God-thinking: October 2013

Thursday, October 31, 2013

God Thinking XXXVI - Seeking God In All The Wrong Places 6

"When you go to God to seek Him only, God decides the outcome of the moment, not you. God is the potter and you are the clay. It is better that way.

In the presence of God, if you lay it down:

God might take it from you

Sometimes, you aren’t ready to give something up, even if it is hurting someone else or killing them. If you lay it down, you run the risk of having it taken away, like hay in a fire, because, God is a consuming fire.

Every time you go into the presence of God, you run the risk of having the hay and the stubble burnt up.

Every time you go into the presence of God, He melts you and scrapes off the dross to leave behind refined silver and gold.

In the presence of God, if you lay it down:

God might take it from you

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

God Thinking XXXVI - Seeking God In All The Wrong Places 5

"You must come to a place where you seek God, just to find Him.

You come as you are, but you leave not as you were.

You let go of your desires, for a time, to have a glimpse of God.
You must forget about what you want, for just long enough to get caught up in the glory of His presence.
You must, for just a moment, lay down your talents, skills, abilities to be in communion with your Maker. God is not easily impressed - you must leave our ego at the door that enters into the presence of God.

You must set aside all the senseless worry, the stress, your debt, your mistakes, your past - all for a moment with the Master.

You must seek to abide in Christ, to be converted and changed and purified, so you can see Him more clearly than before.

You must pray the Holy Spirit will purge you from any part of yourself that would keep you from a divine appointment.

There never was Christianity without seeking and finding God. That’s religion.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

God Thinking XXXVI - Seeking God In All The Wrong Places 4

"Don’t think that God doesn’t know that people seek things other than Himself.

Hear what Jesus says in Matthew 6:31-32

“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

V32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

V33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Jesus knows that people will seek other than Himself, the Father, the Holy Spirit, the realm of the kingdom of God.

Matthew 12:38-39

“Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from Thee.

V39 But He,(Jesus) answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.”

Jesus knows that people will seek after a sign. There are entire denominations built on seeking a sign, but Jesus says there will be no sign except that of the prophet Jonas/Jonah.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

There is nothing about seeking the face of God that you need to learn over and over again. You seek Him diligently and you find Him and once you find Him you seek Him diligently. You do this to know Him. And it is better to know Him than to know anything. It is better to find Him than to find anything.

For finding the gifts of God, or if you gain the whole world, cannot be compared with finding God Himself."

Monday, October 28, 2013

God Thinking XXXVI - Seeking God In All The Wrong Places 3

"I wish we could see how much God just wants you to seek Him.

Not just until you are saved

Not just until you are sanctified

Not just until you are filled with the Holy Ghost

Not just until you receive a spiritual gift

Not just until you have entered into the inner court

Not even until you have come into the holy of holies

God wants you to seek Him until He is found.

Hear the Word of the LORD:

“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve Him with a willing heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: If thou seek Him, He will be found of thee;”

1 Chronicles 28:9a

“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: for my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

V2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.”

Psalm 63:1-2

“I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me.” Proverbs 8:17

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. (Please believe God) read again

V12 Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you.
V13 And ye shall seek me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.
V14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD:” Jeremiah 29:11-13a

“The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.” Lamentations 3:25

But don’t think that God doesn’t know that people seek things other than Himself."

Sunday, October 27, 2013

God Thinking XXXVI - Seeking God In All The Wrong Places 2

"What has happened over the years, is that, people have looked (in the bible and in the church) for things that can be found in the church, other than God, and they have found them.

Once they find these other things, even things from God, they feel they have found God. They become secure in the thing they have found and not the Maker of the thing that they found.

In Church you can find religion - People find religion and it becomes their God. They follow its precepts and its dogma, its rules and its teachings. They like all the trappings that come with religion. They like all the platitudes that come with being from the right religion or the biggest group or the richest group. But God is not a religion.

In Church you can find spiritual gifts - Too many people today, seek the gifts more than the gift giver. The gifts become the thing. The gifts become the relationship. The gifts come before obedience and faith and trust and loyalty and agreement and praise and worship. But God is not a spiritual gift.

In Church you can find blessings - There are tens of millions of people that go to church for the blessing and they will find it, because there are countless blessings given out in God’s sanctuaries. But God is not the blessing.

