Attitude Pt 2
When I was away this weekend at our son’s graduation I recognized many things; some of which I’d like you to ponder. Graduation speeches are often given by a person in their last days of service to an institution. Therefore I hope to never deliver a commencement address. Secondly, commencement speeches can encourage or deflate an audience. The audience is there not because of your great ability to speak; but so that they can get a piece of paper and celebrate with friends their accomplishment. The best speeches pack a punch and deliver the goods. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is 17 minutes long when read aloud with fervor. The best speeches have one point and they illustrate it with stories of hope and defeat, rescue and triumph. We like it when the hero or heroine overcomes and wins in the end. In the end we are all like the hero or heroine; we start, we struggle and then we can be encouraged, bored, or deflated. I was able to see growth in people this weekend. I was given the chance to witness; delays, destruction and pain. I saw the beginning of new lives and heard of the endings of others. I saw health and vitality soar in youth and prayed for those who have become weakened and older. I know after years of study and devotion that: Jesus Loves Me this I know for the Bible tells me so. I know that people plant seeds in lives and that God waters, nurtures and matures them. And this is one of those seeds; if you have just skipped everything I wrote to get to the good part it’s OK. This is good stuff!!!
ATTITUDE
By: Charles Swindoll
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 failures, 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% how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.
Romans 8:31-35 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
Did Jesus Really Say That? 5/19/13
Podcast: Download (8.7MB)
Date: May 19, 2013
Speaker: Ken White
Valley Bible Church of Shafter is a family orientated, exciting, growing Christian church where you are welcome any time! Valley Bible Church is committed to turning the hearts of families, developing our God-given potential and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with Shafter and beyond. We look forward to meeting you and introducing you to our family.
Attitude
Attitude
Your attitude is the difference maker.
Where did you get your attitude?
- Personality – who you are.
- Environment- what’s around you.
- The perception of people around you – The words of others.
- Self image- how you view yourself.
- Exposure to growth- what you experience.
- Peers- who you are with.
- Beliefs- what you think.
The sum of all your thoughts comprises who you are.
Proverbs 4:23Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
What your attitude cannot do for you.
- Your attitude cannot substitute for your competence or ability.
If you think you can do something, that’s confidence. If you can do it, that’s competence. Both are needed for success.
- Your attitude cannot substitute for experience.
The problem with experience is you rarely have it until after you need it.
- Your attitude cannot change the facts.
- Your attitude cannot substitute for personal growth.
- Your attitude will not automatically stay good.
What your attitude can do for you.
- Your attitude makes a difference in approach to your life.
- Your attitude makes a difference in your relationships with people.
- Your attitude makes a difference in how you face challenges.
Romans 8:31-35 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
How to make your attitude your greatest asset.
- Take responsibility for your attitude.
- Evaluate your present attitude.
- Identify problem feelings in yourself.
- Identify problem feeling towards others.
- Identify problem thinking.
- Develop the desire to change.
- Change your attitude by changing your thinking.
- Manage your attitude moment by moment.
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is.
Did Jesus Really Say That? 5/12/13
Podcast: Download (8.1MB)
Date: May 8, 2013
Speaker: Mike Polley
Valley Bible Church of Shafter is a family orientated, exciting, growing Christian church where you are welcome any time! Valley Bible Church is committed to turning the hearts of families, developing our God-given potential and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with Shafter and beyond. We look forward to meeting you and introducing you to our family.
Pushing Reset when things get Complicated
I have come to understand that growth in any area is complicated. Watching children grow they change as thy get older. Their faces and bodies change, they grow taller and stronger and bigger. When looking at babies when you see them every day you don’t notice the changes but when you see them weekly or monthly almost everyone will exclaim O’ how they grown and changed. People are like that we change – some people seem to never change- the same haircut, height, weight, job, and disposition. They are not in a rut; they may like the consistency.
But we do change; we have opportunities for excitement and joy, and breaks from work we call vacations. We have things that disappoint and disrupt, focus is harder on those days, when we long for the regular days of work, eat, converse, sleep; repeat. Life is like that. We can enjoy the roller-coaster or watching someone else on the rollercoaster but we don’t want to stay on it. I find the Psalms to be very personal. I can identify with the author and feel the same things they feel as they are writing. I can hear their excitement when they praise the awesome power of God, and feel their disappointment when life becomes weighty and they are losing. A friend of mine reminded me of something I said to him a while ago. (Sometimes, I want to be reminded of what I’ve said, but selectively.) He said: “What were those three R’s?” I couldn’t remember being that literate at the time, but I think we could use this on a card when facing troubles and use the Bible as a guide for our change.
R- Remember- Remember what God has done and who He is and how He has saved and rescued you.
R- Respond – Respond to His grace and love and mercy and strength; all the characteristics of God. By loving Him in response to what He has done first. Remember He is the prime mover in our lives.
R- Rest- Rest in Him. The Lord blesses the ones He loves even in their sleep. The Lord’s yoke is easy and His burden is light, He is going to complete His work in you —- Remember, J
Palm 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Remember, Respond, Rest
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Did Jesus Really Say That? 5/5/13
Podcast: Download (8.0MB)
Date: April 28, 2013
Speaker: Mike Polley
Valley Bible Church of Shafter is a family orientated, exciting, growing Christian church where you are welcome any time! Valley Bible Church is committed to turning the hearts of families, developing our God-given potential and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with Shafter and beyond. We look forward to meeting you and introducing you to our family.
