Book Four Chapter Ten: Every Man is a Letter

TEN

Every Man is a Letter

The purpose of the new mind resides in the process of God realizing Himself in corporeal man. The same process that presents the seeker with the newer concept of ‘God among us’, also presents us with the new and improved son of mankind: the godly man. The older, contemporary take on man’s exact relationship with God, places God at inaccessible heights. Unfortunately for those believers, it also places the divine nature in man at inaccessible heights. The older, contemporary take on spiritual issues has settled on the social and emotional levels. The exaltation of these levels has a dire side effect for all those that hold to them; namely, that mentality, in their way of thinking, is aligned with worldly ‘head knowledge’ that is set in opposition to ‘true faith’. Such thinking is prominent for both a lack of interpretation and a propensity for clinging tenaciously to tradition.

A preacher will stand before his or her congregation and speak the word ‘love’ with a special 'preacherly' inflection. If you just heard that word pronounced, with your eyes closed, you would

immediately know, by the inflection alone, that it was spoken by a preacher. Never once have I heard

a preacher attempt a real definition of love - and I’m guessing that is because they exalt the emotional over the cognitive. They will stand and shout the word at their congregation, drawing out the pronunciation in a long, tortured manner, as if the loud inflection is enough.

Yet, the word of God places love in a mutually inclusive relationship with knowledge, as seen in Philippians 1:9-10, “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.”

We have seen the scriptures speak of the ‘spirit of love’, and we seekers associate spirituality with mentality. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that we are ‘sealed’ unto the day of redemption. The language

associates that seal with the Holy Ghost: that is, the Holy Mind of God, which God has imparted to

the sons of men. Back in the day, when a king sent a letter, he set on it his own peculiar seal – a dollop of hot wax impressed by his unique signet.

Our similarity to such a letter is twofold: firstly, we have a unique seal that identifies the seeker as being sent by the sender; secondly, like the letter, our content is all that the sender placed inside us. Our mark – our seal – is the very mind of God. Our seal is both known and familiar. The more we know of God, the more like God we become. Christ said more than, simply, he knew the sheep that belonged to him. He added that his sheep knew Him.

Read 2 Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The

Lord knoweth them that are His.”

The sons of men are letters to future sons of men. Each of us bears the seal of familiar knowledge that marks us as his; each of us contains the thoughts of God. We need but be opened and God is communicated. It behooves us, then, to study both content and seal. Two things will become clear: what sets us apart from the un-sealed, or the 'otherly-sealed', and how our content can make the uncommunicated one with us.

We willing participants in the realized mind of God serve the purposes of our Lord – and it was no accident that Christ was named the ‘Word’. Our communications of the God-mind add bone and sinew to the body of Christ. That legacy, that endowment, is not ours alone but belongs to each and every son of man. We know that serving our Lord in the communication of the realization of the mind of God in corporeal man will reward us, each and all, with the God-mind. What an inheritance!

Read of the coming advent of spiritual man in Colossians 3:24, “Knowing that of the Lord (the Word) ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ (the Word).”

It is not possible to avoid the issues of cognitive communications in this study. When we speak of the invisible things of the inner man, we speak of mentality. Many contemporaries cling to the social/emotional aspects of our relationship with God – and I would not belittle them. Before the

first-grade teacher begins to fashion the child’s mind, the kindergarten teacher shows that child how

to interact with others. Some contemporary Christians are at the first-grade level; some still hop,

skip, and jump.

We seekers have attained a higher level. We understand that the communication of the God-mind is not preoccupied with social standards that are based in the satellite emotions. Our new standards are standards of cognitive communication.

See James 3:13, “Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.”

And too, we know that what we receive of the Holy Ghost, of the Holy mind of God, is cognitive rather than emotional. Words that speak to seekers have little effect on non-seekers. The contemporary mindset clings to primary basics such as ‘sinner-saved-by-grace’, such as ‘for-God-so-loved’, such as the preaching of salvation, the attendance of church, and tithing. These standards are all good and have their place in the order of things.

Sadly, the contemporary mindset never seeks beyond its laurels. Ask yourself, where do the saved go beyond salvation? Does the church ever build beyond salvation? No – they just go on preaching salvation to the saved, perpetuating the social customs and emotional ruts that keep the church standing. The contemporary Christian view has a built-in aversion to things mental, they are almost immediately labeled ‘gnostic’.

And yet . . . Read 1 John 2:20, “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.”

Imagine a board containing an endless array of dominoes, always falling, each always affecting the next in line. So it is in our day-to-day reality. We affect one another. Seekers are letters to seekers. We are a small group now, and that leaves a whole lot of junk mail floating around out there – affecting people – infecting people. The contemporary Christian mindset holds that we need a lot of work in order to be what we need to be. Perhaps an entire overhaul. How does that mindset, traditionally, approach the issue?

Well, when unstructured interpersonal relations are the issue, abstinence is their answer. The absence of something, as Christ taught, only leaves a hole. The displaced spirit will return with seven of his buddies. Contemporaries do admit they need something to fit the hole – but what? Over the years, we have seen them plug holes with the same old plugs. When those plugs come out, as they regularly do, they put the same ones back in. You’d figure that after so much of that, they would look around for a plug that would do the job; you’d figure they would try something new. Even God, when He saw that yearly sacrifices did not do the job, tried something new – a sacrifice that only had to be applied once.

