November 2004
 A
worldview is the way we see, perceive
and understand things. The way we look
at the world around us. While growing
up in the '50s and '60s, my thoughts were
very shallow. I did not understand the
importance of having a sound worldview.
There was a battle going on in my mind
between my worldview, based upon modem,
liberal culture, and the solid beliefs
and views of my parents. I was searching
for what I felt was missing in my life.
I was led by what felt good physically.
I didn't understand what was missing,
nor was I willing to listen to those who
offered counsel. I felt misunderstood,
and began to medicate my pain with illegal
drugs, sex and music. I was self centered,
trying to fill a spiritual emptiness through
external means.
My life began to spin
out of control, lacking character, appropriate
feelings and sound reasoning. A quality
life was within reach, exemplified by
my parents and siblings, but my will was
bound to follow a path leading to my own
destruction. I ignored a productive view
of life, falling prey to those who had
perfected the art of destroying their
own souls. I succumbed to a path that
seemed right to me, but whose end was
death.1
My Eyes Were Blinded
My parents used to remind
me later in life, how as a child, I would
talk to my dog "Collie" and
tell him all my troubles. I guess I felt
he could understand me when no one else
could. Though a trained dog can comfort
and help guide the blind, "Collie"
could do little to help me with the blindness
of my heart. Now, I see that I should
have been talking to my parents and God,
instead of to my dog.
My mom was into "positive
thinking", which she tried to instill
in me. She often told me that I would
end up being the black sheep of the family.
To her, an idle mind was the devil's workshop.
I was busy filling my mind with layer
upon layer of unwholesome thoughts. I
went to church and was even baptized at
the age of 12, but my heart was closed
to the grace and love of God. My understanding
of life grew more and more ungodly and
hopelessly confused as the fear of failure
consumed me. This drove me further from
my parents and God.2
My understanding was
darkened, so I could not perceive life
the way God sees it. The word for "understanding"
or "imaginations" in Greek is
dianoia, which is the seeing part of the
mind, the way we perceive things. The
gods of the world had blinded my unbelieving
mind, so that I was unable to see the
love of God shining brightly.3
As a child, I remember
drawing a picture of the devil in the
back of one of the church hymn books.
I could not understand [dianoia] what
God had provided for me in Jesus. I was
ignorant of the fact that Jesus Christ
had stripped the devil of his power over
me at the cross. 4
That He came to destroy the works of the
devil.5 The Lord
had the power and the gift of righteousness
for me, but I failed to receive it or
believe in God's ability.6
I proved to be powerless in my own ability
to live above the demonic forces of this
world.
A Shift in Viewpoint
All of us are born with
our eyes closed to spiritual things. Parents
have a divine responsibility to pass on
Godly principles and values to their children.
I rejected my parents way of life though
they had raised me in a church environment.
I turned a deaf ear to them. My mind was
full of darkness and far away from God
because I had closed my mind and hardened
my heart against Him.7
My viewpoint of life slowly slipped into
very ungodly views as my thoughts and
beliefs gave way to the promises of a
life based on worldly beliefs.
This sinful condition
began when Adam and Eve turned their hearts
from their Father and Creator. After being
deceived by the serpent, Eve chose the
tree of knowledge of good and evil over
the principles and wisdom of the tree
of life. She was convinced the fruit of
the tree looked fresh and delicious, and
it would make her wise. So she ate it
and gave some to her husband and he ate
it also.8 They gave
up an interdependent relationship with
their Father, to a self-centered independent
lifestyle, determining good and evil for
themselves. As a result, they became dependent
upon their own ability for sufficiency,
rejecting the provision of their Father.
Nevertheless, God pursued them and longed
for their return to Him.
I can identify with the
prodigal son, who left home with his possessions
in search of an independent lifestyle.
The boy failed on his own and ended up
eating from the pig pen. I can relate
to that. He has a change of heart and
returns to the open arms of his father,
who gave him the best robe, a ring and
new shoes.9 I can
relate to this story wholeheartedly. In
like manner, our Heavenly Father has His
arms wide open for all of Adam and Eve's
children to return to Him. He has provided
the tree of life, which is the cross of
Calvary where Jesus took our punishment
for sin and resurrected to give us eternal
life.10
When the Lord changes
our heart, and the eyes of our understanding
[dianoia] are opened, we'll find ourselves
thanking God who enables us to share the
inheritance of His family.11
We have so very much to praise God for
He has rescued us from the devil, who
rules m the kingdom of darkness, and He
has brought us into the Kingdom of His
dear Son.12
The Book of Life
Our Heavenly Father has
the Book of Life, which belongs to the
Lamb [Jesus] who was killed before the
world was made.13
He knew Adam and Eve would shift to their
ungodly view from His, and that mankind
would need a divine shift from death to
life, back into the inheritance of His
family.
