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Don’t Get in God’s Way

‘Wait patiently for the Lord . Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord .’ Psalms 27:14(NLT)

‘The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”’ Exodus 14:14(NLT)

‘And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. ‘ 1 John 5:14(NLT)

‘The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help.’ Psalms 34:15(NLT)

Devotional Content:

Know without a doubt that God is daily seeking your spouse. He has a plan. Most likely you are a part of that plan, but don’t get in His way.

Neither Kristi nor Matt were Christians when they married at twenty-five. It wasn’t like they were against church. They just never saw a need for it. Their life was pretty carefree. They both had good jobs and agreed to wait a few years before having kids.

Matt was out of town when Kristi’s college roommate came to visit for a weekend. Allison and Kristi kept in touch, but their friendship had grown more distant over the past couple of years. Kristi was looking forward to catching up. From the first evening Allison arrived, Kristi noticed something different. Allison had changed. She even brought a Bible with her! Kristi was curious, and Allison was willing to share. By Sunday morning they were looking for a church to attend, and by Sunday afternoon Kristi’s life was changed forever.

Kristi excitedly shared her experience with Matt, but he was pretty cold toward all of it. She so badly wanted him to know Jesus. She talked about Jesus all the time. She dragged Matt to church. One weekend she literally “preached” to him around the clock. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Matt. He was moving farther and farther away from God.

Kristi talked with Allison and learned that she was getting in God’s way. God had a plan for Matt and was drawing Matt to Himself. Certainly her conversion would be a plus in their marriage, but Matt was not coming to Jesus the same way she did. Finally following Allison’s advice, Kristi backed off. It was clear that her role was to pray and get out of God’s way.

Today’s Challenge:

Are you getting in God’s way? If so, where do you need to back off and trust Him?

Going Deeper:

When someone accepts Jesus as their Savior, there is rejoicing in heaven. In our church, we clap loudly. The excitement is contagious, and we want everyone we love to have that experience. Think about what worked when you came to Jesus. What would have put you off? As you seek to share your faith, prayerfully seek God’s wisdom. Stay a step behind God when your tendency will be to take a step ahead. Trust Him in the process.

from Unequally Yoked by Dr. Kim Kimberling

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Look Past the Resistance

‘Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. ‘ Romans 12:12(NLT)

‘May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. ‘ Romans 15:5(NLT)

‘Be still in the presence of the Lord , and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.’ Psalms 37:7(NLT)

Devotional Content:

If your spouse is resisting the Lord, take time to look past their resistance. Is there something from their past that affects the way they look at God? Was there trauma or life experiences that they blame God for? What you see on the outside may be the shell that is protecting deep hurts on the inside.

Tom was six when his mother died. She suffered a long illness, and Tom prayed every night for her to get well. The night before his mom died, Tom was busy playing and fell asleep on the floor without praying. The next morning, he was told by his dad that his mom was gone. Tom never said a word, but inside he blamed her death on himself for not praying that night and on God for being so mean. Tom vowed to never give God another chance.

I met Tom twenty-eight years later as he reluctantly came to counseling. His marriage was falling apart, and his wife asked him to talk with me at least one time. She was a Christian. He never purported to be one, but she married him anyway. She loved him deeply. His hatred for God had become a huge issue in their marriage. Tom repeatedly and adamantly told her that he wanted nothing to do with God. As Tom and I met alone, I asked him why he hated God so much. His eyes filled with tears and he said no one had ever asked him that question before. That really shocked me. For the first time ever, Tom told the story of his mom’s death. The shell began to crack, and over the next few months Tom slowly opened up his life to God.

With Tom, I saw three things in his marriage: First, his wife fervently prayed for him for two years. Second, she was obedient to what the Lord called her to do. Third, the timing was right and a patient God was there as Tom opened his heart. God used this woman who was able to “look past the resistance” to bring this man to Jesus.

Today’s Challenge:

Ask God to help you look past the resistance to the heart of your spouse and to help you see your spouse through His eyes.

