Change Your Thoughts Change Your World: Moving From Poverty to Prosperity

By Pastor M.B. Jefferson

With the overwhelming success of the first edition, Change Your Thoughts, Change Your World proved to be a valuable tool in showing readers how every area of life is based on perspective, and how a different mindset can drastically improve both the present and the future.

Bishop M.B. Jefferson has revised and expanded this manual for suc

• Language: English
• Publisher: Atiya's Light Publishing
• Release date: Mar 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9780996867207

Book preview

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

You Are What You Think You Are!

Words Create Worlds

Brain in the Heart

Don’t Listen to Lies!

The Power of the Word

Have the Mind of Christ

A Renewed Mind

A Transformed Mind

Scriptures of Reference for Personal Meditation

CHAPTER 2

MIND WARS: Fear, Negativity, and Addiction

The Fear Factor

Abolish Negativity

Exterminating Addiction

CHAPTER 3

MIND WARS: Deception, Crisis, Your Past, Complacency

Defeating Deception

Combating Crisis

Honor God!

The Strength of Christ!

Fight The Good Fight!

Confronting the Rear

Ignite Your Authority!

Apposing Self-Conceit

Never Go Back!

Victorious State of Mind!

CHAPTER 4

Extreme Image Makeover

The Breath of God and the Birth of Man

The New Man

God is my Father

Walk in the Spirit, Live by the Spirit

CHAPTER 5

Seeing Life through God's Eyes

The Two Realities

Diseases of the Eye

Fix Your Eyes on Heavenly Things

The Lord is My Light and My Salvation

The Good Samaritan

CHAPTER 6

You Have the Power!

Activating the Power

My Help Cometh from the Lord

God Is My Salvation

Biblical History of the Power of God

CHAPTER 7

Passion and Purpose: A Winning Combination

Purpose is Attached to Passion

CHAPTER 8

Thinking Outside the Box

Creating a Paradigm Shift

Getting out of the Box?

How to Think Outside the Box

CHAPTER 9

Movers, Dreamers, and Risk Takers

Dreamers

Risk Takers

Movers

CHAPTER 10

Boldness, Faith and Integrity

Boldness

Faith

Integrity

CHAPTER 11

Failure is Not Final!

Overcoming the Fear of Failure

Lessons from Overcomers

Learning Wisdom in Our Failure

Resisting Negativity

Don’t Give Up! Don’t Ever Give Up!

CHAPTER 12

A Vision for Your Future

Creating a Vision for your Future

Setting the Goals to Fulfill Your Vision

INTRODUCTION

I grew up in the streets of Dallas, Texas, knowing of God but lacking the full understanding of who He actually is or the magnitude of His power and grace. I had no understanding of the Divine purpose for my life. At age twenty-five my life took a dramatic turn. It was an encounter with God that changed my way of thinking about God and myself, and it started me on the path toward reshaping my future. God got my attention! I was propelled into a new place of passion and purpose.

That memorable day, I was visiting the hospital for a medical checkup when I suddenly collapsed from an allergic reaction to a routine injection. The reaction was almost immediate and I began ranting and raving as those around me attempted to restrain me. As I continued fighting, I could hear the doctors around me ordering those who were attempting to restrain me to just let me go. That command was followed by these frightening words from one of the doctors: Let him go! He’s dying anyway. We can’t do anything for him … it’s too late!

At that moment, I’d collapsed. I felt my spirit exiting my body and I began falling into a deep, dark tunnel. It seemed as if the depths of this darkness would not cease. Suddenly, I heard voices taunting me. You will be kicking in hell forever!

Those mocking voices repeated these words over and over again. You’re dying! Die … Die! My limbs suddenly went limp. My hands slumped to my sides, my legs collapsed, and my body gave in to death. I continued hearing the voice repeat, This is death.

This demonic death threat was suddenly interrupted by another voice that echoed in my spirit like the sound of thunderous waves, and it halted me and captured my attention. NO! this voice demanded. Go back! Tell my people I am God, and I judge sin. Live right, and preach my gospel for my glory! As quickly as I’d given into death, I was now responding to the Voice of love commanding me to LIVE. Suddenly, my eyes opened. I was released from the clutches of death. Shocked and staring at me in disbelief, the hospital staff stood in fear and began bombarding me with questions: Where did you go? What did you see? As best I could, I tried to explain what I had experienced on the other side.

After a final evaluation, I was released and chauffeured home in a police cruiser. The officers shared with me some of the things that had transpired during my comatose state. They revealed that, in spite of only weighing 120 pounds, I was throwing 270-pound police officers like sheets of paper. Apparently, I’d also been raging and talking about God the entire time. Those around me were totally oblivious to what was actually transpiring. Of course, I had no recollection of the physical strength I’d gained, nor the episode of tossing men across the room. However, I did remember a voice telling me, There is no God. You will be kicking in hell forever.

Though I’d not totally submitted to God before this episode in the hospital took place, I still believed in Him and knew He existed. This contrary voice of condemnation had come to challenge my faith, wipe me out, and condemn me forever. Thank God that the Spirit of the Lord intervened and beckoned, Get right for me, please. I’m coming back … I’m coming back!"

