TESTIFYING BY A THANKSGIVING SACRIFICE

10/30/22

"And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?” (2 Chronicles 1:6-7)

Thanksgiving is something that gets God's attention. More so, when your thanksgiving is in the form of an offering, it attracts God in ways that are almost incomprehensible to the mind.

Now there is the thanksgiving wherein you testify and praise God for something He has done with your words. The Bible says, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." (Hebrews 13:15). Here, you offer words of thank you and it attracts God too. When the Samaritan singled himself out and came back to give thanks to the Master, it was with words. To this, Jesus said, "Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:18-19)

Still, there is a thanksgiving that is encapsulated in an offering or sacrifice and this attracts a different response from God. Psalm 50:14 says, "Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High." There is a connection between your thanksgiving and a gift. Now, God required offerings from His people for different situations. There were specified offerings for atonement, prayer times, consultation, feasts and other situations, wherein God was obligated to do certain specified things and no more, once the particular offering in a particular context was given.

In all of this, the freewill offering was left to the discretion of the one who was given it and might be linked to a thanksgiving offering because you give thanks to the goodness of God of your own free will. This is what happened when Solomon offered a thousand animals to God. It was a freewill offering of gratitude that God could not ignore. He was testifying by His free will sacrifice and God showed up some more.

And this is exactly was a thanksgiving offering is. It is a testimony that God has done something for which you desire to acknowledge. Psalm 54:6 says, "I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good." Don't just sacrifice to God with your lips, let a sacrifice accompany your testimony and watch the perfection of God overtake you as it did Solomon.

God bless you

Faith-Filled Confession

I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good. Hallelujah!

One Year Reading Plan: Jeremiah 20-22; 2 Timothy 1