Come up Higher!

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:8-9

So often we read the verse above and shrug and say, Yes, God's ways are SO MUCH higher than mine and His thoughts completely incomprehensible to me, I might as well give up trying to understand Him or trying to figure out what He wants me to do or say or think.  
  
But this isn't really what the verse is saying. If you take it in context and look at the verses before it,  


Seek, inquire for, and require the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon. Isaiah 51:6-7

God is saying.. forsake your wicked ways, get rid of your evil thoughts and return to Me and I will forgive you... because My thoughts are not your thoughts and My ways are not your ways. In other words, the thoughts and actions of unregenerate, sinful man are not and can never be the thoughts and ways of God. 

Yes, He is God and He is Holy and all-powerful and He deserves our worship, but He isn't saying here that we could never grasp any of His thoughts or ideas. In fact, if you look at what the New Testament says about the believer, you'll soon realize that we can, indeed, think like God. 

We have the mind of Christ
But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. 1 Corithians 2:16 Amplified

We are seated in the heavenly realms

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:6  NIV

Your mind can dwell on things above. Your life is hidden in Jesus

If then you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the rich, eternal treasures that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col-3-2 And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.

For as far as this world is concerned you have died, and your new, real life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3

Our thoughts and our lives are directed by God's Spirit, hence His thoughts become our thoughts
But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the Holy Spirit of God really dwells within you directs and controls you. Romans 8:9

I'm reading through the book of Acts right now, and every time I read this book, I'm always struck by how different those early Christians lived their lives then we do today. There are a thousand differences I could point out but the ones that are pertinent to this discussion are also the most important ones.

The early Christians lived their lives completely and utterly led by the Holy Spirit with all the gifts of the Spirit in operation.  Consequently the did things like:

• Phillip was instantly transported from one place to another in order to witness to people
• Paul went to this place or that place based on whether the Holy Spirit led him or forbade him
• People could foresee the future and prophesy about things to come.
• People were healed and delivered of demons, some even by simply passing within the shadow of the apostles as they walked by.
• Peter was delivered from prison by angels
• Earthquakes broke chains and opened prison doors
• Uneducated men gave eloquent speeches
• They spoke in languages unknown to them but that were known by others standing around so they could hear the gospel message and be saved.

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Seems to me like these early Christians lived in a different realm than most of us do today. They lived in the spirit realm. They lived in the heavenlies with Christ. They knew the thoughts of God, received the instruction of God and lived their lives based on that knowledge and guidance day by day.  This is what Jesus died to give us...while we are here on earth and then throughout eternity. But so many of us wallow around in the mud, helpless, confused, full of doubt and complaints, fearful of the enemy, beaten down and discouraged.

How this must upset God!  How upset we will be when we get to heaven and see all we missed out on doing on earth for God!  All the excitement and adventure!.  The world is looking for something real. They are not looking for Sunday sermons and potlucks. they are looking for a people who are wholly devoted to God and who are led by His Spirit, thinking the thoughts of Christ and acting on them. 

Will you be that person? Will you come up higher?