Praise to God for a Living Hope

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Peter 1:3-9

Questions for Reflection:

What is your current reality? How does holding on to the deeper truth found in Jesus Christ prepare you to face that reality and give you a hope beyond your circumstances?

What ways do you find helpful to align with that deeper truth?

Prayer of the Week:

Holy and Victorious Trinity - Father, Son, Holy Spirit- I come to you now to be restored in You to be renewed in You to receive your love and Your Life and all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I love You, I worship You, I trust You and I give myself over to You in my heart’s search for Life. I renounce all other gods and idols and give myself totally and completely to You. You are my HOPE for Life today and for Life everlasting.

Father, I ask for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that I might know You better. I want to know You, Father, deeply and wholly. I pray also that the eyes my heart may be enlightened so that I might know, really know, the HOPE to which You have called me and that I might know the riches of the inheritance You have in store for me and all my brothers and sisters in Christ. I want to live as a person of HOPE.

Jesus, I desire HOPE in You to be the difference maker in how I live this day. HOPE in You lifts my eyes from the downward draw of this worlds priorities to the upward gaze of life in Your presence. I want to live in this world Jesus

but not of this world. Jesus, I believe You have given me a new birth into a Living HOPE through Your resurrection from the dead. I now receive afresh today this new birth, new life and resurrection HOPE - purchased by You and given to me.

Holy Spirit, I open the eyes of my heart to You asking you to pour Your love into my heart and pour resurrection Life into every crack and crevice of my living. I pray that You, the God of HOPE, fill me with all joy and peace as I trust in You that I might overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen