Thankful, Day Ten

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

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.

Psalm 100, NKJV

I cannot read the second half of this Psalm (starting with Enter His gates) without thinking of my Dad. When I was 18 years old, I became the church pianist, and Dad led the singing in the Key of G-Whiz. I think he only knew four or five songs by heart, so many times, those were the songs he led out with, and I knew if he sang one of them, he was going to sing all of them. Enter His Gates. This is the Day. What a Mighty God We Serve. We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise. And for the slow song: I Love You Lord. He'd get going on one of those fast songs, and just as we were nearing the end of the third or fourth time through it, he'd rear back at the pulpit and shout, "SING IT AGAIN!" I can hear him now...every time I sing one of those songs.

I'm thankful today for my Dad, who understood what it meant to be a Godly man, a Godly Father. It was Dad who first informed me of my need for Jesus. It was Dad who taught me how to pray by leading me in prayer every night at bedtime. It was Dad who taught me the importance of God's Word, first by reading it in front of me, then by reading it to me and explaining it, and then by insisting that I read it on my own. It was Dad who demonstrated the heart of true worship by praising the Lord in church and out of church, whether he had music or not.

I'm thankful for a Dad who had the courage and conviction to discipline me when I needed it, and to disciple me at all times. The Bible says that the man who spares the rod hates his son, but if he loves him he will discipline his son early and often. It also says that a good spanking drives foolishness far from the heart of a child, and will also deliver his soul from hell. I tell people, my Daddy loved me, and he wanted me to go to heaven, and he proved it to me often. My Dad couldn't save me, couldn't make me go to heaven, but I'm thankful that he refused to let me go to hell.

I'm thankful for a Dad who showed me what Spiritual boldness, power and courage were all about. He was a man who stood up when standing needed to be done, who spoke out when something needed to be said, who took action when no one else was willing. He was a man's man, and he was God's man, and he taught me how to be a man after God's own heart.

Thank you Jesus for my earthly father, my Dad!