The BE Attitudes for Christians

By Mary Ruth Whitley

The Be Attitudes for Christians has thirty-two Christian 'attitudes' that can be applied to many different situations in our lives, beginning with BE BLESSED and ending with BE PREPARED. This is a devotional, a resource, and could easily be used for research. Studying biblical end-times and prophecy has actually given me peace of mind about our world. Jesus laid God's plan out for his disciples and revealed to John some prophetic events that will take place in the future. There is no date given for God's final plan to occur, but it will come to pass like all other prior prophecies described in the Bible. God's message is available for anyone who wants to peruse it, meditate on it, study it, be prepared and be blessed by it. As a devotional, prior to an election, I created a "Forty Day Fast and Prayer" for Christians. After sharing it with a woman, she urged me to write more devotions using the same process and style. That daily devotion was simply an Attitude, a Thought, and some Scriptures. After several years of writing and praying about this, I chose the acronym-AIM. A is the "attitude," I stands for the "instruction," and M is the relevant Scripture for memory or meditation. All the Be Attitudes are developed around Scripture and allow the reader to be in God's Word. By choice, the meditation can be long or short. When we AIM to let the Word of God move us, then His purpose will be accomplished.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781641145855

Book preview

Chapter 1

Be Blessed

A = Be blessed! For today be bless(ed), be blessed, and be a blessing!

I = 1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff, which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish (Psalm 1:1-6 KJV).

Sometimes, the King James Version seems to have a special way of saying it, especially if that’s the way you learned the verses!

Years later, the Prophet Jeremiah writes, 5 This is what the Lord says: 7‘Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. 8He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. 9The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve’" (Jeremiah 17:5, 7-10).

On the island of Patmos, Jesus told John in Revelation 1:3: Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

When I read these verses, I see that we can be blessed and bless(ed). We are bless(ed) as we walk with God, trust in the Lord, and meditate on His Word. However, because we delight in God’s law, we are blessed. He knows who is righteous and the righteous will not perish. The visual of being like a tree planted by water that is able to bear much fruit is so peaceful, it makes me want to feed on God’s Word more and always be blessed, even when the heat comes, like Jeremiah says.

M = Jesus described the people who are blessed. In both Matthew 5:1-12 and Luke 6:17-26 Jesus gives the Beatitudes:

"1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them, saying:

3‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you’" (Matthew 5:1-12).

(For further study of Matthew’s text, refer to Isa 61:2-3 for Mt 5:4; Ps 37:11 for Mt 5:5; Isa 55:12 for Mt 5:6; Heb 12:14 for Mt 5:8; Ro 8:14 for Mt 5:9; 1 Pe 3:14 for Mt 5:10; and Ac 7:52 for Mt 5:12.)

In his book, The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer gave me a better perspective of this passage in a chapter entitled The Blessedness of Nothing. He says God prepared a world of good things for mankind to use before they were created. Within the heart of man was a shrine for God. When sin came, God was forced out of His shrine and man began coveting the good things. These things took the place of God within man’s heart (Tozer 1993, 21-22). It would be better to be blessed with no things than to be without God.

Now read what Luke 6:17-26 says about those who possess none of these gifts: "17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, 19and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all. 20Looking at his disciples, he said:

‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

22Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you

and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.

23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.

For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.

24But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.

25Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

26Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how

their fathers treated the false prophets.’"

The Gospels are not identical, but one can get the same picture about those who God blesses from both Matthew and Luke here. There are a multitude of different types of people who are poor, weary, meek, humble, hungry, sad, persecuted, and pure in heart. They are to rejoice because in heaven they will have great rewards—where the bless(ed) will be blessed. Those who hate the bless(ed) will receive nothing but "woes" in the end, for the ungodly treated the prophets of old in the same way. The ungodly will always perish, and the righteous will live forever, and that is a wonderful blessing Jesus gave us.

Chapter 2

Be Praying

A = Be praying for prayer is the soil in which hope grows best.

I = Turn your heart and mind to God and feel the hope in His will for you today. Prayer brings glory to God. The Holy Ghost communicates with God, presents requests, and receives answers, but Jesus is our mediator who lives within our hearts. By grace, our lame, personal, and faulty prayers will be overlooked, but our desires will be interpreted and our needs supplied! Prayer releases power in our lives. A close relationship to God allows for a spiritual transaction with heaven’s Creator. This is communion with God the Father and God the Son through God the Holy Spirit. Pray anywhere and anytime. Remember that Jonah prayed inside a whale. Pray for God’s will and be persistent in prayer. The highest form of prayer comes from the depths of a humble heart.

