Attitude Check Trinity!

Philippians 2:5

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

This is one of my favorite passages. I have a number of them for sure. Years ago I took this verse and created a favorite saying. Many of our readers have heard this saying numerous times and could quote it with me. It goes like this – Christianity Boils Down to Attitude. Years after coming up with this saying – I added the following – Christianity boils down to attitude – the condition and position of one’s heart. Now – I know full well that Christianity is all about God’s grace – that it is all about Christ’s life – death and resurrection. But – as we mentioned many times in teachings and in sermons – Christian maturity is all about the condition and position of the heart. Christian maturity is about doing – about walking out our faith – and this takes an attitude likened to the attitude of Jesus.

An Attitude Like Christ

Philippians 2:5

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

This is one of my favorite passages. I have a number of them for sure. Years ago I took this verse and created a favorite statement. A number of you have heard it before – I’m sure. It goes like this – Christianity Boils Down to Attitude. Some in our church families could finish this saying with me. I would say Christianity boils down to and they would respond with Attitude. Now I know that Christianity is all about God’s grace – that it is all about Christ’s life – death and resurrection. But – as we mentioned many times in teachings and in sermons – Christian maturity is all about the condition and position of the heart. Christian maturity is about doing – about walking out our faith – and this takes an attitude likened to the attitude of Jesus.

What Shape Is Our Attitude In?

Philippians 2:5

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

This is one of my favorite passages. I have a number of them for sure. I’ve shared them a number of times. Some like hearing them – some might even be tired of hearing them.

Years ago – I took this verse and created a statement – a saying – that goes like this: Christianity Boils Down to Attitude. One of my former churches would finish this quote. Whenever I said Christianity boils down to they would respond with a strong – Attitude! Now – I know that Christianity is all about God’s grace – that it is all about Christ’s life – death – and resurrection – but – as we often mention in sermons and teachings – Christian maturity is all about the condition and position of one’s heart. Christian maturity is about doing – about walking out our faith – and this takes an attitude likened to the attitude of Jesus. What shape is our attitude in these days?

Carry Your Own Cross

Luke 14:27

And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

As I get older – one of the things I’ve noticed about our society – is that there are more people than ever that seem to feel like someone owes them something or someone else is responsible for their behavior or choices. People do horrific things and blame others for their actions. People make unwise decisions and expect someone else to pay their bills or repair the damage their decisions have made. It seems like more people are on government programs – government subsidies – receiving money from the government (tax payers) – than ever before.

Thanks for letting me on my soapbox for a paragraph. I know the subject is more detailed than my simply observations – but that is how it looks to me. It seems like some people – even more people today than ever before – want something for nothing.

Some in the church even think this way. Salvation is free they say – and yes – the cost of salvation is free – having been paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him – John records this – John 1:29 – The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Paul – writing about salvation – about grace – wrote this – Ephesians 2:8 – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. So we see that the penalty has been paid – the cost of our sins is covered – yet Paul says this grace comes through faith in Christ – the Hebrew people had to apply the blood of the lamb on their doorposts for death to pass them over – and today we are called to follow Christ – to be His disciples.

May: A Call to Prayer

John 17:18

As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

We had an amazing discussion at our quarterly congregational meeting last night. The reason today’s devotional thought is late – is partially because that meeting was so great – I wanted time to think about today’s post – and I was tied up with something else this morning.

The group that met discussed our purpose. Of course – our calling – from God – is to make disciples to follow Jesus Christ. We get that command from the Great Commission – Matthew 28:16-20 – ¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

There were loads of good ideas about our purpose and some ministries we could tackle that would have great impact – if enough people caught the vision and helped. As we discussed a few ideas and were getting a little excited – it was mentioned that before any great movement of God – we are called to pray.