There are many views
concerning the Book of Life, but one thing
is certain, we all hope our name is written
in this heavenly book in which the names
of the righteous [the redeemed or saved]
are written. Moses prayed that his name
would be blotted out of this book rather
than dooming his fellow Israelites.14
In the end times, those whose name are
not written in the Book of Life will be
cast into the lake of fire.15
But those names who appear in it will
enter into the New Jerusalem.16
Is your name written
in the Book of Life? The Lord desires
to open your eyes so you can see His Kingdom.
Jesus told Nicodemus, unless you are born
again, you can never see the Kingdom of
God, and that we must be born twice: once
of water [physically] and of the Spirit.17
During the Acts of the Apostles, the Lord
opened Lydia's heart, and she accepted
what the Apostle Paul was saying.18
The mystery of the Good News of Christ's
death, burial and resurrection was revealed
to Paul so he could share it with the
world. How the Lord brings life to us,
who were full of disobedience, obeying
Satan, refusing to obey God, following
the passions and desires of our evil nature.20
But at the cross in 32 A.D., God made
Christ, who never sinned, to be the sacrifice
for our sin, so that we could be made
right with God.21
In May 1975, the Lord
convicted me of my unbelief and opened
my understanding [dianoia] to the promise
of the Holy Spirit.22
I remember returning to my room in prison
and looking into the mirror to find my
face aglow with the Spirit. My vision
of life changed at that very moment when
God sparked in me, the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of Christ.
I had become a new born babe with a desire
to grow in God's Word into the fullness
of my salvation.23
Since that day, I have grown strong in
the grace [God's ability] and knowledge
of my Lord Jesus Christ. 24
King Solomon warned in
the book of Proverbs, if there is no vision
[no redemptive revelation of God], the
people perish.25
I began to meditate on the Apostle Paul's
letter to the Ephesians and to envision
how God in His great love had sent Jesus
to die for my sins. This led to the understanding
that I died, was buried and rose with
Him from the dead to sit in heavenly places.26
I was joined to the Lord in one Spirit
with Him.27 This
reality of being seated beside my Father
became greater as I spent time in fellowship
with Him.
The Heavenly Viewpoint
Over the years, this
new view from the heavenlies has changed
my entire perspective of life. I'm sure
some of you remember as a child the Jolly
Green Giant commercials. I know this must
sound silly. I began to see myself as
a resurrected giant in Christ, not walking
through the vegetable patches, but imagining
myself stomping the works of the devil
under my feet.
This vision magnified
the way I viewed myself, walking in the
power of the resurrected Christ. Instead
of allowing worldly imaginations [dianoia]-
to work against me, 28
I've found the secret is to let heavenly
imaginations work for me. As I meditate
on God's Word, the eyes of my understanding
[dianoia] see more clearly this heavenly
vision. The concerns of this world grow
strangely dim, as the Spirit opens the
door of heaven.29
It took centuries for
the maps of the world to reflect how the
world as it really is. For 29 years, I
was driven through life with imperfect
maps, but now I am seeing more clearly.
It has taken years for my mind to be renewed
with this new viewpoint. I see Jesus dimly
while in this physical body, but I see
God's view more and more as I ask Him
to give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the knowledge of Him. I pray that my
heart will be flooded with light so that
I can understand [dionoia] the wonderful
future He has promised me. I want to realize
the inheritance God has given to me.30
In short, as we grow
in our relationship with Christ, our vision
of heaven becomes more clear. We see ourselves
divinely connected to heaven, having escaped
the corruption all around us caused by
our evil desires, because we are partakers
of our new divine nature.31
We see ourselves no only crucified with
Christ, 32 but buried
with Him,33 risen
with Him,34 seated
with Him,35 hidden
with Him,36 and
reigning with Him. 37
We share in all that
Christ died and rose to give. We are God's
masterpiece. He has created us anew in
Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good
things he planned for us long ago.38
We are His body, the body of Christ. He
is the head, we are His hands and feet.
Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,
who lives in us and was given to us by
God. We do not belong to ourselves, for
God bought us with the high price of the
blood of His Son. We must honor God with
our body. 39
Our purpose is to be
a vessel to bring heaven to the world,
through the gifts and power of the Holy
Spirit. The Kingdom of God comes to earth
through His body. Jesus Christ, through
believers, fills everything everywhere
with His spiritual presence."40
When I was a child, I spoke and thought
and reasoned as a child does. But when
I grew up, I put away childish things."'
The Lord desires the vision of His Kingdom
to burn brightly in our hearts and be
seen throughout the universe forever.
Won't you welcome Christ into your heart
today?
Suggested references
from the New Living Translation Bible:
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