◄ What Does Romans 15:4 Mean? ►

God is omniscient, and we are not. God is an eternal Being Who is holy and good, and we are fallen, finite people who are born into this world, dead in our sins. But God in His goodness and grace, gave us ways and means to discover much about Who He is: His character; His Tri-unity; His Person; His ultimate plans; and His wonderful purposes for the redemption of mankind. His plans and purposes give us hope: an assured hope; a glorious hope; a blessed hope in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It is the heavens that declare the glory of the Lord, and our consciences which give an inner witness of God's righteous goodness, but it is the Word of God which was written for our learning and encouragement which points the way to salvation. It is the Bible which, step by step, explains His glorious, redemptive purpose for humanity.

It is the witness of the written Word which unveils God's amazing grace, His great mercy, His unconditional love, and His never-failing faithfulness to the children of men. It is the Bible, the Word of the Lord, which encourages us to hope in Him, and provides the only means to salvation.

It is Scripture that gives us the encouragement to press on for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus our Lord so that through patient endurance we might have hope in Him, for Jesus is our blessed Hope; Jesus is our only hope for today and for the future. It is Jesus upon Whom our hope is founded, and God's precious promises are all 'yes' and 'amen' in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How important to read, mark, learn, inwardly digest, and rightly divide the Word of truth, for whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction and our encouragement so that we might have a hope in the Lord. We live in a fallen world where we will always be faced with trials, temptations, difficulties, and dangers, but we patiently endure in the knowledge that Christ died and rose again so that we might be made a new creation in Christ. We have a hope that is founded on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His perfect righteousness, praise His holy name.

Heavenly Father, I praise and thank You for the Word of God and the wonderful truths it contains. As I read the pages of Scripture, You unveil Your gracious character and eternal goodness to me, and You teach me how to live. Help me to live in this fallen world with patient endurance, as I look to Jesus and the glorious hope I have in Him. Praise His holy name, for it is in Him alone that I have such a blessed hope. AMEN.