Going Deeper:

It is so normal for us to react to the outside and never look at the inside. As you pray, see your spouse as a lost child of God. Know without a doubt that God wants your spouse in His kingdom. Pray for patience and wisdom as you look past the resistance.

from Unequally Yoked by Dr. Kim Kimberling

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What’s Your Role?

‘Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.’ John 12:26(NLT)

‘I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. ‘ Acts of the Apostles 20:19(NLT)

‘This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’’ Jeremiah 7:23(NLT)

‘Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. ‘ Exodus 19:5(NLT)

‘Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a fellow believer has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. ‘ 1 Corinthians 7:12-13(NLT)

‘Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. ‘ 1 Corinthians 7:17(NLT)

Devotional Content:

Being married to someone who is not a Christian is not easy, but … Being married to someone who is hostile to Christianity is really difficult, but … The but is simply this: At some point in your life you stood with your spouse before God and committed to a lifetime of marriage together. The escape clauses for your marriage are few and narrow. So are you doomed to a lifetime where the two of you are out of balance spiritually? Let’s back up before we answer that question.

Most couples who are unequally yoked fall into one of these categories:

1. Neither were believers before they married, but now one is and one is not.

2. One married an unbeliever hoping they would change.

3. One married the other thinking that person was a believer but discovered sometime into the marriage that their spouse was not a Christian and not open to Christianity.

Let’s look at your role as a Christian in each of these categories:

1. It is not unusual that God would bring one of you to belief before the other. You may be the reason your spouse is open to a relationship with Jesus. Your role is to wait on God and pray for your spouse.

2. This is a difficult situation but one you were aware of as you entered into marriage. It is easy to impatiently pressure your spouse, but based on my experience, pressure does not work. Instead, be a living example of Jesus. I know you are not perfect, but live daily following Him. Give God time to work on your spouse. It may take years, but your role is to be a living witness and to fervently pray.

3. This can be complicated, especially if you feel you were deceived. On top of being unequally yoked, you now have a trust issue. Your role first is to forgive even if your spouse is not changing. Forgiveness opens your heart to the Lord’s leading. Then be an example as you live out each day, and fervently pray for your spouse.

Now back to our question: Are you doomed to a lifetime where the two of you are out of balance spiritually? The answer might be yes, but how you allow God to work in you and your response to God will change a life of doom into one of service to the Lord. It is God’s job to change the heart of your spouse. It’s your job to love them, to be the spouse God created you to be, and to live in obedience to Him and to His Word.

Today’s Challenge:

Begin to pray every day for the heart of your spouse to soften to the message of Christ.

Going Deeper:

What would living a life of obedience to the Lord look like for you? This means that each day you do what He wants you to do no matter what your spouse does. Spend time in prayer as you consider this step.

Resource: 

Use mundane moments for Godly purpose in your marriage with our House Prayer Cards.

Prayer is the single BEST thing you can for your marriage. God is the one who can ultimately change your hearts and your marriage for the better, so inviting him in to do those things is the single best thing you can do for your marriage.

from Unequally Yoked by Dr. Kim Kimberling

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Forgiveness through starting your marriage over

‘They are always thinking about how much it costs. “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it.’ Proverbs 23:7(NLT)

‘“Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before. “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.”’ Mark 2:21-22(NLT)

‘Take delight in the Lord , and he will give you your heart’s desires.’ Psalms 37:4(NLT)

‘Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. ‘ Hebrews 11:1(NLT)

‘This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position.” So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. ‘ 1 Timothy 3:1-4(NLT)

To move from a chaotic marriage to a successful one, you first must forgive your spouse. I know moving from a state of unforgiveness to forgiveness can be difficult because of the years of unmet expectations. The only way to make this transition is to start your marriage over in your mind. 

Proverbs 23:7 teaches us that we do what we think, so you need to think as if you are just married and forget all the years of hurt feelings. If you cannot do this, then there is no hope for your marriage. 

Mark 2:21-22 gives a great illustration of this concept of starting over. It points out that new things require new containers. For your marriage, the new thing is forgiveness, and the new container is a new marriage (in your thought process). 

If you try to forgive without forgetting the past and starting over, the marriage will not work. After you restart your marriage by forgiving and forgetting, the next step is to not place any expectations on your spouse.

