Thursday, May 21, 2020

Romans 15-16  As Paul comes to the end of his letter to Rome he offers two prayers in particular that we can and should incorporate into our prayers for one another and for the church:

v 5-6 " And may God, the source of encouragement and patience, give you the same attitude among yourselves as the Messiah Yeshua had, so that with one accord and with one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah." 

v13 "May God, the source of hope, fill you completely with joy and shalom ( peace) as you continue trusting, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may overflow with hope." 

Paul encourages the believers to bear with one another ( v1) and to act in ways that build up each other ( v2).  He wants them to act like Jesus did, in not pleasing themselves, but patiently encouraging one another.

Paul's purpose and plan was to keep sharing the Good News of Jesus no matter what.  He invited the believers in Rome to join him in his "struggle by praying to God" on his behalf.

The final  chapter in Romans is full of greetings to men and women who were his friends, fellow workers in the Gospel, relatives, and other brothers and sisters in Christ.  He had a great love and concern for them all.  He encouraged and prayed for them all.  His example is one that we can follow with assurance that God will be glorified.

Father in heaven, we thank You for the Word that fills us with knowledge and understanding so that we can live in "trust-grounded obedience" - the obedience of faith, to the glory of "the only wise God, through Jesus Christ" Amen.

No comments:

Post a Comment