LUKE: YEAR OF OUR LORD (WEEK 35) - I MEANT TO GO BACK

 “I was gonna…” Never gave me a leg to stand on! In the 18th Century James Boswell said, "Hell is paved with good intentions." Today we are studying a passage we looked at last year at this same time - the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I find it pretty amazing that this is where our study in the Gospel of Luke naturally leads us to. This is literally the next passage after the passage we looked at last week! God does indeed work in mysterious ways!It’s a passage where 10 people have received a huge blessing from God - but only one followed through with his intention of demonstrating a grateful, thankful heart… The others? Well, we aren’t specifically told what was up - but obviously each had his own excuse for NOT returning to the One who had blessed them.I bet every person knows something about making excuses for not following through with your “good intentions.”The problem with excuses - they betray an attitude that seems to go contrary to what you SAY is true. If what I was supposed to do was REALLY a priority for me, wouldn’t it seem like I would do what I needed to do in order to make it a reality? By giving an excuse as to WHY I didn’t follow through with my good intentions, I feel like I am betraying the fact that I really didn’t TOTALLY intend to do it!Mankind seems to always have a problem with being grateful for the blessings that come our way. We are given so much - and unfortunately for too many people, expressed gratitude is rare.This morning - like we did last year - we are going to have an opportunity to consider the blessings God has given us (much like the check I received from Grandma), and to express our gratitude for what we have received.