What the Bible and I want you to do is just serve the needs and desires of your spouse, and cast your needs and desires onto God, because the Bible never told us that our spouses would give us the desires of our hearts. The Bible says that God will give us the desires of our hearts – Psalm 37:4. Furthermore, Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the substance of our desires, not our spouses.

Can you now see that we have been expecting our spouses to do something that only God can do? You cannot unconditionally love your spouse until you get your expectations off of them, and the only way to do that is to conclude that your spouse owes you nothing. 

When you truly believe in your heart that your spouse owes you nothing, you will find a freedom to love your spouse. From this freedom, a successful marriage will be birthed, and then you will qualify to be one of God’s leaders according to 1 Timothy 3:1-4.

from Revive Your Marriage For Business Success

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Unnecessary expectations create unforgiveness in marriage

‘Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. ‘ Genesis 2:8(NLT)

‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Genesis 2:24(NLT)

‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.’ Proverbs 13:12(NLT)

‘So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.’ Ephesians 5:33(NLT)

‘Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.’ Colossians 3:18-19(NLT)

We have so many bad examples of marriage that we must go back to the book of Genesis to see what marriage should be like. In Genesis 2:8, God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him,” and in Genesis 2:24, God said, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” 

From these two statements, we get the original definition of marriage straight from God. A wife is a help meet (companion) to her husband, a husband is to cleave (hold on) to his wife, and both should operate together on the same page.

Within God’s definition of marriage, there is nothing stating that the wife should cook or the husband should take out the trash. Man added all these extra definitions and many more to marriage; however, to have a successful marriage we must follow God’s original definition.

By following man’s definition, we add many unnecessary expectations to marriage, and expectations that go unmet will cause your heart to get sick – see Proverbs 13:12. Once your heart becomes sick, you will live in a state of unforgiveness with your spouse.

How can we expect to qualify as one of God’s business leaders if we are living with unforgiveness? Mark 11:23-26 shows us that unforgiveness stops our prayers from being answered. Without our prayers answered, we cannot receive direction for our businesses from God. 

Therefore, it is critical that we remove all expectations from our spouses except what the Bible expects. The Bible simply instructs husbands to love their wives and wives to reverence their husbands – Ephesians 5:33, Colossians 3:18-19. To love someone is to serve them; to reverence someone is to submit to their leadership. In both cases, the husband and wife are in the position of serving the other person. 

If you follow this principle of serving the other spouse, then you’ll have a successful marriage without unnecessary expectations.

from Revive Your Marriage For Business Success

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Marriage is a challenge, but you are graced to handle it

‘But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems.’ 1 Corinthians 7:28(NLT)

‘And I tell you this, whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery—unless his wife has been unfaithful.” Jesus’ disciples then said to him, “If this is the case, it is better not to marry!” “Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said. “Only those whom God helps. ‘ Matthew 19:9-11(NLT)

One of the major reasons marriage is important is because it is a training ground for our businesses. However, having a successful marriage is not easy. In fact, it will be one of your biggest challenges on earth. 

The apostle Paul warned us of the difficulties of marriage in 1 Corinthians 7:28: “if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.” 

Paul is basically telling us that it would be better to stay single than to get married, because you will have trouble in your marriage. Why? Because marriage is not a natural state of existence for two individuals. 

For example, take a manicured golf course and do not tend to it for a year. Return to that site after a year has passed, and you will find that the once manicured golf course looks like a wilderness. The natural state of the golf course is not an ordered manicured lawn but a chaotic wilderness. 

In the same manner, if a marriage is left alone, then it will return to its natural state of divorce (two individuals returning to being single). So you see, like keeping a golf course manicured, keeping two people married requires a lot of work for it not to revert to its natural state.

Even Jesus’ disciples recognized the difficulties of staying married. In Matthew 19:9-11, Jesus taught that married people should never get a divorce (except for reason of adultery), and his disciples responded by saying, “If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.” Jesus responds to their observations of the difficulties of staying married by saying, “All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.” 

