World Affairs Brief, November 24, 2017 Commentary and Insights on a Troubled World.

Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution permitted. Cite source as Joel Skousen’s World Affairs Brief (http://www.worldaffairsbrief.com).

MY THANKSGIVING THOUGHTS

With all the bad news we face each week, and our worsening condition as a nation, there is still much for which to be grateful. I’m not going to bore you with the standard things people say they are thankful for, such as “all those in the military defending our freedoms.” While it is true that some, who are stationed at home and manning defense units or missile forces, are defending the homeland, most military personnel and virtually all who are assigned abroad are unknowingly serving a globalist agenda of conflict creation, a phony war on terror, and ungrateful alliances. I also cringe when I hear naive Christians thank God for the “free country” we live in. It would be more accurate and instructional for the congregation to thank God for the few remaining freedoms we have left. Perhaps that would provoke some personal introspection. This week, I’ll share with you what I see and feel during this important holiday.

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Third, I’m thankful for the World Wide Web. Though the internet is a broad reflection of the whole world, both good and bad, and has even facilitated evils like gambling and pornography, it has also allowed those of us in the truth seeking minority to break through the choke hold of the mainstream media and spread unpopular and controversial truths around the world—which were heretofore scoffed at, banned or censored.

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Last but not least, I’m eternally grateful for the workings of conscience, that still small voice of the Spirit of the Lord which, outside of the atonement, is the perhaps deepest manifestation of His grace to mankind as He cautions, warns and inspires us to do right hour by hour. I rely heavily on those little nervous feelings relayed to my mind when I’m reading a news story that “isn’t quite right.” Often, I still have to work out what’s wrong through analysis and hard mental work, but in the end, when you get it right, God allows you to feel that calm assurance that always accompanies truth and doing what’s right.

I’m also grateful for the reminders I get during the day to do things I’ve forgotten to do or neglected, and I try to remember to do them when I’m reminded and to say a mental “thank-you.” Too often we take credit for remembering these things, when it’s actually the still small voice of conscience. And, yes, though it’s hard, I’m even thankful for the tough promptings to get up and do something when I don’t feel like it. Had I become more obedient to those promptings (about homework, for example) earlier in my life, I would have gotten better grades.