Thoughts on Today's Verse

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." 1 Peter 3:18

Thoughts on Today's Verse by Phil Ware

It sounds so simple and straightforward, doesn't it? Kinda like the newspaper headline about someone dying we don't know. Just cold, hard facts! But we know differently.

Underneath this statement of grace lies the broken heart of God, the sacrifice of heaven, the brutality of supposedly religious men, and the searching love of our God who would not abandon us to the cruel "Deathmaster."

For those who knew animal sacrifice, with its high personal cost and animal sacrifices, this verse is more than a headline: it is a "graceline." Once for all — no more sacrifices needed to bring us to God — no more distance can separate us and the holy one, no intermediaries between God and us. Jesus is heaven's open door and God's open heart saying, "Come home; we've been waiting for you."

My Prayer...

What words, O gracious Father, can I use to express my appreciation for your sacrifice and grace? I have none sufficient to say what I feel. But even in this realization, I know the gift of your Spirit ensures that you hear my words and my heart.

Every good and lasting thing I have comes from your grace.

Please receive my undying love and my heartfelt praise for all you are, for all you have done, for all that you will be, and thank you for opening my spiritual eyes to behold your wondrous gift to me. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen.