and now... a Word from our Sponsor

Capital letters intentional... just want to share the things that God is bringing to me this morning so that you will be encouraged as well.

(by the way... not sure why Stubby the 3 legged Wondercat always has to do his very noisy grooming on my bed when I'm trying to read the bible... it's disgusting! all the slurping and sandpaper tongue against fur... ick!)

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (simple instructions here!) Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (about the dead in Christ - in other words, Christians who have died) So it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Here's the exciting part about the spiritual, imperishable body... we know (or, I know and believe) that there will be a resurrection of the dead when Christ returns and that we, as Christians, will inherit the Kingdom of God. How could this be so for mere mortals? Well, the Bible tells us that we will become immortal...

1 Corinthians 15:50-57 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.


I know this is some deep evangelical Christian philosophy and I know that it will go beyond what some of my readers believe and understand. Let me say that I am comforted in the perception I have that death is not the end for us. And I will gladly take the risk that I am wrong in what I believe... for it is better to have lived my entire life with the hope that there is something more and to find out at the end that I was wrong... than to live my entire life believing there is a dead end ahead with no power to avoid or move beyond it. If I am wrong, by the time I find out, it will be too late to matter. Yet with what I believe, I can live my entire life trusting that those who go before me are waiting to greet me on the other side.

I know that faith in God, for some, is like having an imaginary friend. I understand those feelings. I can only tell you that MY imaginary friend goes with me everywhere I go. He comforts me. He strengthens me. He helped me go from self-destruction to self-confidence. He provides for me. He makes me feel joyful in the midst of what could be a very sad time for me. He is the best friend I've ever had. So... if He is just a figment of my imagination, then I am grateful for my active imagination...