Friday, April 1
Jeremiah 11:1-8, 14-20
Psalms 88, 91, 92
Romans 6:1-11
John 8:33-47
Psalm 92
“Thank You.” Behind “please” it is one of the first manners we teach our children. I would not be able to tell you how many times I have asked my children…”What do you say?” Funny how something we work so hard to engrain in our children’s vocabulary is so rarely used in our own. Sure, we say thank you many times a day…to the cashier at Starbucks to our friend who brought our child home from baseball… it has become a part of our vocabulary. But, how often are we offering true Thanksgiving to God? How often are we beginning our prayers with “Thank You. Thank You God for today?” This truly should be the start of our prayers every day, good or bad. Whether we were met with a day of great happiness or a day of sadness, God made that day, and for that we need to be Thankful. (On the days of great happiness, it is a bit more obvious as to why we should be thankful so let’s concentrate on the days that are not so happy). I can hear my oldest son now, “Mommy, why should we thank God when things are bad?” It is a great question and one that requires a great amount of faith to answer. God has a hand in all that we do; He is our creator and is with us. He shapes who we are. He believes in us more than we believe in ourselves. He is in control of our path and, therefore, we need to trust Him in all that happens to us. Although we can’t and won’t see His reasoning in those difficult situations, we need to be “righteous” and say “Thank You.” The Lord wishes no evil on us and although things may not always go our way, He loves us more than we can ever possibly imagine.
“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
~Psalm 92: 12-15
Courtneay and Kevin Odden