Thank You…
In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1Thessalonians 5:18)
A PRAYING CHILD HAS SOMETHING TO TEACH US. They may pray for each member of the family, their five cousins and grandparents, the family’s three dogs, and the kittens that haven’t been named yet. At Sunday school they may request prayer for their injured foot that has been healed for two years and sometimes for a doll they have decided is sick.
SOME CHILDREN JUST SEEM TO KNOW THAT PRAYER IS A GOOD THING. Others have to be taught to pray at mealtime and bedtime. The first prayers are thank-you prayers. The early years are such important years of a child’s life.
SAYING "THANK YOU" IS ONE OF THE BEDROCKS OF A CIVILIZED SOCIETY. I have long believed that if parents allow their child to receive a stick of gum without saying “Thank you,” they are teaching their child to be a criminal. The child gets the idea: “There’s something about me that deserves this stick of gum.” A child who believes everything is owed to him is on his way to a lot of pain and so are the people who taught him/her.
ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO INSTILL A THANK-YOU ATTITUDE IN CHILDREN is to thank them for things they do. Acts of obedience are worthy of a parental Thank you! Picking up toys deserve a hearty Thank you! And there are many fitting occasions to say “please” to a child. “Please” and “thank you” is the dependable lubricating oil of a home and any other human institution. Fifty years ago, I was reading through the Bible and was arrested by this verse in Romans:
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened (Romans 1:21). (There are eleven more verses that get really bad.)
THESE PEOPLE GOT INTO A MORAL SWAMP when they failed to glorify God and failed to be thankful. It’s in your Bible. Thank-you won’t save your eternal soul, but it is a positive exercise of the soul that helps to keep us from becoming ego maniacs and criminals. I’ve seen poor and wealthy people do well (and very badly) with their children. It is of utmost importance to teach them to work as a normal part of life and to appreciate what people give them and do for them.
SOME PEOPLE STARVE THEMSELVES SO THEY CAN GIVE THEIR CHILDREN what they never had, and in the process, they ruin them. They raise an ungrateful misfit. I’ve been watching this go on for a long time and it’s the truth. We should love children with all of our hearts and make them feel loved, but there is the ever pressing need to install in the child the sturdy pillar of thanksgiving and appreciation of “a job well-done” that will help them reach their God-given potential in due time.
WE HAVE BUILT INTO US A GREAT NEED TO GIVE THANKS to other people, and especially to God. One of the most valuable things I ever read in my whole life is this:
For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? (1Corinthians 4:7).
HAVE YOU THANKED GOD FOR YOUR FINGERS LATELY? Your eyes? Can you smell things? See colors? The Book of Psalms is full of words and verses of thanksgiving that can be read to God as our own sincere prayer of thanksgiving to Him. Our great hymns of the Christian faith will help us give thanks to God. The Bible and a hymn book are worth their weight in gold and should be in every home and should be used daily.
THE HYMN BOOK SHOULD INCLUDE THE GREAT CLASSIC HYMNS. The featherweight 7/11 choruses (seven words sung eleven times) don’t do much for me. But if that’s all you’ve been taught, and it helps you worship the Lord then use it to the glory of God. The result is that we should thank the Lord and praise Him every day of our lives.
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name (Hebrews 13:15).
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; (Ephesians 5:20).
Be careful (anxious, worried) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6). Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
JUNE 3, 2018 - MONDAY
A.M. 2 Chronicles 1-3 P.M. John 12:1-19
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Good Verse to Memorize:
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
Song for Today:
Surely Goodness and Mercy (3:20) (Dick Anthony & 16 Singing Men - plus one, plus three girls who enhance the group. The string bass is a genuine double-bass; nothing sounds like a plucked double-bass. Love them. Used to own one.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISO18SCs-80
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