Practical Truth

"Q. How can I have freedom of movement and peace of mind when my body is covered with barnacles?
A. By understanding forgiveness and purging off the old ways by being cleaned with new ways.

Q. My daily life is so conflicting and sin does abound and press in toward me from all sides. What can I do to escape so great a pressure?
A. Where sin abounds God's grace does much more abound, therefore accept God's grace as sufficient for the day and move on.

Q. Why does tragedy strike the faithful?
A. The question shouldn't be 'why does tragedy strike the faithful?' The question should be 'what are you going to do with the tragedy that strikes?'

Q. How can I battle against the whiles of the wicked? It seems like there is no rest.
A. Battle while strong and turn away when you need rest. The battle goes on and on and you will have to make a conscience decision to turn away from the battle if you are to ever get any rest.

Q. Why do I have such a hard time giving praise to God and praying for others?
A. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Take some time to learn to eat better and go to sleep earlier.

Q. Why should I listen to the teachings of Christian conduct? Even those with credentials have opposing views.
A. Take council of the wise; Those whose credentials are in their walk, not their wallet. Opinions are man's way of expanding God's truths. Learn to look for the distilled version of the truth (the Bible) and not the expanded version, man's/women's ego."

Life Without Sin

"How true it is, "All is vanity and vexation of spirit."  The pleasures of this world are so vain. All is not sin, but there will be an inevitable loss of spiritual preservation to those who attach themselves to the world.

Does this mean you should have no fun or that all pleasure is sin. Not hardly. It does mean that the fun and pleasures you seek should be vetted by the awareness you have of the spiritual component of life. Fun and pleasure are more fun and more pleasurable if sin is not the result of the activity. It is simple. God designed parameters that if we stay within them we have a clean conscience to enjoy what it is that we endeavor.

I understand that different religions offer different parameters, but I am not talking about religious parameters, but parameters that are established in the heart of every man, woman or child that has received the free gift of salvation from God.

Don't misunderstand, every living soul has embedded within them God's global will which includes a conscience that can determine sinful behavior from godly behavior. But the influences of man and demons can harden the heart against the things of God. When a person is born again they have the indwelling Holy Spirit to assist them in making each final decision. So, even though you might be tempted to find enjoyment outside of the natural parameters that God has established for everyone, with the indwelling Holy Spirit you have spiritual power to overcome ungodly inclinations.

In no way am I saying that those who have the indwelling Holy Spirit cannot or will not sin. I am saying that with the indwelling Holy Spirit you have the power to overcome sin. There is no life without sin, but there is growing in Christ and learning to lean on the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to empower you to decline sinful behaviors.

I know this isn't a popular subject and many Christians today balk at discussing sin at all and even some believe that it just doesn't matter.
Ex: If you have a food allergy, let's say you are allergic to wheat and it has been making you sick, but you didn't know what it was until now. Now that you know that wheat makes you sick, do you go out and eat more wheat? No, you find ways to cut wheat out so you can be healthy. It is the same with spiritual things.

The True Idea Creator

"When you 'feel' the Holy Spirit you are not actually feeling something physical. You are feeling the results of loosening your hold on the flesh and strengthening your hold on the Spirit. 

When you see a 'work' of the Holy Spirit you do not actually see the Holy Spirit but the results of the power of the Holy Spirit intervening in your life or the lives of others. The Holy Spirit is invisible but the efforts of the Holy spirit are visible and tangible. 

You grieve the Holy Spirit every time you permit yourself to think that you are the proprietor of spiritual matters. You are not really the idea creator of anything spiritual and neither are those who claim to be doing this or that under the guidance of God or "their god." You are however a catalyst to the unction of the Holy Spirit and you can respond to the Holy Spirit by adhering to the godly principles put forth by the Holy Spirit.

The most advantageous way to 'work out' any given unction by the Holy Spirit is through regular participation in what God is doing in your life today. 

Ex. Let's say that you create an idea that there should be a Sunday School in your church, ages 9-11 for advanced Bible study. Let's say it becomes successful and does a good work. You must be aware that the idea was an unction from the Holy Spirit and that you were the catalyst that God used to effect the idea. Once you realize that God is the idea creator, you can be an effectively implement God's plan. 

