“Did you forget your password?”  We see this all the time on the computer when you are attempting to login to an account.  I have so many passwords for different accounts; I do often “forget my password”.
Just this past week, when I returned back to school, I had difficulty logging in to my classroom computer.  The county requires us to change our password every some many days, and I had just done so from home like two weeks prior to returning to work.  So I was quite confident that I was using the correct password.  Well, evidently, the computer did not agree.  It repeatedly would let me know that my username or password was incorrect.  Ugh!  I thought for a while and decided to try my old password to boot up my computer.  The only problem was, the computer didn’t like any of the usernames or passwords I was trying to use.  Luckily, I remembered where I kept my initial passcodes.  Yeah!  When I used my password from last school year on the computer, success!  It recognized the old one then had to recalibrate (that may not be the correct tech term, but sounds good to me) itself to my new password.  What a relief!
Well, when I read Psalm 100:4 from The Message translation today, I had to grin and was reminded of a couple of things.  One, I was reminded of my computer story, and two, we need to remember our manners.
Check it out:
“Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.” Psalm 100:4
When and where I grew up (and I still do require of my children; own or school) we were taught to use our manners.  Make sure you say things like:  “Yes ma’am or sir”, “No thank you”, “Thank you”, “Please”, “May I”, etc.  When I hear people use their manners, I appreciate it.  Nowadays, I hear kids say, “Huh?”, “What?”, “No”, “Yea,” or just shrug their shoulders.  Really?  And some of these lovely conversations take place without even eye contact.  Double Ugh! Please look at someone when you are talking to them or them to you.  Show respect, for goodness sake!
When we enter our time with God, which I pray is quite often throughout the day, begin with your manners.  “Thank you, God, for …”  or “Please forgive me for…”  We all have something to be thankful for and we all need to ask forgiveness for something, at least I know I do…daily…and often, so picture yourself looking Christ straight in the eyes and use your manners.
Please have a blessed day. Thank you!

Psalm 100:1-5

New International Version (NIV)

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹ Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
² Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

August 18, Walking in the Word” Nehemiah7:61-9:38 Romans 10:11-21 Psalm 100:1-5 Proverbs 20:16-18