Attitude Adjustment – Page 3 – "…because you matter!"

Change Priority

What is it that causes me to have a can-do attitude? Why can I work at something and make it work while another doesn’t seem to have the heart or motivation? Why, conversely, can they see phenomenal success in an area that is entirely foreign to me?

Could it be simply that the area in question has not made it to the top of the list as a priority for them or myself?

Priorities are created in the privacy of our thoughts, the deep down places of the inner person. They receive the energy that others can observe as they get fleshed out and become visible.

It occurred to me today that the reason a person is not willing to make a change is because the need for change hasn’t yet tripped their priority list.

I am aware that some people don’t believe that other people can change. These same people assume that once you reach adulthood, you are what you are.

I once heard it said, “You will be the same next year except for the people you meet and the books that you have read.” There might be some merit to that. I also think that there may be one more ingredient to add to the change mix; the pressure you were put under to make a change.

We change when we get convinced in our inner thoughts; when the people we respect are modeling the attribute; and when life’s pressure reorients us to what is imperative.

What is the difference between a good idea and something that makes it to your priority list? A good idea is just that, a conversation piece, an elevated thought that receives attention.

A Priority means that you are choosing one over another; one thought, one action, one person, a set of values or lack thereof.

What are your priorities? What is your number one priority? What is it that holds value at the innermost core of your being? Is that a value worth keeping? If not, what is your strategy for real change?

You Don’t Have To Live; You Get To!

Confidence

Take a moment, consider.

Imagine for a moment that God actually will hear your request and grant your answer.

I think that more often than not we think exactly opposite. We tend to make a story up in our minds as to why he will not. We base it on performance modules like worth and mile-markers. We raise an impossible standard in our mind story, and it is usually just a little beyond our reach of stellar performance.

So when we come to God in prayer or request, we do not have the confidence that we will see success. We tell ourselves that he will take care of everybody else but will forget about us. Frankly we concede, ‘We don’t measure up.’ That might be true, but its role and strength are out of context.

The truth is we don’t measure up, but we were never supposed to. In the right context this thought propels us toward God but in this previous context, it steals our confidence before Him.

We don’t have confidence because somewhere our heart guard has been compromised. Either it is by something that we have allowed or something that has happened to us that has penetrated and hurt us.

We forgot the practical command, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23, NIV)

So how do you get your confidence back?

Start by recognizing that you somehow dropped your heart guard.

Confess this to God through prayer. Get that straight; get your inside world back in order. Remember we have a promise that if we confess he forgives and cleanses. The confession is for our awareness. He already knows all; it’s not new to him. Confessing helps us realign our private world. We openly let ourselves know that he knows.

Confidence is all about transparency knowing that there are no secrets, hidden agendas or manipulative tactics at play. There are no shadows or pockets of darkness lurking and planting fear. “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God…” (1 John 3:21, NIV)

Come back into confidence. You have a God who loves you and wants that kind of relationship with you.

Just like in a great father-child relationship, I wouldn’t hesitate to jump up into my father’s lap, so that is what it looks like to come before God with confidence.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15, NIV)

There is a lap of acceptance waiting for you.

Go ahead and jump!

You Don’t Have To Live; You Get To!

Attitude, Sacrifice and Joy

Good Friday Joy

Kilroy

They looked with wonder and anticipation; they were not certain what they were looking at or for, but they knew they had a promise.¹ Like the image of Kilroy, they were here and desperately wanted to know, but there was a fence of their future that we now know as our history. They had the details, marked locations, and moments, but they didn’t, or rather weren’t able, to connect all the dots; they weren’t able to see it with our 20/20 hindsight.

Paul writes and calls it, “the mystery kept hidden for ages.”²

This mystery crafted the resolute joy in Jesus’ heart, so much so, that this is the reason Hebrews says he went through with the brutal, inhuman torture and death. It was, “For the joy that set before him.”³

Joy wasn’t just reuniting with the Father; that was his rightful place.

The joy came as he looked into the future, now our history. He saw the exponential outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh, ⁽⁴⁺⁵⁾ the mystery of God accomplished. He had to die and rise again to get the job done. He saw an intrinsically thorough, life-transforming work that would happen everywhere all at once and would happen through anyone who believed, because of the price of his sacrifice.

That motivated him to the core. You and I are part of that motivational joy.

As you muse on the price paid, so that you can live in relationship with God, think about the joy that moved Jesus to accomplish his task.

Maybe it will motivate you to accomplish yours. Maybe it will commission you for your task.

You Don’t Have To; You Get To!

