HIS GATES by Lynn Downham

Lynn Story Downham is a fourth generation artist who returned to North Carolina in 2014 after twenty-six years on the Florida panhandle. Her seventh family tree commission was for a “family tree for Jesus.” Twenty years later she is a born-again believer with a best-selling print, a beautiful family and a passion for sharing Christ through her art. Find out more on Facebook by looking up “Lynn Story Downham’s Art” or “Lynn Downham Jesus Tree.”

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving...” Ah, and here we have the key, the door, the answer to what ails us. My young daughter knows that God cannot and likely will not bless you until you are grateful for what you already have. One of our favorite ways to remember this is by listing three to five “thankfuls” each at the family dinner table every night. Thankfulness throughout the day, another way to remember, as the apostle Paul so wisely tells us, “pray without ceasing”, so then, be thankful without ceasing. Another favorite way is praise. I was born to praise! My daughter and I both love to put favorite praise CDs on and sing our hearts out to Him. No rocks are going to do our praising for us! Luke 19:40 (KJV) states, “And he answered and said unto to them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”

I know you’ve all heard the oft-repeated phrase, “have an attitude of gratitude”. It reminds me of a story told by a sweet minister friend of ours who was visiting Haiti some years ago. As she passed by a run-down grass shack, the home of some of Haiti’s poorest, she noticed a little wooden sign hanging by the door that read simply, “Jesus is Enough”. In their poverty, they knew the secret. Our blessings so often get in the way of us remembering where those blessings come from. One of our most common reminders around this house and also used to witness to others is the fact that all our blessings come from above, although I did have to ask our pastor where it was in the Bible. So then, now looking at it, it reads, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17 KJV) And are we not just that, variable I mean, for as soon as we forget our Creator, even for a moment, turn away from Him and forget where the blessings come from, we are sunk, at least until we remember from where they come.

I am thankful. I am thankful for being thankful. Lord, let me never forget from where my blessings come. I am thankful for many, many things at this writing. I am thankful for a fellow writer who, although she thought she could not help me very much with a certain project, has helped me more than she knows. I am thankful for strength, mine, and my family’s to do what the Lord has for us to do every day. I am so thankful for people, people I know, people I don’t know, the fellowship of saints, people God will place in my path. Most, most, most of all, I am grateful that I know Him, God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost and that I have His Word and know His voice.

Return to Him and remember where we came from and praise His holy name. The picture this month is from the Mouses’ book, and I think the ladybugs got it right.

“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 (KJV)

Click on the image below to purchase The Mouses book.