marie, and Heather you have placed in Chandra's life to visit her and take her to places and Edwin you have placed in my life, including the special welcome party organized by Calvin, the baby shower organized by Yvonne, Suzanne, Cecilia, Marie, I am so so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

T - The summer off I had to spend precious time with my sweetie Chandra as we went for walks, watched lots of movies together, ate most of our meals together, played tons of games together, worshiped together, worked on the church library together, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

U - Utilizing Pittsburgh Standard through the years with Kristen's help to be used as a means of influence to reach masses with the love of Christ, the importance of biblical principles in our responses, and all coverage I have been able to do and publish Oh Lord, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

V - Very faithfully, how my unit manager Dan has allowed me to start at 12:00 p.m and given me an extended lunch break since my paternity leave to go spend time with my precious Esther and to take care of responsibilities during the 3-5 p.m. on the majority of days, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

W - With my friends on facebook, the ability to share through a musical slideshow the life of Esther day to day, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

X - Xcitement of having my sweetie wife and Esther come to church together for the first time to hear Pastor Hugo and see the congregation, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

Y - Your Word regarding Thanksgiving in Psalm 117, the brief origins of how we got our Thanksgiving Day, and the precious time we had with our friends Neha, Somreeta, and Ankitha after our Thanksgiving Dinner, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

Z- Zealously and patiently how my loving Chandra and loving mom were able to prepare an Indian style Thanksgiving dinner for our friends, I am so thankful to you my Lord Jesus.

I am glad to have reflected on what the Lord Jesus has done in my life saving a foreigner like me and that His healing and blessings are not limited to a particular race or ethnicity but Jesus offers Himself to the world to all who would receive Him and come to Him. For He promises, "To all who received Him, He gave them right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent but from the will of God" (John 1:12)

It is in thanksgiving that we recognize that we are nothing on our own and all the things we are blessed with come from Jesus Christ, the Creator of Heaven and Earth.

When I give thanks, I am recognizing the One who gave Himself for me with His sacrificial death on the cross coming back to life on the third day to save. When I give thanks, I am figuratively throwing myself at the feet of Jesus to show that I am nothing without Him. He alone is the One who has cleansed me of all my sin and daily transforms my life by His grace. It is His blessings that reveal His unconditional grace. Having an attitude of thanksgiving takes the focus off me and puts the focus on the One who came to change my life around.

I ask you now dear friend, what place do you give T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G in your life?
Dear friend, the place you give thanksgiving in your life will determine if it is a one day in November thing filled with feasts of food with family and friends or will it be a daily 365 day event filled with the Creator's presence in your life and all the blessings He has showered upon your life. Friend, there is excitement to celebrate thanksgiving with family and friends eating a feast but when we focus on the gift alone instead of the giver then we have missed the true meaning of thanksgiving.

That's what happened to the nine lepers for they focused on the gift of healing instead of the gift of the Giver. So, the other nine ignored or forgot to come back to Jesus to give Him thanks for their healing. But, there was a Samaritan who remembered not only the gift of healing but the Giver of healing and went back to Jesus to give thanksgiving. You and I can do that too friend remembering everything we have is a gift from the Lord and we can be thankful for each day.

So when we celebrate Thanksgiving with a feast let us be thankful for all that the Lord Jesus has done in our lives. I know it should not just be confined to the last Thursday of November but daily.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess 5:16-17, NIV)

Jesus wants us to always be thankful and that is His will. Yet, so many times we forget to give thanks and that makes Jesus sad. I don't want to make Jesus sad but remember all that Jesus does for me each day.

What has been awesome for me to do in the past was write down 5 things that I have been thankful for each day not duplicating any response during the week, otherwise it just becomes a routine and I would write the same things each day.

Before the Thanksgiving meal, take time to write 26 things you are thankful to the Lord for this past year using the alphabet A-Z as a guide. Your focus should be on the Lord Jesus for these 26 things. 

The place we give thanksgiving when that place involves the Lord Jesus Christ will make us well spiritually too as Jesus promised the Samaritan: Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

When we are thankful and grateful remembering what the Lord has done for us, it is also a reflection of our faith. There is a positive correlation between being thankful and our faith.  How appropriate is this passage on this day of Thanksgiving 2012 so we do not forget the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

Thank you Jesus for all you have done in my life. I love you Lord Jesus.

