Too many times I’ve heard people say “That’s just how I am. I can’t change.”

When you think about it, what that really means is “I’m beyond God. He’s not powerful enough to fix me.” And mixed in with that is also a dose of “I don’t want to put in the work to change.”

Now I’m not Pollyannaish about this. I’m all too familiar with my own faults. We all are born with weaknesses (as well as strengths). But the good news is that we have a God who is in the renovation business and promises to transform us. He tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:16-18:

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

Choose Your Attitude for 2017

As we can see in the above verses, God can redeem the weaknesses in our lives. We may always have certain tendencies, but I believe His transforming power can cause us to walk in victory, whether it’s an immediate transformation or a process.

If you happened to miss the first post in this series, you can read it here: Fresh Spirit. For today, let’s focus on an attitude to cultivate for 2017. If you’re grumpy, pick joy. If you’re constantly complaining, cultivate a spirit of thankfulness. If you worry too much, choose trust. Having the desire to change is one thing, but how can we actually do it?

Fresh Start Action List

1. Become aware. Ask God to point out to you when you are copping the attitude you don’t like. Sometimes we are so entrenched in our habits that we don’t realize how we are acting. Pay attention to the words you say and the thoughts you think. We can’t change things we aren’t aware of.
2. Make the choice to stop the behavior and choose a different one. Pray for strength to switch your current faulty attitude to the new one.
3. Brainstorm ideas with God on things you can do to cultivate the new attitude and things you must stop that lead to the bad attitude. For example, if complaining is your downfall, pick one area that you frequently complain about. Resolve that for one hour you will not say one bad thing about it. The next day make 2 hours your goal, and so on until you’ve gone an entire day without complaining about that one thing. On the flip side, to cultivate thankfulness, start a Top 10 Thankful List that you fill in every day. Before you know it, you’ll have established a habit of gratitude.
4. Commit to doing the hard work to change yourself. Maybe even ask someone to be your accountability partner. It may not be easy or quick, but commit to doing the work that it takes to change. When you have a bad day, don’t beat yourself up over it. Simply start again from where you are.

Remember, God is in the renovation business. If need be, He can take you down to the studs and build up from there! May 2017 be the year of a fresh attitude.

Pray on!

Last week was not a week that I am proud of.

My attitude was weighing me down, becoming progressively worse as the week went on. If I am totally honest about it, I have to admit that I was mired in anger, frustration, and stress and really didn’t want to listen to what God wanted me to do about it.

The result being that by the time I was willing to listen, I was pretty much a mess.

Had I just listened to God from the start, it wouldn’t have been such a painful process to fix things, but my stubbornness got in the way, so I had to do things the hard way. As a result, I spent some time in Psalm 51, which is a panacea for sin.  King David penned this prayer of despair and hope after he made a mess of his relationship with a married woman, Bathsheba.

As I read through his heartfelt plea, I added my own regrets to the Psalm and felt the refreshing words of forgiveness wash over  my soul. I decided to write a prayer of forgiveness based on Psalm 51 to help me truly remember this lesson. I share it with you in the hope that it will encourage another struggling soul. Feel free to share your thoughts and feelings in the comment section. Remember, forgiveness is just a prayer away~

(If you’d like to download a free Bible study on forgiveness, just click on The Sinner for a study by Mary Kane.)

Pray on!

O merciful God,

Once again I come to you humbly, asking for your forgiveness, that You will remember my sins no more.

You love me with a depth of love that is difficult for me to fathom. It is not based on me living up to my part of the bargain, because I can’t do that. It is based on who you are and your unfailing love.

I know my sin all too well. Just when I think I have finally mastered it, it masters me. And I sin against you. From my earliest days, my soul has been marred by sin, yet you never give up on me. You continue to instill Truth deep into my soul and dangle tidbits of Wisdom for me to grasp until I am hooked by the absolute rightness of your way and the futility of mine.

I am sorry. Forgive me.

You scrub my soul with the hyssop of the blood of Jesus, making me whiter than freshly fallen snow. I draw a deep, life-giving breath and offer you my undivided attention, ready to learn from my mistakes, welcoming the joy and light back into my parched soul.

I ask to serve you with a clean heart and a spirit that is determined to cling to you. I need your presence with me and the Holy Spirit to guide my steps. Otherwise, I wander my own paths that lead to destruction and destinations far from you.

A broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart are the incense of my sacrifice to you. Released from guilt, my praises pour forth, and I am set free to proclaim all you are. You take my offering and heal me, one step closer to the person you made me to be.

Amen.

By Jane VanOsdol June 2013

OnlyByPrayer.com

If you would like a nice, printable copy of this prayer, click on this link My Failure, God’s Forgiveness for a pdf.

Do you need  a heart transplant or an attitude adjustment? The Great Physician is ready to do the procedure! Just click on the link to do the Take5! study Heart Transplant!

“Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of his brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?James 4:11-12

I needed a new attitude.

Switching churches has never been an easy task for my family. But God had been showing me that there were some very deep fundamental errors in the doctrine of our current church, therefore it was time to find a new church home. I felt God leading me to small Bible church in our hometown. I tried out the church for a couple of weeks myself and then my husband and sons began to attend as well. It’s never easy to be the “new family” in a small close-knit church. In hopes of making a few new friends a got involved with ministry opportunities that fell within my gifting. One evening, while at church for a children’s group, I was feeling a little left out and lonely. I gave myself a pep talk and decided to make another effort to reach out and introduce myself to other women. As I walked down the long Fellowship Hall hallway I saw a woman, Sue, headed toward me on my left. I waited until she drew closer and greeted her. To my astonishment she completely ignored me and walked on by.

Our attitudes which are driven by our feelings  can influence our actions. Unfortunately our feelings can mislead us. The Bible says our hearts are deceitful above all things. So what do we do when we need a new attitude? Who can we trust to help transform our hearts and minds? To do the in depth Bible study A New Attitude, please click on the link:

A New Attitude