Jesus basically said it is difficult, but God has ordained some to get married and stay married. So if you are married, and desire to qualify as one of God’s business leaders, then you are ordained to stay married and to have a successful marriage. It will take some work on your part, but you are graced to do it.

from Revive Your Marriage For Business Success

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The success connection between business and marriage

‘This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position.” So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. ‘ 1 Timothy 3:1-4(NLT)

‘For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?’ 1 Timothy 3:5(NLT)

‘He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! ‘ Luke 6:10(NLT)

In 1 Timothy 3:1-4, a bishop is defined as an overseer of God’s works, and this same definition applies to a Christian entrepreneur – he or she is an overseer of God’s works in business. If God has given you the vision to start a business, the business you start is a result of His work, and you are the overseer or CEO.

Therefore, the qualifications to become a bishop are the same qualifications to become a business owner, and from the list of qualifications, one stands out – “you need to rule your own house well.” For a married entrepreneur, this means that your marriage needs to be successful in order to qualify. 

Why? Because the principles that you need to run a successful business God’s way are first learned and mastered by creating a successful marriage. Your spouse is your first customer, and the techniques you learn to make them happy are then applied on a larger scale in business where you have many more customers you are trying to make happy through your products or services. 

This is why in 1 Timothy 3:5, Paul tells Timothy: “If a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the house of God?” This is not because marriage is more important, but because ministry or a Godly business is a larger representation of your marriage. 

Remember Luke 16:10: “he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Your marriage is the least, not in importance but in scale, and your own business is the much.

The training ground for a success business starts with a successful marriage. When we violate this principle, we are disqualifying ourselves from a success business God’s way. 

Over the next few days as you read this devotional and the associated scriptures, don’t get in condemnation but instead allow Holy Spirit to speak to you about restoration and change in your marriage. 

from Revive Your Marriage For Business Success

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Three Little Words

‘“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone,’ you are in danger of the fires of hell. “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. “When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. ‘ Matthew 5:21-25(NLT)

‘Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.’ Romans 12:18(NLT)

‘For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.’ 2 Corinthians 7:10(NLT)

In Matthew 5 Jesus is challenging people’s paradigms by giving them a new standard. He begins with this idea that long before something manifests in our lives it takes shape in our heart. And at the core of His message is the practice of reconciliation, because it’s impossible to build a great relationship if we never learn to deal with offense and be reconciled.

Now typically when we think about reconciliation we think about our need to forgive, but forgiveness is a two-way street. It’s not just something we need to extend it’s something we need to receive. The times when we’ve offended people and messed up can actually be catalysts to make our relationship stronger. But to do that we must be able to apologize appropriately. It’s the inability to apologize that neutralizes so many of our relationships. If we apologize right way it brings change in our relationships and hearts.

A good apology begins with three little words, “I am sorry” and it includes responsibility and regret. When you apologize correctly you’re taking responsibility for your actions and expressing regret. This means there is no “but” involved and no excuses. You always lose when you try to excuse.

However, it doesn’t stop there. You also need to express the words “I love you.” The closer the relationship, the greater the opportunity for offense. That’s why those we love often hurt us the most. When you say “I love you” it gives reassurance to the other person. It reminds them you are not their enemy. Love is tested when things are at their worst, not at their best. An apology is a chance to really show someone how you feel about them.

The last thing we need to say in our apology is “Please forgive me.” It’s not an apology if you don’t ask someone to forgive you. These three little words are asking for resolution and restoration. It’s an act of humility because it gives the other person power over you. It acknowledges that forgiveness is out of your control and becomes their choice now. 

I am sorry. I love you. Please forgive me.

Three little phrases. Three little words. So much power.

Questions for reflection.

When you apologize do you express regret and remorse or do you try to explain and excuse? Do you ask for forgiveness at the end of your apology? What would happen if you tried apologizing saying only these three phrases?

from Shape Of Your Heart: Discover The Building Blocks Of Great Relationships

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Breaking Bad

‘Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” ‘ 1 Corinthians 15:33(NLT)

‘But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. ‘ Numbers 13:30-32(NLT)

The relationships we have can propel us toward our future or keep us chained to our past. That’s why it’s so important we approach all of our relationships wisely. When you surround yourself with the wrong people it impacts your thinking, your behavior, and your attitude in a negative way. Right relationships will encourage you, strengthen you and make you more like Christ.