1) Ephesians 3:6 (NIV)

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

2) Colossians 1:25-27 (NIV)

I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness – the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

3) Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)

…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

4) Acts 2:16-17a (NIV)

No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people…”

5) Acts 10:44-45 (NIV)

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.

Attitude, Religiously Lost

Religiously Lost

Oh my ‘I’s’ were dotted and my ‘T’s’ were crossed, and I was doing everything right according to my religious protocol, but, I was missing the critical focus or component.

This focus wasn’t a thing or a ritual; this component was a person. I was missing (not getting) Him.

Until he had a private conversation with me and nudged me in my thoughts with the question, I was willingly unaware of my lack.

“Phil do you like me?”

I responded to my thoughts, ” I love you, Lord.” My mind went to my life that I built around church and service. I showed up with unbridled devotion, most of the time. I led congregations in worship, and I had spent hours in preparation for teaching and imparting God’s Word.

He nudged again, “That’s not what I asked. Do you like me?”

That question changed my life. I was religiously numb and conveniently occupied. I had to answer honestly, and my honesty bothered me.

God, who came to earth to bring people to himself, was good, but I was extremely uncomfortable with a Christ who spent time with untouchables, who went into places and situations where a ‘good religious person’ shouldn’t go. He did things that had I been present, I would have blushed at or hidden from, my religion wouldn’t approve.

He lived at his pace, not swayed by anyone or anything. Ya, I didn’t like the way he rolled. He wouldn’t get into my religious box. Shame.

Great questions change lives.

This issue changed my life. Maybe it will change yours.

“Hey there nice religious person, do you like me?”

You Don’t Have to Live; You Get To!

Renovation, Transformation

Painfully Beautiful

We have been renovating our house a little at a time as we have had the funds and time. We have started with the priority jobs and are working through our list as we can.

I have recently begun to complete the floor replacement. You see it is a project that I started three years ago and had been doing one room at a time. I have been able to do two rooms in the last couple of years and now have acquired the material to complete this flooring phase, so yes, I’ve started again.

The problem with flooring is it’s kind of foundational in that if you plan to move walls, add a fireplace or change a room size, you have to solidify those plans before you put the floor down, or you will have to redo the floor again.

Our plans have been morphing and changing as we have been in the process. These ideas though promisingly wonderful can also grow the costs and the work.

Renovations are very much like and are a part of Transformations. They begin one board at a time, one thought at a time, and one change at a time. You have to get rid of the old before replacing it with the new.

Sometimes when you uncover the old, you realize that it is itself a covering for something yet older. For your renovation, your transformation to be thorough, you need to get down to the frame; the plywood; the structure. In some cases, the structure may even need to be replaced or altered. Once you are down to the structure, the foundation of your job, you can begin the restoration process, bringing it back to its original, renewed form.

Transformation happens when you alter the original structure and do something new. That’s what happens when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. He transforms us to make us what he has purposed for us to be. Often his work is to the core and can look confusing while you are in the middle of it. That is what it looks like when you renovate and restore. The mess often feels bigger than life and begs the question of “Is it worth it?”

It is worth all of it and it is based on the prayer that Paul offered to God, for the Philippian believers, “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6, NIV)

This life altering process is so painfully beautiful.

You don’t have to live: You get to!

Uncategorized, Worth

Worth

It’s a reach, a reach way back, but if my grade nine memory serves me correctly, I think that I remember the cost of our human body. When it all shakes down with all the water extracted all that is left are the minerals, I think that the price of the minerals was $7.00. If that is all that we are about, I think you would agree it isn’t much. It’s not even worth the time that it took me to write this paragraph or the time you took to read it.

Aren’t you glad, I mean super glad that our worth and value are not the same as the cost of personal minerals?

Value and worth speak about importance and meaning.

God decided to get involved with this human race, not because of minerals and water, but because of intrinsic value. He invested his life and reputation just to know you and to do life with you.

Not bad for a seven bucks.

You don’t have to live; You Get To!

Character

I am quite concerned.

It would seem that Character has become just an ancient word. Its significance is at best diluted, and at worst, disregarded.

In a fast-paced world of apparent transparency, openness and tolerance we have missed the on-ramp to Character.

Our modern quick fix, throw-away culture has lost the baking soda of character, to use another metaphor.

It would appear that all the necessary ingredients are in place, but in fact, everything lies flat.

Like baking soda, Character doesn’t display itself in the mix until the heat is turned up. Baking soda at room temperature doesn’t even appear to be effective. Character when submersed in an “everything’s cool environment,” appears the same. It is there, but its real usefulness doesn’t yet show itself.

