Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.

Romans 15, 8 through 13. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised, to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. As it is written, Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing your name.

And again it is said, Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people. And again, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol Him. And again Isaiah says, The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles.

In him will the Gentiles hope. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope. Welcome to the Bridgeway Christian Church Daily Advent Devotional for Wednesday, December 4th, 2024.

My name is Courtney Landry, and I serve as the Communications Associate at Bridgeway. Today, I'm going to talk about hope for others. Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites are given hope through God's leadership and guidance.

With Abraham, Isaac, David, and too many mortalists here, these leaders gave others hope to continue with the plan the Lord had placed ahead of them, the plan that culminated in Jesus' appearance on earth. The Jews were called to be a blessing to the nations, an example of God's faithfulness and leadership. In this passage in Romans, Paul cites examples from the Old Testament that foretold the inclusion of the Gentiles, speaking of them as if they too were children of God, even though at this point many of the Jewish people did not feel the same way.

The Gentiles were not part of the Jewish nation, they were other, and the Israelites were set apart. Over many, many years, the Lord laid the path and the vision to give everyone the opportunity to be one of his children. Having been grafted into his chosen people, the Old Testament calling to be a blessing to all nations now applies to us as well.

We are no longer considered others, but we are called to seek out others and bring the grace of our Lord to them. We're called to invite all others into the hope we have received through salvation with Christ, the hope that was created in this season of Advent many years ago when our Lord sent his Son to earth. I encourage you today to pray for those you see as other, or that may feel other themselves.

Pray that they feel the hope that Christ offers to all of us. As Romans 15, 13 says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.

 Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.