“Think Right To Live Right”
Right thoughts, produce right beliefs, which convert into right actions….
A man who believed himself to be a kernel of corn is taken to a mental hospital where the doctors do their best to convince him that he is not a kernel of corn but a man. However, when he is cured and becomes convinced that he is not a kernel of corn and he is allowed to leave the hospital, he immediately comes back, trembling and very frightened—He tells the doctors, “There is a chicken outside the door, and he is waiting to eat me”. “Please sir,” says his doctor, “you know very well that you are not a kernel of corn but you are a man.” “Of course I know,” replies the patient, “but does the chicken know?”
We may know that we are God’s kids, but is the Devil convinced of the same thing??? The place where Satan usually defeats us is in the battleground of the mind….
Galatians 5:22 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, v23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. v24 And
they that are in Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. v25 If we
live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”.
I believe that Paul is telling us that it is possible to not fall into the world’s way of
thinking, to live positive, and still be effective and thrive in a negative world….
Romans 6:13 “Do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your body as an instrument of righteousness unto God. v14 For sin (faulty and self-destructive thinking) shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace (khar'-ece...the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life)
Lack of integrity and lack of self-discipline in our emotions, our finances and our desires, can undo in a moment, all we've worked to build over a lifetime.
When Author and philosopher C.S. Lewis, was on the road of conversion to Christ, the Spirit of God convicted him by showing him the awful truth about himself. He says
"For the first time I examined myself with a seriously practical purpose. And there I found what appalled me: a zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, a harem of fondled hatreds, and I realized that my name was Legion." He came to the realization that he was defeating himself….
Luke 8:26-39 Tells the story of a man of Gadara, who worked the grave yard shift (literally) he dwelt among the tombs, he cried out in torment day and night and cut himself with knives.
All our negative, flawed thinking, and dwelling on all the past dead things will keep us in the graveyard of resentment, self-hatred and unforgiveness, and will continually bruise our spirit and cut the heart like a knife. It is the way of self-destruction.
Jesus found the man of Gadara, set him free, and said "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." (Jesus released him from the prison of his own mind and pointed him to a positive way of living) He released him to love and care for those very people who had caused him to become fed up and mad enough to isolate himself in his rejection, his hurt and his unforgiveness.
Jesus said “Now go back with a redeemed mind, a redeemed Spirit and share a redeemed message”.
Romans 13: 12 “Put aside the things of darkness and walk in the armor of His light”. When the darkness comes and tries to close in around you, the Lord says "be a "glow in the dark" Christian!
(Romans is telling us "it's time to glow in the dark" ) People are drawn to the light, and when they see you glowing in the dark places of life, they will want to know what makes you glow, when there is so much to worry and fret over.
A young girl is raped and has a child which she loves and nurtures. That child grows up without the scars, because it has redemption's touch stamped upon it.
A soldier returns, maimed in body, but strong in spirit and through the recovery process, becomes a testimony to everyone around him that he is a citizen of another higher and better place in which to live his life, it’s the realms of redemption.
A deeply married, loving couple is separated by sudden death. Through the days that follow, the world sees a life that conquerors death, that shines brighter and more powerfully than the shadows of death.
These are "Glow in the Dark" Christians.
Acts 16:23 Paul and Silas are beaten with many stripes and then thrown into the deepest part of the prison with their feet in stocks and their arms in chains. They begin to sing and praise God and they glow in the darkness, and turn the prison cell into a place of celebration and light it up with God’s glory!
1 Corinthians 9:27 “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway”.
(Your body, including your brain, isn't saved, it is under the rule of your spirit. It is a tool you use for God's purposes. Money, just like most things in life, isn't good or bad, it’s just a tool, but it's how all these things are used and the motives behind it, that makes all the difference.)
In Esther 4:14, Esther encouraged herself in the great trial of her faith, when she needed to expose the evil agenda of Haman, faced a life and death choice in appearing before the king unannounced, but she heeded her uncle's words, who told her… "You have come into the kingdom for such a time as this"
It is no accident or freak of fate that has brought any of us into the places we have come to….it is for a kingdom cause….There is something much higher and nobler involved, than our temporary discomfort and inconvenience!
I like the statement made by Caleb, in Numbers 14:9, When the Hebrew scouts went in to check out the land, Caleb, saw the power and size of the giants who blocked the way to the place of promise, just like the others did.
