The Glory Mindset: How to Experience the Glory-Filled Life Daily

Apr 6

I’m slouched down a bit now as I have been writing since 3 a.m., and it is now 11 a.m.

One of the costs of a holy obsession, is that there is no rest day and night. Hopefully, you have that enthusiasm—that vigorous, cheerful offering for Him too. We’re getting ready to run without looking back. The spirit is activated, and we are participating. The glory mindset will change you.

Surely, it was big, that change that followed the glory side, and I knew it. God knew it. Everyone who knew me knew it. COVID however, provided a strange shelter for two years as a shield against the harsh realities of this new life. There I was standing whenever I could, throwing myself into His arms, trying to make sense of it all. Privileged to return, the blessing of the glory, yet the awkwardness of adjusting back. But I never got back onto that fast-moving train, and now I am trying to get you off. We’ve all been wondering how we can stop it or change the course of our days. I was changed from the inside out and found the Glory mindset.

When I was in the Great Hall of Heaven, I wanted to run on the streets of gold, as my boyhood youth and vigor were back. When one crosses over, you have already changed out of your mortal-like costumes and come to the grace of a Holy audience of One. I remind myself that I belong to this place, as it belongs to you. It’s in your bloodline. In Heaven, every column and surface seemed to be covered in gold with a fierce fiery glow. As I saw majestic mountains ascending the iridescent blueish canopy, I saw luscious hills green, vibrant, and living. I saw a river, as waterfalls were making their presence known cascading down gracefully, and majestically. God’s presence was everywhere as One who sets a calming hand on your shoulder, and you are struck by His glory, majesty, love, and warmth.

In addition to being the perfect, Holy Place, an unwavering admiration and worship is being directed by the ideal director, the Holy One, who is gently guiding all of Heaven in holy admiration. I was savoring every moment. Every moment was like one drop of rain that could nourish the earth.

What I desire for your pursuit of a glory mindset, requires intention with a heart of desperation. In Heaven, it’s easy because everything is supernaturally queued for Glory. On earth, it takes effort, desire, and discipline.

Looking Down from Heaven

Let me say that the world/earth is fascinating too. Earthly life doesn’t need to be boring, it can be Glory filled. It’s all what you choose to see, and what you don’t see. What is the focus of your attention on any day?

For instance, small things are great just as great things have greatness. Sure, the ant is not a symbol of lion-like power and prowess, but it is no less miraculous as the sea’s great Leviathan. One drop of rain is no less miraculous than a single snowflake, a mighty tempest, a gentle breeze. It all varies on our perspective, and the subject of our focus. If our lids turn upward, we will see the beauty in great things and small things. It’s one of the ways to feed the Glory mindset.

In Job 12:7-10 for instance, we are spurred on to have these inquiring minds. It tells us to:

Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? For in his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land (Psalm 95:4-5).

These simple acts cultivate the Glory mindset in us.

Watch something happen when the Spirit activates you for the Glory. The Spirit begins to animate your soul so that “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, you do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). You come into a Glory mindset. The Bible reminds us that there are many glories to occupy our holy curiosity.

I See Something Else

Now let us turn ever so slightly while holding onto the Glory chorus that has been heard throughout this work. In the illumination of the Glory, shadows jump out everywhere. Every morning I go to the corner bagel store for my tea, only to see the same older men talking about the weather and congratulating each other on various perceived accomplishments. I see people entirely unaware of the times and the hour we live in. God’s people share the same disease.

They, too, speaking of God’s people, are scurrying to and fro, uptight, racing to the red light. No sooner than the light turns green, a horn blasts to move. Why has it only been a second. Perhaps the speed of a twinkling of an eye. As believers, we cannot be driven by the cultural stopwatch. The Glory and presence abhor it. Make no mistake, a harried life for God’s people is destructive. It’s one of the reasons I no longer wear a watch. I wear a compass on my wrist, always reminding me that position is more important than time. This harried culture pulls down upon the soul, keeping you so occupied and distracted so that there isn’t enough room for the Glory to move, because you are shoulder to shoulder with the world’s activities.

As previously noted, the Bible places a high value on rest and peaceful living. Even Yeshua escaped the busyness of the crowds to renew His strength many times. Mark 6:31 says, “Because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to [His disciples], ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’”

I remember when New York City was a ghost town during the COVID lockdown. People were home with loved ones. Neighborhoods were filled with people talking to each other. Family walks were ordinary. Everyone was discovering things that they had never noticed.

Dallas Willard said, “Among the practices that can help us attend to soul care at a basic level are solitude and silence. We practice these by finding ways to be alone and away from talk and noise. We rest, observe, and stop ‘smell the roses’—dare we say it?—we do nothing! God can use this discipline as a means of grace. We may even find another reminder of grace—that we are saved, justified by His redeeming power—not by our strivings and achievements.”

I hope my words have pulled on that deep thread. I see someone reading this, perhaps pausing to clear their throat as sighs are heard, “Tell me more.” You see, there is something in all of us of an eternal nature, we are imbued with it, and we need to understand more. So, hang on as we descend deeper!

Glory Mindset

Now if you haven’t caught my subtleties, one prerequisite for Dancing Past the Darkness: You must notice the beauty most people miss. IT’S THE WAY! And if you can become a holy admirer, YOU WILL SEE THE BEAUTY IN YOUR DAY.

Go beyond yourself—and get outside your daily world consciousness and pressures—get into a Heavenly consciousness—a Glory mindset!

For instance, most people hub around the darker happenings of daily life, the Glory mindset sees the beauty in a day and the blessings that fill it. Try to put a Kingdom-oriented spin on everything. When others see doom and gloom, fix your eyes on a discouraged soul and look to be God’s hand extended; experience the sick healed or a word of compassion to a needy soul. Step out of yourself and your schedule and pray for someone in your day. Incorporate stops in your day to tell someone that God loves them and that He has not forgotten them.

Seeing Differently

I know you might be wondering if it is possible to live this way; slowing down, praying for people, enjoying God’s creation, having inquiring minds, and searching eyes like an explorer. Once again from Proverbs 25:2 (NLT) says, “It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.” So, go on a discovery. Be an adventurer!

If we slow down, and get into a Glory mindset, we dis- cover a kaleidoscope of treasures to be wide-eyed about. Start with the Bible which is also “The” book of nature revealing three leaves, Heaven, earth, and sea. Heaven is the first and the most glorious; and by its creation, we can see the beauties of the other two. Cloudy days remind you of the Glory that comes on the clouds. Look it up in Scripture. It’s there! Rainy days remind me of the water being dis- charged from Heaven to water the seed of the ground that there is bread for the eater—it is like His word that doesn’t return void. Nature needs a drink. You’ll find it in the Bible! Let your days greet you with eyes wide open to opportunities to see a lost soul come into the Kingdom.

Dare to be different. Slow down to hear and listen more. Every day Yeshua read people like a book to engage them for the Kingdom. He read a rich man’s thoughts who thought it was easy to follow Him. Today, its easy to meet someone visibly hardened by life with no apparent faith in their eyes, yet you can feel compassion for them.

The Bible calls the heavens plural for their variety, existing of the watery heavens with the solar heavens, and all the day’s glories, like the starry heavens with all their marvels of the night. Any part of creation has more instruction than the human mind will ever exhaust. No matter which way you turn, it is like a giant glorious jigsaw puzzle.

Before I end this chapter, I want to speak to the naysayers around every corner who are pushing impatiently, ready to tell you, “You cannot live this way in the presence and under the Glory.” They are a product of the culture. What slips into the crowd of our Christian culture lay the notion that our toilsome trek through life is one’s lot pending Heaven. Notice the two words: trek and toilsome. I prefer dance and pleasure. The naysayers are dead wrong. You can pull Heaven down daily, notwithstanding those pundits, traditionalists, and conventionalists. I hope my words offered some enticement to come closer, so you are not pensive. A lot hap- pens around here that will surprise you.

Conclusion

Friend, life’s bruising that sin brings can only be healed at the feet of Yeshua who hung on that crossbeam for you. The blood on the crossbeam proves today, two thousand years later, how I got to Heaven. Instantly His death opened the door to our eternal destiny.

Give your life to the Lord today, and don’t miss out on the most glorious place created for you, Heaven. In Heaven, there is no worry about anything. The order of things is pure, right, straight, and untouched by human hands. The glory is bright and blinding, yet it penetrates the atmosphere with a sweet rose fragrance. Did you ever think we should live more of our lives marked by a deeper heavenly mindset, and His presence in the here and now? The answer is yes! He loves sinners and cares for every soul.

Pray this prayer:

Lord, come into my life and be Lord of my life. For- give me for my sin and thank You for sending Your Son to die. I receive my Messiah, the Lamb of God who died for me. Fill me with Your Spirit and make me a new creation.

Felix Halpern

Felix Halpern has been married for 45 years to his wife Bonnie. Both minister nationally and internationally with a message of restoration between Jew and Gentile, the One New Man, and with a strong emphasis on the election of Israel. He has authored Restoring the Ancient Paths which became become one of the top ten selling books in Taiwan in 2014, and is available in English in the United States.

Over the last decade, Rabbi Felix pioneered the first National Jewish Fellowship of the Assemblies of God, and served as its president for the first four years. He has also served as a General Presbyter for the Assemblies of God, on the AG Board of Ethnicity, and on the board of Lost Lamb Evangelistic Association. Through God’s grace and favor in 2014, he and his wife Bonnie, a former congregational leader, established the first center for Jewish ministry in the Metro New York, New Jersey area called, Metro Jewish Resources.

Felix Halpern also serves as International President of International Assemblies of God in Brazil, a Messianic organization, and continues to serve as a nationally appointed missionary to the Jewish people for the Assemblies of God in America. He continues to fulfill his role in the body, in preparing the Church for their end time mandate, “All Israel,” with a message of the “Father’s Heart.”