The Stairway

   We thought angels could fly. 😏 

   In Jacob's dream (Genesis 28), angels were walking up and down a stairway connecting earth with heaven. The Lord stood above it with a message that changed Jacob from self-centered to a believer worthy to carry forward grandfather Abraham's blessing. 

   So, how do we get blessed? 

   Ask the Pharisee of Pharisees, head of the class, straight A's, Summa Cum Laude. While Jesus' disciples had no formal education, Saul was an intellect and legalist, until the risen Christ surprised him (like Jacob), changing not only his name but his purpose.

   After much relearning, with the Holy Spirit's help, Paul (and others) began spreading the gospel throughout the Roman world, mostly to Gentiles. Hard and dangerous life. 

   He and other NT authors (see John 3:4-10), contrast the opposing powers of truth and of sin. Because all of us - since Adam's fall - are born in sin (selfishness; human desires), we must be born again with a new nature, into a new realm of life. 

   Children are welcomed by Christ. When we are old enough to be held accountable, we are held accountable. We are weighed down by the power of sin, like gravity. 

   When we surrender, the Lord's power enables us to rise, to begin a lifelong process of growing to be like him. It's a day by day effort.  

The above based on Romans chapter 6

   If...If there was a stairway, say - 100 steps of spiritual potential, from 1 to 100 percent - we know a man who was in church all his life. He didn't reach the first step until in his 30s. Thanks to a rough ordeal in his late 40s, he made it to step 2. All this in his opinion, not God's.  

   Should he grow cold, or even lukewarm, he risks the gravity of sin, pulling him off the stairway. The same can be said of a person on step 92. It's a grave matter. 

   Clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. - Romans 13:14  

        Jimmy