Who among you is coming to find God? Who is seeking for God to reveal more of Himself to them?

Not for the benefits
Not for the accolades
Not for the notoriety
Not to be noticed
Not to judge yourself against another
Not to prove something
Not for any reason other than to worship God.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

God Thinking XXXVI - Seeking God In All The Wrong Places 1

"God Thinking is about thinking about the things of God and putting them “on top”, and taking the things, the thoughts that take you from the very presence of God and pushing them down into a lesser place in your life until you push them out altogether.

God Thinking is for anyone who wants to get to know God better. It is for those who want a deep and rewarding relationship with Jesus Christ; one that transcends any denominational or religious view of God in exchange for a view of God built upon faith and trust in what God says about Himself.

God Thinking promotes personal spiritual growth, based on God breathed truths. These God breathed truths from the Word of God are accessed and believed for one purpose; to seek and find God.

God Thinking teaches you to trust God only, and to see the world for what it is.

What has happened over the years, is that, people have looked (in the Bible and in the Church) for things that can be found in the Bible and in the Church, other than God, and they have found them."

Friday, October 25, 2013

God Thinking XXXV - Prayer Environment 9

Don’t trust everything that man says is God’s will. Trust your heart.

Don’t believe every wind of doctrine that you hear, trust what God speaks to you.

If you were to believe all the nonsense that people speak in the name of Jesus, you will be full of questions, uncertain about the truth, mixed up, hopeless and powerless.

The Spirit of God will tell no one a lie.

The Spirit of God will not give out false hope.

The Spirit of God tells only the truth.

The Spirit of God was right every time.

Did you ever wonder why something turned out different than everybody said it should?

God performs His plan in spite of man’s notions.

We must pray according to God’s will.

Answered prayer comes by answering God’s call to allow God to work His will in us and through us."

Excerpt from God Thinking XXXV - Prayer Environment by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2013

Thursday, October 24, 2013

God Thinking XXXV - Prayer Environment 8

"We are looking at 5 components that must be present for you to provide an environment conducive to answered prayer.

1.    You must keep God’s commandments     I John 3:22
2.    You must ask in faith                                 James 1:6
3.    You must believe God will answer            Matthew 21:22
4.    You must ask in Jesus name                    John 14:147.
5.    You must ask according to God’s will       I John 5:14

4. You must ask according to God's will

“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: V15 And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15

Why would you want it any other way?

Have you not done things your own way long enough?

Do you really want the petitions that are not the will of God for your life to come to pass?

Once you fully understand that:

God is for you and not against you

that God gives you only good things
that God has protected you day in and day out
that God has provided for you year after year
that God has delivered you from a selfish and ungodly life
that God delivers others through intercessory prayer
that God inhabits the praises of His people
that God has prepared a purpose for your life

Once you understand that:

God gave you all that you have
that God’s hand of protection is on your children’s life
that God has healed you many, many times already
that God has saved you from peril many, many times
that God has supplied all your needs
that God has provided your spouse
that God is saving your children and grandchildren
that God is working on your behalf every second of your life
that God has made a way for your dream to come true
that God has a storehouse of blessings for you to receive
that God has made a straight way for you
that God has paid the penalty for your sins
that God has cleansed you and made you righteous in Him
that God has forgiven you of every indiscretion
that God has cleansed you from all the awful things you have ever said or done to others
that God has shown you mercy, not like you have shown to others, but the God kind of mercy
that God has filled you with His blessings

Once you consider all that God has done and is doing, you won’t have a problem with praying according to the will of God.

Once you understand all that God has done, you won’t want anything that isn’t according to God’s will.

Once you believe and trust God, nothing but the will of God will do.

Once you truly trust God and you fully realize that God really does know best, you won’t even think about praying without seeking His will.

But:

once you do believe that God has a plan and you are in it
and you do believe that you are His child
and once you do believe that God lives in you
once you do believe that God works in you and through you to perform His will

You will pray and you will pray often.

You will pray to hear from God to find out what to pray for, so that you can pray according to the will of God, and then you will pray in the will of the Father..

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

God Thinking XXXV - Prayer Environment 7

"We are looking at 5 components that must be present for you to provide an environment conducive to answered prayer.

