COLOUR YOUR THANKSGIVING 
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Memorize: Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: Psalm 50:14

Read: Psalm 50:10-15

A leper came to meet Jesus asking for healing in Matthew 8:2-4. After receiving his healing, the Lord had a charge for him: And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest; and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. Matthew 8:4 First, we learn from verse 3 of this account that if you are truly anointed of God, you will not be afraid to lay your hands on the sick and pray for them as the Lord commanded.

There are some believers who out of fear refuse to lay hands on the sick using 1 Timothy 5:22 as an excuse. But Mark 16:18 says as a sign that you have believed in Christ, you shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. While care should be taken as to who you allow to lay hands on you, your laying of hands on the sick is in agreement with Scriptures.

Except the Spirit specifically checks you against doing so to a particular individual, you can go ahead and obey the Lord, lay hands and pray for their healing. That personal contact is an avenue by which the anointing can be released to those who need it. Another lesson from this story is that the Lord approves of your thanksgiving offering after God has done something spectacular for you.

He told the erstwhile leper to go and offer the gift Moses commanded according to the law. When God does something spectacular in your life, give Him thanks in a spectacular way. Do not stop at saying, “Thank you”. You could color your thanksgiving by the gift that follows it. On thanksgiving service days, in addition to verbalizing your thanks, singing and dancing, come to Him with a sizeable thanksgiving offering.

After surviving the flood, Noah offered to God a violent thanksgiving offering that insured the earth against possible destruction by means of a flood. Your thanksgiving can be in cash or in kind. The size of your thanksgiving offering may really be stating the depth of your appreciation to God.

KEY POINT: Give a gift as part of your thanksgiving. Let your thanksgiving take a visible shape.