"There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude." --Clement Stone
A turtle gets nowhere until it sticks its neck out.
A tea kettle is up to its neck in hot water, but it still sings.
A kite rises against the wind, not with it.
Adversity is the refiner's fire that burns the impurities from our souls. Everybody encounters difficulties, but few approach their problems with a proper outlook. What happens to you is not nearly as important as how you respond. You can learn to maintain a good viewpoint regardless of what happens.
Attitude is an inward feeling expressed by your behavior. People can often detect your attitude, even if you don't speak a word. The most important decision you make each morning is what kind of attitude you will have during the day.
David was discouraged when he penned, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me?" (Ps. 42:5a). He asked himself, "Why am I discouraged? Why am I so restless?" David spoke to his own soul.
People often think that talking to themselves is a bad sign. But on occasion, we need to look ourselves square in the face and talk to ourselves. David said, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? . . . hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance (Ps. 42:5).
If we wouldn't think of sitting around all day and listening to trash talk on TV, then we should stop listening to trash talk coming out of our souls! "Nobody cares about me." "So and so was ugly to me, so I'll be ugly to him!" "Nobody knows all the trouble I've known." We must put a stop to garbage self-talk. When we start feeling sorry for ourselves, we should preach to our own souls. We should stop listening to ourselves and start talking to ourselves like David did.
Consider This: Talk about the importance of attitude.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Single-Minded Revival Heart Cry? by Dan Erickson
Everyone who wants to glorify God should apply the Book of James. In my search of the Scriptures as to why there has been no heaven-sent revival and spiritual awakening across North America since 1905, I came across James 1:5-8. There we are told that the Lord will not find fault with our request for wisdom. Wisdom could be defined simply as knowing what is right to do and doing it – maybe a simple definition of revival. His problem is with the state of the minds and the attitude of the hearts of those making the request.
Ministries like CRF have worked for decades and are working today to help point the way to "praying ground" by helping God's people deal with sin, self and the Holy Spirit. Lots of people have subsequently been exposed to what God has done in the great outpourings of history and left with the challenge to stay on praying ground (live holy, obedient lives) and pray for Him to do it again. But what happens then?
We make one of three choices:
Choice 1
Personally, we can wish God would act BUT choose to doubt that He really wants to or is even able to send outpouring in our day. "We've gone too far" and "God has waited too long and now He can't do it in a society like we have today" is seldom said right out but is inferred by what we may say and do. We may even ask God to make "Ishmael" ministries stand before Him - man-made solutions from unbelief. (See Genesis 17:15-19). This position denies Acts 3:19, which literally says that time-after-time, right through to the end of the age of grace, God will send times of refreshing. Even a brief study of the dark times in the past and how God sent His outpourings (in answer to the prayers of those who would believe) would further confirm His unchanging ability and perfect timing.
Choice 2
We can believe that God wants and is able to send outpouring, BUT we really don't want Him to do so. It might change things from the way we like them.
Choices 1 & 2 both suggest a "double mind." James 1:6-8 warns, "…Let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." It's no use to pray for something we either don't believe God will do or really don't want Him to do.
Choice 3
We can take the "no BUTS" approach. God answered a gushing spirit of prayer around a pastor by the name of Bill McLeod who was willing to prime the pump by his own single-minded heart cry. This choice is ours to make today.
Ministries like CRF have worked for decades and are working today to help point the way to "praying ground" by helping God's people deal with sin, self and the Holy Spirit. Lots of people have subsequently been exposed to what God has done in the great outpourings of history and left with the challenge to stay on praying ground (live holy, obedient lives) and pray for Him to do it again. But what happens then?
We make one of three choices:
Choice 1
Personally, we can wish God would act BUT choose to doubt that He really wants to or is even able to send outpouring in our day. "We've gone too far" and "God has waited too long and now He can't do it in a society like we have today" is seldom said right out but is inferred by what we may say and do. We may even ask God to make "Ishmael" ministries stand before Him - man-made solutions from unbelief. (See Genesis 17:15-19). This position denies Acts 3:19, which literally says that time-after-time, right through to the end of the age of grace, God will send times of refreshing. Even a brief study of the dark times in the past and how God sent His outpourings (in answer to the prayers of those who would believe) would further confirm His unchanging ability and perfect timing.
Choice 2
We can believe that God wants and is able to send outpouring, BUT we really don't want Him to do so. It might change things from the way we like them.
Choices 1 & 2 both suggest a "double mind." James 1:6-8 warns, "…Let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." It's no use to pray for something we either don't believe God will do or really don't want Him to do.
Choice 3
We can take the "no BUTS" approach. God answered a gushing spirit of prayer around a pastor by the name of Bill McLeod who was willing to prime the pump by his own single-minded heart cry. This choice is ours to make today.
Welcome
Welcome to the "Revival Today" blog which is a ministry of the Canadian Revival Fellowship: www.revivalfellowship.com. We will be posting various devotional's and thoughts weekly and sometimes daily. Check back often, link to and bookmark this blog. May we be encouraged to seek a personal revival in our own life's and pray for a corporate and spiritual awakening in our day.
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