LUKE 17:11-19 – On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

THEME OF THE DAY. HOW DO WE KNOW? Every Christian knows the power to live the Christian life is not in themselves. Any and all Christian growth and experience are direct workings of the Holy Spirit. From start to finish, the Christian life is from Him. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). After Pentecost and the permanent indwelling of the Spirit in every believer, the Apostle Paul tells us two things about the Christian life under the power of the Holy Spirit.

First, the only way to defeat the powerful forces of our flesh is by the greater power of the Spirit – “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13). This means the only way to defeat any and all temptation is to immediately “attack it” by faith in the power of the Spirit. We may look temptation in the eye and say, “No, I don’t have to give in to you because greater is He that is in me than you and him who lives in the world” (1 John 4:4). Spiritual defeat in a Christian is always a choice. We either walk in the Spirit and overcome temptation and sin or we walk according to our own desires, grieving and quenching the Spirit, and meet with spiritual defeat.

The second use of the power of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life is in our prayer lives. Twice in the scriptures we are told to be praying in the Spirit – “praying at all times in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18) and “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 20). And both aspects of using the power of the Holy Spirit – in warfare and in praying – lead us to ask the question, “What would be one of the strongest indications that we are experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit?” God’s Word gives us ample evidence to check ourselves, but let’s consider one and it is a big one. It is found in today’s scripture. It also appears in the section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as one of the sure signs of walking under the Spirit’s power – And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:18-21).

Christians under the power and control of the Holy Spirit will live with a heart of thanksgiving for the Lord and for His many blessings upon us. It is not an attitude we generate. It is a work of the Spirit we respond to as He makes Christ known to us and the glories of His grace to us. So, if we want to know if we are being led by the Spirit, check how thankful we are living. It is one of the most important indicators of a Spirit-filled life.

PRAYER: “Father, help me to be sensitive to Your Spirit who alone produces a heart of thanksgiving in me.”

QUOTE: “Spirit-filled Christians live as thankful Christians. They are conscious of God’s blessings throughout the day.”