God Thinking XVIII - The Way You Think 2

"The goal of God thinking is to learn to think the way God wants you to think.

God thinking is the kind of thinking that thinks forward to create what God has already ordained to be.  Most of your life you want, desire, chase after, strive for, long for, get stressed out over, worry about, fret about, what God has already placed in your path aforetime.  You work like a dog to make happen what God has already transformed from thought into reality for you.  Most of the time, if you had just waited a moment longer, you could have seen how God orchestrated it all.  As you are running around in circles trying to make something happen, God in His infinite wisdom has already prepared the path.  And when you get there, you pat yourself on the back for a job well done.  You need to learn to see God in what you are doing, right from the start.

• Every dollar we make
• Every relationship we have
• Every business we venture into
• Every goal - every desire - every dream
• Every breath
• Every thought

Must be to the glory of God

God Thinking XVIII - The Way You Think by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2013

God Thinking XVIII - The Way You Think 1

"It is important to remember and practice what you learn, not just learn it and hear it.  God
thinking is like that.  If you practice the principles you learn, you are empowered by these principles.  If you practice the principles you learn, you please God through faith.  Here are some principles that you have learned or will learn.  They are the kind of truths that change the way you think.
·     The way you think about God.
·     The way you think about what God has said about Himself.
·     The way you think about what God has said about yourself.
·     The way you think.
The goal of God thinking is to learn to think the way God wants you to think.

God Thinking XVIII - The Way You Think by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2013

 

God Thinking XVII - All Paths Do Not Lead To God 9

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”  James 1:17

 

The Word is true.  God says “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.”  It’s true. 

With Christ comes:

An exciting and adventurous life

Extreme challenges

Personal confidence about who you are

Health for our bodies

Vision for your future

Satisfaction in the now

With Jesus, the past is buried, forgotten and forgiven.

 

It’s not that if you turn to Christ to follow Him, that you will never have a problem.  But with Jesus there will never be a problem you cannot overcome.

 

It’s not that you won’t want things that you might not be able to afford.  But, with Jesus you will enjoy and appreciate what you have right now.

  

It’s not that you won’t have trials and tribulations, turmoil and trouble.  But, with Jesus you will never be abandoned, mistreated or misused.

 

The whole world has lied about Jesus.  They have lied about who He is, what He has done for us and what He expects from us.  The world talks to us about Jesus like they are the experts.  They talk negatively about someone they have never even met.

 

The unbelieving world is quick to cut down the Christian faith.  They are quick to make fun and condemn us and they are far more intolerant of Christians than we are of those who are not.

 

Some are innocent and simply led astray, the blind leading the blind.  Others are not so innocent and they choose darkness more than the light.   Either way, they are on the broad path. 

 

We need to take what Jesus says seriously.  Jesus says follow me.  He is on the narrow path that leads to life and He is calling each one of us to turn around and start going HIS way.

 

The world doesn’t have anything on us. Our Father in heaven has provided us with the very best. Those outside of the will of God cannot say that.

 

We are strengthened by His presence in our life. Those who love the world are on their own.

We are satisfied with the portion that God has dealt us. The world, those who have not been born again - they are never satisfied, they never get enough.

We are empowered to overcome our real enemy, satan. The world is powerless to overcome anything without Christ.

We are free from our sins. The world is in bondage to their sins.

There are two paths. Get it right. 

 

Excerpt from God Thinking XVII- All Paths Do Not Lead To God by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2013

God Thinking XVII - All Paths Do Not Lead To God 8

"You need to quit wasting your time trying to merge the narrow path that leads to eternal life with the wide path that leads to destruction.  They cannot merge.  They never did merge.  They never will merge.

When you are born, you are very close to the heart of God.  As we grow older, some of us rebel against the call to holiness.  Some of us get on the broad path and enjoy it.  The broad path becomes familiar. 

Even if we are plagued with drug addiction or uncontrolled anger, even if the bottom is dropping out, even if everything is messed up, even if life has no real meaning, people will stay with the familiar.  

