August 1, 2023
“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” (Romans 15:13 NLT). The apostle Paul prayed that the Romans would overflow with confident hope. What is this hope and
August 3, 2022
DID PAUL GO TO SPAIN? What we know from Scripture is that Paul did indeed visit Rome, carried there to appear before Caesar under Roman guard. According to the final verses in Acts (Acts 28:30-31), Paul was held under house arrest in Rome for two years awaiting trial, yet had great freedom to preach and
August 2, 2022
DO YOU KNOW THE BLESSINGS OF FELLOWSHIP? As the apostle Paul concluded his epistle to the Romans, he expressed his great desire to come and visit with them. He didn’t know when he would be able to come to Rome. He hoped to one day carry the gospel to Spain and stop off at Rome
August 1, 2022
THE OLD TESTAMENT IS FOR OUR INSTRUCTION AND HOPE The apostle Paul declared that the Old Testament was written for our instruction and hope. Although as Christians we live under the New Covenant of grace and are not under the authority of the Old Covenant law, we are still encouraged to learn and be encouraged
August 1, 2021
DO YOU HAVE OVERFLOWING HOPE? What is this “overflowing hope” and how can we obtain it? It is Christian hope. This is different from the hope we express as a wish. When we say, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow,” we are expressing a wish without any promise of fulfillment. But Christian hope is like
August 2, 2020
DO YOU KNOW THE FULLNESS OF GOSPEL BLESSING? As the apostle Paul concluded his epistle to the Romans, he expressed his great desire to come and visit with them. He didn’t know when he would be able to come to Rome. He hoped to one day carry the gospel to Spain and stop off at
August 1, 2019
DO YOU HAVE CONFIDENT HOPE? What is this “confident hope” and how can we obtain it? Confident hope is Christian hope. This is different from the hope we express as a wish. When we say, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow,” we are expressing a wish without any promise of fulfillment. But Christian hope is
August 3, 2018
DID PAUL GO TO SPAIN?
What we know from Scripture is that Paul did indeed visit Rome, carried there to appear before Caesar under Roman guard. According to the final verses in Acts (Acts 28:30-31), Paul was held under house arrest in Rome for two years awaiting trial, yet had great freedom to preach and teach about Jesus while there. But Scripture is silent on what happened next.
From the writings of early church fathers such as Clement, who wrote around 95 AD, Paul was apparently released after two years in Rome and was able to journey to Spain before being brought back to Rome and being beheaded by Nero around the year 67 AD. While there is little certainty about whether Paul was able to carry the gospel to Spain, the fact that Clement’s writings are only 30 years afterwards lends credence to the possibility.
I like to think that the Lord allowed Paul to take one more journey to a place where the gospel had not yet been heard before completing his earthly journey. At any rate, I am moved by the passion the Spirit had given Paul to obey the Great Commission and to make disciples of all nations.
August 1, 2018
CONFIDENT HOPE FILLED WITH JOY AND PEACE
This hope for which Paul prays is not the stuff of wishes and wants, but of sterner stuff, made sure by the Lord Himself. It is hope that rejoices as it looks forward with confidence to an eternal future with Christ. This hope is like a rope, anchored on one end by the truth of Christ’s resurrection and passing beyond the veil to be anchored in the promise of Christ’s sure return. Those who trust in Christ overflow with this confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Do you know this confident hope today?
August 1, 2016
Scripture contains two streams. One stream flows tortuous and muddy through a valley, filled with real stories of human sin, violence and judgment. Seeing its filthy flow, we are overwhelmed and often disgusted. We wonder why a loving God would allow for such. Why would this stream of stories even be in the Bible? The second stream falls down from the mountains cool and clean, it sparkles in the sun as it gushes down rocky heights with revelations of God’s righteousness, forgiveness and love. Observing this dangerous torrent and hearing its mighty roar, we are filled with a fearful longing. We have a deep desire to dive into its crystal clear depths, yet one inward glance at our fragile fallen selves reminds us that we would be destroyed beneath its crashing flow. Then, as we follow the two streams passing from the Old Testament to the New, we see them converge. The two streams of Scripture crash together at the cross of Christ. We finally understand. Seen through the lens of the cross it all makes sense. Our sin and God’s righteousness collide in Christ. He took our sin, separation and death, that we might have His righteousness, sonship and life. The two streams of Scripture were written for our “instruction,” both for our endurance and encouragement, that we might have hope in Christ.