Our thoughts can accomplish little or much. What are you affected by? What are you building on? If a man leaned a ladder against his house but did not climb, would he reach the roof? When God comes to evaluates our performance, what do you think He will find?

See Genesis 6:5, “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart (mind) was only evil continually.”

A popular song once asked: “Will it go ‘round in circles, or will it climb high like a bird up in the sky?” Mankind goes around in circles: circles of emotion, circles of social standards and comfortable customs.

Genesis 6:6, “And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart (mind).”

In one sense, the Bible is a history of God’s communications to man. God was always giving man those things he needed to move forward. Man did not always move forward. Man developed customs, reworked what he had been given to make it comfortable. Man created false gods out of laziness. Man was more interested in what other men said – and he could always put in his own two cents worth with a push or a shove. Worldly, fleshly man is a preacher who preaches physical contact and force against obstacles; he preaches gratification and exalts the image of a man with an amputated future. He is a preacher who magnifies diminishment, a preacher who lifts up pulling down.

Little by little, the communications began to take root. People built upon what they were given by seeking more of the same. What they knew, they practiced and they developed the muscle of understanding. For the sons of men, from the beginning, it was a knowledge and a desire to know. That was the platform on which they built higher customs and laws. And, as men, they began to pull themselves away from the purely corporeal. It was spiritual.

See Exodus 35:21, “They came, every one whose heart (mind) stirred him up, and every one whom His spirit (mind) made willing.”

A man’s mind, his thoughts, will stir him up. A man’s thoughts will lead to action. A man may think about a matter and will make a decision based in all of that which he has been persuaded. Those people who had been persuaded by spiritual knowledge and understanding willingly made spiritual decisions.

See Exodus 35:29, “The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord.”

Over and over, we see the main attribute of our relationship to God – we see the augmented mind working spiritually in the corporeal realm.

We see Exodus 35:35, “Them hath He filled with wisdom of heart (mind), to work all manner of work . . . and of those that devise cunning work.”

That wisdom of mind was the mind of God, for the natural mind of man went in other directions. Always has God given His chosen learning aids to keep their attention focused forward, for without certain reminders our attention follows the paths of least resistance.

See Numbers 15:39, “And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them, and that ye seek not after your own heart (mind) and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring.”

Mankind resists the spiritual. He draws lines; he places God above and man below. While God seems to him to be at inaccessible heights, maybe (just maybe), he thinks, God will not see. No: the sun did not just slip behind a cloud, but that is a true and recognizable darkness in man’s thinking. However, God exists both in heaven and in earth; He is there, but He is also here. The inaccessible heights of God, as a theory, is self-delusional. To view God as some distant, white-bearded sky Daddy in no way negates His real presence here among us. He is the same God here on earth as He is in heaven: He is a God of knowledge.

Turn your lights on and read Deuteronomy 4:39, “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart (mind), that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”

There is not a heaven God and an earth God; there is one God for both.

The sons of men, imbued with the mind of God, have been conveying God’s message for a very long time: ‘take off your blinders; walk in the light; remove from your thinking all things that get in the way of understanding: that come between you and the God of knowledge’.

See Deuteronomy 10:16, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart (mind).”

As I have stated, two things will become clear: what sets us apart from the un-sealed, or the otherly-sealed, and how our content can make the uncommunicated one with us. Many people have aligned themselves with the church and have professed faith and allegiance to God. They have received Christ as their personal savior and they gather with like-minded people every Sunday. They meet the social and emotional requirements that have been placed upon them.

And yet . . . understand Deuteronomy 29:4, “The Lord hath not given you an heart (mind) to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.”

If God gives us an exercise program, and we never feel the burn, should we blame God that we are not buff? God has given us the tools we need; the language is simple.

Deuteronomy 30:14, “The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth (communication), and in thy heart (mind), that thou mayest do it.”

Book Four Chapter Nine: The Purpose of the New Mind.

NINE

The Purpose of the New Mind

How many times must a child be spanked before he learns not to run out in the street but take the adult’s hand of guidance? So it is with the developing spiritual mind in man. We suffer in small ways and we suffer greatly as well but we also learn. The young adult no longer takes the parental hand but will stop and look both ways all on his own. He does that because through training, through spankings and scoldings and gentle reminders, he has come to understand at last; he has reached the desired point where he is able to choose what is right and good. I paint a picture of spanked bottoms because that is how life, in general, proceeds. That is how the immature spiritual individual reaches the desired point of understanding whereby he is at last able to choose good without being guided or forced.

For being able to choose good rather than bad, see Matthew 12:35, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart (the mind) bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth (chooses) evil things.”

The desired goal is a spiritual state. The God-mind makes godly choices. Communication of the nature of the communicator levels a man up to a point where, through understanding (that is: practiced knowledge), he is both able and willing to make the same choices God would make. That God is more the mind, and making the choices, does not diminish the man, but exalts him to heights of wisdom.

