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    Climbing the Heavenly Stairs
    Climbing the Heavenly Stairs
    Climbing the Heavenly Stairs
    Ebook129 pages2 hours

    Climbing the Heavenly Stairs

    By Lynn Bradley

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    About this ebook


    This book is designed to answer questions about becoming spiritually mature and getting to heaven. The various denominations have different doctrines. This leads to much confusion. Since the only thing that counts is what the Bible requires, actual Scriptures are given.


    Your concept of God determines how you serve him. This book will give you the knowledge you need to begin your spiritual journey and go on to maturity. It describes how to get the feel of your faith, how to set priorities, and how to fit in with your congregation. It tells how to restore your faith to be acceptable to the Creator.


    The glorious attributes of the individual members of the Godhead are described, so that you can get acquainted with them, and build an unshakable faith. When you know the Word of God and the God of the Word, your faith will no longer shake with every fleeting doubt. It will be solid and reliable because it is built on a rock.


    This book also answers questions about how to live. It discusses how to become successful in your endeavors and how to deal with failure. Having faith is more than embracing an unseen God; it determines your whole outlook on life. There is magic in believing because the Lord built you for success, and supplies everything needed. There is no conflict between your ability and Gods, unless you put your priorities ahead of his.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateJul 6, 2004
    ISBN9781468571196
    Climbing the Heavenly Stairs
    Author

    Lynn Bradley

    Mr. Bradley has spent the last fifty years searching for answers in Scripture about how to live a life acceptable to the Lord. Christianity is more than following rules. It''s about living life to the full. The Author was in the broadcast profession as an engineer. For several years he was also an announcer. When the congregation he was attending was between preachers, he took turns with another member to fulfill the preaching duties for several months. He has taught many adult classes in both the Old and New Testament. He is familiar with the entire Bible and is qualified to write by his spiritual knowledge. His insight compels him to write.

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      Book preview

      Climbing the Heavenly Stairs - Lynn Bradley

      © 2004 by Lynn Bradley. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author.

      First published by AuthorHouse 06/15/04

      ISBN: 1-4184-2736-5 (Paperback)

      ISBN: 978-1-4685-7119-6 (ebook)

      Bloomington, IN

      Contents

      INTRODUCTION

      REGISTERING FOR THE CLIMB

      GETTING THE FEEL OF YOUR FAITH

      SETTING PRIORITIES

      NOT OPTIONAL

      GOING ON TO MATURITY

      MOUNTAIN MOVING FAITH

      WHO IS THIS JESUS?

      THE BACKGROUND COORDINATOR

      GETTING TO KNOW GOD

      HOSPITAL FOR SINNERS

      RESTORING FAITH

      ONE OF MANY

      LOOKING AHEAD

      About The Author

      INTRODUCTION

      This book is the result of a dream of a man talking about climbing the heavenly stairs. It was so vivid that when I woke up I wrote down as many words as I could. I had to fill in the blanks because I couldn’t remember them all. When it was finished, it had a nice rhythm to it. It was put aside, and forgotten. I have since tried to find it but cannot. I was preparing to teach a class when I came across Acts 16:9. In this passage, Paul had a vision of a man begging him to come over and help those in Macedonia. I immediately remembered my dream and began thinking about it. The next morning I attempted to reconstruct the words of the dream. The following is completely different from the original.

      I’m climbing the heavenly stairs

      I’ll climb until I find

      The one up there

      I called to him when deep in sin

      He saved my soul and made me whole

      By the work of his Son

      When the cross was done

      I’m climbing the heavenly stairs

      I’ll climb until I find

      The one who answers prayers

      I pray to him when troubled within

      He smooths the road and lightens the load

      I worship him because I’ve been

      Cleansed of sin

      I’m climbing the heavenly stairs

      I’ll climb until I find

      The one who cares

      He feels our pain and delights in our gain

      Our load of sin is carried by him

      The suffering of him that erased our sin

      We share with him

      Please join me on the heavenly stairs

      We’ll climb until we find

      The one who is everywhere

      All our days we’ll sing his praise

      We’ll thank his Son for the work he’s done

      His cross we’ll bear up the stairs

      To the one who cares

      It’s not by our feet that we reach the elite

      We climb the stairs with faith and prayers

      We must stay on the narrow way

      We must not slide to the way that’s wide

      The way is led by the one who bled

      The path is found in the book that’s bound

      That tells of his earthly care and glory up there

      It occurred to me that perhaps this was the Lord’s way of telling me to write down my thoughts about climbing the heavenly stairs. This work contains my insight on spiritual development in Christ, gained in fifty years of Bible study. Christianity is more than going to worship services; it is living righteously twenty-four-seven-three-sixty-five. The Lord is not only interested in what we do, but our motivation. The Creator changes us from the inside. Since he lives in us, he wants us to permit him to be a part of our thought process. This is the way that he can lead us away from temptation and help us become mature. This book is not only about how to climb the heavenly stairs; it is about becoming mature by getting acquainted with the Godhead, turning our worries over to them, and living life to the full.

