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(Wis.3:1-9;\xa0\xa0 Ps.23:1-6;\xa0\xa0 1Cor.15:51-57;\xa0\xa0 Jn.6:37-40 Note: there are any number of readings possible for this day) \xa0 \u201cThe souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.\u201d \xa0 Is this not what it means to be a Christian?\xa0 To have faith in the resurrection from the dead.\xa0 To believe that after our time of trial there shall be peace, that we shall be refined by the hand of God to stand in His presence, to share in His kingship.\xa0 \u201cGrace and mercy are with His holy ones, and His care is with His elect.\u201d\xa0 This is our faith. \u201cThe Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.\u201d\xa0 And so we have no fear.\xa0 The Lord watches over us and guides our path, and in His blessing we take refuge, knowing we shall come to be with Him, knowing He is with us even this day, knowing even death we shall conquer in His Name.\xa0 \u201cI shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.\u201d\xa0 Nothing shall remove us from His presence.\xa0 \u201cWe shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed.\u201d\xa0 Indeed, though all die, all shall come to life.\xa0 None can remain as they are; all must be changed.\xa0 All that is mortal must take on immortality, and in this immortality, in this incorruptibility we gain, death is swallowed up \u2013 it is no more.\xa0 \u201cThanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d\xa0 It is an eternal victory. \u201cEverything that the Father gives me will come to me.\u201d\xa0 It cannot be that the Father\u2019s will not be done.\xa0 Jesus awaits us with open arms.\xa0 He has gone before us, He has prepared a place for us, and we must but come to Him as drawn by the will of the Father.\xa0 \u201cEveryone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I shall raise Him up on the last day.\u201d\xa0 Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ! Death is not our realm, brothers and sisters.\xa0 Though it comes to us all, it is but a passageway into Heaven, it is but the Lord\u2019s means of preparing us for the kingdom.\xa0 And so, whether we experience it today or tomorrow or yesterday is of no consequence.\xa0 It is there.\xa0 It shall come to us all.\xa0 But all who believe are preserved from its clutches and drawn into the life the Father offers.\xa0 Let us pray this day for all holy souls to come by the Son into the hands of the Father. \xa0 Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney. \xa0 Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission. \xa0 ******* O LORD, help us find victory over death in Jesus, your Son, and so come to dwell with you forever.\xa0 YHWH, though we walk through the dark valley, we fear no evil \u2013 for you are at our side.\xa0 Though death close its mouth upon us, we remain courageous, for your Son has given us victory over sin and death by His sacrifice on the Cross; and as we take refuge in Him, we are raised to dwell with you in eternal life.\xa0 Let all souls be raised to your side with Him! Where in this world can we turn where there is not sin, where there is not darkness, where there is not death?\xa0 O LORD, it is so, that this world is clothed with corruption, with mortality.\xa0 All is now doomed to die for the sin that besets Creation.\xa0 But where does the grace of your Son not penetrate?\xa0 To whom would He not bring new life?\xa0 And what need we but faith in Him to find that life dwelling in us even this day? Soon the end will come \u2013 the end of sin and the end of death.\xa0 Let us not die with death, LORD, but find the victory you desire to impart to all souls through your Son.\xa0 May your goodness and kindness follow us all our days and lead us to your eternal kingdom.\xa0 May all who have died be at your side.