Three Perspectives for the Week

1.  My 1st Perspective concerns 1 Peter 1:3 which says "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!"

Through a Youversion bible study I was directed to use this verse as a starting point for prayer.  So often we begin our prayers with all our requests for ourselves and others.  Instead, why don't we begin with praising God, righting acknowledging his great mercy?  This will give us a better mindset as we present our needs, desires and requests to God.

2. The most meaningful verse for me lately, also in 1 Peter, is chapter 5: 6-7.  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

As we live out God's will in our lives we are going to have to go through some uncomfortable things.  We have to humble ourselves and trust God's plan for our lives is better than our own.  And whenever we feel weighed down by our daily burdens, we should always  remember that we can cast them on Jesus whenever we choose to.

3. Finally, make sure you are getting into God's Word on a daily basis.  I gained the knowledge for the 1st 2 Perspectives from material I read completing Youversion devotionals on their Bible app. I work on 2 simultaneously because most take only 5 minutes a day. I owe more time to God than that!  For more serious study, check out the Blue Letter Bible, which is loaded with commentaries from many different Christian authors and theologians, along with a helpful concordance.  And of course, there's are the good classic printed Bible along with a devotional book.  Whatever you choose I greatly encourage to discover the wealth of wisdom, encouragement, and comfort found within God's Word.  How else will you find out, as Paul says in Ephesians 3:14-15, "how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God?"

I hope these Perspectives were beneficial to you and I pray you would put them into practice.