CBC Worship Ministries: Devotional Blog

It is fairly obvious that the idea of giving thanks and the concept of worship are intimately related. We direct our worship towards God; we worship him out of a grateful heart for all that He has done for us and all that He is. When we look at the biblical record, however, we often see that even God's people were callous and ungrateful towards God. It seems that no matter what God did for Israel, there was complaining and groaning. Even from the earliest days of the nation, as the Israelites escaped from their oppressors in Egypt, there was grumbling and complaining. Some wanted to actually return to Egypt and slavery! It was as if Moses had to lead a nation of petulant children.

It does not end with the Old Testament. Remember the story of Jesus and the ten lepers? After being completely healed of this debilitating disease, only ONE man turned to thank Jesus.

We look at these examples and shake our heads, as if we have no comprehension of how people can be ungrateful to God. In reality, we are often no better than any of those whose lives have been preserved on the pages of Scripture. We come to church and sing the praise songs and raise our hands and maybe even voice an "amen". But then we walk out the doors of the church and ignore the suffering around us; we close our eyes to those who are hurting, in pain, and in need.

Like good 'ole Ebeneezer Scrooge, however, we can change. We can express our thankfulness to God, and thus enhance our worship of him, as we learn to serve others, just as God has served us through the giving of his Son. No matter what your situation in life, there is always someone who is worse off than you. There will always be, for example, children who are abused, abandoned, ignored, and rejected. Think of how much good can be done by extending just a little kindness to one of these. You might claim that adults should be responsible for their own actions; but you truly cannot say that of a little child.

The church is providing us not just one, but several opportunities to express our thankfulness to God through the 12 Days of Christmas project. Here's our opportunity to put our faith into action. The people that will be helped by the various agencies associated with the project have real needs. I encourage you to get involved - make your worship real this Christmas by showing God your gratefulness through your acts of service and giving. Let's get behind this project - only God knows how many lives will be touched, and how many new names will be added to the Book of Life as we see people respond to the kindnesses expressed. God bless each of you, and have a happy Thanksgiving!