Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:7-8

In the New Testament Gospels we see a contrast of two positions in two different towns. An approach in one town bore grim results. The other town, because of the proper attitude and reaction toward Jesus, had amazing results. And we’re out for results.

Familiarity breeds contempt. Indifference has crippling consequences. In Jesus’ hometown—Nazareth—people took offense at Jesus after questioning how someone they had known for years could have the power to heal. The results: “He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief” (Mark 6:5-6).

The exact opposite situation is found in the town of Capernaum in Matthew 8.

But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.” Matthew 8:8-10

Say the word. Words are soldiers and sickness is a slave that must submit to Jesus’ authority. This Roman soldier understood something that still applies 2000 years later. God’s Word is active and powerful and can heal just like the centurion’s servant was healed the moment Jesus said the word.

“It shall be done for you as you have believed” (Matthew 8:13). Your ability to conquer in life hinges on your attitude. I would much rather have Jesus marvel at my faith than at my unbelief. If you feel yourself getting cynical, wash with the water of the Word to avoid the calcification and hardness of heart that was seen in the people of Nazareth. Keep your heart ready for what God has ahead for you!

The best is yet to come!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright ©2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing. Philippians 2:14

Stop finding fault. We live in a culture that has exalted fault finding to virtue status. It’s easy to grumble – “to murmur or mutter in discontent; complain sullenly”* – but grumbling or complaining doesn’t improve anything. Paul talks about how the Old Testament Israelites were destroyed by their bad attitude, and he exhorts the Corinthian church to avoid the same pitfall and not “grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:10). The ones who grumbled got in a place of destruction and saw no breakthrough.

Adjust your attitude. Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll once said, “The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day . . . I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it.” Paul was in the middle of a terrible situation in prison when he wrote his letter to the Philippians – yet, he told them eight times to rejoice! “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).

And there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. Ephesians 5:4

Develop a habit of giving thanks. In everything give thanks. If we’re going to have habits, we might as well have good ones. The flesh is inclined to look at whatever is negative. Discipline yourself to look at what is praiseworthy and what is right in a situation. Murmuring is contagious, but so is a thankful and grateful heart.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright ©2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. *”grumbling.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 07 Sep. 2010.
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Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8

We have been given the opportunity to choose our attitude in life. The bad report wants to indoctrinate our thinking. But when we go to the Word, we can get an attitude adjustment by “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NKJV).

This doesn’t mean you need to bury your head in the sand; however, you are to guard your thoughts and not focus on the problem, but on what brings peace to you and glory to God. Turn every problem into a prayer. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6 Phillips).

Attitude is defined as “a position assumed for a specific purpose.”* We are to assume the position of real Christians who look for broken moments and God-given opportunities to share the love of Jesus in a tangible way. That kind of attitude will change the world.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company . . . a church . . . a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past . . . we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you . . . we are in charge of our Attitudes. —Chuck Swindoll

Press on!
Pastor Jeff

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. John Bertram Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English. London: G. Bles, 1958.

*Attitude.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009.