Recipe for Spiritual Success

Philippians 4:4-9 Paul gives 6 primary ingredients for success in our walk with Christ. 1. Rejoice always. 2. Don't hide your gentle spirit. 3. Don't worry about anything. 4. Pray about everything. 5. Control what you think about. And 6. Find a good pattern for your life. (Paul offers himself.) Rejoicing sets our attitude in a positive, everything's going to be alright mode. To choose to rejoice is to exercise faith that God is in control. He wants us to have a reputation for being gentle. Gentleness comes from strength and being in control of our actions not from weakness. When things are Ok between God and us, we don't have to prove that we're the "grandest tiger in the jungle." The next two ingredients need to be blended together in equal amounts. As they work together, they result in: I know where my answers come from; my relations with Him is enhanced. My worrying only gets my eyes off Christ and on to my own inabilities. Someone once said, "As a man thinks, so is he.” It's not scripture, but there is a certain amount of truth to it. Paul encourages us to think about positive things. The implication is that in any situation. we should be making a conscious effort to major on the positive aspects. Ask God to provide you with a good role model of what walking with Christ in faith really is all about. Begin to work it out in your own life.