Positive Attitude – Enjoy this three-part series

One key to a positive attitude is to be happy, do good and use self-control. Is it hard to stay upbeat in every situation? How you handle or respond to problems makes a difference in the outcome. My prayer for all is that we learn to focus on the positives in all things. This three-part Bible study focuses on the type of attitude we have, please be mindful of your attitude.

Note: The Revised King James NT (RKJNT) is the only King James (version/revision) that uses the word ‘attitude’ replacing ‘mind’ (phroneo {fron-eh’-o}) in KJV. However, the more modern translations e.g., God’s Word Translation (GW) uses the word ‘attitude’ 25 times.

Philippians 2:5-11 Let this attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, though being in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in form as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God has highly exalted him, and given him the name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth; 11 And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (RKJNT)

What was the attitude of Jesus? (a) he gave up everything and became a servant by becoming human. (b) He, the king of kings and Lord of lords, was humble and allowed His created beings to hang him on a cross. (c) Jesus was obedient even when His flesh tried to resist His destiny.

What happened to your positive attitude?… [Why did Paul ask this question in Galatians 4:15? read Galatians 3:1-4:20 (GWT)]

Part 1 -  A Confident Attitude

 

Luke 18:27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. (KJV)

Our attitude (approach, belief, demeanor, perspective, reaction or view) can make a difference between success and failure. If we approach a task believing that we cannot complete it, more than likely we will not complete it. Without going into further detail, I want you to read the scriptures and ask “how does this help make me have a positive attitude—a confident attitude?”

Okay, I will give one example; Luke recorded Jesus saying ‘things which are impossible with men (people) are possible with God‘. As a child of God, when we learn to let God help us by working through us, it is then that “I can do all things through Christ…”(Philippians 4:13) becomes a reality. We begin that task with a positive attitude—a confident attitude, knowing God is going to make it possible. Even Jesus said in John 5:30 (read John 5:24-30 NRSV) “I can do nothing on my own…I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

It’s a mind thing…

• Change the way you think –
  • Romans 12:1-2 Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God. 2 Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him. (CEV)
  • 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 So stop evaluating Christians by what the world thinks about them or by what they seem to be like on the outside. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, merely as a human being like myself. How differently I feel now! 17 When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun! (TLB)
  • 2 Corinthians 5:18 All this is from God, who through Christ made peace between us and [reconciled us to] himself, and gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with him [ministry/service of reconciliation]. (EXB)
• Released from guilt of sin – Romans 4:4-8; 8:1-11; Ezekiel 18:30-31 –
  • Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation {Christians are not judged guilty [condemned; punished for their sins]} to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (KJV) with notes from {EXB}
  • Colossians 1:21-23 At one time you were separated from God. You were his enemies in your minds, because the evil you did was against him. 22 But now he has made you his friends again. He did this by the death Christ suffered while he was in his body. He did it so that he could present you to himself as people who are holy, blameless, and without anything that would make you guilty before him. 23 And that is what will happen if you continue to believe in the Good News you heard. You must remain strong and sure in your faith. You must not let anything cause you to give up the hope that became yours when you heard the Good News. That same Good News has been told to everyone on earth, and that’s the work that I, Paul, was given to do. (ERV)

The Lord helped others and will help you…

• Rely on God to help you – Acts 17:22-31 (26-28)
• Joseph – “The Lord helped Joseph be successful in everything he did.” [read Joseph’s story Genesis 37:1-36 and 39:1-50:26 {focus on Genesis 39:2-5, 21-23; 41:39-40; 49:22-26; 50:19-20 and 24}]

Trust God…

• He will come through for you – Psalm 27:1-6; Isaiah 41:10-13
• Do not rely on yourself – Proverbs 3:5-6; Romans 12:9-21 (key verse: 16c); 1 Corinthians 3:18-23 (key verses: 18-20); Colossians 1:9-14 (key verse: 11)

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 “But a person who denies spiritual realities will not accept the things that come through the Spirit of God; they all sound like foolishness to him. He is incapable of grasping them because they are disseminated, discerned, and valued by the Spirit. 15 A person who walks by the Spirit examines everything, sizing it up and seeking out truth. But no one is able to examine or size up that kind of spiritual person, 16 for the Scripture asks, “Does anyone know the mind of the Lord well enough to become His advisor?” But we do possess the mind of the Anointed One. [i.e., ‘the mind of Christ’; also see Isaiah 40:13]” (The Voice)

Part 2 -  Adjust Your Attitude

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God’s providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good or evil. (AMP)

