[Biblemat] A) HOW DO YOU APPROACH THINGS?

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Wednesday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.  Here
is an article from my files:

HOW DO YOU APPROACH THINGS?

       Our attitude is the primary force that will determine whether
we succeed or fail spiritually.  How do you approach things?  Do
you often see difficulty in every opportunity, or do you see an
opportunity in every difficulty?  Our attitude determines the 
approach we take in leading our spirituality.  Adopting a healthy
attitude is essential for our spiritual lives!  Paul is a great examp-
le in thing when we consider how he overcame his past and ex-
amine the optimistic view he held on his future.

       1 Tim. 2:13-15 treats us to the grimy details of Paul's past.  He was 
formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent
aggressor.  Later he writes, Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.  Paul had a terri-
ble background to overcome.  After his conversion, he possess-
ed an extreme desire to know Jesus in a greater way.  Forgetting
his past, Paul turned his passion into laying hold on Jesus.  See
Phil. 3:8-13.  His attitude was essential for his spiritual success!
We are responsible for our view of life.  Whatever a man sows,
this he will also reap, Gal. 6:7.  Think about it.  Your spiritual life
is filled with infinite potential!  Don't hold it back by a poor out-
look on life and neglect of the precious spiritual blessings God
so richly bestows.

       Part of our problem today is that we have taken heed to the
lie that life has to be fair, and if it is not, then it is an excuse to be
sour on life.  I hope we all grow to realize that life is not fair.  While it 
is impossible to trim all situations and circumstances to
fit our lives perfectly, it is possible to craft our attitude to fit every
situation life hands us.  We read, I know how to get along with
humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any
and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled
and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all 
things through Him Who strengthens me, Phil.
4:12,13.  This is learned behavior.  Developing a healthy attitude
will influence our entire outlook on life.  When confronted with a
difficult situation, a person with an outstanding attitude makes
the best of it while he gets the worst of it.  It has been said, whet-
her life grinds us down or polishes us depends on what we are
made of.  Consider for a moment the success of these men and
the importance of their attitude:  Joseph -- Gen. 39-42.  Thrown
into the pit, sold into slavery, jailed wrongly before coming to the
throne to serve Pharaoh.  Moses -- Exo. 2,3.  He spent time in the
wilderness before leading the people of Israel.  Peter -- Matt. 26:
69-75.  Peter denied Jesus three times.  Matt. 26 concludes by 
telling us he went out and wept bitterly.  He could have allowed
this failure to wreck his life.  However, his attitude propelled him
to rise out of the ashes of failure to become one of the leading
apostles in the early years of the church.  It has been said that the 
opportunities of life lie directly in our problems.  Thomas
Edison wrote, there is much more opportunity than there are people to see it. 
 Use the problems that confront you as opportu-
nities to grow your spiritual life and trust in God.  (It has been said, that 
Edison went through over a thousand failures before
he ever perfected the light bulb, JWS).

       Christianity can be an extremely liberating experience.  It frees us 
from the weight of sin and gives us a way to lead a foc-
used and purpose filled life.  An optomistic spirit can help us
accomplish our spiritual goals.  Remember, as long as we live, we are 
forming, changing, and reinforcing our attitude.  You can
change for the better!  Are you aiming toward spiritual success?
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become per-
fect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also
I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I do not regard my-
self as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing i do: forgetting
what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward 
the goal for the prize of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus, Phil. 3:12-14.    ----- Matthew Allen via Gospel 
Power, Vol. 15, No. 24, June 15, 2008.   </HTML>
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