Matthew 6:5-8 says, 5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in their synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close your door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you! 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Finally, Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), remembering that The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer [or cry] (1 Peter 3:12 and Psalm 34:15).

M = When Solomon was dedicating the temple, he asked God to be merciful to His people when they sinned. God replied, If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

In Matthew 6:9-13, the Lord Jesus taught us how to pray:

"9 This then is how to pray:

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

10Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

11Give us this day our daily bread.

12Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one!’"

Then Jesus added, 14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

The hymn Sweet Hour of Prayer by W. W. Walford is true: Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer that calls me from a world of care and bids me at my Father’s throne, make all my wants and wishes known; In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief, and oft escaped the tempter’s snare by thy return sweet hour of prayer.

Chapter 3

Be Saved

A = Be saved for eternity.

I = My son gave me some food for thought about being saved when he wrote, If you have it, then you can never lose it. If you lose it, you never had it. Believers are definitely divided on the subject of once saved always saved. Since it is impossible to know someone else’s heart, the only certainty regarding salvation is your own heart! Outward appearances can be deceiving. There are those who acknowledge Jesus Christ with their mouths, but what they do and say will eventually prove their faith was not real. Judas is a prime example of this. Hank Hanegraaff believes that spiritual birth, like physical birth, cannot be undone. He reminded me that life everlasting begins when we embrace the One who died for us. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:7, You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again,’ but he did not say again and again and again! Remember what Paul said in Philippians 1:6, He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Hanegraaff 2008, 44).

God’s original plan for humanity was not that anyone would spend an eternity in hell. He told Ezekiel, Say to them, ‘as surely as I live,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel’ (Eze 33:4)? In the Old Testament, men lived by the Laws of Moses. They knew that if a sinner turned from his sin, he would live and if a righteous man turned from his righteousness and committed sin, he would die. In the New Testament, man is saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and is not judged by the Law.

Here is what Peter says about some of Paul’s writings: 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave Him. 16He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:15-16). Even Peter admitted that Scripture is sometimes not easy to understand and can be distorted—unless you are willing to study it. Today you will read some Scriptures on which believers are divided. Afterward, you can decide for yourself.

4 Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, I am the Christ, and will deceive many … 9 Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:4-5, 9-13).

1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:1-2).

4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace (Hebrews 6:4-6).

24 See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is what he promised us—even eternal life (1 John 2:24-25).

20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them (2 Peter 2:20-21).

This passage is possibly the one most debated: 26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left. 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God (Hebrews 10:26-27).

Before you jump to any conclusion, read what Jesus said to the religious leaders who were accusing Him of being under Satan’s power:

30 He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 12:30-32) (also in Luke 12:10).

The passages before this one were not talking about the one unpardonable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Look at the sins Jesus said would be forgiven. The sin found in the verses above is possibly the sin of unbelief. Just having knowledge of the truth does not make one a believer—Satan and the demons know who Jesus is, and they take His Word and distort it. There are many who go to church every week and have never made a commitment, crossed the line, or simply asked Jesus into their hearts. They have the knowledge of the truth and might even understand that the decision must be Jesus because there is no other sacrifice. It is either Christ or eternal loss. The passages you read cannot mean that the only forgiven sins are the sins before conversion or we are all doomed. If this were true, the Prodigal Son would never have come home. Remember that Jesus told us we were to forgive people seventy times seven. Peter cursed, lied, and denied Jesus, repented afterward, and the Lord forgave him. Hebrews 10:26-27 is often used to frighten God’s people. Satan uses it to present God as a tyrant and to cause believers to doubt themselves and trap their consciences, which can lead to despair. The seven letters written to the Christian churches (and Christian individuals) in Revelation make it clear that, if they had ears to hear, Jesus wanted them to repent of their wrong doings before it was too late. Why repent if you cannot be forgiven? Bible scholars come to conclusions about what is the truth in Scripture after reading many passages on one topic.

Therefore, these Scriptures should also be read:

1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2).

In John 3:3. Jesus told Nicodemus, No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

In Philippians 1:6, Paul says he is "confident in this, that he who began a good work in you