Lord, Change My Attitude_ Before Its Too Late Part 1

LORD, CHANGE.

MY ATt.i.tUDE.

BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

by James MacDonald

FOREWORD.

If it is true, as the saying goes, that att.i.tude determines alt.i.tude, this book will help you "mount up with the wings of eagles"! In his own direct style, James MacDonald has pinpointed those negative att.i.tudes that keep us in the wilderness of our spiritual experience and has given us positive help in developing G.o.d honoring att.i.tudes that will bring us in to "Promised Land Living."

This book is not for everyone. Not all people who read books are really interested in changing their att.i.tudes. Some are more interested in learning new "insights" rather than actually letting G.o.d change their lives. This book is intended to bring about positive, radical change. Those who are serious will benefit; those who read it with other people in mind, or simply as a primer on human nature, will finish it with the same att.i.tudes with which they began.

Let me suggest that you read the entire text of Israel's adventure in the wilderness in your own Bible. Make the changing of your att.i.tude your number one personal priority. Your family will be delighted, your friends will approve, and most of all, G.o.d will be pleased. That, after all, is the goal of personal transformation.

I recommend this book because I believe that the transformation of our att.i.tudes is the key to seeing the world through the eyes of faith; it is the key to the inner work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The author gives practical ill.u.s.trations and a.s.signments that will help us view events and people the way G.o.d intended us to see them. Since how we live this life determines our rewards in the next, we must begin today to learn from the mistakes of those who have preceded us, and get on with becoming the people G.o.d wants us to be.

So fasten your seat belt, as you take this tour of the wilderness, because just up ahead is the Promised Land. And, with the right att.i.tude, you will enter in.

ERWIN W. LUTZER ERWIN W. LUTZER.

Senior Pastor The Moody Church, Chicago

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

A powerful life lesson for me recently has been the power of simplicity. Simple pleasures, simple schedules, and simple expressions of thanks. Writing a book, however, is far from simple. Many people are at work to make it a reality. Thanks to the people of Harvest Bible Chapel who support my preaching ministry from which each of these chapters originated. Thanks to Rosa Sabatino who took each message from tape to transcript with punctuality and accuracy. Thanks to Neil Wilson, who edited each transcript from its verbal style to a written format with creativity and insight. Thanks to Jim Vincent at Moody Publishers, who made the final edits when I was done writing and greatly improved the end result. Thanks to Kathy Elliott, who brokered that process with her usual patience and commitment.

Thanks also to Greg Thornton and all the folks at Moody Publishers who did their part to get this into book form and into the hands of readers like you.

Special thanks to my wife, Kathy, and our three children, Luke, Landon, and Abby, who once again endured with great patience a husband/father who was dealing with deadlines and working on his own att.i.tudes.

Most of all, thanks are due to our faithful G.o.d, who has seen us through another important season of life and ministry with His abiding love and sufficient grace.

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AN INVITATION.

So you've picked up a book on att.i.tudes and now you're trying to decide if you should read it. Let me help by asking a question: How did you get the book?

-- Did you pick it up yourself browsing through a bookstore display? Are you considering whether an att.i.tude upgrade might be the very best thing for your life right now?

-- Did you receive this book as a gift from someone? Are they trying to tell you that your att.i.tude needs some work? Or perhaps theirs needed some work, they read this book, and now they want you to share in the life change they have found so exhilarating.

-- Maybe you received the book from a pastor or small group leader who knows you very well and believes this book will lead you into the kind of life transformation you have been searching for.

-- Possibly you read my first book on change and are ready to take the next exciting step in life transformation.

However you came to hold this book, I'm glad you did. I have been praying that this would not be "just another book" for you but a marvelous, joy-producing experience between yourself and G.o.d.

FIVE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.

Before we get to the introduction (it's really important that you read the introduction), I want to ask you five important questions based on the t.i.tle of this book to help you decide if this is a book for you. Then I will conclude this invitation to read Lord, Change My Att.i.tude Lord, Change My Att.i.tude by detailing six key features of each chapter. Each of these features is designed to help you pace yourself as you move through the life-changing content that is headed your way. by detailing six key features of each chapter. Each of these features is designed to help you pace yourself as you move through the life-changing content that is headed your way.

First the questions. Question one is: Are you open to considering what the Lord has to say about changing your att.i.tude?

