One of the great times during my intern year of seminary was floating canoes down the great Delaware River with about 20 high school students. We passed through the area that divides New York and New Jersey. Breathtaking! Every turn brought to us more of the wonders of the creation of God. But every time we passed a few resorts, I was always stunned by the trash dumped in the river. It was an easy decision to do more looking UP than looking down. The Lord brought back that float trip to me, as I prayed over these two verses. I can think of the junk in my life, or I can think on the great things Christ has done in my life. As I think, so I am and so I do! I have to admit that many times I look more at the junk in my life - things that turn me sour on me, on others, on life itself! Ugh! He got me looking UP, again!

That is the power of a God-shaped attitude. I tell you, I got into more worship and praise to God than I have for some time. He had me looking UP more than looking down. I found myself rejoicing and praising God through our membership list, through the Prayer Concerns, and for the larger Church beyond our doors. What joy to worship Him. He reminded me to keep my thoughts looking for evidence that He is here. My attitude improved - and, I hope, my work.

Well, what kinds of thoughts and attitudes do we store in our hearts and minds? Do they empower us to see and appreciate beauty and glory of God in each day? Do we allow our minds to become so trapped and enslaved by the power of sin and selfishness, that we only want to hurt? Is our gaze downward - or upward to the true, honorable and pure?

Our attitude should reflect what is on the inside of us! When our attitude reflects Christ - wow!! Blessings come! I hope all of us here want that. You and I were motivated to come here to get our hearts, minds, and attitudes in line with Him. That’s good!

First, I remind you that just a Positive Attitude about life does not make anyone a Christian. After all, Hitler had a positive attitude. Always begin at the cross of Jesus Christ. He died for the sins of the world. When we recognize that He died FOR YOU- FOR ME - PERSONALLY, we can welcome Him into our lives, "Just as I am, but that Thy blood was shed for me..." From that moment on, we are HIS! Then Easter bursts in our lives. "...You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart." We are to then seek "the mind of Christ," above and beyond where the world thinks and acts. By His grace, He begins on the inside. When we cooperate, God begins to move in us!

These two verses build into us the two simple steps of being a true follower of Jesus Christ. We are to think deeply on the things of Christ. As we do, our actions in life reflect Him in us: PONDER HIM, then, PRACTICE HIM!

You know, the models we choose to follow in life affect us in a great way. We develop habits and routines. They are wonderful, if Christ has been the programmer, the developer of us. Just to decide for Christ at an evangelistic meeting and do nothing...is a horrible waste of a Christian life. Don’t be like the Christian man who retired to his dream home. He had everything, and he proudly showed one friend who came to visit. Passing through the man’s den, one fellow saw the most sophisticated computer ever. "What do you use that computer for?" "Oh, we only keep our grocery list on that!"

I can usually tell if a Christian has the power of a God-shaped attitude. Instead of looking for people to hurt or to hate, they are constantly looking for ways to serve another! Stuart Briscoe shared a story that shows we have a long way to go! A former member of his church encountered him in the grocery store.

"I left your church, you know," she said rather pointedly. "You were not meeting my needs." "Really? I don’t recollect seeing you before, let alone talking with you, let alone knowing your needs. Did you ever tell anyone specifically what your needs were?" "I’m not sure." So, Stuart asked another question. "Can you tell me, if we have 5,000 people sitting in that church, all with your attitude, how anyone’s needs are going to be met? If you reserve the right of freedom to have that attitude, then you must give everybody the freedom to have that attitude. And if everybody has that attitude, who on earth is going to do all the need-meeting?" Standing firm, she demanded, "Then you tell me who will."

Relieved, Stuart responded, "I thought you’d never ask. This is what will work: when people stop sitting in the pew saying, ‘They’re not meeting MY needs,’ and start saying, ‘Whose needs can I meet?’ Then needs will be met. When the Servant Spirit flourishes in a church, then you minister to each other AS UNTO THE LORD."

It is hard to sense His power when we want all things for ourselves. "Meet my need..." "Do more for me..." "Serve me..." We forget higher, more noble causes to pursue. He empowers us to live each day, only as we take the time to build up our hearts and minds with Himself in His Word!

