What's your attitude?

-


Scripture

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater;
(2 Thessalonians 1:3 NASB)
therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.
(2 Thessalonians 1:4 NASB)

 

Observation


This letter is written to a new, small church that is struggling to be faithful in the midst of a hostile environment. While they are being persecuted, they continue to have a good attitude. They are having tough days and yet they are allowing God to work in them and their faith grows, and the love they have for one another is visible to those around them. Therefore, it's easy to brag on these folks, who are allowing God to give them a good attitude, despite their circumstances.

 

Application


There are times when we feel absolutely slammed by life. We literally feel like the circumstances around us are unfair and they can feel crushing. It becomes easy for our circumstances to dictate our reaction. The folks in Thessalonica were being persecuted because of their faith. While that scenario may be increasing these days, I'm not sure that's what most of us are having to deal with in our Christian walk -- out and out blatant persecution. However, we may be facing what feels like persecution on a different level. It's when outside forces begin to crush in on us that our attitude can become a reflection of our reaction. Life doesn't always play out the way we would like, but we can choose how we will react. What kind of attitude will we have toward life? How will we respond to those who may be persecuting us?

The Thessalonians chose to allow God to work in their negative circumstances. I believe that is truly an option. We may choose to nurse our hurts, or we may choose to allow God to minister to our woundedness. The result is that either our faith will grow, like that of the Thessalonians, or we will become stagnant with the result of hardness and bitterness. Either our love for one another will grow cold as a result of the difficulties, or our love for one another will flourish. No one ever said that allowing God to minister to us in tough times was easy, but it is possible.

What's your attitude? Will we allow God to so fill us that we can we respond to difficult situations with a heart of love and grace and God's image may continue to grow and develop in us? Your attitude -- your response -- it's your choice!

 

Prayer


Lord, please help me in the difficult days of life to keep my eyes on you and may those becomes moments of growth in my life. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a time when we try to carry
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her
Read more

The Advantage of Sanctification

-
Scripture: Rom. 6:22 But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Observation: Two sides of life are presented here in great contrast.  One is a life of sin and enslavement to evil.  The other side of life is freedom which provides the advantage of sanctification (or holiness as some translate the word) that leads to eternal life.  The options here are a life of sin, slavery and death; or freedom, holiness and eternal life.  The advantage of holiness or sanctification is the benefit of the life of freedom.  Jesus died so that we might be made holy like him and this is something that is offered as a “fruit” or “advantage” right now.  The end is eternal life — but the living of life is that it can be lived out in holiness.  The next verse is really just an affirmation of the verse 22.  Sin will lead
Read more