Week Eight - ...With An Attitude of Faith

This week we are looking at how to replace a doubting attitude with an attitude of faith. I really like how the author defines faith. Faith is believing the Word of God and acting upon it, no matter how I feel, because God promises a good result.

The key point in that statement is "no matter how I feel". It doesn't matter how we feel, we just need to act on what we know is right. To know what is right, we need to be in God's Word everyday. We have to believe 100% what we are reading and, if we have genuine faith, we will take what we learn and apply it to our lives. It's not going to be easy, but it is something we have to do. We really see how much faith we have when we are faced with a test in our lives. That is when those who have genuine faith will still be standing, but not alone. They will be standing with their arms stretched high, praising God for the test and for seeing them through it.

The Lord is faithful to us, no matter how far away we drift from Him. He is always there, waiting on us to come back to our senses and to welcome us back home. God promises us that if we have faith in Him through everything in our lives, He will bring something good out of it. We may not see the good in a situation at the present moment, but God will work things out for good.

Even when our faith is small, God is there, reaching out for us to take hold of Him so He can draw us near to Him.

Week Five - Replace a Critical Attitude

I apologize for the delay in this week's post. We are studying this week how to identify a critical attitude and replace it. Having a critical attitude causes us to be in the wilderness spiritually. Criticism is to dwell on the perceived faults of another with no view to their good. This type of attitude can eat away at you and pull you further and further away from God.

Let's look at some of the reasons we may have a critical attitude.
* Unforgiveness - Maybe you have not forgiven someone of a wrong they have done and you criticize everything they do. Your criticism is just covering for an unforgiving heart.
* Bitterness - No one can see bitterness, but before long it squirms its way around your heart and strangles your love for God. Bitterness is the pain of heart caused by living apart from God's grace.
* Envy and Resentment - Sometimes we are critical because we are jealous of someone's success and we try to pull that person down to our level.
* Careless, Thoughtless Words - Many times the critical words we say are just careless words, us not thinking before we speak.
* Pride - When we criticize someone, we are really trying to lift ourselves up, to make ourselves look better. Criticism also cloaks insecurity. We criticize to take the focus off of our faults.

This is not a problem with our mouths, it's a problem with our hearts. Through God's Word, we need to do "heart surgery" and remove these attitudes that strangle our love for Him. If we truly study His Word and apply it to our lives, we will have no room for criticism in our hearts and lives.

Week Four - ...With Contentment

Last week we learned how to replace a covetous attitude. This week we are going to see that we need to replace covetousness with contentment.

Contentment...has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Makes you feel peaceful and at rest. We may think that we can only have contentment in our dreams, but we can be content is this life. We need to be content with what God has given us and know that He is all we need.

Contentment is...
* a satisfaction with what God has provided.
* to rest in what you have and to seek nothing more.
* a settled sense of adequacy.

Contentment is not just being satisfied with the things we own, but being satisfied with the situation we are in. If you are single, be content with that. If you are married, be content with that. If you have a job at all, be content with it. This list could go on and on. Contentment definitely goes against the grain, especially in our "get what you want and get it now" society.

Only God can give us true contentment. Have you ever purchased anything thinking "If I just had _____, then I would be happy"? It didn't work, did it? So many times in our lives we feel that if we had more money, a different job, a new car, etc. that we will be happy. The truth is, we have everything we need to be content in Jesus Christ.

I pray that each of us would see that Christ is all we need.

Week Two - Closing

Again, this has been a week where my toes have been stepped on...HARD! Covetousness is not something I would have told you a week ago that I have a problem with. We all need to peel back the layers of our heart and see where our commitment lies. Do we really live for God 100% and allow Him to supply us with the desires of our heart, or do we take matters into our own hands and get what we want when we want it? Unfortunately, most people, myself included, just get things when we want them.

We live in a society where we have to have it now...we even get impatient waiting on the microwave!!! We need to learn to be content with what we have. Do we really need the new car, house, clothes, shoes, electronics, appliances, etc.? This list could go on forever. If you are like me, I own each of these things already, but when something bigger or better comes along I start hating the things I do have, thinking the newer version is somehow going to be better than what I already own.

This week has really been an eye-opener. Covetousness hinders us from growing spiritually. We put the desire to obtain possessions over the desire to grow closer to God and seek Him. I realize now that wanting "things" is just a way to fill a void in me that only God can fill. If I am truly satisfied and content with my life and my possessions, and seek God in everything I do, I will not have the desire to want things that will only end up as trash anyway.

We are not going to take anything we own with us when we die. Only what we have done for God and His kingdom will last in the end.

Week Three - Replace A Covetous Attitude...

Reading the title of this week's lesson I thought "I don't consider myself greedy, but I'm going to do the lesson anyway." Well, just like the first week about the complaining attitude, my eyes were opened and I see that I am greedy or covetous. It doesn't have to be about large things like promotions, houses, etc. This sin can take over your life just by coveting little things, like an outfit someone is wearing, pets, electronics (iPods, video games, etc.) and a million other things.