This is not some futile self-help book, and it's not filled with the opinions of pseudo experts. This book is a study of what G.o.d has to say in the Scriptures about our bad att.i.tudes. It details the consequences of rejecting G.o.d's ways and the benefits of accepting G.o.d's ways. Many people do not even believe in G.o.d, let alone have an interest in what He has to say about their happiness. To profit from this book, you have to be willing to reflect upon what the Bible says about att.i.tudes and how G.o.d wants to change you.

Are you open to considering what the Lord the Lord has to say about changing your att.i.tude? has to say about changing your att.i.tude? Yes or No? (Circle one.) If the answer is yes, this book is definitely for you! Yes or No? (Circle one.) If the answer is yes, this book is definitely for you!

Question two is: Are you willing to be changed?

If change was easy, everyone would be doing it; but the fact is most people are just staying the same. So much so that we are generally pretty skeptical about people who say they have changed. As a pastor for more than fifteen years, I can tell you with confidence that people don't change until they know for a fact that "their thing" is not working. Life change can never begin until some circ.u.mstance brings you to the unalterable conclusion that your current course is taking you somewhere you don't want to go. Sometimes it's a tragic event or a relational breakdown. Sometimes it's a profound internal emptiness or a devastating personal failure. Whatever the circ.u.mstance that produces your readiness to change, you won't make it through this book without one. In fact, if you think your att.i.tudes are as they should be, might I suggest that you give this book to someone who is ready for it now? Personal transformation is not a leisure sport, so it might be better that you come back to it at a later date.

Are you truly willing to be changed? Yes or No? (Circle one.) If the answer is yes, this book is definitely for you! Yes or No? (Circle one.) If the answer is yes, this book is definitely for you!

Question three is: Are you willing to change your att.i.tude att.i.tude ? ?

The t.i.tle makes it very clear that this is a book about att.i.tudes. It's not about your actions or your circ.u.mstances. It's not about your relations.h.i.+ps or your ministry. It's about you, and more specifically it's about your pattern of thinking. It's about the way you look at life. Att.i.tudes are patterns of thinking formed over a long period of time. You can't change your att.i.tudes in a few minutes, but you can admit the wrong ones and decide to begin working on the right ones. You can stop the flow of negativity that causes happiness to hemorrhage, and you can start the flow of good att.i.tudes that causes abundant joy to overflow.

Are you willing to change your att.i.tude? Yes or No? (Circle one.) If the answer is yes, this book is definitely for you! Yes or No? (Circle one.) If the answer is yes, this book is definitely for you!

Question four is: Are you willing to focus exclusively on your your att.i.tude? att.i.tude?

This is not a book to read with someone else in mind. Of course, you can share it with a friend, but please don't do that until it has had its potential impact upon you. We all need to grow and change, and no one has the att.i.tude thing down 100 percent. Certainly not you or me. Throughout the book I will be sharing my own struggles in the area of att.i.tude and praying that G.o.d will give you the capacity to be honest about where you are at. So let's promise now that we won't be focusing on the shortcomings of others but really working on our own att.i.tudes.

Are you willing to focus exclusively on your own att.i.tude? Yes or No? (Circle one.) If the answer is yes, this book is definitely for you! Yes or No? (Circle one.) If the answer is yes, this book is definitely for you!

Question five is: Are you willing to go after this change of att.i.tude with urgency?

Did the "Before It's Too Late" portion of the book t.i.tle get your attention? Maybe you see yourself on a pathway that's headed downhill. Maybe you're seeing some of the fallout of bad att.i.tudes in your family or where you work. We would be wrong to a.s.sume that there is always time to change. That is why Scripture says over and over again, "Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts" (Psalm 95:78). In fact, that quote from Scripture describes the exact situation that we will be looking at. It's a fact: Just because G.o.d is working in your heart today regarding a specific matter does not guarantee that He always will be. There is an urgency to the message of this book that you would do well to heed.

Are you willing to go after this change of att.i.tude with urgency? Yes or No? (Circle one.) If the answer is yes, this book is definitely for you! Yes or No? (Circle one.) If the answer is yes, this book is definitely for you!

The way you have answered these questions will influence to a great extent what you receive from this book. I invite you to read it prayerfully, expectantly, and fervently. As you embrace att.i.tude change and all that comes with it, you will never be the same!

HELPFUL TOOLS.

Each chapter has six helpful tools to a.s.sist you in the process of att.i.tude replacement. These tools will help you understand key concepts and apply them in your life. Read each section attentively, and expect G.o.d to give you guidance and strength for the changing of att.i.tudes in your life.