It’s when the option of compromise is present; when the explosion of anger presents; when the action of integrity wanes, in the quiet of privacy, that’s when it becomes evident.

Character, like baking soda, shows through the tough work of Process. We only get it by allowing the pressure, the heat of circumstances to change us on the inside. But then, that makes sense.

The chief baker knows how our lives should look. He knows what the finished product we’ll be, and he knows how real purpose should look. He’s the one who will finish what he has started.

Don’t disregard the pressure or the heat. It’s making something beautiful.

If the timer hasn’t gone off, you are still in process.

You don’t have to live; You get to!

Peace

5) Peace as the Rule / Our Prayer

Years ago in Canada, many years ago in public school we started the day with the Lord’s Prayer. Those who are my age and older will remember it. People who have been brought up or been through liturgies of church or private school will also remember it. It was actually given to us as our prayer. Jesus gave it as instruction by saying, “When you pray, say…” (Matthew 6:9-13, NIV). One of the lines in that instruction by Jesus was to say, “…your kingdom come… just as it is in heaven.”

Luke, the writer in another place, gave an explanation of what the Kingdom of God was. He said that the Kingdom of God wasn’t an observable kingdom, (Luke 17:20, NIV); in other words, it is not a kingdom of concrete or building, of location or physical presence. Rather it is a kingdom of “righteousness, peace and joy…” (Romans 14:17, NIV). These three qualities can live and be real on the inside.

So, the way that we can pray is actually asking for God’s ‘rule of peace’ to come into my day and my circumstances, from the inside out, today, right now.

He has faithfully answered that prayer for me, and probably without exception.

He hasn’t always given me what I wanted, what I thought I needed, what I was begging him for, but he has always given me peace. He has poured out his peace in the moment and for the moment while he has worked on my circumstances and on myself for the answer.

Since he doesn’t respect one person more than another, he will do the same for you. He will give you his ‘peace rule’ if you just ask. “Lord, your kingdom come, your peace come and rule in my circumstances. Amen.”

Peace.

You don’t have to; You get to!

Peace

4) Peace, Why?

I’ve lived over thirty years of my life, my son twenty-four, in a house full of girls. I know, it was our privilege / cross to bear / challenge, and blessing, sometimes all at once. What I noticed about these ladies was their dream of a prince coming and solving all. I thought maybe I could be that prince, but it wasn’t what they had in mind; rather, Disney videos lined our bookcases.

It was fun to watch them grow up and it was delightful to see them get lost in the dream of their future.

But, life has a way of giving our dreams a hit. It has a way of auto-correcting our plans and giving misgivings. Sometimes we are blessed, and sometimes we are disappointed. Sometimes the dreams are challenged and realigned.

Conversely, today there is a real Prince. He is not just for my ladies, not just for the fantasy, the movie, the trailers, but he is actually the Prince by title.

Isaiah an ancient prophet is recorded in the Bible to prophesy of Jesus coming to earth as a baby, our Christmas story. In this prophecy he describes Jesus by titles. One of those titles is, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6.)

He is in charge of peace and he represents His Kingdom of Peace.

So, he brings peace to you.

Pray for that peace, ask for that peace, and then thank him believing that it has happened and is happening.

Peace.

You don’t have to live; you get to!

Peace

3) Peace How?

There is an extraordinary story tucked away in the Old Testament. It is found in 2 Kings 6:1-7. It is about Elisha and his company of prophets. They were out of room in their current facilities, so they decided to build another place for space.

While they were building it, one of the guys had his ax head fall into the water. I’m not sure if they were industry ‘Safe’ or if they were wearing all the appropriate PPE; but, that is what happened. This guy immediately started to freak out. His exact words, ““Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”” (2 Kings 6:5, NIV.)

Elisha responded by asking where it had fallen. He then cut a stick and threw it into the water and made the ax head float. Elisha then told the guy to, “Lift it out.” The man reached out and took the ax head.

Why would that story be included? What would be the point? Are we all supposed to go and make an ax head float? I don’t think so rather I think that one of the principles here is that, ‘You have to go back to where you lost it.’

How does that apply to peace? Sometimes we can lose our peace almost as fast as we get it.

We go through the emotional roller coaster of getting to peace, or we pray and ask God for it, or we get others to pray and ask God for it. We finally get it and then before we know it, it’s gone again.

What do we do?

We need to go back to the moment of loss (again,) and acknowledge our need/loss to God, “God I’ve lost my peace again. Will you bring me your peace?” Eventually, the repeat visits start to lessen, and peace becomes the resident.

I have done these prayers innumerable times in many different circumstances. Peace comes.

Peace.

You don’t have to live; You get to!