When the desire to have something that someone else has takes over your life and becomes the one and only thing you think about, you have a major problem. Take a look around your house. Is there a place for everything and everything in it's place? If you are like me, the answer is NO. I have too many things taking control of my house. Obviously, a lot of things in your house are needed so your household or job can function properly; but, consider all of the things we just "wanted", either purchased on impulse or you saw someone else have one and saved until you got it. Were they needed items or can you find them buried under a pile of clothes somewhere in the house?

The Bible says we are to be content with what we have. Everything we need, the Lord gives us. If we do not have it, it's not needed right now. This hits me today because just yesterday I was coveting a washer/dryer combo I saw. I've wanted one for a long time, but I realize I should be content with the ones I have and be happy they are working properly. That may seem simple to you, but this is where this sin starts, in the simple things. Before long, if you continue to give into this sin, you are either so far in debt you can't see out, or you are miserable because you think you need more and more things to be happy. In reality, if we are saved, we have everything we need to be happy in Christ.

First and foremost, He died for us. He took all of our sins upon Himself and died so we wouldn't have to. Second, He provides for our needs. We have clothes on our backs (maybe not the latest fashions, but we are clothed). We have food on the table (maybe we can't eat out everyday, but we are not going hungry).

This ties into last week's lesson on a thankful attitude. If we are truly thankful for what the Lord has given us, we will be content with what we have. This is an underestimated sin. I pray God will open our eyes this week to how important it is to be content and not be greedy or covet what others have.

Week Two - ...With A Thankful Attitude

Memory Verse: I Thessalonians 5:18

Last week we learned about replacing a complaining attitude; but, what do we replace it with...a thankful attitude. If we were to write a list of things we complain about vs. things we should be thankful for, the thankful list should far out way the complaints.

God has given us so much to be thankful for! No matter where we are in our lives or what situation we are in, there is always something to be thankful for. We are alive and breathing, aren't we? Every day that God gives us and allows us to wake up is a gift from Him. I witnessed this firsthand yesterday at church. In the back of my mind I knew this was the subject of the lesson this week, but I didn't really connect the two until today. Yesterday, I heard a man say "I want to thank the Lord for all of His blessings to me and my family. He has truly blessed us." Now, that may not seem like a profound statement to you, but as an outsider looking in I saw lots of reasons for this person to complain and doubt God, but he chose to be thankful instead. I truly admire this person for the testimony he has to the others around him.

Can we say that? Do people around us see that we are thankful and not complainers? The best way to witness to someone is to live in a way that shows Christ. When we know Jesus lives in our hearts people can tell by our fruit. This is off subject a little bit, but it ties together in the end. Here is one way to remember that others should be able to tell if we are saved by our fruit.

Focus - Is our focus on ourselves or on God?
Repentance - Have we truly repented of our sins and chosen to live for Christ?
Understanding - Do we understand why we are right with God? Because of Jesus' death on the cross
Invitation - When were you saved? We are not saved by works. We should remember a time where we humbled ourselves before God and allowed Him into our lives.
Thankfulness - For what God has done for us.

I would encourage everyone to do the two exercises at the end of today's lesson (pages 36-37). I believe God will bless those who are truly grateful for everything He give us and allows to happen in our lives(even things we think are bad at the time).

I pray this week we will all put into practice replacing our complaining attitude with a thankful attitude.

Week One - Closing

Thank you for joining us for the study of Lord Change my Attitude. It's not too late to ask your friends and family to join us.

This study is about the attitudes that affect our growth in Christ and, boy, were our toes stepped on this week?! I hope that each of us takes this study very seriously and works to apply the truths learned and also to change our attitudes. With that said, let me ask you each some questions to cause you to think.

Question One: Are you open to considering what the Lord has to say about changing your attitude?
This is not a self-help book. This is a study on what God has to say about our attitudes.

Question Two: Are you willing to be changed?
If change was easy, everyone would be doing it; but the fact is most people are just staying the same.

Question Three: Are you willing to change your attitude?
This study is about attitudes. It's not about our actions or circumstances.

Question Four: Are you willing to focus exclusively on YOUR attitude?
It is so easy to point out someone else's bad attitude and never even see that we also have a bad attitude.

This week's lesson about a complaining attitude really hit home with me. I've never really considered myself a complainer, or least I always thought I had a reason to complain, if I did. Well, now I see that God doesn't like complaining, no matter what the reason. When we complain we are basically telling God that He is not giving us what we want, when we want it, and we want Him to cater to us. This lesson was a wake-up call to me. Complaining and a negative attitude toward people and things around us is SIN and God HATES sin!

Changing something that is a habit that we have had for years is not easy. Attitudes are patterns of thinking formed over a long period of time. You can't change your attitudes in a few minutes. Hopefully, this study will help us identify the attitudes we need to change and give us the tools we need to being that change process. I pray that God will use this study and that we will give our attitudes to God to allow Him to change us to be more like Him.