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As he"); document.writeln("entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, Jesus,"); document.writeln("Master, have mercy on us! He looked at them and said, Go show yourselves to"); document.writeln("the priests. And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.¹

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Leprosy was"); document.writeln("pretty much the worst disease you could have in Bible days. Having leprosy"); document.writeln("meant that you were unclean and unfit for society. You were separated from your"); document.writeln("family and friends without any hope for a cure. In addition to the physical"); document.writeln("pain associated with this disfiguring disease, lepers also suffered the"); document.writeln("emotional pain of feeling worthless, ashamed, and unloved.

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In the passage"); document.writeln("today, we see this group of ten lepers come to Jesus desperate to be healed."); document.writeln("Jesus responds to them in compassion, as we often see him do, but before he"); document.writeln("heals them, he gives them instructions. Jesus asks them to step out in faith"); document.writeln("and go present themselves to the priest for inspection as if they had already"); document.writeln("been healed. In addition to religious duties, the priest was also responsible"); document.writeln("for deeming them healed and giving them clearance to return to social life. The"); document.writeln("lepers did not question Jesus and headed out to see the priest. AS THEY WENT,"); document.writeln("they were cleansed of their leprosy. Jesus had the power to heal them"); document.writeln("immediately, but he chose to give the lepers the choice of obedience, which"); document.writeln("then leads to their healing.

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When hardships"); document.writeln("come our way, we often cry out to God asking him to solve the problem. If we do"); document.writeln("not see the desired response immediately, we get impatient and either get angry"); document.writeln("with God because he is not answering, or we take the problem back and try to"); document.writeln("solve it on our own. However, I encourage you to stop and think of what we can"); document.writeln("possibly learn from the problem. Have you stopped and listened to what God is"); document.writeln("telling you? When you hear him, do you obey and take the action he is asking"); document.writeln("you to take? We may not always see God answer the way we want him to, but He"); document.writeln("tells us to trust him and lean not on our own understanding.

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God speaks to"); document.writeln("all of us in different ways, and we are all called to obey. God is all powerful"); document.writeln("and all knowing. He could say the word and make everything better, but just as"); document.writeln("in the story of the lepers, He is also telling us to step out in faith, trust"); document.writeln("him, and obey.

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Suggested"); document.writeln("prayer: Dear God, it is easy to ask you to answer our prayers, but many times"); document.writeln("it is not as easy to obey your instructions. Help me trust your will and obey"); document.writeln("despite how I feel, believing that your plans are perfect, even when they are"); document.writeln("not my plans. Give me wisdom to make good choices and act in obedience when you"); document.writeln("tell me to do so. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.

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Luke 17:11-14 (NLT).

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The Encounter"); document.writeln("for today was written by: Crystal B.

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