The Mountain Top Experience

I believe that all mankind should strive to attain what I call, “God’s vantage point.”  It is a place that affords the opportunity of seeing, with clarity and broad view, the activities that the adversary of our soul is doing around us; the behavior, actions, and tricks of Satan.  He is the opponent and enemy of all that is holy and of good report.

To obtain this vantage point one must confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead after Jesus had willingly given His life for the sins of humanity.

(Romans 10:9-10), “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  vs.10 “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

The mountain top experience happens when a person asks God to forgive them of their sins and invites Jesus into their heart to become Lord and Savior of their life.  It is at that moment a person is changed from death unto life; becoming a new creation with different desires.  Personal expectations are enhanced, because there is now a reason for living.  It is the ‘abundant life’ that the Bible speaks of.

(John 10:9-10), “I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”  vs.10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

You may be thinking that it sounds too easy and straightforward to be true.  Let me assure you and say from personal experience, “It is just that easy.”  People make it hard, because they feel undeserving of the love and compassion that God offers.  The devil makes them feel unworthy and unclean, because of their guilt laden past of walking in the flesh, but Jesus is saying, “Come to Me.”

(Matthew 28-30), “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  vs.29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  vs.30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

God’s love is free to any person wanting the mountain top experience, which provides a vantage point of spiritual insight.  We become sons and daughters of Almighty God and soar like eagles when we accept God’s Son as our Savior and Lord.  Our weary souls are energized and invigorated as we remain steadfast in Him. 

(Isaiah 40:31) “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

The act of love that Jesus did on the cross by shedding His blood for you and me gave us a wonderful hope of spending eternity in heaven with God the Father.  Without this hope we are, without a doubt, most miserable.

On the other hand, our adversary, the devil, is going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.  His lies are many; such as:  “Come; follow me and I will show you the way; I will teach you that truth is what you say it is and what you make it to be; I will reveal how you can really enjoy life if you do what I say.”  His counterfeits are numerous; full of dead man’s bones.  

Jesus said in (John 14:6), “…I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Nothing I ever tried compared to the mountain top experience that I had when I opened my heart’s door to Jesus the night I heard Him knocking; January, 1969.  He lifted the heavy burden of sin off my shoulders and I literally took in a deep breath of air, and said aloud, “I can breathe.”  It was a sigh of relief, because I was “born again.”  The “new birth” had really taken place.  I felt the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, while peace flooded my soul like a fountain of living water!

There was an instant awareness that I was a new person inside.  I had been set free from bondage!  The next day my friends could see the difference in my countenance.  Instead of expressions of anger, unrest, and eyes that were searching for peace, they saw a calmness and quietude; not there here-to-fore.  I had found the Prince of Peace—Jesus. 

The composure that possessed my being was that of Christ.  I felt His love coursing through my body and soul like waves of the sea crashing onto awaiting seashores.  Words escape me when trying to relate the feelings of bliss that was happening.  You will have to experience it for yourself.  

The mountain top experience happened as the Bible said it would.  My sins were forgiven; the Lord took up residence within my being; my old nature faded in the light of God’s love and grace; and the new nature of a Christ filled life took over.  I was changed!  And I was happy!  I found what I was looking for!

(2 Corinthians 5:17), “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

(Revelation 3:20), “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Written by,

Papa Boyd

Who's Talking

On occasion, a question like the following overshadows my thinking.  “From where are the voices coming?”  Three voices can be speaking concurrently to our subconscious mind at any given moment—God, Satan, and self.  It is difficult at times to distinguish one from the other.

God’s voice may be quiet and subdued; whereas, Satan, too, can be subtle and inconspicuous.  The battle with self is often laced together with God’s voice and Satan’s lies, especially when we want something that we are trying to acquire by reason of justification.

I am not the only person that struggles with thoughts that saturate the mind.  I believe that most everyone finds it difficult knowing who’s who when listening to the voices in their head.  The all important question is:  “Do I care which voice I listen to?”

The answer to the above question is all encompassing.  It zeros in on whether a person is walking with God or strolling down life’s highway according to their own self-will, which is dictated by greed, covetousness, and a host of other materialistic games that people play.

If a person is living to serve God rather than their own selfish desires, the One they hear speaking is God, because their spirit is in tune with the Spirit of God.  This is called, “Walking in the Spirit.”  It is like a radio dial that’s tuned to the frequency of a favorite broadcasting station.

When my father-in-law was alive he shared this thought with people.  “When a person surrenders their life to Jesus they are in the will of God, but finding His direction takes prayer and supplication each day.” 

Dad, as I called him, was an honorable, upright man with integrity and high, moral values.  His principled character spoke for itself; having wisdom and good judgment.  Dad was a Godly man; sensitive to God’s direction, because he walked in the Spirit.

(Psalm 37:23-24), “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.”  vs.24 “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.”