See the spiritual man (the God-minded man) in Luke 6:43-45, “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit (choices/actions). For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart (mind) bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart (mind) bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart (mind) his mouth speaketh (communicates).”

I have already said it: God communicates the God-mind to man. Man, in turn, communicates the God-mind to man. Mentality is spirituality when it comes from God. However, to reject spiritual instruction, to turn away, by no means negates communication. Man still communicates, but he has chosen to communicate things devoid of spirituality, things bereft of higher thought, understanding, wisdom.

Worldly, fleshly man is a preacher who preaches physical contact and force against obstacles; he preaches gratification and exalts the image of a man with an amputated future. He is a preacher who magnifies diminishment, a preacher who lifts up pulling down. Just as a street runs in two directions, so does mentality run. There are minds that choose good; there are minds that choose bad and call it good. Both minds communicate.

See Matthew 15:18, “Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart (the mind).”

I ask ‘what exactly is spiritual?’ and then I go on and on about mentality. Am I just another man with an off-center take on old writings? No. If you get anything out of this writing, does that make you a seeker? Yes. Every time I note a scripture that deals with spirituality, it is padded with words such as ‘knowledge’, ‘known’, and ‘know’. Spirituality, and the attainment of spirituality, is always couched in terms of impartation, communication, receptivity, and close familiarity.

What exactly is spiritual? See Luke 2:15, “And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see (confirm) this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”

What is the purpose of the new mind? See Luke 1:77, “To give knowledge of salvation unto His

people by the remission of their sins.”

Are there methods of giving knowledge? Yes. By the remission of their sins is one method.

See John 10:38 for another, “Believe the works: that ye may know.”

Ever heard the expression ‘rubbing off on’? Ever read the verse that states “Iron sharpeneth iron?” Remember the theme of ‘familiarity through close contact’?

See John 10:14, “I am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine.”

Reciprocity. Is it, as the expression goes, ‘all in our heads? Yes. See Acts 1:24, “Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts (the minds) of all men.”

Knowledge is the key building block in spiritual development. I wish to stress that point. Men of knowledge practice what they know; they teach what they know. The practice of knowledge brings

them to a state called understanding; the practice of understanding brings them to a state called

wisdom. The trend, the direction, the overall development is spiritual. However, that avenue is not

open to those who are not open to that particular avenue.

See John 7:24, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”

Those who judge only by the appearance, are unreceptive to the invisible matters of spirituality.

See John 3:11-12, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?”

It is always a shame that those who judge by appearance find their way into positions of authority where they may adversely affect the impartation of knowledge.

See Luke 11:52, “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.”

I ask, then, what is the ‘key’ of knowledge? Actually, this expression may be taken two ways. One: ‘key of knowledge’ may simply indicate that knowledge is the key to spiritual advancement, and two: ‘key of knowledge’ may point more precisely to knowledge as a door or lock that is accessed by something other than the knowledge indicated. An example of the former might be the practice of the old Catholic church. They made demands on the people without sharing the source material of the scriptures. I have no example for the latter, but I have some notions; two allusions to scripture that I hope will prove somewhat enlightening. In the previous verse, please note the Lord’s reference to entering in.

I say reference because I was immediately reminded of Christ’s self-description as the ‘way’, also as the ‘door’. It might well be supposed that something as basic as a decision could be the ‘key’ to knowledge. Then again, Christ once asked His disciples ‘don’t you know what this parable means? If you don’t know this one, how will you know the others?’ In saying this, I point to a ‘key’ embedded in all the words imparted by God, including those of His only begotten Son. When Christ said that to His disciples, I was impressed with the possibility that one parable could unlock all the others.

I do not propose that there is a ‘code’ of any sort in the scriptures; while there might be a system of clues in the written word, I do not here insist upon it, but there seems to be a ‘way’ of hearing something that everyone else is equally exposed to, yet coming away with something more. Two roads may lead to the same physical location, but the path chosen makes a big difference in what one may get out of the trip. A lower road may lead through mires that muddy the feet, may lead through brambles that tear our best apparel, but the high road can offer a thrilling overview of the entire trip whereby we are afforded somewhat of an advance warning of the terrain ahead, even a broad and pleasing view of the destination.

We move from knowledge to understanding to wisdom. Is knowledge the key? Worldly, fleshly man is a preacher who preaches physical contact and force against obstacles; he preaches gratification and exalts the image of a man with an amputated future. He is a preacher who magnifies diminishment, a preacher who lifts up pulling down. Yet, he will claim equality with the spiritually inclined. He will say: ‘I’m educated; I know this and that’. But, he does not share the same familiar practice of knowledge as the seeker, he turned away from that, or as scripture says, he preferred the darkness rather than light. He has chosen a kind of knowledge that is devoid of light and life, a knowledge that pulls down rather than builds up.

See where a choice may lead in John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.”

Read it often and ask yourself, ‘how could knowing be eternal life?’. The purpose of the new mind becomes a bit clearer. In Jesus’ day, the Jewish authorities took the law that was given to all and used it exclusively to maintain the advantage of power over the general populace. Matters of law such as the Sabbath (which was meant to be a celebration of God’s satisfaction) were turned into legalisms that bound the people under grievous weights of restrictions meant to appease the taskmasters - a knowledgeable group, by the way; well versed in magnifying diminishment.

