Woody's Words

CONFRONTING ATTITUDE Part 3 By David Woodbury We have all observed that children love to imitate what they see, especially in their parents, often doing what they see and repeating what they hear. Likewise, we are also are charged to  imitate and model the behaviour we see in Jesus and be a clear reflection of him. Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1 - NKJV). A right attitude may well be at times, a learned behaviour, however, it still needs a solid foundation if it is to be a permanent characteristic. Paul tells us in Philippians 2 that our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus ,” and to enable us to comprehend what he is speaking about, he summarises it. He lists such attitudes as selflessness, humility and service. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others (...

CONFRONTING ATTITUDE Part 2 By David Woodbury As we discovered in part 1 the heart is the seat of the consciousness and the will. In the Old Testament the heart was regarded then as the centre of intellectual activity, and even today we refer to the heart as the centre of emotions. (See Gen 6:5, Psalms 15:1-2, 1 Kings 4:29, Proverbs 6:18) If we are to confront attitude we must go to the basis of this characteristic. In confronting attitude the heart must be guarded Clearly the Bible teaches that the heart is the seat of our attitudes and as such, we need to be continually monitoring its condition. We cannot assume that automatically our heart s will only absorb that which is good and noble. There is a sense in which the heart is like a sponge, soaking up the influences, events and opinions that bombard us each and every day and we need to be intentional in filtering out those things which are unchristlike and harmful. The Old Testament was very clear ab...

CONFRONTING ATTITUDE Part 1 By David Woodbury When we refer to someone as having “attitude” often what we are saying is that their mindset and approach to life are settled and inflexible, or they exhibit argumentative or uncooperative behaviour.  . The reality is that we all, in one way or another, develop attitudes.  Two questions arise: Where do our attitudes originate? How can we change them? We know that a lot of our attitudes, reactions and concepts, are programmed from our childhood. Events and circumstances, which consciously we may not remember, are embedded in the subconscious mind and have a marked effect on the way we see ourselves, others around us, and life in general. Sometimes attitudes are formulated through painful events we have encountered in our lives; they leave an indelible impression which colours the how we see certain thing and the way in which we respond to particular situations. In many ways, our attitudes to life and pe...

BUILDING BLOCKS IN THE NEW CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY A LETTER FROM PETER Chapter 3 – Part 1 In the previous chapter in verse 4-10, Peter has set out God’s vision for the new spiritual nation God is in the process of creating. It will be a brand new Christian community that will exist within both the nations of earth, although not really part of them, and also in heaven. It will be distinctive, set apart and identifiable.   Interestingly he commences, not in the Christian community, but rather in the home, the basis of God’s human creation. Wives 1 In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over 2 by observing your pure and reverent lives. 3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. 4 You should clothe yourselves instead with the...

A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH By David Woodbury Cover of Time magazine - 23 March 2017 It has long been said that truth is the first casualty of war but it may well be that truth is the first casualty of any intense human conflict. The current climate debate is a classic example with both sides using extravagant exaggeration to try and make their point. From those who deny any connection with human activity and climate change to those who claim the world will end within a decade. The reality is that this extravagant exaggeration is nothing more than untruth. It may well be that people have become so confused by the extravagant exaggeration that they have simply switched off. The alarming realisation is that we now seem to be living in an age where truth is dying a slow and painful death and we have come to accept untruth as part of everyday life. Recently Channel 10 in Sydney was caught out in its show, The Project , editing a video clip to project a blatant untruth. It ...