God is the architect, you are the constructor. If you are following the will of God, you are managing the ideas that God drafted for you. I call this co-creating.

Faith, simple faith

"Your relationship with God is about your response to God, not your pastors', not your wifes', not your childrens'. No other person is responsible for your spiritual welfare. Whatever you receive of God and the level of communication that you have with God will be (and always has been) based on your faith. Not your faith like Catholic, protestant, other, but your personal faith, through personal relationship with God.  

God receives you with your bents, personality, character, temperament, skills and talents, as they are, under the current circumstances. But it is not these attributes that attract God to you. There is nothing you can do or say that will attract God to you or your situation. God is attracted to you because you are His child. That's enough. And if you have placed your faith in Jesus, God not only sees you as His child, but God sees you through the works of Jesus Christ. 

God works on your behalf whether or not you see it or acknowledge it. But through the eyes of faith you can see it and you can acknowledge it. Instead of wondering if God is in this or in that, doing this on your behalf or doing that, you can know and participate with God as a co-creator if you have faith. 

Now, maybe you are thinking: "I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and I believe what my pastor says. I go to church (regular or not). I give to the church. I have even served in one capacity to help others." That's wonderful, but the faith I am talking about isn't just the faith that gets you a ticket to heaven because you believe that Jesus is Lord. 

That kind of faith, as real as it is, is faith in a religious system:

• One that goes to God on your behalf and provide your personal connection and spiritual growth at the rate that the religion deems satisfactory.
• One that meets your time constraints by providing all the spiritual nourishment you need in one hour or less each week
• One that identifies with Christ and brings to Christ your questions and then provides you with filtered answers
• One that examines your faith and determines the quality of your relationship with God through the eyes of man
• One that accepts your level of faith by the precepts of its doctrines that you keep without ever knowing the inner man, where the root of all actions are borne. 

If this is what you think is a relationship with God, you are a religious person. I am not saying in any way that being a religious person is not good or not saved or not anything. What I am saying is that it was never meant to be that you would prefer a relationship with God where you could use a mediator for your relationship so that you never have to face God yourself. Religion is the mediator between God and man in many of today's parishioners. Yet religion does not always speak for God. Every denomination and every other non-christian religious system believes in its own man-made system. They all claim to have their origin from God and they all have their tenets of faith that outline what a true relationship with God looks like. 

The problem is that not one of these religions are correct concerning all issues. Not one of theses religions hold all the truth. Not one of these religions have all the answers and not one of them can stand before you and represent you to God. You were and are now and always will be responsible for yourself. If you are satisfied with a predetermined relationship with a beginning and boundary parameters set by someone else, then not heading to this simple essay will be sufficient.  If you were wondering if God can hear you and speak to you directly without any aid from anyone else, the answer is yes. 

Why not get started with a simple personal prayer where you talk to God and ask to hear from God? You might be pleasantly surprised."

The miracles of God, by God, for mankind's use are not all visible - measurable - understandable. The greatness of God and God's unknowable blessings upon us are so plentiful that we cannot count them. 

We oftentimes do not recognize God's intervention. We might glorify God if we see a miracle. "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" John 20:29 

Let's distill this thought to its very essence. God is pouring out His essence, being, self onto us and all creation. There has never been a time that God did not pour Himself out onto you, whether you were/are saved or not. But there will be a time when those who have not been born again will be lost forever. Until then God is pouring out His blessings on all of us. 

Note: It is easy to get caught up in the deterioration syndrome that comes with thinking about your problems, sicknesses, faults, past sins or indiscretions, current unfavorable conditions. If you wallow in worry your spiritual eyes will be blurred or even shut to what God is doing in your life altogether. Just because you can't see it does not mean it does not exist. Little by little start training your mind to think on the things of God and slowly the troubles of this world will wane and then disappear.  Don't think so? I thought you might say that. You are conditioned by your surroundings as well as the thoughts and actions of those around you. To operate with God Thinking you will have to find ways and find time to divert your thinking to better and higher thoughts; 
Thoughts that build up
Thoughts that heal
Thoughts that surrender your problems to God.
Thoughts that make molehills out of mountains
Start allowing God to talk and you listen.

