I forget to rememer to say THANKS!

I Forgot to Remember to say---THANKS!

 

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"— Psalm 107:8

In the Old Testament, we find an interesting story of how King Jehoshaphat took an uncommon approach when his enemies waged war against him. Instead of sending in his army first, he sent the choir and musicians.

Imagine the scene: "All right, guys, here's the plan today. An army is out there, armed to the teeth. So we are sending in the choir and the musicians." If I had been a choir member or musician, I might have wondered whether the king liked our music.

But God had directed Jehoshaphat in this unusual battle tactic. We read that Jehoshaphat appointed people to sing to the Lord, praise the beauty of holiness, and go out in front of the army saying, "Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever" (2 Chronicles 20:21).

So that is exactly what they did. The Bible tells us that when they began to sing and praise, God sent an ambush against the enemy, and they were destroyed. God's people were able to go into this situation giving thanks, because He was in control.

In approaching God to ask for new blessings, we should never forget to thank Him for the blessings He has already given.

Have you recently come to God for help and He came through for you? Did you come back to say "thank you"?

If we would stop and think how many of the prayers we have offered to God have been answered and how seldom we come back to God to thank Him, it just might amaze us. We should be just as deliberate in giving thanks to God as we are in asking for His help. How about it?!

THE BELIEVER'S SECRET, SECRET

 

“The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.”

— Psalm 25:14

Have you ever been semi-listening in on someone's conversation? Not intentionally, of course, because you would never do that. Maybe you were in a restaurant and your table was right next to someone else's. Maybe you were talking to the person you were with---my wife is a master of hearing several conversations at tables around us. I can tell she’s doing it by the changing expressions on her face. Every now and then she’ll hear a magical word and shush me up.   Someone said, "I am going to tell you a secret right now. No matter what, I don't want you to tell anyone else this secret. . . . " We’ll ol’ “flappy ears” (as I call her) is all over that and then tells me the juicy tid-bit of a secret---with great delight!

What would you do? Would you put your hands over your ears? No, I doubt it. If you're like most people, you listened more carefully. We all love to hear secrets. We want to know the inside story---the scoop. Even if someone is a complete stranger, we are still interested in his or her secret.

Well,God has a secret that He wants to declare to you. The Bible says, "The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him" (Psalm 25:14). In many ways, this isn't really a secret, because it is plainly declared in Scripture. Unfortunately, because so few people have opened up the Bible to see what it says, they have missed out.

This is the secret of making life more full and meaningful. It is a secret that can help you avoid untold misery and heartache. You might even say it is the secret of living. We find it in Ecclesiastes 12:13, where Solomon says, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty and purpose of man."
That is what it all comes down to. That is what is going to keep you on track for God's plan for your life. Pssst! Hey pal want to hear a secret of REAL importance?