PASSWORDS

Psalm 100:1-5
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5 For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

After several unsuccessful attempts to access my airline account online, a message appeared informing me that I had been denied entry for security reasons. I would not be able to try again until I had requested a new password and received it by mail. This made me feel really dumb and I could almost hear my computer singing an ancient Top 40 hit, "I hear you knocking, but you can't come in."

How many passwords do you have? 5? 10? More? In a day of accelerating technology, many people are juggling a dozen different passwords and PINs for everything from ATM cards to student grades. Security advisors tell us to have a different password for every account and to change them often to thwart hackers and prevent identity theft. It's not unusual anymore to visit a favorite Web site and forget how to get in.

Perhaps because of that, I was struck by this contemporary translation of Psalm 89:15, "Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise, who shout on parade in the bright presence of God" (The Message).

A common theme found throughout the Bible is beautifully summarized in Psalm 100:4, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name."

These passwords are not a secret code giving us access to God, but an appropriate way to enter His presence. So often when we bow our heads to pray, our first words are "I need." How much better it would be to begin by saying, "Lord, You are."

In a sense, it's by acknowledging who God is that we remember who we are--"His people, the sheep of His pasture" (v.3). Because He made us and gave us life through His Son Jesus, we are privileged to approach Him.

Lord, You are good and faithful; You have made us; Your love endures forever. "Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise." --Dave McCasland

DESTINATION POINTS

* How can I best remember to begin each prayer by praising God?
* Which quality of God am I most thankful for today?

LINKS:
Praise and Thanksgiving
http://www.christianitytoday.com/spiritualhelp/features/praise thanks.html thanks.html thanks.html

Jesus' Blueprint For Prayer
http://www.discoveryseries.org/hj891

bottom line: Praise lights the pathway into God's presence.

soul journey