The math is like this: The quantity of time (not the quality of time) you spend each day in the way you think provides an equal representation of the life you will live. In other words if the quantity of thoughts that you have are depressing and worrysome, fretful and conclude a disappointing end, is greater than the quantity of thoughts that are beautiful, full of pleasant surprise, godlike, simple and constructive, then you will be un-building from the place you could be. The same holds true if the quantity of thoughts that you have are beautiful, full of pleasant surprise, godlike, simple and constructive, then you will be building a strong foundation to the place you could be. 

I say quantity and not quality because in America there is an epidemic of people thinking that if they just give a little quantity time:
They can raise their kids
They can have a good marriage
They can build a vibrant business
They can become successful in a trade
It was never true. quantity time trumps quality time every time.

One more thing. Depending on where you think you are in this scenario it might be time to start un-learning a great many things."

Excerpt from Miracles by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2016

 

God Thinking XLII - 10

"God gave you our mind and inspires you to grow in His truth and to move forward with Him in your daily life.

As truth upon truth is revealed, each truth triggers another great promise of God. 

As each truth is revealed and each promise realized, your mind is empowered to think like Christ.

When you begin to think like Christ, you begin to find your calling - your place - your station in life. 

Then as you live out your life in Christ, you can live it to its fullest - free from old baggage - free from dependency - free from hypocrisy - free from wrong thinking.

God wants to embower you to take control of your life and allow Him to work, His greatness, in you and through you.

The way you think is so important that when God created the heavens and the earth and all that is within it, He created all of it so that it would reveal His essence.  God reveals Himself through creation, but God is not the creation.

I want to read to you what God says, becomes of man, when man operates with wrong thinking.

It is found in Romans 1: 18-21, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

V19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

V20 For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

V21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and the their foolish heart was darkened.”

And verse 21 from the International Children’s Bible,

“They knew God.  But they did not give glory to God, and they did not thank Him.  Their thinking became useless.  Their foolish minds were filled with darkness.”

I can’t let that happen again in my life again - useless thinking.  I’ve been there.  I’ve been the one that knew God, but did not give God the glory.  I’ve lived through a season of useless thinking, but no more.

You have God’s Word on this.  If you will give up the things that you hold to that keep you from giving God the glory, God will give you everything He has promised you in His Word.

And that’s no idle promise. 

God has already begun to pour out His blessings on you, because God doesn’t want anybody to miss this opportunity.  Even though God’s blessings have always been there, there are times and seasons that you have been prepared to receive them.

Its time to take action and act on your own behalf.  Just as the free gift of salvation is available, by faith, to all who believe, so too are all of God’s promises made available, by faith, to all who believe.

You must start thinking or continue thinking thoughts worthy of a great and mighty God. - A miracle working God.

As I said before, It doesn’t take faith to accomplish what you can do on your own.  Faith is when you trust God for what can only be accomplished by God.

Are you ready for that kind of living?"

     Excerpt from God Thinking XLII by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2016

God Thinking XLII - 9

"God will not allow those without the Spirit of God to have the peace, the joy or the understanding that He allows those with the Spirit of God.  That is why when you are born again, God sends His Holy Spirit to indwell you, because the Spirit of God can discern spiritual things rightly.

The Holy Spirit transforms the way you used to think into the way you should think, more so as you yield to God.

As you allow God to transform your mind, so it is.

With God thinking you put the things of God ‘on top’ and allow God to push out from you :

Every word

Every place

Every habit

Every stronghold

Every burden

Every worry

Every obstacle

Every bit of baggage

Every lie

Every false image

Every thing that does not conform to the will of God for your life. 

You purposely delight in the things of God and you purposely abandon that which keeps you from enjoying the riches of His glory."

Hear the words of Paul as He pleads with us to get the revelation that transformed his life.

Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

V2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

 

Let me ask you, “If your mind is not being renewed, then what

is it being?”

If you are not growing in Christ, you are growing away.

If you are not moving forward with God you are moving away from God."

     Excerpt from God Thinking XLII by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2016

God Thinking XLII - 8

"Many people have mistaken something that resembles the truth for the truth itself.  That’s why there are so many philosophies, so many denominations, so many religions, so much wrong thinking.

If it is wrong in the essence it is bound to be wrong in the results.

That’s why many well meaning people are all mixed up about who God is and how to live a life with value and integrity and excellence.

 

In a spiritually created world, created by a spiritual God, they are trying to respond to life without activating spiritual thinking.

Most people sense a need for spiritual awareness, but they want to experience it carnally.  It cannot be done.

  

The Pharisees tried it and it didn’t work for them.  

The spiritist tried it and it doesn’t work for them.  

The Buddhist try it, but it doesn’t work for them.  

The cults try it but it doesn’t work for them.  

The Muslims try it, but it doesn’t work for them either, because there is no true spiritual life without the essence of the Spirit and the essence of the Spirit can only be found in Jesus Christ.

God will not change or condescend His essence to fulfill the desire of those who pretend to be spiritual, those who nurture wrong thinking.  God got enough of that from the Jews, when He came to visit." 

God Thinking XLII - 7

"Quite often we hear the voice of God, but sometimes we don’t like what we hear and we hide from His essence and choose a lessor way.  Sometimes God is calling you out and you don’t want to go out.  Is God calling you out from where you are to reveal Himself mighty through your weakness?

Sometimes He calls you to sacrifice and you don’t want to sacrifice.

  

Sometimes God calls you to pray and you don’t pray.

Sometimes God call you to worship Him and you choose not to.

It will always be wrong thinking that keeps you from God’s very best for your life.  Wrong thinking operates on false premises, not the truth, not the essence of God.

 

Wrong thinking is warped and doesn’t let you receive what is rightfully yours.

With wrong thinking you could be standing on a diamond mine or an oil field and think it was rock and mud.    

Man keeps trying to measure the spiritual using a carnal balance. 

Man keeps trying to be spiritual without the essence of the spiritual.

People are trying to weigh the Son of man by the sons of men and they get a false reading, because you can’t measure spiritual things against carnal things. 

     Excerpt from God Thinking XLII by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2016

God Thinking XLII - 6

"God Thinking is concerned about the essence of a thing, not just the thing itself, the essence of a word spoken in due season, the essence of a plan and not just a plan itself.

When you catch the essence of something, you have the very best it has to offer.  

When you see the essence of something, you see the finest it has to offer.

It is like that with Christ. 

He offers you the very essence of God, in Himself. 

When you get this truth;

When the light of this truth shines into your soul;

When you bask in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, you receive the essence of all truth.

All truth comes from the essence of God.

Jesus came unto His own and His own received Him not.  It’s no difference today.  Jesus still reveals Himself.  He still shines His glorious light.

He still offers His free gift of His essence to anyone and everyone who will receive it.

Wrong thinking often mistakes something that resembles the truth for the truth itself.

It’s wrong thinking that causes us to get angry at our spouse for things that happen instead of focusing your anger on your real enemy. 

It’s wrong thinking that causes you to see our kids in a lessor light than they deserve, rather than seeing them through the eyes of Christ and taking out our disappointment on the one responsible for behavior problems.

It’s wrong thinking that keeps your creative self stifled, when you should be creating new medicines, new tools, when you should be taking the new ideas that God has given to you and pursue them with your every effort.

It’s wrong thinking that keeps you from stepping out in faith and allowing God to have the pre-eminence, just for a season.

How many times have you let another day go by where you knew what to do, but didn’t do it?  

     Excerpt from God thinking XLII by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2016

God Thinking XLII - 5

"God has made it clear that there is right thinking and wrong thinking.

It is ‘wrong thinking’ that let’s you believe things about your self that isn’t true. (low self esteem)

It’s ‘wrong thinking’ that keeps you in bondage to habits and strongholds.