1. Chapter Couplets. Read the chapters in pairs. Note how the t.i.tles for each pair of chapters complete a sentence: "Replace an X Att.i.tude . . . With a Y Att.i.tude." Every two chapters go together. More on this in the introduction (another reason you should read it!). Chapter Couplets. Read the chapters in pairs. Note how the t.i.tles for each pair of chapters complete a sentence: "Replace an X Att.i.tude . . . With a Y Att.i.tude." Every two chapters go together. More on this in the introduction (another reason you should read it!).

2. "Say It in a Sentence." Each chapter begins with a summary statement that connects the truth of that chapter to the central theme of the book: Those who choose murmuring as their lifestyle will spend their lifetimes in the wilderness. The purpose of these summaries is to leave no doubt about the subject matter that is on the table in any particular chapter. "Say It in a Sentence." Each chapter begins with a summary statement that connects the truth of that chapter to the central theme of the book: Those who choose murmuring as their lifestyle will spend their lifetimes in the wilderness. The purpose of these summaries is to leave no doubt about the subject matter that is on the table in any particular chapter.

3. Bible Time. We will be focusing in on a particular time period where G.o.d's Word communicates very clearly how G.o.d feels about bad att.i.tudes. The people of Israel will serve as our negative example, particularly the events that occurred in the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapters 11 to 16. For teaching and ill.u.s.trations of the positive att.i.tudes that replace the ones we are putting off, we will be turning to the New Testament. By taking the truth of G.o.d's Word seriously in each chapter, we can confidently antic.i.p.ate that He will give us the strength to make the changes that are needed. Bible Time. We will be focusing in on a particular time period where G.o.d's Word communicates very clearly how G.o.d feels about bad att.i.tudes. The people of Israel will serve as our negative example, particularly the events that occurred in the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapters 11 to 16. For teaching and ill.u.s.trations of the positive att.i.tudes that replace the ones we are putting off, we will be turning to the New Testament. By taking the truth of G.o.d's Word seriously in each chapter, we can confidently antic.i.p.ate that He will give us the strength to make the changes that are needed.

4. "Up Close and Personal." I own every att.i.tude in the pages of this book-especially the negative ones! I couldn't write about them if I didn't know them from the inside. I will be candid about my own experiences and struggles in these areas. I'm familiar with wilderness journeys-both the way in and the way out. In each chapter, I'll show you how that particular att.i.tude has affected me, and how G.o.d continues to help me put the wilderness behind. "Up Close and Personal." I own every att.i.tude in the pages of this book-especially the negative ones! I couldn't write about them if I didn't know them from the inside. I will be candid about my own experiences and struggles in these areas. I'm familiar with wilderness journeys-both the way in and the way out. In each chapter, I'll show you how that particular att.i.tude has affected me, and how G.o.d continues to help me put the wilderness behind.

5. "Let's Talk Solution." To help you move from thinking about att.i.tudes to doing something about them, I will close each chapter with a series of pointed questions. The "Let's Talk Solution" questions will help you move toward application and action. "Let's Talk Solution." To help you move from thinking about att.i.tudes to doing something about them, I will close each chapter with a series of pointed questions. The "Let's Talk Solution" questions will help you move toward application and action.

6. "Look Up!" Taking time to turn to G.o.d in prayer is essential to the process of life transformation. If you are like me, you may sometimes find it hard to express yourself to G.o.d in prayer. The prayers near the end of each chapter will help you confirm to G.o.d what you are intending to do in applying the truth in your own life. Use these prayers to keep your mind focused on your goal: This is change at the deepest level, att.i.tude change. "Look Up!" Taking time to turn to G.o.d in prayer is essential to the process of life transformation. If you are like me, you may sometimes find it hard to express yourself to G.o.d in prayer. The prayers near the end of each chapter will help you confirm to G.o.d what you are intending to do in applying the truth in your own life. Use these prayers to keep your mind focused on your goal: This is change at the deepest level, att.i.tude change.

Now it's time to read the introduction!

This is now the third time I have exhorted you to read the introduction. I know that it can be kind of boring in some books, but in this one it is essential. The introduction is where I give you the biblical context behind all the studies up ahead and explain why an ancient story has such urgent application for your life. The introduction is the foundation upon which this whole book is built.

Now please turn to the introduction and begin learning how to change your att.i.tudes.

-- JAMES MACDONALD -- JAMES MACDONALD.

INTRODUCTION:.

READY FOR PROMISED LAND LIVING?

