Almighty God, thank you for the gifts of your grace, Spirit, forgiveness and life. Most of all, thanks for the gift of you Son, who brought life and immortality to me through your salvation. While I have no great desire to die, I know I can look through death to you and your victory in me through Jesus. Please give me the courage to live for you every day until that day you take me home. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

1 Peter 3:18 Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit. Thoughts on today's verse Having stood over the open graves of friends, family members, and strangers, I know the appearance and feel of death's finality and our human frailty. But Christ's death is that great reminder that death is a matter of perspective and faith. I believe God raised Jesus from the dead and that he is the first fruits of those of us who believe in him. He is alive, not just in Spirit, but in bodily form and so we will also be!