Six terrorists were holding thirty pre-schoolers hostage hoping to accomplish their political agenda by threatening to kill them. Jim Burton pumped his arm three times calling for a flash-bang, a grenade designed to temporarily blind and disorient through its blast. As it crashed through the window and exploded with a blinding light and deafening roar, Burton simultaneously dived left into the room while firing into the terrorist leader. Then he rolled quickly and fired a triple burst into a second terrorist. Meanwhile to his right, a sliding, tumbling Sammy Abrams took out two men at once with a short burst from his weapon as Grady Howe dived headlong through the door while firing at terrorist #5 who dropped like a sack of flour. The lone survivor swung his weapon toward the hostages! But, the three SWAT Team members dropped him before he could depress the trigger.

"Clear!" Burton shouted.

"Clear! Clear!" shouted his team members as they safed their weapons.

They lifted their goggled helmets only to see a huge empty room twice as large as a gym—no bad guys, no dead, no wounded, no children. The whole thing was merely a Virtual Reality training exercise! Their combat suits were lined with small wires that monitored various body functions transmitting them to the computer. Their actions along with those of their supervisor had played a role in triggering electronic images and sounds that appeared inside their helmets and goggles.

Virtual: existing in essence though not in actual form. It's fascinating what they do with simulation. My friend invited me to fly a B-52 bomber simulator. The cabin was on a long boom that rose, banked, or descended as dictated by the pilot's actions. Fritz made the simulated take off and then gave me the controls. I thought I could get the "bomber" back on the ground because I'd logged 35 solo hours in a tail-dragger back in ought-six. But, I was all over that simulated sky. I got it on the ground all right. Nose first! I defaulted back to driving my lawnmower.

The instant that every new creature in Christ opens his eyes in the morning he awakens to Virtual Reality. I'm talking about life on Planet Earth, the good ol' US of A, your hometown. Most of what you'll see today is but Virtual Reality. Most of what you will hear today will have a Virtual Reality spin on it. Much of what you will feel today is but Virtual Reality because most of what you see, hear and feel doesn't square with reality (God's Truth). God's job description is that He runs things; He gets to make the rules. So, His opinion, His view, is reality; always has been; always will be. Anything that enters your eye gate, ear gate or other sensory gates that doesn't agree with God's view is Virtual Reality, pure and simple.

For example, God said, "Since you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory" (Recorded in His journal to you, Col. 3:1-4). Folks, that's reality! God said so, and He cannot lie; never has; never will. But, how do you think the devil might spin that into our mind gate? Why this can't be true. God only sees it that way. Duuh.

Folks, every person on earth wears a helmet, either a Virtual Reality helmet or a Reality helmet. Most wear the Virtual Reality helmet. This helmet spins the falsehood that what we see, touch, hear, smell and taste is reality. God, on the other hand, says that this world will pass way; it's temporal; it's only Virtual Reality. Someone correctly said that earth is the closest thing to heaven a lost person will experience, but the closest thing to hell a saved person will experience. It's only Virtual Reality. God says that we are to cast off the Virtual Reality helmet and wear our new helmet, the Reality helmet, "the helmet of salvation." This helmet lifted the veil from our mind; we're now able to understand spiritual truth (reality). It opened our mind to reality, enabling us to lay aside the temporal (Virtual Reality), to embrace reality—our intimate, bonding, union with God as our Real Dad. Much like the SWAT Team, we are simply in training, preparing for the real thing—reigning with Christ in eternity. Planet Earth is but a Virtual Reality training exercise.

Your identity in Christ is reality—who you are right now. Peace with God is normal for you (Rom. 5:1). Merely giving nodding approval to what God says about you and your relationship with Him, however, will not produce the peace of mind you seek. You'll experience Virtual Reality. You must passionately, tenaciously claim God's truth as your own with your teeth gritted, then get off your knees and step out in reality. Act like the thing is true which God says is true and rain on how you feel! This is living by faith. You have "the helmet of salvation." Wear it, for heaven's sake!