But the others saw themselves as grasshoppers (inadequate, incapable and too limited) However Caleb said...."these giants shall be bread for us." (defeating them will make us stronger) This battle will test our skills and develop our abilities!
The average person processes over 60'000 separate thoughts each day, and 90% of those occur subconsciously. Think about how many things you do, day in and day out, without even consciously thinking about it. Your body performs most of it’s functions through automatic programing, occurring in the subliminal areas of the brain. But it is up to us, to take responsibility for programing the conscious functions of our lives. If we don’t, we will allow our environment and our negative culture to program it for us.
While many subconscious thoughts are positive, some of them are “success blockers”. They simply prevent us from progressing or being successful in reaching and fulfilling our goals and our purpose in life.
A group of Senior citizens were sitting around talking about their ailments.."My arms are so weak I can barely hold a cup of coffee", said one. "Yes, I know. My cataracts are so bad I can't even see my coffee in the cup", replied another. "I can't turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck", said a third, to which several nodded in agreement. My blood pressure pills make me dizzy," another one said. "I guess that's the price we pay for getting old," said an old man as he shook his head. Then there was a short moment of silence, as they all thought over they’re conditions, and one woman chimed in cheerfully. "But, it's not all that bad" "Thank God, we can all still drive"!
The first step in eliminating automatic thoughts that prevent us from being successful is to identify self-destructive patterns that keep sabotaging us. Scripture refers to these as strongholds…..that control us. If we don’t identify it, we can’t fix it!
The second step is to actively change these thought patterns and introduce patterns that trigger positive results.
Ask yourself, how many people do you know who in spite of their attempts to change their destiny….they still lead unfulfilled or unsatisfying lives, they are constantly unable to pay their bills, and they are constantly miserable and unhappy.
Why do these people continue to fail? In most cases it isn’t for lack of trying or good will. It’s because our brains are programmed to react to certain predetermined thoughts that guide our behaviors and those faulty thoughts have determined who we have become. We have lost touch with who we really are…..
At one of the crowded, Delta ticket counters, a man toward the end of the line was growing impatient and frustrated. He finally marched right up to the counter and demanded that he be given his ticket. The ticket agent turned, looked at him, and said, "Sir, as you can see there are many passengers ahead of you. I'm afraid you'll have to get back in line". Outraged and red faced, the man yelled, "Do you know who I am?!!!" The ticket agent turned, looked at him, picked up the public address system microphone and said calmly,"There is a man at the Delta ticket counter who does not know who he is. Anyone who may be able to identify this man please step forward and help him. Thank you".
Dr. Emile Coue wrote a book in French, which is titled “Self-mastery Through Conscious Auto Suggestion” He says “When the conscious mind tries to shift into a behavioral change that conflicts with the subconscious mind’s pre-programmed thought patterns, the subconscious mind always wins.
In the conflict between the will and the subconscious mind, the outcome is always in proportion to the subconscious mind’s strength compared to the force of the will” In other words, (even if you're willing to change, you won't change unless you change the preprogramed thoughts that are deeply embedded in your psyche.) That explains why my downstairs gym keeps becoming a dust collector!
To change your body, you must first change your mind. As a rule, people who are overweight, can go on a diet and lose a lot of weight, but they still have the thought patterns of an overweight person, so it doesn’t take long till they are overweight again. The subconscious mind keeps contradicting the conscious mind.
It would be like having a blocker program on your computer that blocks every program until you give it permission for you to enter. Every block has a warning, telling why you should not let the program through. It is unrelenting and it is uncompromising.
Usually when we fail, we have compromised our belief enabler system.
A belief system is not what you say, but how you act out what you say. Let's have a look at some belief enablers…
The first Belief enabler, is about realigning your Skills, Talents and Capabilities - with who it is you want to be, where you want to be and what you want to do. That’s another way of saying that you are aligning with your potential.
The second Belief enabler, is about viewing Life as a “Platform” for Opportunities- This gives opportunities a fertile place to materialize. It focuses our minds on the possibilities rather than the limitations. It puts us at the right place at the right time to meet the right people because we have prepared ourselves to be open and receptive and embrace the opportunities.
The Third Belief enabler, is accepting and expecting positive change - Change has a tendency to reward people who embrace it. Welcoming change also means having an open attitude toward change that is necessary for positive change to take place.