The Sahara, the Mojave, the Gobi-deserts, all of them. Just the names can make your mouth go dry as they conjure up images of heat that abuses your senses. The sun beats down upon your forehead and into your eyes, forcing you to squint as you scan the horizon in every direction for shelter. Walking and walking but not getting anywhere as you trudge endlessly over identical dunes of desperation. Then you begin to think of water and realize you are thirstier than you have ever been in your life. You try to swallow but can't because your throat is as dry as the wasteland around you. Your skin screams for shade as you feel the burning accelerate and know that you won't be able to last much longer . . .

Welcome to the wilderness! It's a lousy place to visit and a devastating place to live. In fact, I would guess that not a single person reading this book lives in a desert-well, not a physical one. But we often live in a spiritual/emotional desert without realizing it. We feel the dry, lifeless, parched experience but fail to connect with where we really are and how we got there. Let me tell you straight up: It's our att.i.tudes that turn our lives into wilderness experiences.

ATt.i.tUDES ARE ARE IMPORTANT IMPORTANT.

You may be tempted to think that att.i.tudes are not that important, that what really matters in life and to G.o.d is our actions, but ifid think that you would be wrong. Back, back, back, hidden in the Old Testament journey from Egypt to the Promised Land is the most radical thing G.o.d ever did until Christ and the cross. It's an action that settles once and for all where att.i.tudes are on G.o.d's list of priorities for our lives. The children of Israel left Egypt and journeyed to the very edge of the Promised Land. The journey took eighteen months and covered more than three hundred miles. Not a lot of distance except that there were more than two million people, and twelve of the eighteen months were spent at the base of Mt. Sinai getting the Ten Commandments and G.o.d's other laws.

There they were on the edge of "the land flowing with milk and honey," as the Lord had called it, meaning that it was a very cool place to live in every way. There they were, finally ready to step into all the blessing and joy that G.o.d had promised, and G.o.d tells them they are not going in. In fact, He tells them that they must go back into the desert and stay there until everyone over the age of twenty has died. If you're like me, you're thinking, "No way!" Way!

A PROMINENT MESSAGE IN G.o.d'S WORD That is such a radical move, isn't it? To kill off an entire generation of Your children. Go figure. Actually, I did. I was so rocked by this move on G.o.d's part that I have spent a lot of time examining the precise reason that G.o.d would make such a decision. G.o.d never gets angry without a good reason. He doesn't just "lose it" and then wonder what happened. So there must be a very important lesson that such a radical move was intended to teach. Apparently the other writers of Scripture thought so, because almost every one of them refers to this incident either directly or indirectly.

This tragic event is referred to over and over in the Psalms (e.g., Psalm 95:811), in the Prophets, the Gospels, the Epistles (e.g., 1 Corinthians 10:5; Hebrews 3:17). Three separate times it's referred to in the book of Hebrews (3:711, 1518; 4:13). Bottom line: It's the Old Testament event that everyone was talking about. All of G.o.d's people all the way through the writing of Scripture were thinking about these wilderness wanderings and the subsequent death of a whole generation of G.o.d's children. This is a message that was meant to be emphasized, but for some reason it has been mostly overlooked here in the last one hundred years. If you're like me, you're ready to ask . . .

OK, OK...why the big deal about wilderness wanderings?

If you want to know exactly why G.o.d killed off a whole generation of His children, you don't have to search very far; just open a Bible and check out Numbers 1314.

Numbers 13 records the expedition of twelve spies sent by G.o.d and Moses into the Promised Land. They were to bring back a report so the people would have the faith to go up and conquer the land. But ten came back full of fear and started whining about the armies, the giants, and the obstacles they would face across the Jordan River. Two of the twelve, however, submitted a minority report (Numbers 13:30; 14:69), declaring, "The land which we pa.s.sed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us-a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey" "The land which we pa.s.sed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us-a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey" (14:79). (14:79).

Joshua and Caleb came back with the report of faith and confidence.

How did the people respond to this faith report? According to verse 10, "But all the congregation said to stone them." "But all the congregation said to stone them." Don't miss the att.i.tude here: No faith. Wrong att.i.tude. "Stone them with stones," the people said. In response, the armiesgry G.o.d revealed Himself "to all the sons of Israel" and then said to Moses, Don't miss the att.i.tude here: No faith. Wrong att.i.tude. "Stone them with stones," the people said. In response, the armiesgry G.o.d revealed Himself "to all the sons of Israel" and then said to Moses, "How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they" "How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they" (verses 1112). That's when Moses pleaded with G.o.d not to wipe them out even for His own reputation. And G.o.d relented. (verses 1112). That's when Moses pleaded with G.o.d not to wipe them out even for His own reputation. And G.o.d relented.

