HOW CLOSELY ARE YOUR ATTITUDES ALIGNED WITH THE ATTITUDES OF JESUS?

SCRIPTURE:
The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who 
is fully trained will be like their teacher. 
(Luke 6:40)

MEDITATION:
Everything Jesus said is important and what He said in the scripture above 
is something that is very important to believers.
Jesus is the teacher and no other person is qualified to be above Him.
That means that Christians 
should never parse any of His words to fit their own desires.
Not only the words of Jesus, but any of the words from the scriptures 
should not be parsed, because they are inspired by God.

Everything we are told in the Bible are the things we should strive to do.
If we don’t, then our lack of action 
indicates we have decided that we are above Him.
In other words, we are creating our own list of things to obey, 
instead of following His instructions.

He also tells us that we (believers) should be like the teacher (Jesus).
That means that we should develop the same attitudes as Jesus.

What are His attitudes? What perspectives does He have?
Here are just a few:
As far as the poor, He wants them to be fed.
As far as the rich, He wants them to share with others 
(Note: He also felt it is harder for them to be saved).

As far as the lost, He wants them to be saved.
As far as the hurting, He wants them to be encouraged.
As far as the sick, He wants them to be healed.
As far as the arrogant, He wants them to be humbled.

As far as the humble, He wants them to be recognized and lifted up.
As far His disciples (includes us), 
He wants them to be faithful in all circumstances.
As far as the government, He wants those in positions of authority 
to know they are under the authority and control of God.
As far as the church (us), He wants it (us) to share the Gospel.
As far as church leaders, He wants them to be sincere and dedicated.

As far as serving, He wants us to have a giving attitude
and to use our gifts and talents to serve Him.
As far as the repentant, He wants them to be forgiven.
As far as anger, He wants it to be under control.
As far as love, He wants it to be an outward expression of our inward faith.
As far as vengeance, He wants us to leave it to God.

As far as the oppressed, He wants them to be encouraged and helped.
As far as God, He wants Him to have the top priority and to be obeyed.
As far as those who take advantage of others, He wants them 
to be exposed for who they are, and to be punished.

ACTION:
Christianity includes obedience and developing Christlike attitudes.
How are you doing in these two areas?
Which attitudes do you need to change?
Which commands do you need to start obeying?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for the instructions in Your Word. Thank You, 
Jesus for creating the examples for us to follow. Lord, I want to be the 
kind of ‘student’ that will please You, the Teacher. Help me in my areas 
of weakness and teach me to change the attitudes I have had for years that 
are not aligned with Your attitudes. I know that the more I can become like 
You, the more I will be able to use the gifts and talents You have given me 
to contribute to Your earthly ministry.”