"May my prayer be counted as incense before Thee, the lifting up of my hands as the evening offering!" (Psalm 141.2) David knew the secret. Dwell on God, then He will dwell in you to make a difference IN YOU AND AROUND YOU! Our ears begin to hear the cry, our eyes see the need, and our steps become bold to live out the power of a God-shaped attitude!

You and I have the greatest resource in the world available to us, when our minds are "seeking things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God!" (Col 3.1) Our minds are made to reflect the glory of God rather than the trivial and trash of life that we so often place in them. So, how do we begin? Or, how do we re-start with Christ?

That causes trouble, especially in America. We are always told to "think for yourself," and "be yourself." "About the worst advice you could give anybody is to be yourself. Please don’t let children think for themselves." (O Wilde) Yale University officials welcomed a new class of freshmen. The president said, "The faculty can guide you..take you to the frontiers of knowledge, but we cannot supply you with a philosophy of education...or a philosophy of life. This must come from your own active learning, choices and decisions...take yourself seriously. Think for yourself." In short the president was declaring that the university has no clue what you are supposed TO BE DOING at their school (Willimon, Sermons at Duke)

Recall how poorly the people of God behaved before God gave His Ten Commandments. He gave the ten commandments to His people so that they could say "no" to a lower form of life. God did not allow His people to think for themselves. They had a poor record of life when they tried. Those ten laws for life lifted His people to consider His mind, His way of thinking, in a world that wants only to devour and consume and look for more.

How do we get started? Or re-started to have the mind of Christ? The list Paul provides us can distract us from our selfish living...or...spur us to want more of Him. He shows us how to maximize our life! Take these words of Christ and make them yours:

true: I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE (John 14)

honorable: (I) DID NOT COME TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE (Mk 10)

right: DO NOT JUDGE, LEST YOU BE JUDGED (Matthew 7)

pure: BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART..THEY SHALL SEE GOD (Matthew 5)

lovely: HIS MOUTH SPEAKS FROM THAT WHICH FILLS HIS HEART (Luke 6)

good repute: THIS IS MY COMMANDMENT...LOVE ONE ANOTHER (John 15)

excellent: I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS..TO THE END OF THE AGE (Matthew 28)

What a change this would be! People who love to gossip and hurt others might begin to speak well of others, or say nothing. "Me-first Christians" might begin to see needs around them and do what they could to meet them. If Christians followed these words, the Holy Spirit can begin to bring His power and His attitude into our lives, too. I know you want more of Him!

What we believe determines how we behave! PRACTICE THESE THINGS! If you do, Paul promises to us the same God he had: THE GOD OF PEACE WILL BE WITH YOU. What a great promise! That does not mean absence of conflict. It means that His peace empowers us to continue to find new ways to serve Him in the middle of a maddening world. Two brief stories of one man born here in the South, tells what happens to people who think upward, then show outward the power of a God-shaped attitude.

This African American, by the grace of God, moved from slavery to great fame. One day he and a colleague happened to walk past a home. The woman came out, yelled at him to chop and bring wood into her house. The man removed his suit coat, rolled his sleeves, chopped the wood and carried it in and then excused himself. His colleague was stunned to watch this. "Why didn’t you tell her who you were, George?" "She needed the wood cut and God brought me to help at that moment. I was happy to do it."

George Washington Carver believed that God had special plans for him. He had a good mind and talent for science. He became a chemist specializing in agricultural products. He helped the South move from cotton to include sweet potatoes and peanuts. He often carried on his own dialogue with God in "God’s Little Workshop," his laboratory.

"God, tell me the purpose of the universe." "Now George, that’s too big a question for your little mind. Reduce the scope a bit." "All right. Tell me the purpose of humankind." "Reduce the scope of your question." "O.K., God, tell me about the peanut." And God replied, "Right, now we’re talking." Carver gave his talent to discovering the uses of the peanut. By the time he died, he had found over 100 uses for that small plant, which gave new life to a struggling economy in the South. Everyone benefitted from the God-shaped attitude he had about life and his willingness to allow God to mold him!

Our lives and our world do not need to be shackled by the way the world thinks and acts. Now more than ever, we need to keep lofty thoughts on Jesus Christ, and love willing to roll up sleeves and be the power of a God-shaped attitude around us. The choice is ours!