Jesus is helping you with another aspect of your HEART but also involves your mind. Eph 4:22-24 (NIV) You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Phil 2:4-7 (NIV) Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your ATTITUDE should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Your emotions exist in and flow out of your HEART and so do your attitudes and character. So, there are two aspects to opening your HEART to God. You need Jesus to teach you how to submit your attitudes and character to Him in addition to your emotions.

The reason your heart is the first door God wants to help you open is because it controls you. God has named this mysterious part of you, that contains your feelings, attitudes, and character, as being your HEART; this is the area where all your emotions, your attitudes toward life, and your character reside. This Biblical term, HEART, is in reference to this area that represents who you are now; it doesn’t influence you from a logical perspective; it just gives you feelings and attitudes based on what your mind decided was best for you. Jesus addressed this issue of your heart in the previous course and will take you forward in this course.

Since your heart is more powerful and influential over you than your mind is, it can make you do things you really don’t want to do; and, it can keep you from doing things you do want to do. But, your brain and your mind ORIGINALLY shaped your heart.

You have been exposing yourself to all kinds of training, information, and experiences. You have used your mind to analyze all this training, information, and experiences to decide what you believe and what you don’t, what you want for yourself and what you don’t, and what you would add to your life and what you wouldn’t. Once you made your mental decision, IF IT DIDN’T CONFLICT WITH THINGS ALREADY STORED in your heart, your heart accepted it as truth. Once it was accepted as truth, your heart took over your life in that area.

Once your heart accepts something as truth, it sends positive or negative emotions to you. These feelings can be so strong that you feel forced to yield to them. What Jesus is doing with your heart, through the Submitting Your Emotions and the Submitting Your Attitudes And Character courses is to heal areas of your heart that are embracing errors, misinformation, lies, sins, habits, lifestyles, and addictions.

An attitude is an ESTABLISHED way of thinking mentally or feeling emotionally, it is an established personal view on something, it is our mindset or outlook that is lived out in our behavior, or characterizes us as a person. If your attitude is faulty, then Jesus needs to help you get it changed. BUT, you have to DESIRE it to be changed.

Jesus will be spending a lot more time with the issue of attitudes; this is because attitudes produce the type of character you have. There is a list of God’s power-attitudes in Matthew 5:3-12 that you will need to have so as to be able to get your character changed. And, there is a list of God’s character in Galatians 5:22-23 that you will need to yield to so as to live a life of good character. So, since good attitudes give birth to good character, Jesus will be spending most of the time on attitudes.

Heb 4:12 (NIV) For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Jesus is going to be helping you compare your attitudes with the Bible. Biblical principles will help you see where your attitude is different from what Jesus’ attitude is. Phil 2:5 (NIV) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

Phil 2:4-7 (NIV) Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Jesus’ attitude was to see your issues, your problems, and your needs. Then He allowed them to be more important to Him than His own status, benefits, comfort, and convience.

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, BUT ALSO to the interests of others. You will have to be willing to look at the situations of other people. You will have to allow yourself to FEEL the problems, issues, and difficulties of others. You will have to allow yourself to start thinking about what you might be able to do to help. And, you will have to pray and ask Jesus to help you get involved in other people’s lives.

What if you went into a store and everyone treated you like dirt? You would leave and go find a store that appreciated your business. Good attitudes can help you win in life; your attitudes have been making or breaking you all your life. They are important in all your relationships; people respond to you based on them. You may try to do better during certain situations; but, you attitudes will show through all your best efforts to treat people nice. Those closest to you can always tell when you are wanting something from them. If you are trying to get someone to do something for you, you will try to improve your attitudes FOR THE MOMENT.

Did you know that Jesus is noticing the way you treat people? If you are all about you and your physical needs, did you know that it will keep you from noticing the needs of others. Your physical life may be so demanding that all you can see is what you need. It may be causing you to miss out on all the blessings of God. You may be missing them because it feels like you don’t have time to help anyone else. Your physical needs may be keeping you from seeing how real-life works. Did you know that giving is more important than getting? Did you know that if you give to others, Jesus will give much more back to you?

Luke 6:38 (NIV) Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. It may seem like you are taking care of your own needs; but, you have the body Jesus gave you; you have the health Jesus gave you; you have the mental abilities Jesus gave you; you have the circumstances Jesus is giving you; and, you are talented and have aptitudes that Jesus gave you.

What if you went into a store and they treated you like royalty? And, what if you really got the impression that they weren’t just doing it to make a sale? What if they actually didn’t want to make a sale, if they didn’t have anything you needed? What if you and they found out there wasn’t anything in the store and never would be that you needed? But, what if they still treated you like royalty?

The financial problem is, if they don’t try to sell you something you don’t need, they won’t get any of the money they need. If they don’t get their financial needs met through you, they could feel like they “wasted their time” on you. They could feel like you are a person that can’t help them in any way; they could feel like they should have spent that time with someone that they could have made a sale with; plus, they didn’t SEEM to be much help to you either. BUT, you helped them in a tremendous way; you gave them an opportunity to be blessed by God. The treatment they gave you will bring special blessings from God on a physical level and in eternity.

Mat 7:12 (NIV) So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. When your attitude allows you to live out Matthew 7:12, you get special blessings from God. If you help people that you can’t get any physical benefits from, your attitudes are the kind God is looking for. Luke 14:12-14 (NIV) Then Jesus said to His host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”