εὐχαριστῶ τῶ θεῶ – I thank God

Posted by Alan Knox on Nov 27, 2008 in personal | 2 comments

Today is Thanksgiving. I try to be thankful every day. But, today I want to express my thanks to God publicly.

First, I thank God that he accepts me in Jesus Christ. I know that there is nothing in me that makes me deserving of his acceptance. Instead, he accepts me due to his grace. He provided the means for my acceptance – through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ – and he provided the Spirit to indwell me and help me through this life. What an awesome blessing!

Second, I thank God for my family. It seems that every day God is teaching me something through my family. I appreciate Margaret, my wife, especially the longer that we’re married. I’ve learned so much about serving and caring for others by watching her. Jeremy and Miranda (our children) also continually amaze me as they grow in Christ.

Next, I thank God for the church. This gratitude includes both those brothers and sisters with whom God has placed me to live our lives together. It also includes the larger body of believers around the world. I’m learning how important it is for brothers and sisters in Christ (regardless of their backgrounds, traditions, or beliefs) to maintain the unity of Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit in order to demonstrate the glory of God to others.

Also, I thank God for my readers. This blog would be nothing without my readers. I sincerely believe that the comments and interaction between my readers greatly increase the importance of this blog to me, and, I think, to others as well. If you read this, please know that I do not take you for granted. You are a gift from God to me and many other readers from around the world.

Finally, I thank God for continuing to transform my life. This time last year, I knew that God was working in my life, teaching me how to demonstrate his love to others, especially those outside of “church culture”. This year, demonstrating God’s love and grace is not just theory, but they are something that our family lives out every day. This is not something that we have done ourselves.

May God bless each of you today and throughout the coming year!