      All quotations unless otherwise indicated, are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSIONS, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

      REGISTERING FOR THE CLIMB

      The steps to heaven are not like the ones you use to get to the next floor in a building. They constitute the effort you put forth to reach God. Although one can obtain eternal life in this world, we don’t arrive in heaven until the struggles of this life are over. We must climb these stairs all our physical life

      There is a story in the Old Testament about a group of men that tried to build a city with a tower in its midst that would reach the heavens. It was a godless effort to dominate the Lord’s creation. Their main concern was to reside in the city and be famous for their work. (GE 11:1-9). They were doing this for their own glory and not the Lord’s; so he confused their language and scattered them over the face of the earth.

      There is another story that involves a stairway to heaven that occurred in a dream to Jacob in Genesis 28:12 Angels were ascending and descending the stairs. God offered his blessings to Jacob in the dream. These two stories represent two approaches to life: looking out for self and serving the Lord.

      Oddly enough, to this point Jacob had chosen to serve self. He had obtained the birthright that normally would have belonged to his older brother, by trickery. The birthright involved a double portion of inheritance. It also determined which brother the Messiah would descend from, though he was unaware of it. Esau thought so little of his birthright that he sold it for a single meal. The Lord knew Jacob’s character in advance and had already told his mother before the twins were born that the oldest would serve the youngest.

      Jacob later demonstrated his desire for the Lord’s blessing when he encountered an angel that he believed was God as a man. He wrestled with him and would not let go until he received a blessing. Jacob was a different person after this encounter with divinity. His name was changed to Israel and from his sons the twelve tribes of Israel emerged (GE 32:22-28). To receive the blessings that God provides we must take the initiative for our salvation.

      Before you can climb the heavenly stairs, you must have the desire and determination. Jacob needed help and so do we. Even if the Lord would let us in, if we reached heaven on our own, there is no way we could get there. Paul called the heavenly climb a race though we don’t compete against each other but Satan (1CO 9:24-27). You can’t be the winner of a race if you aren’t officially entered. You must be registered. Registration to climb occurs when you complete the requirements given in the Bible.

      You might be thinking that you are a good person and you don’t need help climbing the stairs. Having the wrong concept of the Lord often leads one to believe that. You are making the same mistake the tower builders made. Although the Lord acknowledged their ability to erect a tower into the heavens, neither they nor we are good enough to approach him on our own merits. He is a perfect being and no one imperfect is permitted to enter his heaven. One sin not forgiven is enough to condemn you. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (RO 3:23). We are not saved on our terms but God’s terms.

      Climbing the divine stairs requires more than putting one foot in front of the other. Even those who were building the Tower of Babel had to have some training. They were obviously skilled in their work. Their problem was that they were following their own blueprints and relying on themselves. Many follow their example. Mankind has a long record of making their own rules about approaching God. Jesus warned: These people honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me; they worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men (MT 15:8-9).

      Men’s rules won’t lead to God. Jacob called the place where he had the dream, the gate to heaven. Jesus referred to Jacob’s dream in John 1:51. He told Nathaniel that he would see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. This indicates that Jesus is the gate to heaven and he affirms it in John 10:7. Heaven is open to those who enter through him. We do that by obeying his commands.

      There are only two gates to eternity. In Matthew 7:13-14 we are told to enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few finds it. There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death (PR 14:12). That way leads to the wide gate. Jesus will lead us through the narrow gate.

      Many believe that Jesus was a great man, a great prophet and a great teacher but don’t accept him as the Son of God. They don’t qualify to climb the stairs, because he said, I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one, I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins (JN 8:24). John 3:16 informs us that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal live. Verse 18 of this same chapter warns Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

      This makes it clear that not excepting him as God’s Son disqualifies one from climbing the stairs to God in heaven. Of course we must learn about him to believe in him and that is the first thing we must do. If you believe and trust him to save you, doing what he says is only natural. That is the Bible definition of belief. Jesus indicated that we would keep his commandments if we love him. If we don’t obey the command to head for the narrow gate, it means we don’t love or respect him and don’t really believe in him.

      The Bible stipulates that we must confess the name of Jesus before men. We must state before earthly and heavenly witnesses that we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. In so doing we acknowledge that we have sinned and we trust Jesus to save us. If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (RO 10:9-10) Believing that he is Lord is equivalent to saying that he is the Son

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