One of the first lessons we learn from our parents is to say thank you.  Saying thank you is not only good manners, but also biblical.  In this week’s Wednesday Night Bible Study at First Timothy Baptist Church, the critical questions were: How do you give God thanks for every blessing? What are the key points regarding the ten lepers’ (1) condition, (2) cry, (3) cure and (4) character?

Utilizing the book, Beyond the Sunday Sermon, Dr. Ronald Holmes discussed how we must give God thanks for every blessing using the illustrations from the 10 lepers in Luke 17:11-19. Holmes says God wants us to thank him for blessing us; not only in our words but also in our unwavering praise, worship, support and loyalty in the church. As recorded in Psalm 34: 1, Holmes indicated we must “bless the Lord at all times” whether we are rich or poor; healthy or sick; fortunate or unfortunate; joyful or remorseful and strong or weak. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

In key point one, Dr. Holmes discussed the condition of the 10 lepers that Jesus saw while passing through Samaria and Galilee (Luke 17:11). The lepers had the deadly and contagious skin disease of leprosy which caused the flesh to rotten. When seen by Jesus (Luke 17:12), the lepers stood “far off” social distancing from each other, wore a mouth covering and shouted unclean to keep the germs from spreading to other people (Leviticus 13:45).

Regarding point two, Dr. Holmes noted that when our condition in life gets the best of us, we must “cry out” to Jesus for his grace and mercy. This was demonstrated by the disciples on a ship when a storm arose, and Jesus was asleep. The disciples cried out to Jesus and he, subsequently, ceased the wind and calmed the sea (Mark 4: 38 & 39). With the ten lepers knowing that Jesus was the master of the winds and the waves, they cried out to Jesus to heal them from leprosy (Luke 17: 13).

For point three, Dr. Holmes indicated that the Lord gave Moses instructions on how to deal with the deadly disease of leprosy as cited in Leviticus 13: 1-2. When the Lord saw the lepers, he gave them instructions to see the priest (Luke 17:14). Holmes said the Lord used the priest to verify that the lepers were healed just like the Americans used the COVID-19 test to show proof that they were healed from the coronavirus.

In point four, Dr. Holmes noted that many times the Lord blesses us, and we do not thank him for the blessing. As illustrated by the 10 lepers, all of them were healed but only one showed his character by thanking the Lord for healing him (Luke 17: 15 & 16). The other nine showed an unthankful character.  Further, Jesus spoke to the man that thanked Him saying, “Arise and go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole” (Luke 17:19).

In short, this bible study illustrates that we must give thanks to God for every blessing regardless of our situation and condition. Being thankful is staying within the will of God.

Our Wednesday’s bible study lesson on October 18  is, “Be Great! Serve! from the book, “Beyond the Sunday Sermon”. The book can be purchased online from Amazon.com. To hear the lesson online from 7:00p.m. – 8:00p.m., you can go to the First Timothy Baptist Church’s website.

Dr. Ronald Holmes is the author of 26 books and publisher of “The Holmes Education Post,” an education focused Internet newspaper. His book for children cover topics such as the coronavirus, solar system, flowers, careers and school bullying.  His books for adults focus on religion, hazing, workplace bullying, bipolar disorders, issues in education and completing the dissertation.