Ken White’s Ordination
Ken and Kim have been faithful members and leaders here for many years. We have supported them when they worked with New Tribes Missions in Papua New Guinea. They have been active participants in many of our events from teaching Bible studies with young people and adults to playing in the court yard. When they came home from the Mission field, their ordaining body (New Tribes Mission) removed their seal of approval on their Gospel ministry as they would no longer be a part of their mission. This is not a reflection on either party; no one did anything wrong or improper as they were no longer associated with or accountable to each other.
Ordination is a process that reflects association with the Body of Christ and recognition of calling to Gospel ministry. After a period of time for Ken and Kim to be here and serve with us, I brought up the idea of ordination to Ken to replace the ordination that they were under with New Tribes Mission. I have not wavered in my belief that Ken was called to Gospel ministry.
The process of ordination is recognition of God’s call on a person and in this case family’s life. We began the process of ordination by Valley Bible Church a couple of months ago. Ken worked on a document that describes his salvation experience, call to ministry, commitment to ministry, and areas of competence in ministry. In addition, Ken supplied us with a document that describes his beliefs and theology. I reviewed the material and it was supplied to the Elder and Deacon boards. We had an interview with Ken that lasted almost two hours and at the conclusion he was dismissed for discussion. The areas covered in the interview were: Bible, Salvation, the Trinity, Sin and its effects, the ends times and the use of Scriptures. Other areas covered were his education, as well as comparative religions and his new use of the Spanish language.
The discussion that followed was based in the character qualification for leadership found in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1. God’s call on his life and the actions he has taken in response to it. We also examined his commitment to the Body of Christ. Ordination or the laying on of hands to pray and commend a man to the Gospel is not something we take lightly as a church. We consider it a privilege to be a part of the process that aids the greater community and builds the Kingdom. We as a collective board unanimously support Ken White in the Gospel ministry. In recognition of this we are having a service on May 12, 2013 to publicly commend and ordain or set apart Ken White for Ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With this ordination comes accountability and care we have decided to be a part of His life, and the life of his family.
We are very pleased to see God at work in our church!
Encountering Jesus 4/28/13
Podcast: Download (8.0MB)
Date: April 28, 2013
Speaker: Mike Polley
Valley Bible Church of Shafter is a family orientated, exciting, growing Christian church where you are welcome any time! Valley Bible Church is committed to turning the hearts of families, developing our God-given potential and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with Shafter and beyond. We look forward to meeting you and introducing you to our family.
Prayer is a two way street
Prayer is a two way street; sounds familiar because we hear it so often. Sometimes I think about the clichés that are used in the Christian life and I realize there is a language that is used by church goers that can become second nature and a kind of short hand to communicate what we are thinking. But my heart doesn’t have a short hand way of dealing with pain. Pain comes in many forms but it is always pain. Pain might be Physical and visible or emotional mental and not seen by others; but, it is real.
Physical pain is tolerable for a while, but after a while it gets old and I just want it to stop. Praying is my way of dealing with physical pain. But when God does not answer the way I think he ought to and in the timing He ought to, I might be tempted to think He isn’t listening. I may be tempted to think He doesn’t care about my situation or my stuff because my pain overwhelms my thinking.
The other thing I know is that I don’t listen well when I am in pain I just want the pain to stop. NOW!!! My prayer is urgent because my need is urgent. Why doesn’t God fix it NOW? Maybe you could understand if someone you love has needed an operation to fix something that has gone wrong. You know the pain is temporary and in the end they will be healed and healthy – at least that is your hope. But when they are young or maybe just don’t understand how the operation could help – there is fear. People who are fearful generally aren’t very trusting. The pain we are going through might be caused by any number of things, but we most certainly want it fixed NOW. But there will first be pain, of the fixing and then the pain of the recovery. The Physician knows the process and can give you all the information but that doesn’t stop the pain. To make things worse if I don’t listen to the Doctor, the pain will be more intense if I just think it will go away without changing anything. The recovery will be slower if I allow the Doctor to work, but don’t follow the recovery instructions. I may even make it worse. So my portion of recovery is to listen, follow directions, and trust that I found the right Doctor and He found the right cause of my pain. This is an illustration and all illustrations break down. But if I don’t pray, even though God knows my needs and doesn’t need to be informed; I won’t have the opportunity to tell the one who knows me best and loves me the deepest what I am feeling. That is cheating me. If I do pray but don’t listen to what God is teaching me through His Word, through His Spirit, through His people and even through circumstances; I am cheating myself of the experience of God’s love in many forms, His wisdom and His care when I fail to listen.
The process may be short or long depending on what God wants to do with our lives. But we can trust Him. Prayer is a two way street – because He will always listen. The Psalmist gives us the word picture of God turning His head and bending down to hear our prayers like a father listens to His children. Our prayers may be short or long or even just HELP. But it is when we listen for His response, we get the second half of the equation. Listening is the hard work of prayer. It is easy to expect God to know everything or He wouldn’t be God. The part that seems hardest to people I listen to is the waiting to hear from God. He doesn’t change, He is always there, He listens, and He speaks. Yes, No, Maybe, not yet, … God is not a magic 8-ball nor do we have to guess. He answers us through His Word, through His Spirit and through His people, and even through circumstances.
Psalms 41:1- 3 Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble. The Lord protects and preserves them — they are counted among the blessed in the land — he does not give them over to the desire of their foes. The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.
Encountering Jesus 4/21/13
Podcast: Download (9.1MB)
Date: April 21, 2013
Speaker: Mike Polley
Valley Bible Church of Shafter is a family orientated, exciting, growing Christian church where you are welcome any time! Valley Bible Church is committed to turning the hearts of families, developing our God-given potential and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with Shafter and beyond. We look forward to meeting you and introducing you to our family.