Reflecting on the Holidays

I have been thinking about what to post on the topic of Christmas, grace and thankfulness lately. I remembered Jonathan Christmans blog posting of a year ago and knew that it could summ up my thoughts exactly. Thanks Jonathan, for sharing your thoughts, heart and elequence with us.


For Jesus Christ, the gospel, gift of faith and the grace to repent, peace with God, hope in life, a passion for the years to come, a vision for the future, forgiveness of sins, mercies new every morning, grace in time of need, God’s attributes – all of them- chiefly His unconditional love and faithfulness, union with Christ, the Bible, my family, the family of God, friends who love Christ, friends who love the world, the nations and all ethnic peoples who worship Jesus, cultural diversity in the family of God, diversity in worship expression to Jesus Christ, the nations who do not know our savior, missions, the privilege of sharing Jesus with the world, spiritual illumination, the Holy Spirit, the conviction He brings, His comfort and consolation, His intercession, His constant guidance and leadership through the word of God, yes, but also through his consistent promptings, biblical fellowship, worship, extended times of prayer, bible studies, small group, Spirit-saturated books, rich devotional puritan literature, modern-day life-imparting authors, theological teachers who produce doxological students, the ESV translation of the Bible, William Tyndall and John Wycliff, Christian martyrs, heart-driven preaching, engaging worship music, urban-minded churches, underprivileged people who teach me about my selfishness, Isaiah 58 and the heart of God, the wisdom of men before me, godly examples of biblical Christ-exalting families, virtuous women, feminine modesty, church history, families oblivious to worldly comfort, the tender love of a mother, faithful pastors, humble men, shepherding fathers, visionary Christians, Tim Keller, missional churches, expositional preaching, biblical theology, food to eat, pastoral oversight, Martin Luther King Jr., life-losing and life-giving missionaries, a vision and theology for racial harmony, the Lord’s day, joyful Christians, feasting and celebrating at the Lord’s supper, persecution, salvation of sinners, testimonies of grace, Baptism’s, Spirit-filled corporate prayer meetings, careful exegetes, the gifts of the Spirit, fathers who do not abdicate leadership, women in the church who minister in such vital ways, child-like faith, kindness of God leading to repentance, Grudem’s systematic theology, sleep, the Reformation and all of its leaders, the adoption of children, freedom of religion, radical Christian lives, radical churches, freedom from sin, slavery to Christ, Christian hedonism, well-ordered churches, George Eldon Ladd and realized eschatology, friends who will not waste their lives, friends who are not wasting their lives, an open ear from those outside of Christ, the example of Christ, Sunday morning prayer meetings, the promises of God, anticipation of Christ’s return, and the sufferings of this age which cannot compare to our eternal weight of glory. Need I say more? Isn’t it great to be a Christian?

amen.