It’s ‘wrong thinking’ that causes you to continually to go to the place you know is killing you.

It’s ‘wrong thinking’ that robs you from hope. 

It’s ‘wrong thinking’ that says success is found in having many things.

It’s ‘wrong thinking’ that let’s true joy be confused with getting high or drunk. 

It’s ‘wrong thinking’ that let’s you worry about the things you have no control over.

It’s ‘wrong thinking’ that allows you to revive the baggage of the past.

It’s ‘wrong thinking’ that keeps you from letting go of your self security and stepping out by faith into the unknown, where God can have His way with you.

It’s ‘wrong thinking’ that keeps you poor.

It’s ‘wrong thinking’ that keeps you eating the same things that are making you sick.

It’s ‘wrong thinking ‘ that tells you that you should hold real tight to what you have.

But it is God Thinking that believes every Word that proceeds forth from God.

It is God Thinking that tells you about our true worth.

It’s God Thinking that gives you strength to break away from the things that have kept you in bondage.

It’s God Thinking that gives you strength to break away from habits that keep you from good health.

It’s God Thinking that gives you wisdom to say no, when people are asking you to go with them to this place or that.

It’s God Thinking that revives hope in your life.

It’s God Thinking that says success is found in the way you apprehend things and not in the apprehension itself. 

It’s God Thinking that brings true joy and peace to even the most troubled situation. 

It’s God Thinking that puts worry in its place, now some of you aren’t going to like this at all, because it’s easier to worry and fret than to let God fix your problems in His timing.

It’s God Thinking that doesn’t allow the mistakes of the past rob you from the blessings of the future.

It’s God Thinking that let’s you step out in faith and do what cannot be done, by faith in a God that can.

It’s God Thinking that prospers you and takes you from one faith to another - from one glory to another - from one truth to another - from where you were to where you are and from where you are to where you are going.

It’s God Thinking that teaches you to eat smart and care about your health.

It’s God Thinking that helps you to allow what you have flow through you instead of stopping at you.

God Thinking is the very kind of thinking that God has revealed to you through His Word. 

God Thinking is concerned about the essence of a thing, not just the thing itself, the essence of a word spoken in due season, the essence of a plan and not just a plan itself."

    Excerpt from God thinking XLII by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2016

God Thinking XLII - 4

"Norman Vincent Peale says, in his book, The Power of Positive Thinking, “If you’re thinking is wrong, it is wrong and not right and can never be right so long as it is wrong.  If it is wrong in the essence it is bound to be wrong in the result.”

It is this very kind of thinking, ‘wrong thinking’ that keeps you from getting what is rightfully yours in Christ.

The Word of God is filled with references to the way we think and the importance it plays in the outcome of our life.  Hear the Word of God:

Proverbs 12:5

“The thoughts of the righteous are right:...”

1 Chronicles 28:9

David speaking to his son Solomon.

“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all the hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts:...”

Psalm 94:19

“In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.”

Psalm 139:17

Now here we see God thinking in its perfect tense. 

“How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!”

Proverbs 16:3

“Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.”  I pray we would believe God.

God has made it clear that there is right thinking and wrong thinking."

    Excerpt from God Thinking XLII by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2016

God Thinking XLII - 3

"7.              We learned that it is not true that you don’t have enough time.  God thinking teaches you how to dispose the day wisely.

8.              God thinking causes you to look and seek to create what pleases God.

9.              God thinking requires that you take responsibility for your future.

10.              God thinking requires that you think differently.

• Thoughts of success
• Thoughts of giving to others
• Thoughts of getting understanding that creates wisdom from God.
• Thoughts that plan ahead and carefully use the moments at hand.
• Thoughts that foresee great things
• Thoughts that reach beyond your present circumstances
• Thoughts that require God’s help
• Thoughts that fit a child of God
• Thoughts that conform to what God has in Mind for you.

But, God Thinking is as much about deliberately abandoning wrong thinking as it is about adopting or putting on top the things of God.

     Excerpt from God Thinking XLII by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2016