firstsheaf
Paradise Stairway
This picture came from a spur of the moment trip my husband and I took to the Grand Canyon last year. If you knew us, you'd know just how strange a thing that was for us to do. We are normally very scheduled people. Oddly, we both felt compelled just to go. No one was pressing us. We simply thought it would be an incredibly fun thing to do. We had three days to get everything in order, and off we were to go on our road trip for a week. I had never been to the Grand Canyon prior to this vacation and found it to be a pure delight. This stairway was absolutely gorgeous in the golden sunset light that fell so softly over the beautiful canyons. I just happened to look down while watching this particular sunset and saw an amazing thing: The stairway lit up in iridescent hues as the sun slowly sunk down into its colorful rock bed. Again, this picture doesn't do the actual sight justice. But it still fills me with wonder every time I look at it and remember...
The dreamy quality of the stairway reminds me of the story in the Bible regarding Jacob having a dream about a stairway that led up to where God was, which reminded me of a dream I had right before I shared those spectacular 40 days with the Lord the first time four years ago. During this vacation, I encountered the Lord again in yet another fabulous 40 days of bliss. If you ever get an opportunity to go to the Grand Canyon, I highly recommend it. The beauty is truly a tool used by the Lord to uplift a person's soul and spirit in order to usher him/her into perfect worship of Him in Spirit and Truth
When remembering this whole spur of the moment trip, I am reminded of the story of Jacob. Keep in mind that Scripture is both literal and allegorical. Allegorically, it tells of Jacob's encounter with the Lord like the one I wrote about in my previous page. This same story of encountering God in this wild way is told over and over again by all of the main figures in the Bible but with different stories and allegories in order to lead the rest of us into this same kind of relationship with Him.
Now I'll give you a clue as to what the stairway/ladder means and where it has been seen elsewhere in the Word but in different forms: Adam and Eve's Tree of Life, Aaron's Budding Staff, Solomon's Silver Cord, The Lamp Stand in the Holy Place, David's River of Delights, Nebuchadnezzar's tree that was chopped down but restored, Jesus' saying that He is the Vine and we are the branch, etc... There are many more... Any idea yet? Remember when Jesus was talking about being born again in the Gospel of John? Think of the picture of a newborn. What do you think of? Jeopardy music plays... *Smile* “’What’ is an umbilical cord!” If you've had this particular encounter with God, you will most likely know what it is that I'm talking about with regard to being hooked up umbilically to Jesus. This is the passage mentioned in the picture shown above:
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: 'I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.'
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:10-17, 1984 NIV).
© 11-6-2007 Victoria Tribby
Paradise Stairway
This picture came from a spur of the moment trip my husband and I took to the Grand Canyon last year. If you knew us, you'd know just how strange a thing that was for us to do. We are normally very scheduled people. Oddly, we both felt compelled just to go. No one was pressing us. We simply thought it would be an incredibly fun thing to do. We had three days to get everything in order, and off we were to go on our road trip for a week. I had never been to the Grand Canyon prior to this vacation and found it to be a pure delight. This stairway was absolutely gorgeous in the golden sunset light that fell so softly over the beautiful canyons. I just happened to look down while watching this particular sunset and saw an amazing thing: The stairway lit up in iridescent hues as the sun slowly sunk down into its colorful rock bed. Again, this picture doesn't do the actual sight justice. But it still fills me with wonder every time I look at it and remember...
The dreamy quality of the stairway reminds me of the story in the Bible regarding Jacob having a dream about a stairway that led up to where God was, which reminded me of a dream I had right before I shared those spectacular 40 days with the Lord the first time four years ago. During this vacation, I encountered the Lord again in yet another fabulous 40 days of bliss. If you ever get an opportunity to go to the Grand Canyon, I highly recommend it. The beauty is truly a tool used by the Lord to uplift a person's soul and spirit in order to usher him/her into perfect worship of Him in Spirit and Truth
When remembering this whole spur of the moment trip, I am reminded of the story of Jacob. Keep in mind that Scripture is both literal and allegorical. Allegorically, it tells of Jacob's encounter with the Lord like the one I wrote about in my previous page. This same story of encountering God in this wild way is told over and over again by all of the main figures in the Bible but with different stories and allegories in order to lead the rest of us into this same kind of relationship with Him.
Now I'll give you a clue as to what the stairway/ladder means and where it has been seen elsewhere in the Word but in different forms: Adam and Eve's Tree of Life, Aaron's Budding Staff, Solomon's Silver Cord, The Lamp Stand in the Holy Place, David's River of Delights, Nebuchadnezzar's tree that was chopped down but restored, Jesus' saying that He is the Vine and we are the branch, etc... There are many more... Any idea yet? Remember when Jesus was talking about being born again in the Gospel of John? Think of the picture of a newborn. What do you think of? Jeopardy music plays... *Smile* “’What’ is an umbilical cord!” If you've had this particular encounter with God, you will most likely know what it is that I'm talking about with regard to being hooked up umbilically to Jesus. This is the passage mentioned in the picture shown above:
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: 'I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.'
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:10-17, 1984 NIV).
© 11-6-2007 Victoria Tribby