Excerpt from The Power of God Thinking by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2010
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thought for the day
"The whole world has lied about Jesus. They have lied about who He is, what He has done for you and what He expects from you. The world talks to you 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 you and they are far more intolerant of Christians than you 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 rather than the light. Either way, they are on the broad path."
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Thought for the day
"The Word is true. God says "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above..." James 1:17 It's true. With Christ comes:
- An exciting and adventurous life
- Extreme challenges
- Personal confidence about who you are
- Health for your body
- Vision for your future
- Satisfaction in the now
- With Jesus the past is buried, forgotten and forgiven.
Excerpt from The Power of God Thinking by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2010
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thought for the day
"We 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 and it goes in the opposite direction of the world.
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 continuing kayaking 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 noone 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 2004.
There are two paths: The broad path that leads to destruction and the narrow path that leads to life everlasting. We need to quit wasting our 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."
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 continuing kayaking 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 noone 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 2004.
There are two paths: The broad path that leads to destruction and the narrow path that leads to life everlasting. We need to quit wasting our 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."
Excerpt from The Power of God Thinking by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2010
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Thought for the day
"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 to tell those inside that they were headed in the wrong direction.
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.)
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 to tell those inside that they were headed in the wrong direction.
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.)
Excerpt from The Power of God Thinking by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2010
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Thought for the day
Continued from the previous blog yesterday
"There was total unity among the vendor stations, except one small station at the very beginning of the path. There is a tiny little entranceway and a narrow little path right in the middle of the wide road to get there. Every now and then, the vendors would see someone going the opposite way of the broad, wide road. That's what's different about this one little station, it's at the opposite end of the broad path.
When a vendor would see someone walking down this narrow path, they would jeer at them and mock them, they would hurl things at them. They would holler at them and call them names, like: intolerant, narrow-minded, hypocritical, judgmental and homo-phobic.
They would try to trip those on the narrow path and they would throw their trash into the narrow path as the traveler passed by. They would set up barricades and obstacles in front of every station. At some stations they placed guards to shoot anyone they found heading in the direction of the narrow path. At some stations they blocked the path and if a person continued in that direction they would be arrested or killed.
Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus says, "Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: V14 Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." There is a teaching - a philosophy of sorts going around that goes like this; "All paths lead to God." Don't buy it. Don't agree with your neighbor and friends when they speak about this broad, all encompassing path. This path doesn't lead to God. It leads to a dead end; a huge pit called "the second death."
"There was total unity among the vendor stations, except one small station at the very beginning of the path. There is a tiny little entranceway and a narrow little path right in the middle of the wide road to get there. Every now and then, the vendors would see someone going the opposite way of the broad, wide road. That's what's different about this one little station, it's at the opposite end of the broad path.
When a vendor would see someone walking down this narrow path, they would jeer at them and mock them, they would hurl things at them. They would holler at them and call them names, like: intolerant, narrow-minded, hypocritical, judgmental and homo-phobic.
They would try to trip those on the narrow path and they would throw their trash into the narrow path as the traveler passed by. They would set up barricades and obstacles in front of every station. At some stations they placed guards to shoot anyone they found heading in the direction of the narrow path. At some stations they blocked the path and if a person continued in that direction they would be arrested or killed.
Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus says, "Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: V14 Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." There is a teaching - a philosophy of sorts going around that goes like this; "All paths lead to God." Don't buy it. Don't agree with your neighbor and friends when they speak about this broad, all encompassing path. This path doesn't lead to God. It leads to a dead end; a huge pit called "the second death."
Except from The Power of God Thinking by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2010
Monday, October 24, 2011
Thought for the day
"There is wisdom in God-thinking. One of the truths that God-thinking purports is a very important truth about the path of life. The whole world is beating a path in the same direction. This direction ends abruptly at a precipice. Along the way there are stations that help those on this path to reach their goal. The goal is to get to the end of the path. These stations have names, like: self-actualization, humanism, spiritism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Scientology, Mormonism and hundreds of others.
Each station on this path is to help the climber to get to the top or the end of the path. They call the top names like: acquired knowledge, the Celestial City, the Pagoda, Nirvana and clear. This path leads most to an understanding of life as a circle. When they die on this path, in some cases, they are told they will start over again and come back to the path and stop at another station.
They have a name for this circle of life; it is called reincarnation. Reincarnation becomes the hope of many. It works like an anesthesia to assist those on this path, because those on this path do not believe in personal responsibility for the life they have.
The stations all offer a great many lessons. Each lesson is designed to keep you on this path. In some stations like Islam, they promise a special future for those who will agree to die in battle. (It is promised to each and everyone who will voluntarily die before they get to the end of the path, (seven virgins and great wealth). And of course they will be permitted to continue on this path when they come back, to finish the ascent to the precipice.
On this path everything is sold. You can get anything you want. It's a no holds barred, have it your own way, and do it your own way, path. This path is broad, because there are a lot of people on this path. It is so wide, you can't even see from one side to the other. It is packed with people all headed in the same direction. Each station on this path has a special set of rules that apply to all those who stop at each station on the way. But faithful one to the other, they all point the traveler in the same direction.
