From What View do you See?

No doubt you have experienced the panorama view from some mountain height. You see the signs along the mountain roads announcing the awesome view up ahead. You pull over, get out of your car and take in the breathtaking beauty of it all.

Somehow the beauty intensifies when you actually track up the mountain yourself. Hard work, sweat, fear, even danger… you get through all the perils and you make it to the top. Have you ever received such a reward?

Like a child looking over a spread of a toy train and miniature town… you amaze over the relative size and importance of things in a way which you never could from the grounds below. That towering building which seems so massive to the town down there now seems a mere dot. Even the big town is all but lost amid the spreading expanses. You consider yourself… how small… smaller than a speck of dust in the whole picture of the universe.

So it is when we climb “the Mount of God”. We see things in broader view and truer relationship. We begin to distinguish between the seemingly great and the true great.

Many of our seemingly big concerns engulf us, even paralyze us while we are still at the foot of the mountain. But now, sitting on the Mount of God, our problems surprising shrink into littleness as we now see them against the really big picture. We see now what we could not see while we were being swallowed up by our own small view.

Having a bird’s-eye-view could help us keep things into perspective and keep us out of self brought about trouble. How much more to have God’s-eye-view! From the mountain top of prayer we get a God’s-eye-view of everything. And it is marvelous how that makes many great things look small, and small things great; how all mere worldly ambitions look surprisingly poor, and heavenly ambitions the only ones worth having.

Many false estimates are rectified there. Our ambitions, plans, labors, worries, irritations, sorrows, cares, fall into their true proportions.

In our secret time of prayer… our communion with the Eternal Father… we are lifted above the world in which we daily mix and move; we begin to see things as they appear to the eye of heaven.

There is no greater view than the view from the Mount of God – God’s eye view.

Why do we live a life merely existing?

We are created in the likeness of God; we have the mind of Christ; we are filled with His Spirit.

So why do we live a life merely existing, barely surviving paycheck to paycheck just to pay our bills; just hanging in there? Scripture tells us to live by faith, not survive by faith!

God's destiny for us is a life more abundant. Abundant is more than we know what to do with; too much to keep for ourselves. Strongs Concordance defines abundant as superior in quality and quantity.

"I have come that they may have life and they may have it more abundantly."John 10:10b

The will of God is for you to have life and have it more abundantly. Regarding the sheep, vs 9b says "He will come in and go out, and find pasture."..... the supply of all his needs. Psalm 23 tells us "He makes us lie down in green pastures." When do the sheep lie down? When they have eaten their fill. In fact, sheep will eat more than they need so in other words, God provides abundantly.

I like that. If you memorize any scripture, be sure to memorize Psalm 23. Psalm 23 covers everything that we can possibly go through. I tell new Christians to start here. Memorize it, recite it daily, pray it, love it, and BELIEVE it!

Psalm 23
A psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Who told you what you believe?

Why do we find ourselves limited in our ability to receive our Father’s perfect will? The moment we are saved our spirit is changed. We certainly do look at things differently. I will never forget the morning after I personally accepted the Lord I was going about my day. Ran into a friend I saw on a daily basis and had our usual short visit. This guy used the Lord’s name in vain at least 5 or 6 times all within a few minutes. I found my spirit cringing. My friend was no different. He wasn’t using this language for the first time. But it WAS the first time I even noticed it. Yes, my spirit had changed. What about my mind? Was this changed as miraculously as my spirit was? In some degree yes, but it becomes a daily renewal process through daily input of God’s Word. Until our minds are renewed, we will not receive our Father’s perfect will.

Why is it a daily process? Think about what we are feeding our minds daily. Are the thoughts healthy or are they fattening our minds with the sins of the world; confusing us with politics to what is right and wrong; desensitizing us to what God calls sin?

Are we more concerned what the next person may think about us than what God thinks about us?

On the positive end, do the thoughts we hear and think teach us to be encouraged with being united with Christ? Do they feed us comfort from knowing we're loved, just as we are? Do they help us grow and learn from our mistakes. Does our environment encourage us to be one in spirit and purpose with the Lord? Does it teach us to do nothing out of selfish ambition, or vain conceit but to put others interest ahead of our own?

Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ. Phil 2:12 says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. WHAT! Work out my salvation? I thought it was by faith and not by works! Isn’t my salvation a free gift by grace through faith?

Yes. The moment we accept what Christ did on Calvary was for our own personal sins, we receive salvation, and our spirits are saved to go on with Christ. A promise to spend eternity with Him! That begins here on earth, now and forever. Yes, our spirits are saved. “Working out our salvation” deals with our minds. We must save and renew our minds daily from the worldly influence around us. Renewing our minds is a process we will continue till we walk with Christ in heaven. And maybe then too, who knows.

Wouldn’t it be great if we had a big Delete Key that we could just press once and all our hurts, bad memories, negative thoughts, bad attitudes would be deleted forever? We would be instantly a new, joyous person with the mind of Christ.

Rom 12:2 says if we are transformed by the renewing of our mind, we will move into the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. The word “renewing” is an action word meaning to increase the life of, or replace something old. The reason many Christians never experience the prosperity (both spiritual and financial), the peace of God, the joy of His blessings, is we are feeding our minds with junk food.

Let us clean our mind’s diet. Renew our minds to what God says about us in His word.

I challenge you to look at what you are feeding your mind. WHO TOLD YOU the things you believe?

Rom 12:2 If you are transformed by renewing of your mind, you will move into the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.