Read Romans 15:4-13
4Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach
us, in order that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement
which the Scriptures give us. 5And may God, the source of patience
and encouragement, enable you to have the same point of view among yourselves
by following the example of Christ Jesus, 6so that all of you
together may praise with one voice the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Accept one another, then, for the
glory of God, as Christ has accepted you. 8For I tell you that
Christ’s life of service was on behalf of the Jews, to show that God is
faithful, to make his promises to their ancestors come true, 9and
to enable even the Gentiles to praise God for his mercy. As the scripture says:
“And so I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing praises to you.”
10Again it says,
“Rejoice, Gentiles, with God’s people!”
11And again,
“Praise the Lord, all Gentiles;
praise him, all peoples!”
12And again, Isaiah says,
“A descendant of Jesse will appear;
he will come to rule the Gentiles,
and they will put their hope in him.”
13 May God, the source of hope, fill
you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope
will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit. [1]
Think
“Everything
written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have
hope through the patience and encouragement which the Scriptures give us” (Vs 4).
The scriptures that Paul refers to are the Old Testament. The unfolding story of God’s activity in
history and creation. By looking at that
history, Paul invites us to ‘have hope’ (together with patience.)
Pray
Lord, sometimes I lose hope.
Things are just so overwhelming; but when I think of what you have done
in the past over the centuries – I realize that you are always at work. Fill me with hope; with patience, and the
means to endure.
Amen.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment