Heavenly Passwords

Each morning I open a brief You Version devotional app on my cell phone. I have been inspired to hear Christians from all around the world.

One day this week a minister in Calcutta, India shared inspirational thoughts about Psalm 100:4-5:

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

I was intrigued when he said, "Thanksgiving and praise are heavenly passwords." He further drew me in with his word definitions.

"Thanksgiving,” he said, “is thanking God for what He has done. Praise is expressing words of adoration for who God is.”  

As I listened to this devotional, I pictured some of the gated communities I have visited. Gates opened only after I entered a code or password.

Thanksgiving passwords get us into God's presence. Once inside, we can move on into a more personal setting with praise, followed by prayers and petitions.

My goddaughter had once been a missionary in India. I knew she would enjoy hearing this pastor.

She did, but her take on passwords was different from mine. Being younger than me and totally at home in the computer world, she pictured computer passwords.

That made sense to me, too. I remembered a teacher in one of my college classes holding up a thick address book one day. “These are my passwords,” she said, “I won’t get anywhere without them.”

The psalmist said God’s truth endures through all generations. In Psalm 100 we learn the importance of passwords and, young or old, we get the point.

Have you ever noticed how happy people are when we remember to say, “Thank you?” Or have you ever tried to tell someone what you really like about them?

Giving thanks and praise builds relationships . . . not just with people, but with God, too. 

It doesn’t happen automatically, however. Give it some thought.