Sometimes we have relationships in our lives that take more than they give. They might not take from us physically, but they drain us emotionally through, negativity, control, temptation and fear. So how do we deal with the relationships that aren’t helping us? While we can’t choose every relationship we have, we can choose to not let bad company have our ear, our mind and ultimately our heart.

We can reduce the impact of negative relationships and still be an example of Christ to them if we do a few specific things. First we need to make sure that we are spiritually and emotionally healthy.  If you don’t take care of yourself first, you won’t be able to help others. Just like when flying on a plane; in the event of an emergency you place the oxygen mask that drops from your cabin on yourself first before helping anyone else. In the same way we need to make sure that we are spiritually and emotionally secure before we can reach out to help others.

The second thing we need to do is love freely while also standing firm. You don’t have to limit your love for them, but you can limit their access to you. That’s what Jesus did. He loved freely but not everyone had unlimited access to Him personally. He fed the multitudes, He taught the crowds, He commissioned seventy for ministry, He discipled twelve and even within that group He had three (Peter, James and John) that He gave special revelation. Having firm boundaries doesn’t mean you don’t care about people, it means you care about the right relationships God has given you to make sure the people who need you get your best.

Questions for reflection.

Are there some areas in your life you need to help yourself before you can be a help to others? Are there some relationships in your life you need to give limited access?

from Shape Of Your Heart: Discover The Building Blocks Of Great Relationships

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Bless Your Heart

‘As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”’ Luke 17:11-19(NLT)

‘“When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”’ Luke 17:7-10(NLT)

‘You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges ; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,’ Philippians 2:5-7(NLT)

One of the key building blocks to a great relationship is gratitude. And in Luke 17 we get some perspective on why it is so easy to be ungrateful and what we can do to begin practicing more gratitude in our lives.

The encounter Jesus had with ten lepers while traveling along the edge of Samaria and Galilee has application with our relationships. These men were living in a middle space – a place between borders and boundary lines. In our relationships, anytime there are not clear boundaries, when there are not clearly defined roles and responsibilities, you can expect the stress and strain of existing in that space to manifest. That’s what’s going on with these men. They’re stuck. Not really in Samaria, but not really in Galilee either.

We’re told that they had a disease called leprosy. Leprosy was a nerve disease that caused you to lose your ability to feel anything at all. It wouldn’t kill you, but it would also never end; you were just in a state of deterioration. This condition they were living with was also the thing that kept them at a distance. It was the thing that kept them from intimacy with other people.

But before Jesus talks about gratitude He confronted the issue of entitlement with His disciples. He teaches us that gratitude starts when entitlement stops. We can’t be grateful for something if we feel entitled to it. Jesus modeled this for us in the fact that though He was God, He took on the role of a servant. In the context of our relationships, our responsibility is to take on the attitude of Jesus – a servant. When you approach your relationships this way it’s not about “What’s in it for me?” It becomes “What can I put into it?”

The story of the lepers shows us that gratitude isn’t based on how good our situation is, but on how good it seems to us. All ten lepers had the same situation and all were healed by Jesus, but only one of them came back and showed gratitude. So stop thinking of gratitude as a byproduct of your circumstances and start looking for a reason to show it.

As the one leper came back to thank Jesus for what He’d done, Jesus told him that his faith had made him “well.” The word “well” translated here is the Greek word “sozo.” It’s a different word used than the word translated “cleansed” in verse 17. Sozo means, saved, forgiven and whole. That means the one who came back to express gratitude received something none of the others did. All ten were healed, but only one was made whole. The truth is, showing gratitude isn’t an obligation, it’s an opportunity. It’s not about what it does for the other person, it’s what it does in your own heart and how it changes you.

Questions for reflection.

Do you approach your relationships with what you can get out of them or what you can put into them? Are there things you’re ungrateful for because you feel entitled to them? What are the things you can express gratitude for in your current relationships? 

from Shape Of Your Heart: Discover The Building Blocks Of Great Relationships