May The God Of Hope Fill You With All Peace And Joy, As You Trust In Him

ROMANS 15:1-13
“We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.” And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!” And again: “Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!” And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.” Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
”‭‭Romans‬ ‭15:1-13‬ ‭NKJV‬
‬https://www.bible.com/114/rom.15.1-13.nkj

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Ministering and correction must always be for the purpose of edification; to instruct someone in a way that enlightens, or lifts them up, morally, intellectually, and spiritually.
That is not to say one should only say what pleases people or hold back from discipline, but rather it means your actions as far as it depends on you, bring out goodness and truth that will eventually result in positive change according to the Lordship of Christ.
The truth is, ministering and discipline must be Spirit led and not from the flesh or as a result of one’s offence or personal agendas.
It’s particularly difficult when ministering or bringing discipline to a loved one, especially one’s spouse, because they may feel controlled or manipulated, even though the words are Spirit led.
The truth is, when discipline comes we must discern according to the facts rather than what our emotions tell us.
The truth can be painful, but we must not allow that pain to respond with anger, rebellion, rage, or offence. Emotions are not designed to bring discernment, yet they can very quickly influence our thoughts and actions and take us the wrong way.
Paul tells us, “take every thought captive and bring them to the obedience of Christ (2 CORINTHIANS 10:5). In other words, don’t allow your emotions to run away with themselves, whispering negative thoughts either toward yourself or others.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:19-20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
Knowledge of the Scriptures with understanding has an effect on our attitudes toward the present and the future. The more we understand about what God had done in the past, the greater our confidence is in Him with the future, what He will do in the days ahead.
We must make every effort to diligently study God’s word that we have confidence in Christ Jesus, that God’s way is always best for us without becoming religious.
The Roman church as is the church today, was made up of Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, rich and poor, strong and weak, so it was difficult for everyone to get along.
To receive or accept one another means opening up our homes to one another, sharing meals and activities, and not allowing any kind of racial or economic discrimination to creep in.
It means to love one another, respecting that others may have different opinions to ours, and therefore, must graciously agree to disagree at times.
Regardless of what we think we know, we all get it wrong at times, but if we pursue peace, unity will come. “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭14‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
We must make every effort to avoid favouritism; consciously greeting those we don’t usually speak to, minimising our differences, and seeking common ground for fellowship. In this way, you receive others as Christ received you.
This attitude toward one another opens up doors to study together, pray for one another, and to join together in worship. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
Paul, throughout the book of Romans, emphasised that believers faith must have an impact on their behaviour. The truth of Christ’ teachings must propel people into living out the Christian faith before the world in ways that bring praise and glory to God.
He is a living God and not limited to His Word or our understanding of it.
But we must test and approve everything, testing the spirits, the source of the word (1 JOHN 4:1), and don’t limit God by our own understanding.
My beloved, ask yourself before you reject it, does it fall in line with Scripture? Being mindful that God can and is starting a new thing.
Ask the Holy Spirit for discernment and never be too quick to reject discipline, “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:6-11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
My be beloved, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
‭‭All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.