Why then is it difficult to determine if it is God, Satan, or self that is speaking?  When people pray, “Not my will but Yours be done,” they are trusting God to close doors that He does not want them to step through and open those that are beneficial to their spiritual growth and needs being met.  On the flip-side, anyone that lives with an attitude “My way or the highway,” usually steps blindly into another pitfall.

I have witnessed, first hand, God protecting my wife and me more than once; keeping us from certain things that we could not understand at the time why He closed doors, but later, when looking back, we saw the providence of God shielding us from wrong decisions that we were contemplating.

We always include God in our decision-making.  “Not my will, but Yours be done” has always been our prayer.

No-one can see around a corner or know what a day may bring, but God does.  He is omniscient (all knowing).  There is no other power on earth or in the firmament above that can exceed or come close to God’s power.  He is omnipotent (all powerful)—‘He is’ the ‘I Am’.

God’s ways are perfect and far beyond our understanding.  He has all things in control and nothing takes Him by surprise. 

(Isaiah 55:8), “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord.”  vs.9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

When listening and trying to differentiate God’s voice from other voices that we hear, it is not always the thundering voice that we expect to resonate, but may possibly be the quiet, still, unsuspecting voice of a friend, passing acquaintance, or church pastor that gives us direction. 

God uses different methods to communicate which route to take, while imparting peace to our mind at the same time.  He may use the obvious, predictable means to direct us, or the not so obvious.  He even used a donkey to provide awareness to a person one time.  The complete story is recorded in (Numbers 22:22-41) in the Bible.

(Numbers 22:28), “Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam; ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’ ”

God can choose animated exuberance as a means of getting our attention or a still, small voice.  He knows best what gets the job done—He is God Almighty!

(Revelation 14:2), “And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder…”

God’s Revelation to Elijah:  (1 Kings 19:11-12), “Then He said, ‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’  And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;” vs.12 “and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”

When seeking God’s direction, as my father-in-law pointed out, we must remain sensitive and perceptive to Gods voice.  Whom or what He chooses to deliver the message is up to Him.  This is not to say that every “super spiritual” Believer that comes our way possesses the word that God has for you or me; though they mean well.  Our spirit will bear witness as to the validity of such messages.

The depth of our spiritual insight, both sight and hearing is dependent upon Godly discernment, which includes good judgment that’s filled with wisdom.

Satan’s focus is on the visual and audio input that we receive—the eye and ear gates.  Sleazy magazines that are filled with sexually explicit pictures and pornography websites are ungodly and shameful.  Popular songs with lyrics that originated in the cesspool of iniquity, and filthy jokes at work and the gym are all linked with the devil’s scheme to distort and camouflage what voice we listen to.

Godliness takes a stand against Satan’s efforts to blind and deafen Christians.  “The Whole Armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10-18) is our defense against the wiles and trickery of the devil.

When it is obvious that Satan is speaking to our mind, (and it will be obvious to “Spirit filled” Christians), we will dispel Satan’s attempts to deceive us, while resisting his impudence.  We are protected against his antics, because of the whole armor of God that surrounds us.  The Holy Spirit enables us to hear God’s voice and squelch the devil’s efforts to manipulate our thinking.  It pays to walk in the Spirit.

A thin line exists when trying to recognize God’s voice whilst we, ourselves are speaking loudly.  Both voices run parallel and close together.  Correct discernment requires having the mind of Christ, which perpetuates a person’s inner stamina to take the right turn, at the right time, onto the right road, to achieve the right destination—heaven.

Who’s talking in your mind that you give credence?  I pray that it is Almighty God.  Accepting His Son Jesus as Savior is the only way to make heaven our home.  The Holy Spirit will help every born-again Believer to live according to God’s statutes.  Jesus is our only hope.  No other person, place, or thing can get us to our final destination except the Lord.

Written by,

Papa Boyd 

Looking Back

How often do we take the time to consider how wonderfully made we are?  There is nothing more important to the heart of the Father than humanity—God’s most prized creation; so much so that He gave His only begotten Son to die on a cross for the sins of mankind.  (John 3:16)

As a result of God’s love for Adam and Eve, He walked and communed with them in the cool of the evening in the Garden of Eden.  God considered it good that He made man in His image and likeness.

 

(Psalm 139:14), “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”

(Psalm 139:17-18), “How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God!”  vs.18 “If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You.”

When I think about the power of the mind and the incredible abilities of creativity that God enables me to do, it stands to reason why the devil continually bombards my thought process through the eye and ear gate with things that are anti-Christ in nature.

 

At every turn, Satan attempts to redirect a Christian’s thinking from Godly, wholesome things to ungodly recalls of past events that happened when they were a sinner and away from God, thus, trying to derail them spiritually.

We have the ability to look back at things that happened years ago and visualize them as though they occurred yesterday.  They have such clarity of visual imagery that one need only stop what they are presently doing and just reflect; which brings me to the purpose of this writing.

Memories are hard to forget, if not impossible, and the adversary of our soul knows this.  The devil opposes fundamental Christianity and uses memories of past sins in an attempt to woo Christians his way and drain them of disciplined thinking, while trying to stifle spiritual growth. 

