DEVELOP A POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE

A very notable Evangelist, the Right Honorable R.W. Shambach begins and ends his evangelicals with a very profound statement, “You don’t have any trouble, all you need is faith in God.” That is profound indeed.  Through the many stages of my life, I have come to realize that there really is no situation in life that is bad or good.  The problem really is our attitude toward the situation that we find ourselves in.  That is why my recommendation for you today is to develop a POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE (PMA).  PMA will not change your circumstances, but it will alter the effect that such circumstance will have upon you – and subsequently the people around you.

First and foremost, I must apologize to my father. Why?  Because the topic today demands that I look at my relationship with my father in a new light – with a positive mental attitude.  For thirty something years, I have struggled with a deep seeded pain where my father is concerned.  Nobody knows how much that hurts unless you have been subjected to similar rejection, whether by your father, mother or both.  If you were, I pray for you – I pray for your peace and understanding and that God would give you grace, sufficient to impart forgiveness upon them and the courage to endure.  I also pray for the absent parent(s) that God would give them peace and understanding, because I know that their life is also in turmoil.  You see, there is an incarnate bond between parent and child that was tied by God’s own hand.  It is his word that says, they that God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.  I know that that scripture is usually attributed to the husband/wife relationship.  However, before you go jumping off you high horse and breaking a leg, let me explain the reason why this scripture is also applicable and very relevant to the parent/child relationship.   Parents are joined to their children from inception, period.  The union between the sperm and the cell represents a marriage and the resulting embryo represents one flesh – a new life.  The new life form must remain connected to its life source (the mother’s womb) until such time that it matures and becomes productive in its own right.   If I’m losing you here, come with me to Psalms 128:3 – “Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.”  Awesome, won’t you say?