11 Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem. He went from Galilee to Samaria. 12He came into a small town, and ten men met him there. They did not come close to him, because they all had leprosy.d 13 But the men shouted, “Jesus! Master! Please help us!”
14 When Jesus saw the men, he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”e
While the ten men were going to the priests, they were healed. 15 When one of them saw that he was healed, he went back to Jesus. He praised God loudly. 16 He bowed down at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (He was a Samaritan.f) 17 Jesus said, “Ten men were healed; where are the other nine? 18 This man is not even one of our people. Is he the only one who came back to give praise to God?” 19 Then Jesus said to the man, “Stand up! You can go. You were healed because you believed.”
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“I like Thanksgiving because I’m off from school, and I don’t have to eat supper because I stuff myself at lunch.” K.F., 10
“Thanksgiving has two good words. They are ‘thanks’ and ‘giving’ and that’s what we need to do—thank others and be giving. Those are two things my mom taught me.” Hollie, 9
“I like Thanksgiving because I get to eat chicken and my mama is with me and my daddy is with me. I get to see my cousins. I get to be with God because I say the blessings.” Tori, 6
“I like Thanksgiving because it is good to thank God. He gives us so many blessings that we don’t even realize. It’s the least we can do to give him one whole day of thanks, but we should be giving thanks daily.” Ally, 11
It’s important that we thank God for everything he has given us. When Jesus healed the ten men, only one returned to say thank you. Jesus noticed that. Thanksgiving Day is a perfect time to give thanks to God for everything he has given us and celebrate his many blessings. But it is also important to say thank you to God every day because every day he gives us lots of good things. Each day remember to say “Thank you, God!”
Jesus started the last meal with his disciples by giving thanks to his Father. This is known as the Last Supper, which Jesus said we should eat to remember that he gave his life for us. By the second century, this meal became known as the Eucharist, which comes from the Greek word meaning “to give thanks.”
Having a thankful heart is the key to praising God. In the Hebrew language, the same word is used for praise and thanksgiving. Can you take a breath? The book of Psalms, which is full of praise songs, ends by saying, “Everything that breathes, praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6).
Think About This: In this world in which we live, people do wrong things. We shouldn’t thank God for evil. Evil things are from the devil. God wants you to thank him for every good thing. God can use a difficult circumstance for something good.
Memorize This Truth: “Whatever happens, always be thankful. This is how God wants you to live in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Activity – Remember Difficult Things: The Bible says if you love God, he can cause everything to work together for your good and his glory (Romans 8:28-30). Think of three problems where God took something that didn’t look good and used it for your good and his glory. Get together with your brothers, sisters, parents or friends to share stories. Often, it’s not until later that we see how God took a problem and used it to bless us. Because God is good, we can thank him even when we don’t understand what he is doing.
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