Jesus was making a point about the importance of being thankful to God for what He has done in our lives instead of taking it for granted. The other side of the coin is that Jesus also knows when we do not give thanks when our prayers are answered. That makes Jesus sad.

Let us remember what the Pilgrims did when they came on the Mayflower as their hearts were filled with gratitude and thanks for how the Almighty Savior rescued them and brought them through the harsh times in a new land. Thank you Jesus. This is supposedly the origins of Thanksgiving.

I also believe our health and joyfulness in life is tied to thanksgiving! No wonder Jesus says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess 5:16-17, NIV)

What is giving of thanksgiving anyway than praying continually to the One who is the Giver of all things daily in our lives. Praise the Lord! Thank you Jesus.

May you remember this day that Thanksgiving is more than just turkey, stuffing, parades, and football but the essence of Thanksgiving is JESUS CHRIST. Amen!

The purpose of today's devotional is to understand the importance of being thankful for the things the Lord Jesus has done in our lives instead of taking things for granted knowing there is a positive correlation between being thankful and our faith.

"Thankful Heart Always Nurtures Kindly Souls, Giving Immanuel's Victorious Inspiration Now Graciously!" (T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G)/"What place do you give T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G in your life?"

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for everything that you have blessed our life with. Help me to be specific each day Oh Lord to thank you and count my blessings in this life you have given me. Thank you so much Jesus. Thank you for all that you have done for our families. I love you Lord and need you. Thanks Lord as we celebrate Thanksgiving, it does not have to be a one day event but a daily event for you are the Giver of all Gifts and the Source of life for us. Thank you so much Jesus for this time and being our Lord and Savior to all who turn their lives to thee because you have given an invitation at the cross of Calvary. Thank you for that invitation which is a free gift of your grace. I love you Jesus and need you. Take me as I am and use me for your honor and glory. Help me live for you Jesus. Thanks so much Jesus for dying for my sin to cover me in your precious blood and coming back to life to save me. In Your Name I Pray Jesus!

Lord Jesus, You are my all in all. You are my Prince of Peace, Rock, Savior, and Friend. You are my Holy Father guiding me through to live a life of righteousness, holy righteousness. Oh God, I need you more than ever. I need to feel your hands around me holding me tight. I need your love to surround me so that you can glow in my life. Help me please Jesus. I desire in your presence. Thank you for guiding me to live a life of righteousness. Oh God you love me more than ever. You hear my voice when I cry out to you. When I seek your face, you fill me up. You are my all in all. Thank you Jesus so much for your help no matter what I face, your grace is available and you take my case. Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN! (Most of the prayer is from a vineyard song called “All in All”)

If you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as you pray the prayer below, meaning it in your heart.

Prayer:
God I am a sinner. I am invaded by this deadliest virus. Many times I feel so guilty and yucky inside. I need forgiveness. I am so sorry for my sins. I have not obeyed you with my whole heart! I have gone my own way and done my own things. I  struggle with sin. I need you Jesus in my life so I can receive forgiveness and a new beginning. In the process, I can forgive others as you help me to. Thank you so much Jesus. I accept the antidote you have sent me. I believe Jesus you died for me and your cleansing blood will cleanse me from all my sins. You came back to life to save me. Thank you God I am set free, free from the bondage of sin. Hear my cry Oh Lord. I accept you Jesus into my heart. I make you my Lord and Personal Savior of my life. Thank you Father God for giving me Salvation. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. Thank you for being my Lord and personal Savior! I can live a life of peace with you on my side. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me! In your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN!

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help!

No matter who you are, it is not ever too late to join a Bible-believing church or a college fellowship. I highly encourage each of you to come to Transformers Small Group on Friday nights at 7:00 p.m. and Oakland International Fellowship on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. for prayer, 11:30 a.m. for worship, 10:30 a.m. for Sunday School, and 12:30 p.m. for fellowship lunch.

May the Lord's presence and peace fill you with His love now and forever! Amen!

Friend, if you have prayed this prayer and meant it in your heart, you are a new creation in Christ and all old things are passed away and everything has become new! You may feel something or may not but don’t base it on feelings but base your new life in Christ on the promises of our Savior who will never leave you nor forsake you! Amen!

Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is 412-641-9426

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)