Before you enter His courts, count His goodness — and come with thanks.

Thanksgiving is a combination of two words: thanks and giving. THANKS is an expression (the act of making known one's thoughts and feelings) of gratitude, appreciation and acknowledgment, while GIVING is to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation. "Enter into His gates" means the gates which lead to the place of public worship.

"Into His courts" refers to the courts that were literally the open spaces surrounding the tabernacle or temple. It was in these that worship was celebrated, not inside the tabernacle or temple itself. Before any worshipper started heading to the temple, he would first think of what to offer as a sacrifice for atonement, and of God's kindness towards him and his family that was worth giving God praise at the public court of worship. Have you🫵 thought of the goodness of God over your life recently, and what do you🫵 have to appreciate Him with? As you🫵 enter into His courts with praise today, may God grant all your requests even without asking in Jesus Name 🙏.

The "courts" and "gates" in our text refer to the temple, the Old Testament place of worship. There God would meet His people and bless them through His Word. There, sacrifices and offerings were made which pointed ahead to Christ's once-and-for-all sacrifice for sin. Sacrifices have long been part of Jewish and human history. The Bible records that Cain and Abel, sons of Adam and Eve, brought sacrifices to God: Cain from the fruits 🍓🍑 of the ground, and Abel from the choicest of his sheep 🐑. Noah sacrificed animals and birds to God upon leaving the Ark after the great flood. At the binding of Isaac, Abraham offered a ram 🐏 as a burnt offering in place of his son. During the 40 years of wandering in the desert 🏜️ (1313–1273 BCE), sacrifices were a mainstay of the Mishkan (tabernacle) that accompanied the Jews on their journeys, and they continued once the Jews arrived in the Land of Israel. May your sacrifices of praise and worship be accepted unto the LORD today in Jesus Name 🙏.

In the Old Testament, only five (5) types of animals could be brought as sacrifices: oxen, sheep 🐑, goats 🐐, turtledoves and pigeons 🐦. Other sacrifices, known as flour offerings (minchah), consisted of wheat 🌾 or barley flour accompanied by olive 🫒 oil 🪔 and frankincense. Additionally, wine (and sometimes water 🌊) would be poured into specially designed cavities in the altar. Sacrifices could be brought on several occasions and for various reasons. Some were voluntary: a person could be inspired to donate a sacrifice, or offer one as thanks to God for saving him from danger (the thanksgiving offering). Others were obligatory, to be brought by either the community or the individual. Once the Holy Temple was built, sacrifices could only be brought on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and it was forbidden to bring them anywhere else — a prohibition still observed today. Beloved, God is still accepting sacrifices today — not of animals, but of praise, worship and adoration from us. He is awaiting your daily sacrifices of praise and worship with thanksgiving. May God meet you🫵 at the altar of your praise to Him today in Jesus Mighty Name 🙏.

(God bless you 🫵)