But G.o.d was still upset with the people's wicked att.i.tude. Catch this: "The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 'How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. Say to them, "As I live," says the Lord, "just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you."'" "The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 'How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. Say to them, "As I live," says the Lord, "just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you."'" And then G.o.d amplified: And then G.o.d amplified: "Your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me" "Your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me" (verses 2629). Paraphrased, that means, "All the grumblers-they're going down!" (verses 2629). Paraphrased, that means, "All the grumblers-they're going down!"

His p.r.o.nouncement spared only the G.o.d-fearing spies, Caleb and Joshua: "Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun" "Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun" (verse 30). In essence, G.o.d said to the two faithful spies, "You're going in; everyone else is gonna die in the wilderness." (verse 30). In essence, G.o.d said to the two faithful spies, "You're going in; everyone else is gonna die in the wilderness."

PAYING THE PRICE FOR ATt.i.tUDES.

The Lord then told the rebellious people "Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey-I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected" "Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey-I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected" (verse 31). G.o.d was saying, "You said I couldn't take care of them. You feared they were going to die. They're not going to die; you'r (verse 31). G.o.d was saying, "You said I couldn't take care of them. You feared they were going to die. They're not going to die; you'r e e going to die." Then He added, going to die." Then He added, "But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness" "But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness" (verses 3233). What an awful picture! How long would the people wander outside the Promised Land? (verses 3233). What an awful picture! How long would the people wander outside the Promised Land? "According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days . . . " "According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days . . . "

(verse 34). So they wandered forty years-one for every day. Every faithless day. Every grumbling, complaining, critical-att.i.tude day. "For every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition" "For every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition" (verse 34). (verse 34).

G.o.d was sending a message. He was saying, in effect, "I want you to know how I feel about this!" Verse 35 records His words: "I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do." "I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do."

You say, "But G.o.d is a G.o.d of grace and compa.s.sion and loving-kindness. What would push Him to such extremes?" Well, you would think that there must have been s.e.xual impurity. No mention of that. There must have been real serious alcohol abuse or maybe a sudden rash of divorces or idolatry. Or were they abusing their children or some other gross sin to have G.o.d react like this? Nope!

THE PROBLEM WAS ...

The problem was the people's "murmurings," as the old King James Version translates it (Numbers 14:27). The original word is actually an example of a universal language habit. Perhaps you remember from your high school English cla.s.s the poetry term onomatopoeia . . That's when a word sounds like what it is: drip That's when a word sounds like what it is: drip , , drip drip , , drip drip ; ; or swoosh or swoosh , , or yawn or yawn . . Murmuring Murmuring ; ; that's what G.o.d hears. "Murmurmurwhazahazaha.s.senmurmur. . ." You almost feel like you're doing it when you're saying it! "Murmur, murmur, murmur." Well, if you would forgive the modern parlance, it makes G.o.d crazy! G.o.d absolutely hates that contrary, doubtful, rebellious att.i.tude. He despises it. And He simply will not tolerate it. that's what G.o.d hears. "Murmurmurwhazahazaha.s.senmurmur. . ." You almost feel like you're doing it when you're saying it! "Murmur, murmur, murmur." Well, if you would forgive the modern parlance, it makes G.o.d crazy! G.o.d absolutely hates that contrary, doubtful, rebellious att.i.tude. He despises it. And He simply will not tolerate it.

"But," you say, "there are a lot of bad att.i.tudes. I mean, I can think of a lot of bad att.i.tudes that I have. Which att.i.tudes are the att.i.tudes that const.i.tute this murmuring?" By carefully studying the events that surround Numbers 14, we will discover five specific stories or events that ill.u.s.trate the att.i.tudes that make up murmuring. we will discover five specific stories or events that ill.u.s.trate the att.i.tudes that make up murmuring.

WHERE WE ARE GOING.

It's no different today. G.o.d hasn't changed what He does about murmuring. He judges it. So if we decide to live like the Israelites did, then G.o.d will treat us like He treated them. Or if we choose murmuring as our lifestyle, then back to the wilderness we go. But you say, "There is no wilderness around me." You're right; G.o.d doesn't thrust us into a physical wilderness anymore, but He does cause our lives to become like a wilderness-a desolate, dry place not unlike a barren desert. Bad att.i.tudes are what make life a dry, hard, joyless, parched experience.

