More God-Centric and Less Situation-Centric Living

By William Porter

We know that God works in mysterious ways, yet the mysteries of God can leave us with lifelong questions about his nature and character. Thankfully, God has provided us with a way to understand him and ourselves betterand that is by focusing on him and on his Word.

In More God-centric and Less Situation-centric Living, author William Bill Porter encourages us to shift the focus of our lives and our thoughts back to God and away from ourselves. By creating a theology of the inherent goodness of God, Porter shows how a God-centric life is a life of almost total submission to Gods sovereignty, and that many churches today do not teach the truth that God is about more than solving personal problems.

More God-centric living enables you to acknowledge, accept, and use all the fruits of the Spirit and then walk with contentment into the gardens of both the bouquets and weeds of life, as the apostle Paul encouraged us in Philippians 4:12. You will acknowledge and walk in the realization that the gospel is not just the good news of Godbut that God is the good news! That God rules! That God is sovereign! And that God is central!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973636748

Book preview

Copyright © 2018 William Bill Porter.

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Unless otherwise cited scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3675-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3676-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3674-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018909741

WestBow Press rev. date: 8/24/2018

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1 Rethinking Church

Chapter 2 A Matter of Suffering

Chapter 3 Revised Exegesis of Several Bible Verses and Religious Colloquialisms

Chapter 4 In Conclusion

Foreword

I am proud to be the pastor of a great father, a committed husband, an unwavering Christian and critical thinker that is William (Bill) Porter. I have had front row seats to Bill’s theological journey over the past few years. This nuanced journey has brought him to a clear and defined place in his walk with God. As God allowed Bill to become a cancer survivor, I have seen first-hand how his thirst to know God more and his willingness to tackle complex existential issues have come to the forefront of his life. I am grateful for Bill’s journey, his testimony and the opportunity to intersect with a man of such great learning and life experience.

Through travel, study, conversations and much dialog with God, Bill Porter presents to us in this book, More God-Centric and Less Situation-Centric Living, a thought provoking change of pace in how people of faith have traditionally viewed God, the bible and the church. On the heels of a life changing experience in 2016, Bill helps the readers of this work to simply live by helping us to heed to the words of Matthew 6:33, where we are reminded to Seek ye first the kingdom of God…and all these things shall be added unto you. A God-centric and focused lifestyle should be our goal. Bill effectively helps us to understand that the Omni aspects of God, or who God is does not change or modify regardless of the situations in which we find ourselves. What a word of encouragement!

I am grateful to Bill for leading all who read these pages on a journey that in the end will prayerfully reassign our life focus to God and remove our primary focus from various situations that we encounter. Bill expertly helps us to reimagine church, to reconsider suffering, to remember the largeness of God, and finally to receive the benefits of a renewed focus on God. The practical application at this book’s conclusion where Bill creatively makes usage of the Beatitudes in Matthew’s gospel is both helpful and refreshing.

I truly believe that in this book, Bill Porter presents a refreshing subject matter that warrants the consideration of all Christians in classrooms, pulpits and pews. Thank you Bill, for reminding and refocusing us all on Hebrews 12:2, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… I pray that you all will be blessed and stimulated as I have been through this thoughtful work.

Well Done, Bill!

In His Service,

Derik Elton Jones, D. Min.

Pastor, First Baptist Church of South Richmond

Preface

During the summer of 2016, I embarked on a nine-church, five-city, and three-state worship tour, believed it was at the urging of the Holy Spirit. At that time, I was deep into my thinking, describing, and even challenging my current and lifelong church experiences.

I thought the purpose of this church tour was to explore, experience, and broaden my worship experiences. To my surprise, however, the tour enlightened my study and learning experiences about God. In fact, my greatest enlightenment came not as a result of one of the many church services but as a result of one of the several weekly Bible studies at these churches, such as the study taught by a preacher at Fountain of Praise in Houston, Texas, who possessed a graduate degree from a school of theology and a PhD in psychology. This psychologist/theologian emphasized an important teaching about God: As Christians we must have greater focus on God and less attention to self.

This God-centered thought, as opposed to situation-centered thinking, has permeated my thought processes for the past nineteen months and was the genesis of this book, More God-centric and Less Situation-centric Living. This book focuses on