The first Christmas story was sharing scripture or preaching a sermon that revolved around real life and participating in the divine moment God was unfolding. When people think about sharing their faith in God or witnessing for Jesus during the both of December they often get intimidated by all the complexity of the story rather than keeping things simple and to the point. Jesus made it simple for all of us when he said:

John 13:34                                                                                                                                                                                                                       A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 

Somehow the body of Christ seems to think that if we are humble we should never desire or even confess the desire to be great. Why is this? Is it because we think or have been taught that to desire such a bold thing is sinful or carnal? 

As the world gets more complex it also gets more stressful. You would think we would figure out that we need others in our lives to help navigate such difficult times, yet the world motivates us to separate and isolate ourselves as tech consumes our every move. For the most part, gone are the days of sitting in a field to just think and contemplate what’s going on in our lives. Instead we all are over-busy and so dominated by the news that our thinking is filled with stress and anxiety. If we don’t wake up and change things we will struggle to have faith in God’s power.

In this study I have proposed a few key attitudes and behaviors that gain favor with God. In the first article we learned that having favor with God is developed and acquired through choice and discipline. Proverbs 12:2 states that “A good man obtains favor from God.”  In other words, our choices and conduct affect our standing, either good or bad, with God.

Today I will discuss a subject in which most believers fail to engage: “Spiritual Warfare.” When I say “Spiritual Warfare” I mean taking a consistent stand against evil. I’m not talking about acting like some demon hunter or lunatic that causes other Christians to cringe just being around them, but real Christians acting like real lovers of God. If you haven’t read the first six articles you need to do so before reading on as these articles are linked in a special way and sequence.

Everyone loves to hear a good story. The problem is we don’t think our stories are that good. I have talked to people all around the world and found that we all have the same problem. Unless you’re an extrovert, people struggle with sharing Christ! The truth is, even extroverts struggle with sharing their faith. Why? Because deep down we all know we are flawed. We have problems in life. We don’t have it all together and never will and this intimidates us.

The Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone and I hope it brought joy to your family.  I wonder, though, if we are more full of turkey or more full of realizing how blessed we are to know God as our Heavenly Father and Jesus our Savior? The freedoms we enjoy living with in America are amazing but our consumer culture always seems to leave us wanting more.  If we are more thankful, shouldn’t we consider reaching out to people with the love of God these next few weeks before Christmas? If God loves the whole world as the book of John 3:16 states, shouldn’t we have a deep concern for the world that Christ died for?

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!

In the first article on this subject I explained that often we focus too much on our problems and brokenness and thus fail to encourage our walk with focusing on the goodness of God. Let me explain up front that I do not believe you can ignore our many problems or deny them, but if the problem is taking up most of your perception in life you are bound to continue in them and develop greater damage to your soul. As a counselor and pastor I would try to help people see their main problem and then help them focus on God’s ability to resolve and overcome these problems. By helping people see God’s proven faithfulness in other’s lives, we gain hope and confidence for ourselves. If you have not read part one on this same subject please read before continuing with this article.