Book Review
Many people would agree that the course of history and the developments of today have been determined by how people think.
The world’s best accomplishments, achievements and success stories began as thoughts.
Likewise, the world’s most devastating wars and crimes started as negative thoughts.
On a personal level, the way a person thinks can sometimes mean the difference between peace and drama, prosperity and poverty, or life and death.
“The problems we have and the solutions to those problems are closely bound to our thinking,” said Bishop Tom Benjamin, pastor of Light of the World Christian Church in Indianapolis. “Our mindset has a direct affect upon our health and wealth.”
Benjamin, a nationally renowned minister, community activist and author, recently released his latest book, It’s All In Your Mind.
The 204 pages of It’s All In Your Mind are designed to bring victory to those who have become “dependent instead of empowered” in their lives.
Benjamin reminds readers how they think determines their relationship with Christ and how they view themselves, which in turn determines the success they have at home, at work and in the world.
“We can have chaos or conquest, depending on our thoughts,” said Benjamin. “I can safely say we will rise or fall on how we think.”
Benjamin asserts that our mind is the battlefield on which the fight for our spiritual, emotional, intellectual and even material well-being is being waged. That fight is taking place between the Spirit of God and evil forces.
“Either God or his enemies will rule the mind,” said Benjamin. “There’s no middle ground. When we think right, like Christ, we think about how to help. When we think wrong like his enemies, we think about how to hurt. It is really as simple as that.”
Benjamin noted that although God created humanity, he gives people freedom of choice. God, he believes, wants to bless human beings with success in every area life, but struggles occur when faulty thinking leads to bad choices and consequences.
Demonstrating the results of positive thinking, Benjamin cites the examples of several successful people in his book, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Nelson Mandela, Bill Gates and publisher John H. Johnson.
“Each of them began their work with a thought,” said Benjamin. “We tend to think we are admiring their success and their achievements, but what we really esteem most about them are their thoughts.”
It’s All In Your Mind makes it clear that once an individual has the right perspective of God’s power in their lives and the real power he gives people through the Holy Spirit, they will recognize his ability to transform their circumstances and understand they already have the tools to achieve victory over any challenge.
They will react like King David in the book of Samuel when the Israelites faced Goliath, an enemy giant.
The soldiers of Israel said Goliath was too big to be defeated. But with correct thinking David understood that the giant’s large size made him an easy target that couldn’t be missed. David realized he had plenty of room to strike Goliath with a stone from his slingshot, and was successful in achieving victory for Israel.
This kind of thinking, Benjamin believes, leads people to becoming the victor instead of the victim, the lender instead of the borrower and confident instead of confused.
In the book, after outlining the power of godly thinking on an individual basis, Benjamin expands his focus to community issues.
He offers practical, biblically based solutions designed to introduce more people to the kind of progressive, common-sense thinking that can reduce problems such as violent crime, domestic abuse, divorce, academic failure, poverty and preventable diseases.
“I want to share a word of knowledge that can change our direction from being dependent believers to being empowered believers,” Benjamin said. “It is revolutionary thinking. There is no doubt that we have got the power, but first we have to understand who God is and who we are.”
For copies of It’s All In Your Mind, call 1-800-847-9695 or log on to www.tombenjamin.com or www.booksurge.com.
