November 11, 2005

[Rev. Doc]

The Heart Of Thanksgiving

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."
Psalm 100:4

The Masai tribe in West Africa have an unusual way of saying "thank you." Translators tell us that when the Masai express thanks, they bow, put their forehead on the ground and say, "My head is in the dirt." When members of another African tribe want to express thanks, they sit for a long time in front of the hut of the person who did the favor and literally say, "I sit on the ground before you." Those Africans understand well what Thanksgiving is and why it is different for us: at its core, thanksgiving is an act of humility.

As we enter our times of worship this Sabbath, may we do so with humble hearts of thanksgiving to our God.

Prayer: Ask God to help you gather in worship with the right attitude of thanksgiving, focused on Him.

"When I give thanks, my thoughts still circle about myself to some extent. But in praise my soul ascends to self-forgetting adoration, seeing and praising only the majesty and power of God, His grace and redemption."
~Ole Kristian O. Hallesby