• The broad path offers answers to these predicaments:
• The broad path has plenty of drugs to keep us going. 
• The broad path enables uncontrolled anger. 
• When the bottom is dropping out, the broad path will be there to keep pushing us down a little further.
• If everything is messed up, the broad path will generate more of the same.
• If life has no meaning, the broad path will support that kind of thinking.

Whatever holds us back from having a pure and beautiful existence; it can be found readily available on the broad path.  If we are looking for someone to agree with us when we are living a life without meaning, we can count on those on the broad path.  But, not one day goes by, that God doesn’t call out to everyone on the broad path, to turn around and go the other way.  Jesus entreats each one of us to come and follow Him and enjoy the blessings of the good life. 

 

Excerpt from God Thinking XVII- All Paths Do Not Lead To God by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2013

God Thinking XVII - All Paths Do Not Lead To God 7

"Let me tell you a true, modern day story about the times we live in.

 

An acquaintance of mine just came back from North Vietnam.  He was on a hiking expedition through the northernmost mountains of North Vietnam.  He was with a group of men and women that hiked about 400 miles.  Then they kayaked another 100 miles to end up in Hanoi.

 

North Vietnam is a communist country.  But in their own way they are trying to bridge the gap with foreigners.  They (the North Vietnamese government and military) treated the hikers with respect and they left the hikers alone to travel without supervision.

 

As the hikers traveled throughout the mountains and then down to the coastline, they met many native people who allowed them to stay in their houses and eat their food, which was scarce.  Most of the children speak English, but no one there knows why they speak English or where the language came from.  The natives don’t know the word America.  They know nothing about America or its people.

 

The North Vietnamese government is adamantly against religious expression of any kind, however they do allow some religious influences in their country.  There is a Buddhist Pagoda and a small Catholic sect in Hanoi, which is the most modern city in the Northern side of Vietnam.

 

As my friend was going through indoctrination, the North Vietnamese government officials explained the rules,  regulations and boundaries set up for the hiking adventure.  They discussed every aspect of the hike.  Generally speaking there rules were no different than they would be anywhere, even here in our country - except one rule:

 

During their hike, they cannot speak the name of Jesus.  If the hikers were to break this rule, their Visa would be revoked and they would be sentenced to an indefinite stay in state prison.

 

Here is a real life example of one of those stations along the broad path that stop those who turn or have turned toward Christ.  This was in 2005.

 

There are two paths: The broad path that leads to destruction and the narrow path that leads to life everlasting."

 

Excerpt from God Thinking XVII- All Paths Do Not Lead To God by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2013

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"Jesus was talking to Paul, who had been persecuting the Church.  Acts 26:16-18

“But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; V17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, V18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.”

 

Paul was on the broad path.  He had stopped at one of the stations called “RELIGIOUS PIETY”.  Then he met Jesus in the road and turned the other way and he was told to turn  others from darkness to light, from satan unto God, (from the broad path to the narrow path, from one direction to another.)

You must get it right.  The path that leads to eternal life with God is in the opposite direction of the path that leads to destruction.

God designed it this way - to assure the believer that they would know when they were on the right path.  It would be narrow - few will find it - and it goes in the opposite direction of the world."

 

Excerpt from God Thinking XVII- All Paths Do Not Lead To God by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2013

 

 

 

 

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"God calls us all from the broad path, to turn around and start heading the other way.

 

Jesus says in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

 

When Jesus says “repent ye”, He is literally saying turn around and head in the opposite direction of the path you are on. 

 

God knows that at the end of the broad path is empty promises from the wicked one.  Those on the broad path cannot see the end. They only see the path and all its trappings. 

 

Jesus says again in Mark 1:17, “...Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.”

Many, many times Jesus says, “follow Me.”  Jesus leads us on the narrow path to the straight gate.  And while those on the broad path are hurling accusations and putting obstacles in our way; while they are offering us everything possible to keep us from staying on the narrow path, Jesus is walking the path with us.  There is no way to stay in the right direction without Jesus leading the way.

Even when Jesus visited the home of the unbelieving, the prostitutes, houses of ill repute, (one of the stations on the broad path), He was always headed in the other direction of those on the broad path.  He only stopped in to tell those inside that they were headed in the wrong direction."

 

Excerpt from God Thinking XVII- All Paths Do Not Lead To God by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2013