The be happy attitudes : eight positive attitudes that can transform your life! by Schuller Robert Harold

Author:Schuller, Robert Harold
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Beatitudes, Happiness -- Religious aspects -- Christianity, Large type books, Large type books, Happiness -- Religious aspects -- Christianity, Large type books
ISBN: 9780849930553
Publisher: Waco, Tex. : Word Books
Published: 1985-01-05T16:00:00+00:00

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Be-Happy Attitude ^6

“I’ve got to let the faith flow free through me.”

''Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.’' Matthew 5:8

Do YOU LONG TO KNOW GOD BETTER? Do yOU

Struggle with doubt? Do you ever wish you had more faith?

If so, you are not alone.

I have been in the ministry long enough to know that even people who have been Christians all their lives have to deal with doubt at one time or another. Many committed Christians go through “dry” times when God seems absent or far away. And there are countless people inside and outside the church—even some who claim to be agnostic or even atheist—who really want to believe, but who somehow have trouble developing a strong faith.

If this is your struggle—to have more faith, to conquer doubt, to know God in a real, personal, life-changing way—then this Be-Happy Attitude is for you: “Blessed are the pure in heart,” Jesus said, “for they shall see God.”

But what does it take to become “pure in heart”? I would like to suggest four steps that can really help: (1) Wise up. (2) Clean up. (3) Give up. (4) Take up.

“I’ve got to let the faith flow free through me.” 185

WISE UP!

If you could collect the smartest intellectuals from around the world, bring them together, and ask them one question, “How many of you believe in God?” several hands would go up. On the other hand, many hands would go up if you asked, “How many of you do not believe in God?”

If you divide the smartest, most educated minds of the world into believers and unbelievers, there would be quite a few in each group. That is because faith in God is not a matter of intelligence. Faith is not a result of intellect, any more than it is a result of ignorance.

Faith is not a matter of intelligence. It is a matter of instinct. Even science has recently confirmed the power of innate, inbred instinct. A notable example is the recent experiment by Dr. Maurice, a scholar and a student of the weaver bird of South Africa. This interesting little bird makes its nest out of reeds, lines it with silky grass, and does what no other bird does— he makes a hole in the bottom of his nest through which he makes his entrance.

Dr. Maurice, trying to test the strength of instinctive drives, took two eggs from a nest in South Africa, transported them out of the country, and incubated them until they hatched. He

successfully raised the birds in cages through four and even five generations. None of these birds ever had any exposure to nests with a hole in the bottom of it.

Dr. Maurice took the fifth generation of weaver birds, brought them back to South Africa, and released them in their natural habitat. The birds found reeds, immediately lined their nests with silky grass, and then made holes in the bottom. Incredible!

There are mysteries in anthropology and natural science—mysteries that can only be described as instinctive.

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