Kinda reminds me of those deconstructionists in our own time who pulled down prayer from schools and the ten commandments from courts. I do not doubt that many have rued their laws and lawmakers. But the seeker walks the high road, his attitude is unaffected by muddy feet.

See 1 Timothy 1:8, “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully.”

As a standard, could the law be the key of knowledge - that is, if used lawfully? Could the law fit our second assumption of a key? In the historical overview, the value of faith was preceded by the practice of the law. Many, of course, see the law as ineffectual against the advent of faith. Paul associated the law with death and faith with life. Yet, in a particular light, the law is seen as a level of development leading into faith. Did faith open to the world through the agency of the law as a ‘key’?

See Romans 7:14, “For we know that the law is spiritual.”

Now that seems strange; dogmatically, the law and spirituality are presented on opposite ends of the spectrum. But think: the law is a communication; by it, knowledge is imparted for man to practice. To what extent might we see the practice of the law leading to the attained state of faith? The allusion is to the practice of knowledge leading to the attained state of understanding. If we ask ‘what is the purpose of the new mind?’ we must also ask ‘what is the purpose of faith?’, ‘what is the purpose of knowledge?’, ‘what is the purpose of the law?’, for, like pearls on a necklace, they are all connected.

Developmentally speaking, if all the right choices are made, there is a single linear progression from the valley floor to the lofty peak.

See Ephesians 3:10, “To the intent that now unto (developmental progression) the principalities and powers in heavenly places (where the God of knowledge resides) might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.”

Recall, please, that every tree is known by his own fruit; recall that those words of Christ set at odds the right mind from the wrong mind; recall that all action flows from the headwaters of mentality.

See the good tree and the corrupt tree in Titus 1:15-16, “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience (the headwaters) is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”

They would have us believe that they have gathered figs with the best of them, but our eyes are open to the thorns they lift up.

Book Four Chapter Eight: Mapping Out Your New Mind

EIGHT

Mapping Out Your New Mind

This and that about this and that.

Or, there are things you need to realize about your own mind. First: it’s not really yours. Second: there is resonance - that is, a sort of cause and effect that exists between your thoughts and will and God’s thoughts and will. When the child matures, he discovers all the laws, forms, licenses, restrictions, schedules, and responsibilities he was formerly unaware of. Of course, there is always the option to continue seeing existence through childish eyes (and many travel that path, for games and toys and recess are the high points in a child’s mind), but to be an adult - ah! - what a difference.

See the adults-only version in Ecclesiastes 1:18, “For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that

increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.”

The childish mind will flee from such, back to the fun and games, back to happy company.

Patterns.

As a babe is taken off soft foods and put on solids, a child yearns to graduate school, escape the parental yoke, and be out on his own. When he gets there, he finds that it is much harder than he ever imagined. To adapt, to grow as an adult, he must embrace and practice new, hard truths. So it is to become a seeker, to obtain spiritual maturity and to take spiritual growth seriously: one must embrace and practice new, hard truths.

See Isaiah 28:9, “Whom shall He teach knowledge? And whom shall He make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.”

How do we compare the new spiritual adult to the pimple-faced kid with a driver’s license and a job at the local fast food? Those conventional staples that existed in the child’s life: the schooling and chores, the socialization, the group and one-on-one interactions, the truths that were appropriate to a child’s existence: those are all inadequate now. It was good for then, and it brought him to where he is, but it is no longer appropriate. New rules apply. A childish mindset and the actions of a child will only get the young adult fired. ‘Job gone’ means no gas for the car - means failed independence. For the new adult, it all means ‘crash and burn’.

Therefore the individual adapts: he drops the childishness and does what other adults do to grow and survive. So, what are the staples in the life of the spiritual child, and how must he rise above? Those

things that got him to where he is, no longer apply. Conventional standards, knowledge, interpretations, the mindset, the actions and reactions of the immature spiritual being must give way to the harder truths of adult spirituality. He must be weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts. It’s tough, it’s chewy, but the spiritual adult must accept the sustenance of meat.

Ingest, if you will, Jeremiah 3:15, “I will give you pastors according to mine heart (mind), which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.”

The young adult who has graduated from high school and now looks ahead to college realizes that the learning is nowhere near being done; it just goes on. Also realized is the fact that all of the old accomplishments were only good up to the here and now. They will no longer fly. They now are only the base for higher knowledge. The spiritual adult, likewise, must embrace higher knowledge. Christians unable to move forward are trapped in a loop where salvation is preached to the saved, where growth beyond salvation dwindles toward inevitable extinction. The young adult can easily convince himself that he has reached a goal; now that he has a job and a car, a little clowning on the job won’t hurt, or a little more for that matter. But, how does that resonate with the employer? How will the employer reward the childish employee?

See Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The heart (the mind) is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart (the mind), I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”

Almost all of us are taught right from wrong, the Golden Rule. Still - one must, over time, settle into a proper habit of doing and saying what is right. It never happens overnight. The mature individual is seen as one who is, at last, finding the right road. The young are seen as those who must be taught, as those who must practice, as those who still have a ways to go. Though many of the young are seen by the mature individual as wastrels and delinquents, most of them will eventually become mature individuals.