 

The only One who can forget the past is God.  At the moment He forgives a person of their sins, He throws the memory of past sins into the sea of forgetfulness.  I can imagine a sign being posted:  “NO FISHING!” 

 

There are good-quality memories that can encourage us at times, but the bad ones should be left in the past and not revisited; the skeletons in the closet, as it were.  God doesn’t want us to rehash old sins, because He forgave them.  Christians must forgive themselves and quit fishing in the sea of forgetfulness that only gives forth dead and smelly sins as the catch of the day. 

 

At the moment of new beginnings when Jesus Christ comes into a person’s heart is the most glorious memory to reflect on.  This life changing phenomenon is remembered do to the refreshing experience it holds each time we think back on it.  My conversion took place in January of 1969; a date I will never forget.

 

Sins related to the old nature, before coming to Christ, are still in the brain's memory bank, but born again Christians that want a deeper, more intimate relationship with God choose not to dwell on them.  Their walk with God is strong and full of victories. 

 

When carnal Christians allow their brain to work overtime replaying past sins of desire and shame, it reminds me of the story found in (Genesis 19:1-29) when Lot’s wife looked back toward Sodom and was turned to a pillar of salt after having been warned not to do so by an angel.  I believe that her disobedience reflected the inner desires and cravings of her heart for the sinful things in Sodom, which God destroyed with fire, because of the evil wickedness that filled the city.

Satan tempts Christians to dwell on past flings, wild parties, seedy places they frequented, and the “should-a / would-a / could-a” syndrome that often sets in.  These unrelenting memories, if allowed to consume our thinking, remind me of the mistake that Lot’s wife made when looking back.  It cost her, her life.
 

That which a person allows their mind to feed upon can directly influence their spiritual growth and thought patterns that ultimately affect whether or not they walk victoriously in the present.  We must guard our mind with the helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  “The Whole Armor of God” is found in (Ephesians 6:10-18).

In (1 Samuel 17) is the story about a shepherd named David before he became King of Israel.  As a shepherd boy in his early teens, David was sent to the battle line by his father to bring back word of David’s siblings.  He found himself in a situation that King Saul and the whole army of Israel were terrified of.

 

While there, he heard someone shouting; mocking and challenging the Israelites to come out and fight.  He had been doing this for 40 days.  This show of disrespect angered David greatly; he responded, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of God?”  Goliath was his name; a champion warrior that stood 9 feet 7 inches tall.  An ordinary, Jewish man at that time was 5 feet 3 inches tall. 

 

The more Goliath mocked the Israelites the more David contemplated his next move.  Thinking back, David remembered the bear and lion that he killed when they attacked the sheep that he was caring for.  He used his sling and stones to get the task done each time. 

These memories served in helping him garner the courage and confidence needed to not only face the giant on the battlefield, but they gave him the determination to defeat and slay Goliath.  David believed that God would deliver this giant and the Philistine army into the hands of the Israelites.

David proclaimed, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine!”

 

There was a hole in the giant’s armor that failed to protect his forehead.  David slung the stone as hard as he could at the giants head and hit the hole.  Goliath fell prostrate before David and the Philistine army.  David then took the sword of Goliath; pierced him and cut off his head.  After seeing their hero fall, the Philistine army fled in fear with the Israelites in hot pursuit; defeating them to the very last man.

 

Perhaps you have a larger than life giant standing in your path that you are frightened to face head-on.  Allow your mind to look back at victory moments when God showed His strength and power that helped you succeed in the past.

 

Yes, it is good to keep our eyes on Jesus and the road ahead, but looking back is necessary at times.  When doing so, we must guard our thoughts and not allow them to run wild and think on the wrong things that can defeat us spiritually.

 

I’m sure you know the potential hazards of black ice or lose gravel on the road.  One moment you are looking ahead and in an instant you are looking behind at where you have already been, because you are now going down the road in the same direction; only backwards.

Backsliding is like this.  It is important to be aware of the dangers that lie ahead that Satan has placed in our path to cause us to slip and backslide.  Not only is it crucial to stay vigilant concerning these dangers, we must put away and renounce the memories of past sinful involvements that God has forgiven.  Satan wants us to think we are missing out on the ‘good-ole-days’ by showing us our past every chance he gets.

 

As a final point of interest, the most dreaded type of tailspin a pilot fears is the “flat spin” in which the aircraft whirls to the ground like a maple seedpod.  If a Christian is not careful when they are looking back, they may go into a tailspin that is almost impossible to pull out of, thus, crashing and burning spiritually.

It is wise to keep eyes focused on the instrument panel, Jesus Christ; never allowing ourselves to stall, but keep the momentum thrusting forward for Jesus, while keeping ones nose in the Bible.  Body and soul are then kept in proper 'trim' with God's horizon in the Eastern sky.

Our flight home to heaven depends on disciplined thinking.  The Holy Spirit helps Christians achieve and maintain level headedness when looking back.

Written by,
Papa Boyd