A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
Scripture: Psalm 50:14, “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High.”
The word in Greek for Thanksgiving is, “eucharist”, which is the action of giving thanks. A nuance of thanksgiving is grace and glorification. Thanksgiving is not only meant for gathering together for a traditional feast it is also a memorial tribute to the goodness of God. We praise God for “His wonderful works toward us, for satisfying our longing souls and filling the hungry souls with His goodness.” Psalm 107:8. When we cry out to the Lord in our trouble, He graciously saves us from our distresses and He delivers us from our destruction. He calms the storms in our lives, so that the waves are still and He guides us to our desired safe haven. (See Psalm 107). We offer our thanks for the beauty of His creation: a resplendent sunset or sunrise; the brisk, crisp air of autumn, the enchantment of the changing of the seasons, the dazzling of the solar system and its constellation of stars. Everywhere we peruse nature in its raw and natural form we see the hand of God in His creation.
We offer our thanks to God for redeeming our lives from death, hell and the grave. In Him we have our redemption complete through Christ Jesus. He gave us His own Son, Christ, who laid down His life for His friends, for us, on the Cross so we may have eternal life if we so desire. Once we were slaves bound by the chains of sin. Jesus, our Redeemer delivered us and set us free by paying the price for our sins, so we may live. Titus 2:14 corroborates, “Christ gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity (sin), and purify to Himself a peculiar people, who are zealous for good works.” “We now have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Ephesians 1:7.
We thank God for sanctification, a gift of God’s unlimited grace. We are now declared “holy people,” whom God chose from the beginning for Himself, for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:13.) It is simply having a holy relationship with God and our Savior. We are now separated from the darkness of this world, and we all can attest how evil the world has become. We do not need to look very far and we sometimes experience it personally. Remember, we have the authority over our enemies, and they are not people but the devil and his demonic bunch. We always choose to walk on the love side of everything. It is our safe place. When we walk outside of love we are not safe, we are in the devil’s domain or his realm and we have given up all rights to him. He will steal from us, hinder our prayers, attempt to destroy us or kill us through sickness, disease or some other means. Love is such an awesome gift from God and we always choose to love since God is Love.
Happy Thanksgiving to every one of you and your loved ones. Be safe and when in doubt about something ask God for His help and His wisdom. God bless you all.
Your challenge is to share with others what you are thankful for and give God all the glory and praise. I am thankful for you, my friends, co-laborers for the Kingdom of God. Please pass it forward.