They will reach a point in their personal development, and in the relationship they have with God, where they may say, as does the prophet in Jeremiah 17:16, “Thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before Thee.”

In almost every case, the individual rebels and turns from the right things he was taught as a child. That seems to be the thing about the teens. Freedom, self-discovery, self-expression - all are part and parcel with rebellion. But, that era in one’s life is temporary - or, at least, should be. That time may be viewed as a preparatory stage before one is led to turn back. One must, after all, mature from a lesser state, and between the rebellious years and the years of return, let it be known that the work is the Lord’s.

See Jeremiah 24:7, “I will give them an heart (a mind) to know Me, that I am the Lord: and (then) they shall be My people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto Me with their whole heart (mind).”

We must realize that Christianity, as it stands, is still immature. It is primed to take the leap into maturity, it just needs to be given the cue. We must realize that Christianity, as it stands, cannot remain the same. It must, and will, change. It must, and will, grow. We can know the verity of this by God’s own words.

See Jeremiah 31:33-34, “This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts (minds); and will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

We do not know everything, but we would like to. We are seekers. Much of the human mind, much of the God/man connection is still shrouded in secrecy. But as I say, we are seekers; we are undaunted, for we know and believe Daniel 2:28, “There is a God in Heaven that revealeth secrets.”

We have never left the topic of mentality: God is a God of knowledge - find knowledge, and you find where God dwells. His kingdom is within and without. There is resonance, that is: familiarity in close contact. God is in our heads. Those who reject that, suffer from a lack of proper resonance; one might even say they suffer from reverse-resonance. When you strike a tuning fork against a hard surface, you get a clear tone. When you strike that same tuning fork against the soft flesh of your hand, what you get is anything but clear. Imagine a musical band that did everything in such a way that failed to attract an audience. No top ten for them. If I had a tuning fork, I think I would hide my hand and strike my head - for I can call my head a hard surface.

How does Hosea 4:6 strike you? “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee.”

The sons of Abraham: the faithful - but more importantly - the sons of men (renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him) will be like the sands in number. As an entity, we will be like the shore of a great sea. That sea is the God of knowledge in His kingdom.

See Habakkuk 2:14, “The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the

waters cover the sea.”

Certainly, the preceding verse can be taken to mean ‘an awareness of God’s glory’, but I claim that it may be taken to mean ‘God in His glory’ - as in “know thyself.”

Recall 1 Corinthians 11:7, that man is both the image and glory of the Lord. Knowledge of the glory of the Lord is no less than familiarity with the God-mind in man. People of knowledge, having obtained

the God-mind, in turn, impart the God-mind, becoming, in effect, messengers and priests and caretakers of that grand treasure.

See Malachi 2:7, “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they (the un-imparted) should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts (great numbers).”

How many of us remember when we were very young and our Dads were our heroes? We tried to be just like them and were, in effect, miniature copies because of the emulations we practiced. It is important to bear in mind, as concerns the acquisition of the God-mind, that God calls us children, that we call God Father. It is not an arrogant claim, but the reasoning follows that we are little gods, scampering about like children in the happy practice of mirroring our Father’s words and deeds.

Now, God is a spiritual (mental) being, realizing Himself in corporeal man. God, a God of knowledge, is fully aware of physical need. God and physical need are not mutually exclusive. The attainment of spirituality does not resolve physical need - as if it was a problem. Ask and you shall receive. Ask for bread: God will not give you a stone. God is familiar with physical need: He is immersed in it.

Matthew 6:8, “Your Father knoweth (familiarity by immersion) what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.”

He has never made it ‘go away’, and He will not, for it is part of the package. God is realizing Himself into our physical need, He is not attempting to avoid it, or do away with it. There is familiarity in close contact.

See the communication between spiritual and physical in Exodus 3:7, “And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know (I am familiar with) their sorrows.”

That ‘whole package’ was communicated to the people as experience: both their’s and God’s. The experience had to belong to both equally, for there can be no dialog unless something is held in common. When God reminded Israel that they knew the mind of the stranger, it was knowledge that could not be imparted separate from God’s experience, and it was knowledge that could not be received separate from Israel’s experience.

See Exodus 23:9, “Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart (mind) of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

It behooves the seeker to map out his mind; to know the demarcations and lines of distinction. It is to the seeker’s advantage to realize that his mind is not his own, but God’s overlaid upon his, and interacting with his. It is important to see that this work that God is working, while for God’s own personal ends, is our advancement in spirituality. So we look at the map of our mind. We see our hometown; we also see neighboring towns. We note the lines that divide county from county.

We even see the bigger picture where lines of demarcation divide state from state. We see all of this,

but the most important thing that we see is the communication. We see all the major highways that

connect city to city; we see all the little roads and trails that are like capillaries branching from

arteries. We see rivers and reservoirs; we see streams and creeks, bringing life, refreshing, and change our way. We look hard at the complexity of the map, realizing that it is not lines of demarcation, but lines of communication that make our new mind viable.

