I'm Thankful For . . .

Most people I know are thankful for Thanksgiving. Besides giving employees a welcome day off, it is typically a great time of fun, family, and food. (Some throw in a little football, too!)But beyond these good things, it does us good to spend time and effort expressing genuine gratitude to our heavenly Father for what He has done for us, in us, and through us. Where would we be without Him?We recently shared a pre-Thanksgiving meal with our small Bible study group. One of our group members, Ashley, is a Chinese woman who is fairly fluent in English as well as her native Chinese. She came to our home with her two young sons and her parents, who speak very little English.Amazingly, all these family members, including Ashley, converted from Buddhism to Jesus within the past fourteen months. (We are still praying for the salvation of Ashley’s husband, Neal.)As we sat around the table enjoying each other’s company and the good food, and in light of Thanksgiving being just around the corner, I asked each guest what he or she was most grateful for.When it came to Ashley’s mother, she shared (through her daughter interpreting) how this meal with these new friends was a major highlight of her year. She then shared how she came to saving faith in Christ through the testimony of Ashley and by studying the Bible with Ashley, my wife Marcia, and me.She said that prior to coming to Christ, she had no hope—each day was another day closer to her death, when she would simply cease to exist. As a result, life was drudgery and joyless.But now she has the real hope of heaven! She has real joy!Are you thankful for the hope you have of eternal life that begins now and continues forever? Let’s give Him our gratitude for that and for so much more that He has given us. We couldn’t earn it, even if we struggled for millions of years.“What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”