A Gilded Walk

Book Preview This is a book about eternity. Yes, there is an eternity or afterlife. A Gilded Walk shows the path to a joyful eternity. Since God created us, He desires a relationship with us. Therefore, the path taught in the bible is detailed. There is another path as well. This way rejects God’s ideals and leads to a fearful afterlife without our creator. Many people today are struggling without answers to their questions. This book acts like a modern manual of Christianity as taught in the scriptures and not just general opinions. The author shows examples of a daily walk with guidance by Christ. There are many examples given as well as personal experiences of living here in God’s kingdom. The message is repeated in numerous approaches so the point gets through that Christianity is a personal relationship with our Lord. It is knowing God rather than knowing about God. That is one of the reasons is that the bible is God’s inspired Word, something as an absolute standard. One of the problems in the church today is the usage of the buffet edition of the bible. This is the edition where you pick and choose what to believe regardless of what the Word says. A Gilded Walk starts with an extant church problem which is attendance. The numbers are dropping according to polls almost regardless of the denomination except for a few. The author used a special word to describe the falling attendance in Part 1: “Malaise”- It comes from the French and means a general weakening of the body. A derived meaning states a “repress of feelings generally producing a malaise that destroys the chance of happiness or satisfaction.” It is generally conceded that The letter to the Church of Laodicea in the Book of Revelation is significant for today’s church. And Jesus was quite specific in describing most of today’s churches. He said, “I know your deeds; I know you are neither hot nor cold. How I wish you were one or the other—hot or cold! But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of my mouth” (Revelation 2:15-16). Our secular culture has become irreligious, even anti-religious. And there is so much to do, so many people to text, to blog, and interface with, there isn’t much time for anything else including God. And our entertainment seemingly has lost it’s cultural charm in favor of sleaze. Surprisingly, there is something happening in some of the churches. That’s how we move from Problems in Part 1 to Beginnings in Part 2. We examine God’s plan for mankind with Adam and Eve, when it was thwarted, and how God’s plan has been revived. As we begin our journey, like any trip we have to have a plan, but the real plan has existed in the mind of God from all eternity. Most people with even a smattering of religion know right from wrong in the remote areas of their mind, but has it made a difference in their lives? God’s plan was for mankind to live forever in Paradise without dying. Have you ever considered that Adam and Eve and subsequent mankind (ie. Us) were created for eternity in God’s image as spiritual beings with body and soul? Read the early part of the book of Genesis and you’ll learn that it was God’s plan that man should have dominion over the earth. This was the kingdom that man lost and Jesus restored by his passion and resurrection. The first sermon Jesus preached after his baptism by the Holy Spirit was that the Kingdom of God is near.” Every time someone says the Our Father, they are proclaiming that His earthly kingdom will become a reality as His heavenly kingdom already exists. By His passion, death and resurrection Jesus Christ restored the potential for mankind to kingdom living. Man’s requirement is to choose Jesus as savior and ask forgiveness for our sins. With such a decision, man becomes Born Again. But wait; there’s more. Just getting saved isn’t the end of a religious progression. There’s more in Part 3. Of the many extraordinary things that happened to King David, he would have remembered the day the Holy Spirit came upon him and made possible the succeeding events in his life. In the New Testament we call this the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus certainly remembered his special day in the Jordan river when he was baptized by John the Baptist and the Holy Spirit anointed him for his mission. As the apostle John relates, after the resurrection, Jesus visited the apostles and breathed on them saying , “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). The next step for us is the release of the power of His Holy Spirit which is happening to people mainly in the Pentecostal, Apostolic, and other Spirit-Filled churches . In Part 4 the book moves from theory to visitations and actual experiences. He gives an example when alone. It was a pulled hamstring muscle with a lot of pain. He called friends who were in the church prayer ministry and the three prayed over the phone. He was instantly healed. A Gilded Walk continues to show other healing experiences that happened to the author and his wife. As an example, he was healed of a blocked artery by prayer with friends before surgery. His wife was healed during a conference when the speaker stopped and proclaimed that someone’s left shoulder was being healed. Before the conference she had an x-ray that showed the rotator cuff tear that was hurting so much. So far we’ve had quite a journey. Now the author turns teacher in Part 5. An apparent contradiction is when Jesus says that we have to pick up our cross daily and follow him (Luke 9:2). But our crosses aren’t daily; they are 24/7 as they relate to our fears about food, family, clothing, job etc. Therefore , this isn’t the cross Jesus is discussing. Jesus said that our heavenly Father knows what we need to sustain family life and we are not to worry about these things, the very things we do worry The author shows in scripture the cross that Jesus want us to carry. Once you see the references, you realize it’s part of the gospel message. As we approach Part 6 we realize that that we have reached the end of our journey together. This is described in the Mortgage Free Home which is located in the heavenly kingdom. It’s the dream of every home owner when the final payment is made. However, in 2008 and 2009 there were thousands of homes available just sitting there without a mortgage. The upshot wasn’t debt freedom, but lack of funds and foreclosure due to the lessened economy and higher prices for staples and gasoline . Wouldn’t this be ridiculous if the same disaster happened in our spiritual life at the end of our days! Fortunately, as born again followers of Jesus, we are guaranteed a blissful eternal life. St. Paul revealed this by saying, “Eye has not seen; ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love him”(1Cor. 2:9 There is a saying that there are many roads to heaven. Really there are only two roads. One goes upward and the other goes downward. Another saying is “Well, we all end up at the same place anyway.” Yes, everyone approaches heaven but not all get in. There is only one way. Jesus Christ proclaimed, “I AM THE WAY.” Everyone of us down deep should have the same question sometime in our life. That question is: “Where will I spend eternity?” Hopefully this work gives you the guidelines to help you to answer that question.