Do you ever feel like that? Like your life is lacking the kind of joy and fulfillment that you desire? That you're missing the kind of abundant life that G.o.d's Word promises? If you do, then you have come to the right place, because the theme of this book is: Those who choose murmuring as their lifestyle will spend their lifetimes in the wilderness! Those who choose murmuring as their lifestyle will spend their lifetimes in the wilderness!

Five Pairs of Att.i.tudes Identifying wrong att.i.tudes is only half the job; we have to replace those att.i.tudes with the att.i.tudes G.o.d has designed for Promised Land living. The ten chapters of this book are broken down into pairs of att.i.tudes. Each pair begins with the negative att.i.tude that must be put off. The next chapter then goes to the New Testament and presents the positive, life-giving att.i.tude that has to be put on to replace the negative wilderness one. So, for example, chapter 1, "Replace a Complaining Att.i.tude . . .", will be followed by chapter 2, ". . . With a Thankful Att.i.tude." This will be a healthy yet aggressive process of personal change. Identify the bad att.i.tude-put it off; identify the good att.i.tude-put it on! Off with the bad; on with the good. Out with five bad att.i.tudes; in with five good att.i.tudes.

"But, hey, that was then!"

You say, "C'mon. What does this have to do with me? This happened more than three thousand years ago. You don't mean to tell me that G.o.d still feels the same way as He felt about their bad att.i.tudes back then." Do! I do do mean to tell you that G.o.d feels the same way about our bad att.i.tudes today. mean to tell you that G.o.d feels the same way about our bad att.i.tudes today.

In fact, the apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers [he's talking about the nation of Israel] [he's talking about the nation of Israel] were all under the cloud and all pa.s.sed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food" were all under the cloud and all pa.s.sed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food" (1 Corinthians 10:13). He goes on to describe the application. Verse 6, (1 Corinthians 10:13). He goes on to describe the application. Verse 6, "Now these things "Now these things [everything in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy] [everything in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy] happened as examples for us . . ." happened as examples for us . . ." Why did these things all happen? Why did G.o.d send them back into the wilderness? Here's your answer: Why did these things all happen? Why did G.o.d send them back into the wilderness? Here's your answer: "These things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved." "These things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved." This truth is so important that Paul repeated it in verse 11: This truth is so important that Paul repeated it in verse 11: "Now all these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction." "Now all these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction." Verse 7 continues, Verse 7 continues, "D toe idolaters." "Nor let us act immorally . . ." "D toe idolaters." "Nor let us act immorally . . ." (verse 8). (verse 8). "Nor let us try the Lord . . ." "Nor let us try the Lord . . ." (verse 9). (verse 9). "Nor grumble, as some of them did" "Nor grumble, as some of them did" (verse 10). (verse 10). Ding Ding -as in, "you today in the year 20??. Don't get a bad att.i.tude like they did back in the wilderness, or you're going to be joining them." -as in, "you today in the year 20??. Don't get a bad att.i.tude like they did back in the wilderness, or you're going to be joining them."

You may think, No way! G.o.d would not do that. No way! G.o.d would not do that. Wanna bet? Read verse 11, Wanna bet? Read verse 11, "Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for "Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our our instruction" instruction" (italics added). The reason behind G.o.d's action in Numbers was to teach us! The reason these events are recorded in Scripture is for you and me in the twenty-first century. These were written for (italics added). The reason behind G.o.d's action in Numbers was to teach us! The reason these events are recorded in Scripture is for you and me in the twenty-first century. These were written for our our instruction, especially; verse 11 concludes, for those instruction, especially; verse 11 concludes, for those "upon whom the ends of the ages have come." "upon whom the ends of the ages have come." And when is the "ends of the ages"? I believe . . . And when is the "ends of the ages"? I believe . . .

This is now!

I believe we may be living in the last days. Most students of Scripture agree that every sign indicates that the return of Christ and the "ends of the ages," might be very near. All the more reason then that we should embrace G.o.d's dealings with the children of Israel as directly intended for us. For our att.i.tudes. To get us out of the place where life is like a wilderness. To leave behind wilderness att.i.tudes and embrace Promised Land att.i.tudes.

READY FOR TAKEOFF.

I know it has taken longer than normal for you to be ready to head into the content of this book. But we have built a great launchpad.