Thursday, January 29, 2015

The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving



Psalm 50:9-10, 22-23

Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God,
    and keep the vows you made to the Most High.
15 Then call on me when you are in trouble,

    and I will rescue you,
    and you will give me glory.”
Repent, all of you who forget me,
    or I will tear you apart,
    and no one will help you.
23 But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.

    If you keep to my path,
    I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”

I know it is nowhere near Thanksgiving but guess what?  We are to be thankful for EVERYTHING on EVERY DAY.  We no longer offer blood sacrifices  but God still expects one sacrifice from us.  

The above verses struck me this morning in my time with the Lord.  God talks about all the sacrifices Israel had made and God tells them he really does not need the blood of bulls. He says "If I were hungry, I would not tell you....because I own the cattle on  a thousand hills.  He is only pleased by sacrifice if it is accompanied by the right heart and mindset.  Elsewhere in Scripture it talks about the fruit of the lips being a pleasing sacrifice.  Jesus told the Pharisees that it is not what goes INTO a man that makes him unclean...but rather what comes OUT of his mouth.  

Thankfulness....a grateful heart is a welcomed sacrifice to our God.  Remember in the desert when Israel whined and moaned about being sick of manna and wanting meat?  God said in effect: "Meat? you want meat? I will make you choke on meat....Meat will come out your nostrils."  Why was God so hard on the Israelites?  It was because he had already made provision for them.  The manna was all they really needed....but instead of having a  grateful heart, Israel complained and because of that, their obligatory sacrifices were rejected and brought God no pleasure.

Look at the bold, italic phrases above.  Do you want to truly honor God??  Then look for things to than him for.  I'm sure you have heard of the book  by Ann Voskamp called 1000 Gifts, How to Love your Life Right Where you are.  

If you've read it, maybe read it again.  If  you haven't read it , it is well worth your time.  And maybe look up  gratitude and thanksgiving in a concordance or topical Bible and do a study on what God expects from us : his people.

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