The Fourth Belief enabler, is about feeling Empowered and in Charge by Accepting responsibility to shape your destiny according to your belief system. Successful people don’t look for other people or circumstances to shape their destiny. They actively take control and create their destiny as they look to the author and finisher. Belief is persistence - Many people have great goals and visions but they lose interest when the desired results doesn't materialize quickly or easily. If you want to succeed you need to be persistent, and be outcome conscious, not time conscious.
The Fifth Belief enabler, is about creating MBR’s (Mutually Beneficial Relationships.) It is by the exchange of ideas and perspectives, in giving and taking that we open the doors to new, and sometimes unexpected, great opportunities. Every person you meet is a chance for an MBR to happen. It begins when you say to someone, “How can I help you to make your day a better day”…..
A husband and wife argued all the time. One morning he said, How can I help make your day a better day? She said clean up the kitchen. Next day he said the same thing, she said clean the garage. Next day, she said, vacuum the carpets…the next day, he asked and she broke down in tears, and said I’m sorry I have been so selfish, what can I do to make your day better today? Their marriage got healed and they fell in love all over again!!!
The Sixth Belief enabler, is about having healthy Self Esteem - Only when you have a healthy outlook about yourself, and you are comfortable with who you are and have a God given confidence in your calling and purpose, will other people believe in you and your abilities. This applies both to your personal, your family, and your professional life.
The Seventh Belief enabler, is Living your life with Purpose - All successful and generally happy people display high levels of purpose and an action plan. They keep their goals in mind, act on their ideas, follow through with their plans and stay the course until they achieve what they want. If you can’t see it, then you can’t get to it….
The Eighth Belief enabler, is Seeing Setbacks as Opportunities for Progress - Most successful people will tell you that they see setbacks as opportunities and they always look for opportunities while they are experiencing setbacks. A person who will not quit, is a person who is a winner. You only lose when you quit!
The Ninth Belief enabler, is our willingness to Get Rid of our Success Blockers.
One of our blockers….is Feeling "not good enough" - Although most people don’t like to admit it, it continues to lead the charts of top “success blockers”.
The second blocker….Fear and Resistance to Change - This resistance to change often leads to missed opportunities for advancement and positive change.
The third blocker….Dependencies or Co-dependencies – This is the erroneous belief that our happiness and success is dependent on certain people, certain actions or circumstances outside of our control.
The fourth blocker….Blaming Others for Missed Opportunities - We’ve all experienced instances where we thought other people stood in the way of our success. If these experiences turn into core beliefs that we carry with us, consciously or unconsciously, we not only create excuses for failing, but hinder our ability to recognize ways to work around them, to get through them and achieve our goals.
A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He spotted a woman below and dropped down lower. "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am." The woman said, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude." "You must be an engineer," said the man. "I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?" "Well, everything you told me is, technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information. I'm still lost, and If anything, all you’ve done is delayed my trip." The woman asked, "You’re in Management, aren’t you." "Well yes I am, but how did you know?" "Well, first, you don't know where you are or where you're going. Next, You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. Next, You made a promise to someone, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people
beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is that you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."
The fifth belief blocker….Negative Expectations - Negative expectations in life tend to create self-fulfilling prophesies. Imagine an athlete going into the Olympic games thinking “I can’t possibly win”, or a CEO of a company thinking “I don’t believe we’ll ever succeed here”. Eliminating deep seated negative expectations is an important key to any kind of success we may want to achieve.
*…..The sixth blocker is….I-don’t-deserve-it Attitudes - Because we unconsciously believe that we don’t deserve certain things no matter how much we to strive achieve. So we either “go into the game” with low expectations for success, only give it half an effort, or often don’t even try. The result is that we continue to fall far short and live in a cycle of discouragement.
The seventh belief blocker…Being a Victim of Circumstances - Victims of circumstances tend to accept unhappiness, mediocrity or failure as part of their destiny. They often fail to realize that they have the power to change their circumstances. They put labels on themselves like “loser, failure, incapable and inferior….Therefore, they don’t empower themselves to take control in shaping their circumstances according to their goals and dreams.
The eighth belief blocker… Procrastination and Passivity - The best objectives and plans don’t mean much if there’s lack of corresponding action. And yet, one of the top reasons most people don’t progress or fail to achieve their goals is because they don’t follow through.
