Written ~ 12-31-2023
Romans 15:7-13
7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. 8 Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises He made to their ancestors. 9 He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for His mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:
“For this, I will praise You among the Gentiles;
I will sing praises to Your Name.” (Ps. 18:49)
10 And in another place it is written,
“Rejoice with His people,
you Gentiles.” (Deut. 32:43)
11 And yet again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles.
Praise Him, all you people of the earth.” (Ps. 117:1)
12 And in another place Isaiah said,
“The heir to David’s throne will come,
and He will rule over the Gentiles.
They will place their hope on Him.” (Isa. 11:10)
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
This Bible Study is written on the last day of 2023. This whole year has been a wonderful adventure pouring over the Scriptures and today’s reading is perfect for the culmination of this entire year.
Jesus came to serve the Jews, “BUT HE ALSO came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for His mercies to them.” Why is that so significant for us today?Jesus came to the Jews so they would believe He was the Son of God, and the Messiah they had been waiting for, for a very long time. But many of them turned away, many would not believe in who He was. Though God would continue to pursue His chosen people, the Jews, Jesus turned His attention to the Gentiles as well. Jesus accepted everyone into His presence and showed them who He was. Gentiles could now rejoice in the coming of the Lord and accept who He was. What is a Gentile you might ask? A Gentile is anyone who was not of Jewish decent, it would be someone who did not worship God, more than likely it meant they worshiped some sort of idol or pagan god. But Jesus, with His light shining brightly for all to see, reached out His hands to all of mankind, Jew and Gentile alike.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah has given everyone a way to receive the gift of eternal life and that is something to rejoice in!
Romans 15:13,
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, as we prepare to end one year and start a new year, let’s fill our hearts with HOPE, JOY and PEACE knowing we can be confident and trust in the Lord with all our hearts, minds and souls. Verse 15:13 is my prayer for each of you reading these words, it’s my prayer for my family and my friends.
“May God FILL you COMPLETELY with HOPE!”
“May God FILL you COMPLETELY with JOY!”
“May God FILL you COMPLETELY with PEACE!”
“TRUST in HIM!”
And what will happen then?
“…you WILL OVERFLOW with CONFIDENT HOPE through the POWER of the Holy Spirit!”
We may not know what this new year will bring, but if we keep our eyes on Jesus, He will be right there beside each of us and help get us through anything that comes our way. Keep your heads held high, be confident in the Lord and seek the power of the Holy Spirit over your entire life.
Encourage one another, seek harmony with one another, in one voice, give praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! (Romans 15:5-6)
~AMEN~