After the police officers dropped me off at home that night, I immediately went into my bedroom and wept like a baby. I did not fully understand what was going on at the time, so I began to seek answers from the other voice that I’d heard in the hospital – the soothing voice that had come to comfort me and give me hope.

Who are you, I inquired, and what do you want with me? Without hesitation, the voice answered, I want you to know Jesus Christ as your Savior.

A few days later, I began my intense search for God. I stumbled upon a tent revival and decided to go inside. Minutes later, the preacher told me to lift my hands and receive God into my life. I obeyed. Standing there with my hands lifted, it felt as if an angel was keeping my arms suspended in midair, ushering me into the presence of Christ. That was the night that God saved me, and I have been saved and seeking Him ever since.

The words you are about to read are the result of a momentous journey that started in that hospital room. It is a journey that has changed my way of thinking and has given me a vision for a future that would be simply divine.

Everything that occurs in your life is birthed from what thoughts are accepted in your mind. How you think determines who you are and what your future will be. Proverbs 23:7 states, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he... René Descartes said in Latin: Cogito Ergo Sum. Which translated means: I think, therefore I am. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, Life consists in what a man is thinking of all day.

I’ve heard it said, A mind is a terrible thing to lose and it is! The spiritual translation of that is that we need to lose our mind! Philippians 2:5 says let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. When we possess His mind, we will not be influenced by the negativity and confusion that is all around us. Changing our way of thinking is a dynamic key to any future success. In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote these classic words, 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

I pray that as you read this book, you will see the importance of going through an extreme mind makeover, and you will be able to understand the greatness of the power that is in you to allow yourself to go through that transformation. It is my desire that you will be strengthened in your minds and that every thought will be pure and may bring glory to His name. I pray that as God’s Word becomes embedded on the fleshy table of your hearts, you will get a new set of eyes to see into the future He has planned for you.

– Bishop M.B. Jefferson

Footnotes:

[1] Romans 12:2

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CHAPTER 1

You Are What You Think You Are

Your mind will be like its habitual thoughts for

the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. (2)

Called the wisest man that ever lived, Solomon wrote these words in his book of Proverbs, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he … (3) A more contemporary way to quote Solomon is that you are what you say you are. Your thoughts have a critical impact on how you act and what you say. The choices that you make, the friends that you choose, and the beliefs you embrace are a result of your thinking process. Your thoughts affect your present and control your future. You create your reality by how you think.

A thought is an arrangement of ideas that result from thinking. How we arrive at a final position on anything is determined by this process. The process is impacted by various contributing factors like our environment, our genetic code, our education, our experiences and spiritual encounters. Thought is that non-verbal communication that is always active inside our head. No one knows our thoughts until our words are expressed in verbal communication. Concerning this, Paul wrote these words: For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? (4)

Your thoughts, and your words complement each other. Someone once said, Give burning thoughts enough time and they will soon become flaming words. The Bible says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. (5) The spoken words, spawned by our thinking, have power over us and others. Words spoken can create power, wealth, health, defeat, confusion, and death. In this life, your mouth has gotten you everything you have, including your troubles, and it all started with your thoughts! This is why the Word of God says:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (6)

Words Create Worlds

Abraham Heschel was a Jewish philosopher and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his fight for civil rights for all people. His daughter, Susannah Heschel, wrote these poignant words in her introduction to Herschel’s book of essays, Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity.

Words, he often wrote, are themselves sacred, God's tool for creating the universe, and our tools for bringing holiness - or evil - into the world. Words create worlds he used to tell me when I was a child. They must be used very carefully. Some words, once having been uttered, gain eternity and can never be withdrawn. (7)

Words create worlds! How true! We create worlds in our own minds with our words and we can be responsible for creating worlds in others with our words. Those worlds can either be fantasy or reality. Be careful of the worlds you create by your thoughts and words. Albert Einstein said that the world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking. Change your thinking, change your world!

Your mind houses your thoughts and if your mind is not renewed, you have no peace. Think of your thoughts as nourishment. Just as you choose with care the foods that you eat, begin to choose your thoughts with the same care. Realize that your thoughts do not choose you—you choose your thoughts. The contents of your thoughts affect the words of your mouth. The wicked man does not think about God or godly things. As a result, his words are wicked, ungodly, and evil. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. (8)

Using this same principle, what kind of words will the righteous man speak whose thoughts are on the Lord and His Holy Word all day long? What kind of world are you creating when your thoughts and words are centered in God’s love and plans for you? His words will be power-packed, full of victory, faith, love, encouragement, kindness, and healing. The thoughts of the righteous are right… (9) A righteous man has a considerably distinct way of thinking very different from that of the wicked man. As his thoughts, so should his words be different as well. Proverbs 15:26 says, the thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord: but the words of the pure are pleasant words. A righteous man who thinks on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of a good report will speak pleasant words. Healthy thoughts create a healthy life!

Set your thoughts on things above, not on things of the earth. In other words, set your mind on the things