Psalm 23 . . . The Comforting Chapter

A Psalm of King David

1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."

I can't add to this at all for the scripture speaks for itself.

Until next time . . .

Joshua and His After Life

Recently, our preacher gave a sermon on the existence of the soul. He had my full attention, because my son, Joshua, is in a place nothing like earth. He has a form nothing like his old body, although, I'm not sure what that looks like.

What exactly is Joshua? If he's not in the flesh, what form has he taken? I'm going to refer to Joshua, but, of course, I mean people as a whole as I write what I'm trying to understand.

In the Bible, the scripture defines human existence. Joshua was, as we all are, a oneness of soul, spirit, and body. They describe images of the inseparable whole person: that is until Joshua's death by suicide. His body image is now ashes in the ground, becoming so a few days after his soul departed his body.

Before Joshua was born, Genesis 2:7 (KJV) says his soul existed before his physical birth. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Joshua did not have a soul, he is a living soul. Joshua lives in the spirit world in a form other than bodily.

To sum up, when death overtook Joshua's physical body, his soul returned to God. Matthew 22:29-32 (KJV) proves this, and verse 30 reads, "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."

Beautiful, is it not?

I tell you, folks, I could not for certain continue on in this life if it weren't for the Word of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. I hope what I am understanding is of some encouragement to you, also. If I've muddle things up please write me, and I'll bring more scriptures to the table. I plan to continue this topic on the next post.

Until then . . . read the Word and pray.

Joshua Would Laugh

On a lighter note about our loss of Joshua to suicide, recently the rain here in Oregon has been nonstop. I don't mean twenty-four hours a day, but rather raining off and on everyday for two weeks.

At first, my husband worked outdoor chores in between rains. No problem. Then, things turned comical. As soon as he started the job, like cutting wood, here came the rain just a pouring down. Jim came inside with a perplexed look.

As soon as he settled in at his computer or to read a woodworking magazine, the rain stopped and even the sun peeked. Out he'd go, again. A few minutes later Jim came in a bit soaked. This happened at least a half a dozen times.

I would tease, "Honey, go outside, my garden needs more rain."

Joshua would have gotten a good laugh at his dad's comical situation. We imagined, and we know it's just for fun, Joshua asking the Lord to allow it to rain down on his dad.

Instead of becoming upset that rain just needs to do its business, we brought our son into the situation and smiled. If Josh were here, he would have laughed at his dad. No doubt.

I remember the last time Joshua laughed. One week before he took his life, I was in a tiff. About what, I don't remember. Jim and Joshua followed me toward the opened garage door. In the entryway, my foot landed on a propped up steel rake. Bang. The handle of the rake hit me on the nose. I cried out in pain. Joshua laughed. His jolly moment made me even angrier. How dare he laugh when I pert near broke my nose.

Later that night, I touched the sore spot and winched. Then, I smiled to think my little accident made Joshua laugh out loud. I couldn't remember the last time I heard his echoing laughter.

Today, I am considering the scripture from James 5:8, "Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."

Until next time . . . I pray, you pray, let's all pray.