As we approach the holiday celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I thought it would be healthy to remind myself and others about just how important it is to cultivate a thankful heart.  I can certainly get wrapped up in the spiritual war that is going on in our country. I constantly need to be reminded of the words of the apostle Paul when he states clearly that we don’t just wrestle with natural things, like politics and general nastiness, but we wrestle with all the evil and wickedness of a Satanic agenda. That agenda is eradicating the peace of God and promoting hatred and distrust.  That can not happen.  A spirit of thankfulness is what will miraculously bring forth growth and victory!

This is the third article on what it means to be fruitful and how many people are more interested in just looking good.  This is partially because being fruitful is hard work and people are normally looking for the easiest way around things. If you haven’t read the first two articles on the same subject I would encourage you to do so before reading this one.

When I was growing up keys were very important. Keys to your car, your house etc. Today we have “Key-fobs” that send an electronic signal to many of our devices. Our garage doors have them so you don’t have to get out of your car. My front door has a keypad that I punch in a code to enter and I can even open it for someone at the front door when I’m out-of-town from my iPhone.  With Sue’s car she doesn’t even have to pull the key-fob out of her pocket because it unlocks the car by “sensing her presence”. The side mirror even moves out and welcomes her arrival. Keys, whether electronic or mechanical, are incredibly important.

Ever notice how we automatically blame someone or something when things go wrong? My personality leans toward looking for what’s missing and identifying the missing element. I have always been a trouble-shooter at heart and it has gotten me into some tight spots with people. Sometimes my analysis comes off as judgmental and, even though what I see or don’t see is true, my method of revealing those facts hasn’t always been with tack or wisdom.  

The last article on “Are We Running From God’s Purpose?” used the book of Jonah.  I used the text and story of Jonah to start partly because it’s a famous book that most people have heard in Sunday School or from a sermon. I wanted to show how Jesus would try to expose people’s excuses for not living for God when they called themselves God’s people. If you haven’t read part one on this topic, start there.

My blog is focused on the human soul so I look for topics to write about that hopefully will cause readers to evaluate their lives based on scripture rather than on the latest trend or what is often taught in schools. Human logic is so twisted because we refuse to consider God’s thoughts or ways. Human logic often is less than honest again because of a lack of information from scripture. Even among Christian believers, scripture is often the last place people turn to acquire facts or wisdom. Instead, especially among the young, reasoning is now more about how we feel.  If we feel someone is a racist, well they must be. This circular logic reinforces the pathway to a total breakdown in the human soul.  The worst part is that it happens while the person or persons think they are headed in the right direction.

Christmas time should be the easiest time of year to share our faith about Jesus and his ability to forgive our sin and give us a brand new life. The question then becomes “Why” do I and others like me struggle with testifying to Christ’s great love during the month of December? There are two previous articles on this subject and if you haven’t already read them please do so before reading this one as they all build on each other.

I had intended to only write a three-part article on the meaning and application of sacrifice, but decided to add one more before moving on to another subject. This then, is the fourth and final part of this series on sacrifice so if you haven’t read the first three please do so before reading this one.