We can change our attitude from negative thinking to positive thinking. In part one ‘Positive Attitude’ I gave many scriptures to encourage positive thinking, but it is not always so simple especially if we do not understand why we think negatively. The Mayo Clinic gives four common forms of negative ‘self-talk’ (thinking):

• Filtering – You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter out all of the positive ones. For example, you had a great day at work. You completed your tasks ahead of time and were complimented for doing a speedy and thorough job. That evening, you focus only on your plan to do even more tasks and forget about the compliments you received.
• Personalizing – When something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself. For example, you hear that an evening out with friends is canceled, and you assume that the change in plans is because no one wanted to be around you.
• Catastrophizing – You automatically anticipate the worst. The drive-through coffee shop gets your order wrong and you automatically think that the rest of your day will be a disaster.
• Polarizing – You see things only as either good or bad. There is no middle ground. You feel that you have to be perfect or you’re a total failure.

Positive thinking: Reduce stress by eliminating negative self-talk | Mayo Clinic

Are you happy? Do you have peace? If the answer is no, then I must ask, do you know why? Often being unhappy or not having peace are the result of our thinking. Negative thinking is a learned habit mostly a result of our experiences. I plan to go into more detail at a later time, for now let’s use more Scriptures.

Know the consequences

• God will judge our words – Matthew 12:33-37 (36-37)
• He will judge our actions (even the secret ones) – Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Romans 2:16
• It can affect others – Numbers 14:26–38
• It’s your turn: What are other consequences of having a non-positive attitude? Please use scriptures.

God has given us help

• Self-control through His Spirit -
  • “I gave you Self-Control now use it“
  • “Using Self-Control“
• “You Are Never Alone In the Struggles of Life“
• “Learn to be Content“

Luke 1:17 And he will [himself] go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn back the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient and incredulous and unpersuadable to the wisdom of the upright [which is  the knowledge and holy love of the will of God]—in order to make ready for the Lord a people [perfectly] prepared [in spirit, adjusted and disposed and placed in the right moral state]. (AMP)

Part 3 -  The Right Attitude

Romans 11:22 So you see that God is kind, but he can also be very strict. He punishes those who stop following him. But he is kind to you, if you continue trusting in his kindness. If you don’t continue depending on him, you will be cut off from the tree. (ERV)

We tend to like or dislike certain things and that is okay, the problem begins when we will not change our position. My experience is that attitudes can change by what we believe. The most significant example was this; I believe in the power of God and what He can do in our lives if we allow Him to help us. The short version, God delivered me from a $200 a day drug and alcohol addiction overnight through prayer and faith. My entire view of life changed by one act of faith:

Attitude adjustment

• I changed from a selfish receiver to a willful giver expecting nothing in return. [Acts 20:35]
• My lifestyle changed from desiring (needing) to get high all the time to no longer desiring either drugs or alcohol (clean since March 17, 1977). My high is permanent costing nothing but faith in God. [Psalms 62:5-8; 1 Corinthians 9:27]
• I hope for the best and expect nothing from people; let me briefly explain, my hope and trust is in God who never fails, my desire is that people will do what is right but I allow them to prove that they can be trusted and am not disappointed when they fail. [Psalm 118:8-9]
• God blessed me and helped me do many things, best of all He uses me as His instrument to cast out demons, to be His spokesman and a light to draw others to Him. Like Paul, I am humbled by His trust in me and making Himself known by what He has done through me. [Titus 1:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 2:3-8; 2 Timothy 1:11-12]

Romans 15:17-19 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God… (ESV)

Must be willing to change

• Worldly (Carnal, fleshly or natural) vs Spiritual – please check this post ‘Changed Life‘.
• Romans 8:5 (CEV)
  • People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves.
  • Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things.

Obedience

• True disciples of Christ – John 8:31-36 (31-32)
• Makes us victorious – 2 Corinthians 2:14-3:6 (3:4-6)
• Hearers and doers: Luke 8:19-21 and James 1:21-27

 Conclusion

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (NLT)

Stay positive, think of God’s love for you and His promise to you Heaven and eternal life!

Is it possible to maintain a hopeful or positive attitude? It really depends on you. In most cases, if not all, we can choose the way we respond to or approach a situation, person or task. Yes, it is your choice—your decision; in everything focus on the positive, choose to stay positive. Tests will come, disappoints will happen, people and opportunities come and go, but if you decide to let nothing stop you, decide to let nothing to get you down; your life can be so much better. Start today, decide to remain positive (hopeful/faithful) all day and continue daily and be blessed—Tim.