1 Cor 15:50 (NIV) I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Jesus, make it clear to me that I can’t take my current human body into God’s Kingdom; I must be born again so I can receive an eternal body. Teach me that the reason I HAD to be born again was because I didn’t have the right kind of spirit and body needed for God’s Kingdom. 2 Cor 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Show me that it would take volumes of books trying to explain what that one verse means. Me becoming a new creation has so much meaning that it would take my entire lifetime to have it all explained to me.

1 Cor 15:51 (NIV) Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- Jesus, help me understand that not all humans will die before You come to get us. If You come while I am still alive, first those who have already died will be caught up to meet You in the air. Then I would be caught up to join You right after that. But, help me see that the big issue here is, both those who have already died and those who are still living will have their human bodies changed into glorified bodies.

1 Cor 15:51b-52a (NIV) 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. Jesus, teach me that there will be a trumpet blast and I, as a child of God, will immediately be taken up into the air to meet You. As I am ascending upward toward You, my body will be changed into an eternal, imperishable body. Help me see that my body will change from its current condition and type into a very beautiful, powerful, and eternal body like Your heavenly body. My body won’t be as beautiful, powerful, or look exactly like Your body; but, it will be very similar.

1 Cor 15:53 (NIV) For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. Jesus, make it clear to me that because I have been born as a human and then born again, I have been made a child of God, a member of His family, and a citizen of His Kingdom. Show me that this qualifies me to receive a new, eternal, heavenly body to wear. Help me see that I must be born as a human in order to qualify for being born again as a child of God. Teach me that those beings who are not born as humans do not qualify for this opportunity. I must have had a human body so it can be transformed into a spiritual, heavenly body.

1 Cor 15:37 (NIV) When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as He has determined, and to each kind of seed He gives its own body. Jesus, teach me that just like a tomato seed looks very different from the tomato plant or its produce, this is the way my earthly, human body is. Teach me that my human body looks more like a tomato seed; but, once planted, it will grow or be changed into a new body. It will be as different as a tomato seed is to a tomato bush.

1 Cor 15:41 (NIV) The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. Jesus, help me understand that just like there are different kinds of heavenly bodies like the sun, moon, and stars, I, as a human, will have a heavenly, eternal body waiting for me. Help me see that what God is going to do is use my human body like a seed. He will transform it into a heavenly body that will be very different from my human body.

1 Cor 15:42 (NIV) So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; Jesus, help me understand that my body that is put in the grave or goes back to being decayed will be like planting a seed. It will be planted back into dirt as a perishable body and will grow or raise imperishable; my new body will be eternal. Make it very clear to me that the spiritual growth I have been allowing You to help me with, is being invested in the eternal life I will live in my imperishable body. Show me that investing in a perishable body with things that don’t count for eternity is foolish. Help me see that learning how to live my temporary life in such a way for it to count for eternity is very wise.

1 Cor 15:43 (NIV) it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; Jesus, teach me that no matter how great, successful, or popular I get, if it isn’t for helping people see the glory of God, it will be for dishonor. Teach me that my job in my temporary body is to help people see that You are their way, their truth, and their life (John 14:6). If I spend my temporary life pointing people to You and to Your glory rather than pointing them to me, I will be raised with a body of glory. If I allow myself to be weak so You can be my strength, then my weak body will be raised in power.

1 Cor 15:44 (NIV) it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Jesus, make it clear to me that if God was able to produce a human body for me, He will be able to produce a spiritual body for me. Before I was born, you didn’t have an earthly body; I didn’t know about human life; I didn’t have any of the things I now have; God provided them all. Help me see that if He did all this for me, He will do all the things He is telling me He will provide. Help me look at what He has given me so far; and, let it help me have hope for my future.