Points From the Pastor's Pen
“Your attitude should be that of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:5

        Your attitude will determine your reality, as well as your destiny. So, what is your attitude right now as you begin to read these points? Are you happy, confident, loving, determined, or sad, angry, hostile and negative?

         Here’s what Charles Swindol writes about our attitude
:
        “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

        Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, or say, or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company…a church….a home.

        The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

        And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.”

         In Philippians 2:1-11, the Apostle Paul describes the attitude of Jesus as humble, obedient, willing to serve, putting our needs ahead of his own. I think the passage implies Jesus was always filled with hope as well. It’s also interesting to consider that many non-Christian Americans see Christ followers as angry, judgmental, and closed-minded but, they do not view Jesus like that!

         So, how do Christ followers begin to take up the attitude of Christ Jesus?

        First: Choose to place your faith and trust in Jesus, then you can live with hope in God. Amid his troubles, the Psalmist spoke to himself “Hope thou in God.” (Psalm 42) and each of us must do the same.

        Second: Choose to live with a clean heart. When we carry the baggage of the past around with us, we lose hope and are usually more negative and critical of everything within our circle of influence. Living with a clean heart requires daily time in God’s presence to confess, repent and ask God to set us free from the junk we pick up.

        Third: Every day choose to verbally express gratitude to God and to those in your circle of influence. When we study the life of Jesus, we discover this habit of thankfulness was always present. When we choose to live with thankful hearts and spirits, our reality will begin to change and our attitude will begin to become like that of Christ Jesus.

        “The most important thing you put on everyday is your attitude.”

        Your Pastor and friend,

        Joel Kallberg