All the vendors on this path have agreed, that since all the stations lead the same direction there should be agreement among them as to the name for the path.
One by one, they all join a one direction organization. They decided that this one direction organization should have a name. It took thousands of years to come to agreement, but at the end of six thousand years they unanimously voted that the official name of the organization for the broad path would be: "ALL PATHS LEAD TO GOD."
Each station on this path is to help the climber to get to the top or the end of the path. They call the top names like: acquired knowledge, the Celestial City, the Pagoda, Nirvana and clear. This path leads most to an understanding of life as a circle. When they die on this path, in some cases, they are told they will start over again and come back to the path and stop at another station.
They have a name for this circle of life; it is called reincarnation. Reincarnation becomes the hope of many. It works like an anesthesia to assist those on this path, because those on this path do not believe in personal responsibility for the life they have.
The stations all offer a great many lessons. Each lesson is designed to keep you on this path. In some stations like Islam, they promise a special future for those who will agree to die in battle. (It is promised to each and everyone who will voluntarily die before they get to the end of the path, (seven virgins and great wealth). And of course they will be permitted to continue on this path when they come back, to finish the ascent to the precipice.
On this path everything is sold. You can get anything you want. It's a no holds barred, have it your own way, and do it your own way, path. This path is broad, because there are a lot of people on this path. It is so wide, you can't even see from one side to the other. It is packed with people all headed in the same direction. Each station on this path has a special set of rules that apply to all those who stop at each station on the way. But faithful one to the other, they all point the traveler in the same direction.
All the vendors on this path have agreed, that since all the stations lead the same direction there should be agreement among them as to the name for the path.
One by one, they all join a one direction organization. They decided that this one direction organization should have a name. It took thousands of years to come to agreement, but at the end of six thousand years they unanimously voted that the official name of the organization for the broad path would be: "ALL PATHS LEAD TO GOD."
Excerpt from The Power of God Thinking by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2010
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Thought for the day
"God invited you to eat a healthy diet; a diet created for you that provides the very best for your body. Have you invited the Holy Spirit to assist you in making wise choices about your diet? God has invited you to live a holy life. Have you invited the Holy Spirit to reveal to you how to live a life of holiness?
God-thinking is about changing the way you think, to think like Christ. This will not happen unconsciously. It will require a conscious decision to invite God to participate in everything you do. God will not participate without invitation. The Word says, "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God." Philippians 4:6
God participates in the affairs of your life by invitation.
Have you invited God to be God in our life?
Have you invited God to be your Ambassador, to go before you and make a way for you?
Have you made God an heir to your kingdom, your money, your goods, your family, your children, your friends?
Have you invited God to be your friend?
Have you invited God to be your Father?
Have you invited God to ask you to go with you?
Have you invited God into your presence?
Have you invited God to receive your promise, the words you speak in faith, your blessings?
God-thinking invites God into everything that has to do with everything. Are you ready to invite God into your life, to reside, to commune, to live? If you already know the Lord, are you ready to invite God into your everything. If you are, take a moment and pray and let God have His way with you today, right now.
If you have not yet asked God to come and to dwell in you and take away your sins and make you free. Don't wait. You are invited.
God-thinking is about changing the way you think, to think like Christ. This will not happen unconsciously. It will require a conscious decision to invite God to participate in everything you do. God will not participate without invitation. The Word says, "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God." Philippians 4:6
God participates in the affairs of your life by invitation.
- Be encouraged - God has not hid Himself - God has revealed Himself.
- God did not create some impossible path to find Him - He called you by name and draws you to Himself to reveal Himself personally.
- God did not make it impossible for you to find God - He sent His own Son to reveal Him.
- God did not keep you in bondage to your sin - He sent His Son to die for you and to set you free.
- God has not let you live in spiritual poverty - He has filled you with His Spirit.
- God has invited you to be an Ambassador, a heir to His kingdom and joint heir with Christ.
- He has invited you to be His friend, His child.
- He has invited you to ask for whatever you will.
- He has invited you into His presence.
- He has invited you to receive every promise, every Word of faith, every blessing.
- God has freely given you every opportunity to receive every blessing He has ever created.
Have you invited God to be God in our life?
Have you invited God to be your Ambassador, to go before you and make a way for you?
Have you made God an heir to your kingdom, your money, your goods, your family, your children, your friends?
Have you invited God to be your friend?
Have you invited God to be your Father?
Have you invited God to ask you to go with you?
Have you invited God into your presence?
Have you invited God to receive your promise, the words you speak in faith, your blessings?
God-thinking invites God into everything that has to do with everything. Are you ready to invite God into your life, to reside, to commune, to live? If you already know the Lord, are you ready to invite God into your everything. If you are, take a moment and pray and let God have His way with you today, right now.
If you have not yet asked God to come and to dwell in you and take away your sins and make you free. Don't wait. You are invited.
Excerpt from The Power of God Thinking by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2010
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