Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Friends and Associates”
Our Bible verse for today: “Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly.” Philippians 1:14 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “A good attitude is contagious.”
Philippians is known as “The Epistle of Joy”. The message is especially powerful because Paul’s own circumstances were so bad when he wrote it. He was old, sick, a prisoner in a Roman jail, and probably facing death. And yet as we read Philippians we discover that he was joyful, content, positive, and bold in his teaching – so much so that his example was an inspiration to all those around him. That’s what Philippians 1:14 was referring to.
In his paraphrase of the Bible entitled “The Message”, in the introduction to the book of Philippians, author Eugene Peterson writes that a good attitude, especially in the face of adverse circumstances, is not only inspiring but also contagious. Here’s what he wrote:
“Happiness is not a word we can understand by looking it up in the dictionary. In fact, none of the qualities of the Christian life can be learned out of a book. Something more like apprenticeship is required, being around someone who out of years of devoted discipline shows us, by his or her entire behavior, what it is. Moments of verbal instruction will certainly occur, but mostly an apprentice acquires skill by daily and intimate association with a “master”, picking up subtle but absolutely essential things, such as timing and rhythm and “touch”.”
Peterson goes on: “When we read what Paul wrote to the Christian brothers in the city of Philippi, we find ourselves in the company of just such a master. Paul doesn’t tell us that we can be happy, or how to be happy, he simply and unmistakably is happy.”
A good attitude is contagious. Being around people who are happy, content, upbeat, and positive, helps us to be that way too. Immersing ourselves in positive and encouraging literature such as Philippians is essential as well.
Much of life is not upbeat, positive, and happy, and it would be unrealistic for us to believe we can avoid negative people or bad environments. But the more good association we immerse ourselves in, the less impact the negative can have on us. And we can, overtime, actually become a person like Paul who effectively turns a negative situation into a positive one for all those around us.
I encourage you to strive to become that person. Be someone whose upbeat and positive attitude is contagious to the point of causing others to be that way too.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 