Do You Believe Angels Are Among Us?

Have you ever talked to an angel? Perhaps you have and didn’t even know it! This is a story of how an angel spoke to me on one ordinary day a few months ago.

I was sitting in the car at the local Wal-Mart waiting on my husband to come back out. He was doing a little bit of shopping and I didn’t really want to go in that day, which is unusual in itself. As I sat there in the car, I was watching people as they came and went to where ever they were going. I love to people watch, it is quite entertaining. I was sitting there playing on my cell phone and watching people when I saw this car pull up beside mine. I didn’t pay a lot of attention until the man that was in the car began walking towards my car.

He had a tablet in his hand and was acting as though he was deaf. I have to admit, my first impression was oh great, some man trying to fake being deaf and wanting money is walking up to my car window. I thought how I didn’t have any money to give him. I reluctantly rolled my window down and he asked me where Roses was. I showed him how to get there and then he began walking that direction. The weird thing was, he was walking away from his car and away from Wal-Mart towards the main road.

I went back to playing on my phone, all the while keeping an eye on what was going on around me. Much to my surprise I looked up and the man and his car were gone. Vanished! He never came back and got into his car, he never came back at all. I often wondered if he was an angel sent by God to see how I would react to helping a person in need. What do you think… are there angels among us?

Religion and Same-Sex Marriage

The current debate over same-sex marriage is causing many to think about how they feel about the institution of marriage. Is there a difference between civil marriage and religious marriage? If so, what impact should it have on how those relationships are characterized by the law? If you at what President Barack Obama has recently said on the matter it is obvious that he feels that there is a difference between the two different forms of marriage, and that those differences should be recognized by the legal system.

While religious marriages are defined by the religious community that they take place in, civil marriages are the legal gateway to w wide variety of government benefits and privileges. Determining whether same-sex couples should be able to take advantage of these benefits is the main catalyst of the current debate on the issue. Churches have long been able to refuse to marry couples whom they did not feel were ready for marriage, and in some cases a church can refuse to perform an interfaith union as well. The same rules apply for same-sex marriages, and a church can choose not to marry same-sex couples.

The President has clarified the difference between the two in explaining his recent statements regarding the acceptance of same-sex marriage. Pointing to the fact that the issue has more to do with the civil marriage aspect than the religious marriage point of view, the President stated that he would report certain religious exemptions when it came to performing same-sex marriage. Given that this issue will likely be one that is discussed frequently during the presidential campaign, many will be following closely to see how it all plays out.

All Religions Look to Eternity with Hope for an Afterlife

The interesting thing about the various religions in the world is that nearly all of them have one thing in common. In some form or another, nearly all of religions preach that there is some form of heaven, and that the followers of that religion should do everything they can to ensure that they do whatever it takes to gain entry to that heaven.

Although there are several different forms of Christianity and each one has qualities that make it unique, one of the things they all share is an absolute certainty that Heaven exists. In Christian religions, Heaven is a metaphysical place where God lives. After death, souls that have lived a good and fair life ascend to Heaven.

The Buddhists are interesting because they don’t believe that Heaven is a permanent place. The Buddhist feels that nothing is eternal. They feel that Heaven is a place where a soul goes temporarily before it is reborn. The Buddhist does believe that while a soul is in Heaven and waiting rebirth, that Heaven is a sensual place.

Like the Buddhist, Hindu’s believe that Heaven is a good place that provides temporary rest for a soul before it is reborn. The Hindus have never spent much time exploring exactly what happens to the soul while it is in heaven. The simply believe that it is a place where the soul prepares for its next life journey.

Individuals who follow the Islamic belief system aspire to reach Jannah. According to Muslim’s Jannah is very similar to the Christian Heaven. They believe that Jannah is a garden where their soul will spend the rest of eternity. Jannah is divided into 8 gates, with the 8th being reserved for the most pure souls. The 8th gate is referred to as Eden.

Keep in mind that as different as one religions heaven is from another’s, the standards for admission are also equally varied.

A Review of “Heaven is 4 Real”

Anyone who is looking for a truly inspiring story needs to sit down with the inspiring memoir Heaven is 4 Real. The story starts out with every parent’s worst nightmare. A little boy is rushed to hospital and immediately is taken for emergency surgery. While doctors work on the boy, his family waits, praying for the boys safety. During the surgery, things get even worse when the boy’s essence slips from his body.

The fact that he managed to come back to life is only one of the aspects that makes the boy, Colton’s, story so wonderful. The really interesting thing is what Colton told people when he finally regained consciousness. Colton reported that he saw his father, who is the local pastor and also the author of the book, praying for his son’s life in the waiting room. Colton than says something even more remarkable. While the doctors struggled to save his life, Colton entered heaven. While he was there, he met his sister, a child that died in a miscarriage and about a man who was his great-grandfather and who died several decades before Colton was born.

In addition to writing about the people he met in heaven, Colton described other things that only one who has reached heaven would know about including the horse that Jesus rides and the throne were God sits.

Heaven is 4 Real is not only a truly remarkable story, but it is also one that is a delight to read. You can literally feel the author’s love and awe of his son with every word. The story is engaging and well crafted. This is a book that you will read from cover to cover in one night, only to repeat the process a week later. Reading this book will restore any faith that you might have lost.