1.    You must keep God’s commandments     I John 3:22
2.    You must ask in faith                                 James 1:6
3.    You must believe God will answer            Matthew 21:22
4.    You must ask in Jesus name                    John 14:147.
5.    You must ask according to God’s will       I John 5:14

4. You must ask in Jesus' name

“And whatever ye ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye ask anything in my name, I will do it” John 14:13-14.

The faithless and the naysayers say, “that word is for the disciples, not for you and me.” The cults and the extra-biblical followers say, “Jesus is not God.” The world religions say, “There were many Christs’, and Jesus is one also.” But the Word of God says, “Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life - No man comes unto the Father but by Jesus - There is none other name by which we must be saved, except Jesus only. If you believe that Jesus is Lord, you will believe what Jesus says, and He says:

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you” John 15:16.

“And whatever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him” Collosians 3:17.

Clearly you are to ask in Jesus name, therein recognizing God’s Son as the Christ, the only begotten of the Father, glorifying God.

You can only please God through a relationship with Jesus, for if you do not pray understanding the deity of Jesus Christ you are disobeying God. “He that believeth on Him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” John 3:18.

If you do not recognize that your entire relationship with God is entrusted to your relationship with Jesus, you will never know God. You will never see Him or be with Him. You will remain in your lost nature, unable to taste of the glorious life of joy that God has for you, here on earth and after you die. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” John 14:6. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus” I Timothy 2:5.

As God has spoken, you must believe. You cannot expect to fully understand all things, but you must start with those that God gave you as simple directives, and move forward from there. The truth about who Jesus is, is the most important truth you will ever know. Without this one truth, you cannot know God. Your prayers will go unheard. Your prayers will go unanswered.

As you pray, you must seek God through Jesus Christ. This will glorify the Father - your petitions will be heard - your prayers will be answered.

You must ask in Jesus name.

Note: I've noticed over the years that there is more and more protest against any absolutes, even by the church. More people than ever before are clamoring for weak preaching, candy-coated truths and water-down consequences. The same Bible that purports living a life as directed by Christ is the same Bible that predicts the times that we are in and the behavior of the people of the day. The church (the body of Christ) have turned a blind eye to their calling and the importance of a life consecrated to the Lord. As the years go by, as we drawer nearer and nearer to the close of this dispensation, you will see those who claim to be Christians living just like the rest of the world; dominated by this world's system and more loyal to their TV shows, the lifestyle they cannot afford and their video games than their own kids/parents and even more so to the Lord.

Monday, October 21, 2013

God Thinking XXXV - Prayer Environment 6

"We are looking at 5 components that must be present for you to provide an environment conducive to answered prayer.

1.    You must keep God’s commandments     I John 3:22
2.    You must ask in faith                                 James 1:6
3.    You must believe God will answer            Matthew 21:22
4.    You must ask in Jesus name                    John 14:147.
5.    You must ask according to God’s will       I John 5:14

2. You must believe God will answer
“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Matthew 21:22

To believe God will answer your prayer, means to accept by faith and active trust, that God, in His infinite wisdom, has woven together your need or request with His abundance.

It also means that God has set in order the multiplicity of detail that must be interwoven with all creation to respond to your request, without breaching the right of another of their free will.

When you pray, you must realize that your prayer spans the entire galaxy - and in order for God to answer prayer, He must include the consequences and ramifications to every living creature, throughout all ages, past, present and future before honoring your request.

It is no small thing this privilege called prayer.

I don't think that most people understand what it is to believe God, and what an important role prayer is in their life. In essence, the way that you believe will constitute the foundation of your entire relationship with God.

Is it important that you believe God?
Yes, your life and the fate of all humanity depend upon it.

“And the Lord said unto Moses, how long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be before they believe me, for all the signs which I have shown among them” Numbers 14:11.

“Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” Mark 9:23.

“For verily I say unto you, whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatever he saith. Therefore, I say unto you, whatever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” Mark 11:22-23.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” Hebrews 11:6.

In your daily walk, you need to prove your faith. God’s Word so perfectly shows you the truths you need to believe to build up your faith.

Answered prayer will be proof of your faith.

You must believe God will answer.

Excerpt from God Thinking XXXV - Prayer Environment by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2013

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