See the connecting lines of communication in Job 37:7 and 2 Kings 5:15, “He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know His work. Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel.”

Communication. God has been paving highways and making inroads from the very beginning.

See Psalms 98:2, “The Lord hath made known His salvation: His righteousness hath He openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.”

Those lines of connection must, too, include bridges.

See Psalms 103:7, “He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel.”

Book Four Chapter Seven: Practicing the God-Mind

SEVEN

Practicing the God-Mind

If the practice of knowledge brings us to understanding, where is the place of understanding?

The question is asked in Job 28:12, “But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place

of understanding?”

It should be obvious that if understanding is practiced knowledge, understanding may be found at the end of knowledge: in the ‘result’ slot. That is the place of understanding. Is it any stretch, then, for us to know the answer to ‘whence cometh wisdom’?

See also Job 28:20, “Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?”

We learn in steps. What is your level? Public education levels up by grade. But, in scripture, there is a sort of ‘trailing’ logic. I have learned that it is sometimes quite useful to think in reverse. Of the two verses noted in the previous paragraph, the greater issue is mentioned first, and the issues that lead up to it follow. In other words, the natural steps from lesser to greater are often overlooked in scripture. That represents a difference in thinking as fundamental as that between one language and another. In English, the noun is dominant and the verb is supportive: “The dog bit me,”is an example. For that reason, the sentence structures of other languages seem backward to English speaking people. One, then, would do well to approach scripture with this in mind.

Try reading things from back to front. Try it on Job 28:28, “And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”

Let us view the verse as a kind of algebra, an equation that puts forth such a formula as if A=C then B=C. In this way, we see that A and B are equal. The verse gives us B; we simply need to discover A. The verse tells us that understanding is found in the result slot of ‘departing from evil’. We practice what we are taught. The exercise of knowledge, therefore, is A. We are taught to depart from evil: that is, not to steal; not to murder; not to lie, etc.

Through the regular practice of this knowledge, we develop an overall understanding. That understanding is like a warrior with an immense arsenal at his disposal and so seasoned as to know when to use what. When that warrior is employed full time, one develops an army of warriors that is called wisdom. If the exercise of understanding is wisdom, and both A and B are equal to C, the regular practice of understanding is equal to ‘the fear of the Lord’. You might think that, with a little discipline, man can rise to miraculous heights - but recall, man was elevated by the impartation of the mind of God. This ‘son of man’ was able to know the thoughts of God, but only by that quality that had been implanted.

See Job 38:36, “Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to

the heart (mind)?”

Now, let us take one step forward. I have said that if God gave you a hammer, it would be a safe bet He wanted you to strike the nail. God implants a hammer in the minds of men. We are now elevated; we are the sons of mankind. We practice with our hammers. We become attuned to nails; we know that without the hammer there would be no nail. (I say that because the nail exists for the hammer; its purpose is to be struck by the hammer, and without the hammer, the nail does not have the purpose of a nail.) Over time, we become quite adept at what we do; we love our shiny new tools - but now, we have come to a special place: we are able to see past our tools to the house that is being built, and it is at that exact point that we utter the motto of the universal union of seekers - “Cool!”

Now groove on Psalms 14:2, “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.”

Now that we understand the exercise of understanding, let’s do some reps. We look at the many verses whose explanations of truth are no longer hidden from us. They do much more than simply teach, they lift up the voice and proclaim. These voices, at first a trickle here and there, run together and form a mighty torrent. That torrent, while but a still small voice, nevertheless, sweeps us along.

There is the trickle of Psalms 111:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do His commandments.”

We are told that not just an understanding, but, a ‘good’ understanding is constituted from the practice of a certain level of knowledge. An earlier scripture said that the fear of the Lord is wisdom (being the exercise of a certain level of knowledge), but here, we find the addendum that it is only the ‘beginning’ of wisdom. Yes, we have rounded that distant stand of palms; before our eye is a vista of virgin sand.

Then there is the trickle of Psalms 119:104, “Through Thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.”

This tells us that the practice of understanding leads to taking a stand; in choosing, with extreme prejudice, against what is wrong and for what is right.

There is the trickle of Psalms 119:130, “The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”

This informs us of the real source of the commandments and precepts that some say are only the writings of men.

There is the trickle of Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart (mind); and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

This speaks of a road apart; not the commonly trodden path but a highway.

There is the trickling of a stream in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

This rates the knowledge we practice and tells of the mind employed in that practice. Lo, do we hear

the babbling of a brook? Do we understand where the stronger current leads?

There is the susurrus of a river, powerful with the weight of its burden; there is Proverbs 28:5, “They that seek the Lord understand all things.”

And so, God’s mind is in our heads; it is there for a purpose. We seem to think, in this day and age, that the scientists are the peak of human mentality and many set the scientific mind in opposition to the mind of the faithful. After all, the scientific mind seems so rigorously ‘practiced’.

Science has filled in the gaps of history, trounced upon myth and superstition, named the unknown, and given us the comfortable underpinnings of technology. They took the facts at hand, exercised them to produce understanding, and now, they seem wiser than a white mustache. Are these superintelligent people merely hammering away at the nails? Have they seen, yet, the house they are helping to build? You know, the faithful that we have read about in the Bible fully utilized that same imparted mind; they just didn’t limit themselves to the empirical.

