Beloved,
Jesus, the Ascended One sits above all, and we are seated together with Him in heavenly places; Ephesians 2:6. The Lord has invited us to "look with Him", with an elevated spiritual perspective, not an earthly vision. We seek that which is above because we are "born from above"; our heart groans; we long to be clothed with that heavenly body; Romans 8:23. We seek and desire that "better country" because our true citizenship is in heaven; Hebrews 11:14-16.The Bride is told to look from the top of the mountain; Song of Solomon 4:8. This word "look" means "to walk around, inspect, spy out, survey, behold, observe, watch", from  the place of His headship, His sanctuary, His mountain of dominion. Jesus has given us the privilege of beholding what He sees, from His heavenly perspective. He is giving us a glimpse of our inheritance, and yet like Peter, James and John, we also, must "descend", and minister to the multitudes and the one who is "sorely vexed" at the bottom of the mountain; Matthew 17:14-15.
 
"And he (Jacob) dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it"; Genesis 28:12
 
"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart. And was transfigured before them and his face did shine like the sun, and his raiment was white as the light"; Matthew 17:1-2
 
"O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely"; Song of Solomon 2:14
 
"And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto Mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount"; Exodus 34:2
 
"Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon; look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon from the lions dens, from the mountains of the leopards"; Song of Solomon 4:8
 
Terri H.

A  STEEP  ASCENT



A ladder is extending from the Earth to Heaven’s door.
It will support and lift you higher than you’ve ever walked before.

Set your foot upon the stairway, keep on treading, steadily.
For upon the slopes, the incline, you are ascending in degrees.

There is a place of grace and favor, where the mighty warriors reign.
But a steep ascent, for some will be, an inaccessible domain.

For some stay in the lowlands, and won’t arise on stepping stones.
They are fearful of the unknown ways through which God promotes His own.

A flight of stairs has opened, so that you can rise and stand,
up where His messengers are ascending, upon the Son of Man.

And so I take you higher, as you take another step,
and you shall stand securely, you are by My Spirit, kept.

Come scale the heights of Zion upon a sharply rising space,
where like a catapult, He launches you, to an exalted dwelling place.

Then you will see the heavens opened, as you survey the Mount, and then,
every step will bring you closer to becoming one with Him.

And so a higher place in glory, upon you is bestowed;
and even now your light increases, in that heavenly abode.

Take the path up to the summit, where He adorns His new creation,
up to a realm of greater beauty, a higher place of consecration.

Every step will take you upward, toward the prize awaiting there.
You will increase, and make progression, when you climb His flight of stairs.

Every hurdle takes you higher, so take a leap upon the Rock,
to a terrain of light and fullness, that will take you to the top.

Come explore upon the Mountain, upon a higher elevation.
When you pass the test on lower ground, it is time for graduation.

You are advancing toward a precipice, where the brave and fearless climb,
where the earthly landscape’s fading, and growing dimmer all the time.

And just as Enoch walked with Him, and every day His face he sought,
one day he took another step, he was taken, and was not.



Terri Hill