The Sacrifice Of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a holiday to commemorate the first time that it was celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621. They carried the Bible and trusted God with their prayers, before they took a treacherous voyage from Europe to America ‘for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith.’ Our passage describes “the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings” (v. 11). This is also where we find the first mention of “thanksgiving” in the Bible! The “peace offerings” are presented to God “for a thanksgiving” (v. 12). They are connected with “the peace of God” (Php 4:7), that we can fully realize through our thanksgiving.

Many people today have various ways of expressing their gratitude by saying; ‘thank goodness,’ ‘thank heavens,’ or ‘thank the lucky stars.’ But they are not directly offered to God! A truly thankful heart must be offered directly unto the Lord. We must “call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people” (1 Chr 16:8). We should never be ashamed to show others that we are praising and thanking God (Ps 67:3); especially before and after every meal that we eat (Rom 14:6). We thank the Lord that we no longer need a priest to have him sprinkle “the blood of the peace offerings” (v. 14), on our behalf.

Because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross (Gal 6:14), when He shed His precious blood (Lk 22:20), “for the remission of sins” (Rom 3:25); we can now “come boldly unto the throne of grace” (Heb 4:16), with thanksgiving! It is only through Jesus that we can “offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually” (Heb 13:15). These are the “spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God” (1 Pet 2:5). We no longer need to bring a dead sacrifice; we just need to present our “bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Rom 12:1). That’s all the more reason why we ought to give thanks “in every thing” (1 Thes 5:18)! God bless you!

- Pastor Melito Barrera