The ninth belief blocker….The need to Earn Approval or Love from Others - These attitudes divert our thoughts, behaviors and actions from our own individual needs and goals and instead we do what’s good for someone else. We are so busy performing that we fail to build and develop our own core values. We can still be supportive and helpful to others while staying true to ourselves and our goals and values.
The tenth belief blocker…..Rational Excuses for Irrational Behavior (things that are not part of our core values)- Excuses, even if we try to justify them are still self-sabotaging, self-destructive reasons we give ourselves for failure. As long as we believe these “good excuses” positive change cannot happen or succeed.
Do any of the success blockers sound familiar?
Joshua 1:3 “Every place that the soles of your feet shall tread upon, (daw-rak'.. to wear a path by continually walking on it), I have given it to you”... (establishing new patterns in areas you have not done so before)
Tell someone….”Keep walking it out”…..
Every day, we need to experience, visualize and celebrate our successes.
Those who live like they are winners, who practice and see themselves as winners in their actions, their communication, and their motives, have pre-program their mind and their spirit to succeed.
We need to pre-condition our life each and every day, for where we want to end up, before we get there. We’re telling our mind to be prepared to process what it cannot see, hear, smell, taste or touch before we arrive, because we believe that God means what He says and He says what He means. You are prepared to win since you truly believe God will make a way, even when there is no way.
It is the foundational principal of Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen”.
Dr. Rima Laibow’s research shows that, absorbing new information and forming new belief patterns as we get older, requires a much more persistent and targeted approach. (This actually means that through repeated visualization, of the desired outcome, we increase information absorption and ensure the highest level of effective retention.)
Having said all that, I am not my mind, I am my thoughts, which is more about my soul and spirit….
The person who operates a machine or drives a car is separate from the machine or car, just as the person who operates a tool is separate from the tool…. The mind is simply a tool…
You don't have to accept, follow and dwell on every thought that the mind brings up. You have the option to accept or reject thoughts at your own will. You can act according to your will, in spite of the mind's resistance. You can be in charge of your mind and be the master of it.
Every time you catch yourself thinking a negative thought, you have the ability to reject the thought, and think a positive one instead: If you catch yourself visualizing failure, you can switch to visualizing success. If you hear yourself repeating negative words, you can switch to positive ones. If you hear yourself saying, "I cannot", you can say to yourself, "I can". If you begin to think negative words and phrases in your mind? Change them to thoughts that match your purpose, goals, and vision.
- I am healthy and happy.- All that I need is coming into my life.- I am getting wiser, stronger and better each day.- My body is healthy and functioning perfectly.- I have a lot of energy to do what needs to be done.- I study and comprehend with amazing understanding and my memory is great.- I am calm and relaxed in every situation.- My thoughts, feelings and desires are under my control.- I radiate love and happiness.- I am surrounded by favor, because greater is He that is in me.- I have good and loving relations with my family. I have a wonderful and satisfying life.- I am successful in whatever I do.- Everything is getting better every day.
Now you may say, “Very few of those things really describe me”….but you are programing yourself in advance of the circumstances, situations and events….
Prayer……Father, help us remember that the redemption you have made possible is closer each moment, than we can imagine. It is even now working in me to transform the reality around me. Enable me to keep my focus on Christ so that regardless of what I am going through, what I choose to think, say and do, will move me closer to being the persons you designed and intended me to be. Lord, you are aware of all that is at work in life around us that stimulates our fears and anxieties and brings out the worst in us. Give us the peace that is beyond the world’s understanding. Enable us to be so at peace with You that we have an inner calm as we deal with the various problems and pains in our lives. May we see each situation of life as a possibility for expanding our boundries and experiencing new ideas and perspectives. Give us such an assurance and confidence of who we are by Your grace, that we truly believe that "we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us". As we are ruled by and walk in the Spirit, may we see that we are able to totally give ourselves to Your higher plan and purpose. Help us be so aware of Your sacrifical love that we are motivated to live and give of ourselves for the good of others and in the process discover the scriptural promise that "perfect love casts out fear", being fulfilled daily in us. May we understand that our success comes through helping others attain success in their lives. As we begin this season of hope, this season of the celebration of new levels of success, we ask that your grace be so at work in our lives that we are enabled to face what we must face, do what we must do, and endure what we must endure with a sense of peace, hope, joy, faith and confidence in your will.
Teach us to live boldly and with purpose through Your kingdom within us.
In Jesus' name, Amen
