30 Day Journey of Gratitude

And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. Leviticus 7:11-15

When was the last time you brought God a special offering from a grateful heart? In this text, God gives a prescriptive for bringing an offering of Thanksgiving.  First, the offering was a freewill offering, it was not the tithe or a mandatory offering. It was an offering coming from a grateful heart for what God had already done. 2^nd this offering was one that persons making the sacrifice could partake of and even invite friends to partake of the meat of the sacrifice. 3^rd, the sacrifice was not an afterthought or haphazardly done. This offering took planning, preparation, and presentation. Not only was the animal that was to be sacrificed brought, but along with it was four different types of bread. In those days they didn’t run to the corner store to get some bread.  The grain was gathered and made into flour. Three of the bread were unleavened one of which was made with fine flour and fried. The fourth was made with yeast so it had to rise before it was baked. The Thanksgiving offering was a time of celebration and fellowship not only with God, but with one's family, friends, and even the poor that overflowed from a heart of Thanksgiving.

How would your life be different if you were intentional about bringing God a well-planned, excellently prepared, and exquisitely presented offering of thanksgiving? This offering would be a public profession of your gratitude of how good God had been to you. Not only is public, but you have invited family and friends to celebrate with you. Could our intentional celebration of God’s goodness lift the weight of heaviness that sometimes overtakes us? Could it change our disposition?

Challenge: Look back over the last three months. What has God done for you that you are indeed grateful for, but you haven’t really thanked God for His Goodness? Now, plan, prepare and present to God an offering of Thanksgiving.

Lord, thank you for how good you have been to me. Forgive me for not planning, preparing, and presenting to you and appropriate sacrifice of thanksgiving that expresses not only my gratitude but my intentionality of not only saying showing you how grateful I am. Holy Spirit help me live fully present so that I do not miss or overlook one single blessing that the Lord has bestowed upon me. In Jesus’ Name AMEN