See Daniel 1:4, “Skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science.”

When read from back to front, this verse shows the steps from lesser to greater: science, knowledge, wisdom. To reach understanding one must practice what one knows; one must use it or lose it. There

are many students that wish they could obtain a skill in ‘learning’, and they will: the harder they try

to learn, the easier it becomes. Some people reach a point where learning is second nature, even

automatic. But, to reach understanding, one must be taught; one must receive, then one must use and

exercise and practice what has been imparted.

Daniel did dreams. He was not an autistic individual who could do one strange thing; he was not a child prodigy. Daniel, before the captivity, was a young man in training at the temple. He was a bright child culled from the masses and taught the disciplines known by others. We would not be wrong to call it a craft (dream craft), for it was a thing regularly practiced. One arrives at understanding by the practice of knowledge.

See Daniel 1:17, “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”

Why did the scorner seek wisdom and find it not? I believe in ‘ask and you shall receive’, but if I knew a man wanted to stab me, you can bank on the fact that I would think long and hard about his request for a knife. (Then, I would say no).

Wisdom is wasted on a scorner; to give wisdom to a scorner is like casting pearls before swine: they will turn and rend you. Just as knowledge must be exercised, so, too, must the desire be exercised. How foolish is it for a runt to say: “Boy, I sure wish I had big muscles?” He likely only wants to kick sand in someone’s face and get the babe.

On the other hand, if his desire has developed any substance, he will exercise his muscles like he

exercised his desire; he will do the reps for himself; he will feel the burn. Jesus deliberately left

many in the dark. Could that be why?

See Matthew 13:15, “Lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart (mind).”

Take it from an old hitchhiker, to get a ride to where you want to go, you need to be faced in the right direction, you need to be not only on the right road but also, on the right side of the road.

Take it from 2 Timothy 2:7, “And (then), the Lord give thee understanding in all things.”

Heaven is an exclusive club: invitations only. There is also a dress code in effect. Going on that alone, you would expect the common man to get bounced, or to be turned away at the door with the shame of all others witnessing his failed bravado. But, there is another scenario. It goes like this: the bouncer owns the club; he has given you a free invitation, and he even has a tux in your size.

Remember, God has a purpose. Why would He want just any scorner or ne’er do well on the inside?

Recall that there is familiarity in close contact. To know good is to practice the knowledge of good;

to know evil is to exercise the knowledge of evil, and some of us are way too buff when it comes to

evil.

See Genesis 3:22, “The Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know (to practice the knowledge of) good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever . . .”

It may seem competitive on their part; it may seem like they are holding back on us, but, our getting in on our own terms is just not in the contract. There is a type that will make it in. Among all those who have received of the mind of God (the called), there will only be a small percentage who practice, who exercise, who seek God with full desire. God will make Himself known to those practiced seekers (the chosen).

This ‘known’, this new knowledge, is yet one more upgrade in the nature of man. It is a knowledge exceeding that which brought the individual to understanding; it is an understanding far greater than that which brought the individual to wisdom. It will be a true spiritual/corporeal intercourse.

Graduate to a higher grade in Numbers 12:6, “I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.”

That individual will be intimately familiar with the certainty of Deuteronomy 4:39, “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart (mind), that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”

That invitation had the owner’s name on it. That tux - it was the shirt off His own back. There is familiarity in close contact.

Deuteronomy 31:21, “I know their imagination which they go about.”

The practice of knowledge leads to understanding. There is familiarity in close contact.

Joshua 4:24, “That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.”

The regular practice of understanding is equal to ‘the fear of the Lord’. Moving the hand is an action that we come by through the practice of knowledge: or what to do and when, and how it works. We come to a point where this practice becomes like second nature. We have an understanding; we no longer go over each individual point in an action, but before we move our hand, the mind decides, simply, on that course.

1 Samuel 2:3, “The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.”

What could we possibly hope to hide from Him? To employ a thought is an action that comes by and

through Him who imparted to us our skills in knowledge. There is, after all, familiarity in close contact.

2 Samuel 7:20, “Thou, Lord God, knowest Thy servant.”

Yes, there is familiarity in close contact, and while there may not end up, so much, ‘cause’ and ‘effect’, there is interaction.

See it in 1 Kings 8:39, “Then hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart (mind) Thou knowest; (for Thou, even Thou only, knowest the hearts (minds) of all the children of men).”

Now, here’s an interesting question. If God is a ‘God of knowledge’, where is His dwelling place?

It is not hard for man to practice the God-mind; God has given us both the hammer and the nail. It is easy to practice the God-mind because God is there; if we are unsure about how to drive the nail home, or even if we are interested in the design of the house we are helping to build, we have only to ask, and our tutor will explain. The help is right there inside us. But, never let it be thought that we are locked into some mindless, will-less robotic loop. Free will is ever at hand. But, since we already have help in going the right way, it might be assumed that employing the free will is merely an act of willfulness.

See Job 24:13, “They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not (or forsake) the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths (or the practice) thereof.”

