Verse of the Day 1/22

Through the Bible - Isaiah 3-4, Mark 1:22-45

 

Good morning,

Most of you know our son Jeffrey suffered a TBI in an accident when he was 16.  He is now 28, is still disabled, but has the most joy of anyone I know.  He coined a phrase that I'll cherish as long as I live, saying, "hope is my favorite thing to have".

For today's verse we'll go to a verse and passage that tell us where we can find this kind of hope.

 

Romans 15:4 (Amplified Bible)  For whatever was thus written in former days was written for our instruction, that by [our steadfast and patient] endurance and the encouragement [drawn] from the Scriptures we might hold fast to and cherish hope.

Paul says here that the scriptures, the Bible was written that we might hold fast and cherish this hope.

 

Regarding this hope in verse 4, John Piper writes, " it's one of the most important verses in the Bible about the role of the Bible in your life. He says, in effect, all right, I have quoted Scripture to illustrate the love of Christ. You think that strange? Well, I can tell you do! So I will pause here, in the middle of my exhortation about what love looks like between the weak and the strong, and tell you why I argue like this. I will tell you why I saturate my Scripture with Scripture. Here it is. This is Paul's explicit statement that the Scriptures are for awakening and sustaining hope which sustains joy which sustains endurance which sustains love.

 

He says, "For [that word "for" signals that he is giving the basis for why he just quoted the Scriptures] whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." Now this is even more astonishing than the fact that Paul quoted Scripture to illustrate the love of Christ. Here it says something so sweeping about the Old Testament that it should set you to reading your Bible vigilantly all year long. He says, all of it—all of it—is written to waken and sustain your hope."

 

Piper continues, " This is especially needed at times of great pleasure when you are tempted to hope in this world, and times of great suffering when you are tempted to think that God's sovereignty is not believable, and therefore the ground of your hope is gone. Reading your Bible has great hope-preserving power at times like these." http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/use-the-inspired-scriptures-to-rejoice-in-hope

 

Do you need hope today?  Find it in God's Word, read it, memorize it, prayerfully.

Read these few lines from Fanny Crosby's hymn "Praise Him, Praise Him" as you prepare to worship this weekend.

 

Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.

Blessings,
Mike

mikevw@bellsouth.net
mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Romans 15:1-4 (English Standard Version)

The Example of Christ

 ¹ We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ² Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." ⁴For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.