We have all heard the words, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Pro 23:7). What we must see is that Jesus came to give us a whole new way of thinking. Paul says we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds - and he means to the way Jesus teaches us to think (Rom 12:2).
You cannot consistently live, on the outside, different from how you think, on the inside.
CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS: POSITIVE THINKING VS. NEGATIVE THINKING
Most messages about thinking talking about positive thinking vs. negative thinking. This is important, and I'm not saying it's not. If you think in positive ways, you're going to get a lot further in life than if you think negatively. It's part of the law of cause and effect.
But this is not what Jesus came to bring: just the fact that we should think positively. Jesus came to bring a whole new belief system. He referred to it as 'THE GOSPEL,' and he said you must believe it, and you must change your thoughts in all ways (Mark 1:15).
GRACE AND TRUTH
Most of the religious world is focused on sin. Sin, and the law that focused on it, had been the focus for 4,000 years of Bible history. But Jesus came to 'put away sin' and 'become sin for us' (Heb 9:26, II Cor 5:21). He came to deal with the sin issue. And he came to change the game of life to one of belief (again, Mark 1:15).
You see, Jesus knows that good behavior will never produce correct belief. But he also knows that correct belief will eventually produce good behavior. If we focus on law and sin, it produces more law and sin (Rom 5:20, I Cor 15:56). But, if our focus is gospel truth and grace, then sin becomes much less of a problem to us.
Grace and truth produces Christ's nature in us. Sin produces thoughts about sin. The saying is totally true: "As a man thinks, so is he."
DON'T THINK ABOUT A PINK ELEPHANT!
I imagine you've dealt with this little trick before. At least it was used a lot in seminars, etc. The seminar leader would say, "Don't think about a pink elephant." Of course, what happens is that you think about a pink elephant - even though he told you not to. In fact, some people said (depending on the amount of stimulation prompted by the leader), they would go to sleep thinking about a pink elephant - or even dream about one. But the fact is this: stimulation in thinking is very important. "As a man thinks…"
THINK ABOUT THE GOSPEL OF JESUS!
The same thing applies to the gospel of Jesus. When you think about the gospel of Jesus, then you go to sleep thinking about it - you dream about it, at least subconsciously - and you wake up knowing the reality of it. This has been my focus for over 20 years.
The gospel is what fulfills the word of God in our lives (Col 1:23-25).
The gospel is what produces good works from us (Col 1:5-6).
When we get the gospel planted deep inside of us and allow it to take root in us, then it produces good things from us. This is what I call 'the process of God.' Jesus says no good root produces bad fruit (Mat 7:17-18). The root issue is still the same: "As a man thinks…"
As 'THE GOSPEL LIFE COACH,' my goal is to get anyone who is in the least spiritually minded to think about the gospel of Jesus and what it does in us and through us. Paul says it is the power of God in us (Rom 1:16-17). He says we should fellowship in the gospel, and I think this means with God, and with each other.
When the gospel of Jesus, and gospel grace, become our focus, rather than the focus of law and sin, then everything in life changes for the better. The Bible talks in terms of a 30, 60, and 100 fold return. It all depends on your focus.
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS IS EVERYTHING
When you think about it, the Lord said to repent (change) all other thoughts, and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15 revisited again). This is saying to ONLY believe one thing. When you believe only one thing, then this absorbs your thoughts. As I said, this has been where I have camped out now for over 20 years. I can tell you it produces the most peaceful, freeing, joyful, productive lifestyle you can possibly imagine.
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