Chapter 5 |
Chapter 4 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 1 |
The Book Freedom, What onEarth is It? |
Freedom, What on Earth is It? By Roxy J Nolin Chapter 1 Changing Our Attitudes |
Chapter 1 |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 4 |
As pastor, I am constantly being challenged to bring truth to the church. Truth that will bring change to our thinking and the attitudes of the heart. A place where they can walk by the spirit and not the dictates of the flesh or carnal thinking. The Word of God says, "For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Simply, our attitudes govern our behavior. If our attitude is from wrong or carnal thinking, then normally the out come will be wrong, a work of the flesh. Attitudes are usually something we are convinced about with an emotional element. It is the way we consider or regard people or things. And in turn act or react from these attitudes whether they are right or wrong. Spirit or flesh! Our beliefs are usually different from our emotions or attitudes. It is what we believe, trust or have confidence in. Sadly we do not always act on our beliefs but on feelings, attitudes of temperaments, which in turn dictates our reactions. Now feelings are not always wrong. It is good to feel good or to feel right about a person or thing, but this does not mean that our decision or reaction to our feelings is always right. Why? Because our attitudes can be wrong, the difficulty arises in knowing what is right or wrong. What is flesh or what is spirit! Suffices to say, we have all been raised in different environments and because of this we see people and things differently. Our traditions, views of government, family, church and more, have laid foundations in our heart. The challenge is, how do we change what is right or wrong? How do we bring us to the place of walking in the spirit and not the flesh? Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]." The word ideal means, an actual thing as a standard for imitation. This Scripture is a challenge to change our heart to a higher level in God, Simply to walk by the spirit and not by the carnal, in turn making us desire His good and acceptable and perfect will. New attitudes means, to renew our mind to the thinking of God, His ways, His purposes. In turn, from the spirit, producing an action or reaction that will produce life in God and a change of attitudes in the heart. Attitudes from the World Do not be conformed, fashioned or adapted to this world means, don't think or have the attitudes of this world, the carnal ways, it's external superficial customs or traditions. Now, this is not always easy in the world we live. We are constantly being bombarded and manipulated with information to change our thinking or attitudes. To get us to walk after flesh and not by the spirit. The world system spends billions of dollars to get us to change to its ways and purposes. To buy their products, money spent to procure the right word or phrase. In turn we are slowly and subtly tricked into acting out of an emotion, the carnal, instead of the reality of the spirit. Simply, we have many enemies who are doing what ever it takes to stop us from finding the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. This is why it is so critical we prove our thinking and change our attitudes by the Word of God and His consciousness. For example, I was raised to believe that a GMC truck was better than a Ford or Dodge. It was a strong belief but as I matured in life I realized they all had good and bad faults. Yet even though my belief had changed, my attitude was one of, "I don't care, I will still buy a GMC truck." It simply became an action or reaction of my attitude. It had no standard to my belief because my belief had changed. Many of us hear new truths all the time concerning God but because a wrong attitude or a consciousness that is dictated by the carnal we miss out on the perfect will of God. We Act On Our Attitudes Most of us act a certain way because of our attitudes. It is in this fact that we as ministers are constantly endeavoring to help change or be changed. We desire God's children to have a right heart attitude towards life, each other and especially towards the freedom and liberty that we have in Christ. And weather we like it or not, it is God's Word that will ultimately change us in our thinking. Truths that bring us out of carnal or sin consciousness into God consciousness, A life walked by the spirit, a place of freedom! As the Word has said, "For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." or we could say, "so shall he be." How critical it is for us to renew our thinking? How vital it is to have a right heart attitude? It can be the difference between life and death! Now when I say Death I simply mean a life walked by the flesh. A place where there is no freedom. Life is the place of the spirit. A place where God lives, a place of complete freedom |
Copyright Roxy J Nolin 2002 |
About the Author Roxy J Nolin has been a Pastor-Teacher since 1985. He has a gift to minister God's Word with vibrant and uncompromising effects and is dedicated to ministering the word of grace to all the nations. He has ministered across US, Canada and Asia. As well as pioneering several churches, he is Senior Pastor of Solid Rock Church of Calgary and is Director/apostle of Association of Gospel Ministries International. He has a Business Management and Marketing background, a Degree in Biblical Studies and has authored several books. He and his wife Jan have four children, one grandson and reside in the City of Calgary Alberta Canada. |
Chapter 5 |