In other words, if you are already in a good place, where will moving bring you to? If you already stand

in the light, what is there left to choose by the employment of free will? Practicing the God-mind is never a mindless thing. It is an act of our own will, it is a practice that we choose freely. If you are in a bad place, where will moving bring you to? If you stand in the dark, what is there left to choose by the employment of free will?

Any individual who, by the practice of knowledge, sees the good in higher levels of practice will fervently desire to obtain those higher levels.

See Job 34:4, “Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.”

Maybe concepts would be clearer if we did not have to use so many words to present them. Maybe the day will come - until then, we must remind ourselves of covered ground. In practicing the God-mind, we are practicing the mind of God which God, Himself, has shared with us. The states we achieve, such as understanding and wisdom, are the culmination of practices. And of course, there is familiarity in close contact. A key is made to unlock a particular type of lock.

See the verse above as the key that perfectly fits Psalms 9:16, “The Lord is known by the judgment which He executeth.”

We may, therefore, choose to ourselves the practices of God; we may choose to ourselves the culminated nature of God and be seen to bear the personality traits of the Highest. We may think of it as ‘drawing to ourselves’, but, if we have used the loaned mind of God, then in truth it is we who are drawn. Our language and thinking may see the matter as actions on our part, but upon close inspection, one notes that the higher actions, the thoughts we now think, even the words we use are but reflections.

Muse on Psalms 19:1-3, “The heavens declare the glory of God (the culmination of); and the firmament sheweth His handywork (the practice of). Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”

The key, and the reflected key. I have a mental image of God as a key, finding His way into the familiar lock of man’s mind – or man’s augmented mind. I see that augmented mind, in turn, as the reflection of a key entering the familiar heights of secrets formerly locked away from us. Man finds himself ever in the middle ground between what was and what will be: given a boost by his past, and a hand up from his future. The mind finds itself being given a boost by the desire to learn, and a hand up by the answer. Both yearning and goal are the mind of God.

See your God-mind in Psalms 44:21, “Shall not God search this out? for He knoweth the secrets of the heart (mind).”

See your yearning, and your achieved goal in Psalms 51:6, “Behold, Thou (thou) desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part Thou (thou) shalt make me to know wisdom.”

The agenda: Psalms 67:2, “That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all

nations.”

Now, the sons of men have had glimpses past their hammers and nails to the house being built; they have understood that they were open to God and they knew this because they knew it with the God-mind.

See Psalms 69:5, “O God, Thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from Thee.”

And, they knew that the sons of men had been called apart from regular men by the same God-mind.

See Psalms 92:6, “A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.”

In saying this, we have acknowledged man’s transparency before God, and the rebellion all too easily seen in those who practice the ways that are not of God: an act of turning away from the implanted mind.

See Psalms 94:11, “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man.”

How? Because God is a God of knowledge.

See also Psalms 95:10, “It is a people that do err in their heart (mind), and they have not known (the familiar practices of) My ways.”

What does it convey: that the acquisition of knowledge brings us into closer contact with a God of knowledge? And His kingdom, His dwelling place (called Heaven): where is it? What is it?

It is, as Luke 17:21 says, inside of you.

What kind of ‘inside’ do the scriptures bring up time and time again?

See Psalms 119:66, “Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed Thy commandments.”

See Psalms 119:125, “Give me understanding, that I may know Thy testimonies.”

See Proverbs 2:6, “For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”

Remember that internalized warrior named ‘understanding’? Under the right circumstances, he will draw ‘discretion’ from his arsenal, and guard you. Likewise, under the right circumstances, ‘the Lord giveth wisdom’. What are those circumstances?

See Proverbs 2:10-11, “When (the desire for) wisdom entereth into thine heart (mind), and (the

practice of) knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; ((something a scorner cannot achieve)) discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee.”

The mind is a spiritual quality that, while not set apart from the flesh, is wholly unaffected by the machinations of the flesh. When you are sad, no other person can truly share it or help you bear the load. When you are in the zone, the usual annoyances no longer aggravate you.

See Proverbs 14:10, “The heart (mind) knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.”

The mind, especially the mind of God, is a quality that cannot be denied or held back. Dissemination is the God-mind’s middle name. Sharing is a given: teaching, preaching, passing it on - the mind of God is meant to spill forth, ignore boundaries of stubborn willfulness, and overflow, and flood. The new spiritual mind of knowledge, of understanding and wisdom, is where God lives. It is His dwelling place and kingdom, and it is growing exponentially.

Proverbs 15:7, “The lips of the wise disperse knowledge.”

One man shares what he has learned; another preaches it from a soapbox; another records it in a book. Still not sure it’s not just man?

See Proverbs 20:11, “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.”

Identification is a simple matter of common knowledge, and there is quite a lot of common knowledge. So, who is taking notes, and, can we trust those who receive, record, and pass on the knowledge? Well, it might be said that God left a little bit of Himself in us.

Proverbs 22:12, “The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge.”

It is like the mind of God teaching the mind of God to the mind of God. For our part, we simply have

to turn it on: then it runs on automatic. We know what it is; we know where it comes from, and we

know what to do with it - none of which is possible without the implanted God-mind.

Proverbs 22:21, “That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee.”