Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Attitude”
Our Bible verse for today: “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “What kind of attitude do you want to have?”
All this month we’ve been exploring the theme of attitude from multiple perspectives. I’ve mentioned repeatedly that a good attitude is a key element to any life lived well. A positive attitude that is optimistic, and which maintains an eager expectation of good things to come is essential if you’re going to be happy, productive, and successful. How we think really does matter.
But what kind of an attitude do you want to have? I mean specifically. Many people have a vague, fuzzy, poorly defined notion of the kind of person they would like to be, but I’m talking about a clear picture in your mind of exactly how you would like to think and act.
“Visualization” is a mental discipline that has been proven to dramatically increase a person’s chances of achieving the thing they are striving for. Olympic athletes use visualization as a crucial part of their training. In their mind’s eye they see themselves hitting that world record long jump mark. They rehearse that scene in their mind over and over and over again, and they hold it there.
I read a story once about a prisoner of war in Vietnam. This man had always enjoyed playing golf, it was his favorite hobby, and he was fairly good at it. He usually scored in the low 80s, occasionally breaking into the high 70s. During his long and lonely six years of captivity he spent much of his time daydreaming about golf. In his mind’s eye he visualized himself playing endless rounds. He saw every shot throughout all 18 holes and always, he saw himself playing great golf and making amazing shots.
Finally, after six years as a prisoner of war, he was released. The week after he got home he went out on the golf course for the first time in over six years. He had not had an actual golf club in his hand in all those years. But in his mind he had played hundreds of rounds of great golf. On that day, after more than six years without touching a golf club, that man played the best round of golf he had ever played in his life. He scored in the low 70s and didn’t three-putt a single green.
What kind of attitude do you want to have? Create a clear mental image of yourself with exactly the attitude you want and then hold that image before you, think about it, dwell on it, see yourself walking through your days interacting with people, dealing with situations, with exactly the kind of attitude you want yourself to have.
It is possible. In Ephesians 4:22-24 the Apostle Paul reminds us that in Christ, part of your new self is a new attitude. In other words, part of your spiritual growth involves leaving behind the old patterns of thinking, along with the old attitudes, and developing new patterns of thinking and new attitudes.
Not only is it possible, it’s expected and it’s the normal growth pattern for any maturing Christian. Visualize yourself with that attitude, think about it, dwell on it, pray for it, and before long it will become a reality in your life.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 