Scripture Writing Plan – Theme: A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
This month’s scripture writing is A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving.
Have you ever thought about expressing gratitude as being a sacrifice of thanksgiving?
In the Old Testament, the sacrifice of thanksgiving was a physical sacrifice laid on the altar before the Lord (Lev. 7:12-13; Lev. 22:29). Jonah, while in the belly of the fish, prays to God for salvation. He ends his prayer by saying, “But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving, that I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). This connects the act of choosing a sacrifice, preparing it, and laying it on the altar with an ATTITUDE of thanksgiving towards God (Lev. 22:29).
Now that we are under the New Testament, the physical sacrifice is different. Jesus already made the sin offering that each one of us owes because of our sin against God (Heb. 9:26; 1 Pet. 2:21-25). We are called to offer ourselves as “living sacrifices” as part of our spiritual service to God (Rom. 12:1-2).
How is Thanksgiving a Sacrifice?
So, how is gratitude a sacrifice?
It is a sacrifice in that it is something offered up out of obedience (1 Thess. 5:16-18; Eph. 5:20) that honors God as the one to whom we owe all things (Gal. 3:20; 1 Tim. 1:17).
Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” (NASB)
Learning How to Offer that Sacrifice
The scripture writing plan will help to teach HOW to make that sacrifice to God. It starts with a warning that we need to be humble before we talk to God. Saying “thank you” can sound vastly different depending on where you are coming from (Luke 18:9-14)!
Join me as we dive into this topic for the next 31 days. You just might be surprised by how much you learn about being grateful and saying, “thank you” to God!
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