Did You Forget Your Password?
By Caron Cline
Burke County
In this age of technology, one of the most difficult tasks is remembering multiple passwords. Unless we commit them to memory or record them for future reference, we delay our progress in a variety of ways. It has been said that THANKSGIVING is the password that allows Christians access to the presence of God. The temptation to grumble, complain and argue rears its ugly head in our lives daily. The more we yield, the more building material we provide for the devil to build a stronghold in our minds. Within a short time, we find ourselves replacing gratitude with bitterness, an attitude that poisons, defiles, and replaces any desire for fellowship with the Lord. However, when we choose to count our blessings, things begin to change. Psalm 100:4 says, ‘Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His Name”. THANKSGIVING is the most often forgotten password yet it opens the door to the manifest presence of God. Our personal time alone with our Lord will transform our lives through spiritual intimacy, nourishment, and intercession.
First of all, during times of intimacy in the presence of the Lord, He exposes the rough edges that need sanding. He opens our eyes to those issues that are displeasing to Him. But rather than condemnation, His loving presence produces humility and a desire to forsake all unrighteousness. When we repent, He quiets us with His love and rejoices over us with joyful singing. (Zephaniah 3:17) Nothing compares to His Voice in the ear of His beloved child as He quietly whispers, ‘I am the One who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will remember your sins no more. (Isaiah 43:25)
Secondly, nourishment is provided in the presence of the Lord. He feeds us there with His Word, Jesus, Who is the bread of life. In John 6:57-58 Jesus stated that “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so He who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever”. Reading and meditating on the word of God provides strength and stability in troubled times and the assurance of a future inheritance in the heavenly. Only the word of God can satisfy the hungry soul, heal the broken heart, and quiet the anxious mind.
Thirdly, intercession becomes a priority in the presence of the Lord. Fervent and persevering prayer on behalf of others is a privilege granted to believers by which we can affect their destiny. 1 Timothy 2:1 reminds us that ‘entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority…’. Jesus used a parable in Luke 18:1-8 to challenge His disciples to pray and never lose heart for the Father always hears and brings justice in due time. Whenever we pray in the Spirit according to the will of God, we can be confident that our Lord will hear and answer.
In light of the mercies of our heavenly Father, there is no excuse for forgetting our password into His presence. THANKSGIVING should be continually on our lips. The throne room of God beckons us as we enter its gate with thanksgiving and its court with praise.
________________________________________________________________________________
Caron is a follower of Jesus Christ and a member of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Morganton, NC. She loves to teach the word of God.
Her desire is to see every believer grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.
You can read more Christian News from Caron HERE.
________________________________________________________________________________
