Tag Archives: Philippians

Maintain a Christ-like Attitude in the Midst of a Mess

Maintaining a Christ-like attitude

Some days are hard, and having an attitude like Christ is not always easy.

Ants. They were everywhere.

The cat was covered from head to tail in ant spray.

My husband was on the phone with the local pet salon to get a professional bath for the cat.

And me? I was standing the middle of all the chaos wondering where to begin cleaning.

It all started twenty minutes before when my husband and I woke up to find ants marching all over the floor in our living room.

My husband quickly doused the ants with an entire can of ant spray. When he was done, our hardwood floor had turned into a puddle of sticky spray that began to permeate the house.

We were standing side by side staring at the mess when we first heard a noise. By the time we realized what it was, it too late. The cat had run from the back of the house, down the hallway, and into the living room where he slid and tumbled his way across the room.

By the time we got to him he was dripping wet with the toxic spray.

We had just moved into our new home a few months before and were quickly learning the “not so joys” of owning a home. A few weeks after moving in, the hot water tank gave way to water all over the finished basement. Not long after that we had to purchase a new dryer. The list went on and on.

Now I was standing before a messy floor with ants and a cat that needed a bath. How was I going to clean all of this mess up and make it to work on time? How much was the pet spa going to charge for this emergency bath?

We have all had days when things spin out of our control. But we get to choose how we handle days like these.

[biblegateway passage=”Philippians 1:27 ” display=”Philippians 1:27 “](NIV)
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only heart about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.

Paul wrote this in a letter to the Christian church in Philippi while sitting in a prison cell. If anyone should have had a bad attitude it was Paul. Instead, he chose to continue his mission right there in that cell.

Unexpected things will happen. But we can respond to those events with a Christ-like attitude. Paul was a living example of what he wrote to the Philippians.

Four strategies to fight a spiritual battle

Ephesians 6:11When a professional football player steps onto the field, he is physically prepared from head to toe for the game. He wears protective gear that is used to shield him from falls and impacts from the opposing team.

He is also mentally prepared. He has studied the opposing team and knows their strengths and weaknesses. He also knows his own strengths and weaknesses. He has prepared the best he can and is confident that he and his team can defeat the opposing team.

Like a football player, we must also prepare, but not for a game. Our preparation is for battle – a real battle against spiritual warfare.

The enemy knows our weaknesses and uses them to cloud our minds and confuse us with lies. He wants us to think our past is unforgivable, that we are suffering because of past sins, we will never change, no one likes us and that we are a failure. These lies infect our emotions and cause us to make hasty and unwise decisions.

Jesus was not immune to spiritual battles. In Matthew 4, he was tempted in the wilderness after fasting for 40 days. The enemy waited until he was tired and hungry to attack.

But Jesus knew it was coming and was ready. He spent time with God in prayer. He knew his Father’s voice and could recognize the lies of the enemy. He fought back with truth.

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Out of control attitude

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Ants. They were everywhere.

The cat was covered from head to tail in ant spray.

My husband was on the phone with the local pet salon to get a professional bath for the cat.

And me? I was standing the middle of all the chaos wondering where to begin cleaning.

It all started twenty minutes before when my husband and I woke up to find ants marching all over the floor in our living room.

My husband quickly doused the ants with an entire can of ant spray. When he was done, our hardwood floor had turned into a puddle of sticky spray that began to permeate the house.

We were standing side by side staring at the mess when we first heard the noise. By the time we could register what was going it, it was too late. The cat had begun a running descent from the back of the house, down the hallway and into the living room where he slid and tumbled his way across the room.

Read More