What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 1:13.

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim You, who walk in the light of Your presence, O Lord. Psalm 89:15.

I wanted to share this beautiful paragraph from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers in today’s devotional: “In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.”

And in our chapter, Romans 15, we understand that Paul wrote this letter to the church in Rome but had not yet been there personally. If we but try to imagine what it was like in the decades after Jesus, the Son, ascended to the Father, we can’t help but appreciate the enormity of building up the body of Christ – the followers of Him, who were being taught and formed out of the empty ways of the worlds teachings about God. Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his 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 was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, and I will sing to Your name.” Again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.” And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let the peoples praise Him.” Again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.” Now may the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. v. 1-13. Such beautiful words and we begin to understand what true hope is. And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; but as it is written, “They who had no news of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand.” For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you; but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you whenever I go to Spain – for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while – but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they were indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things. Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain. I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints; so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. v. 14-33.

Paul wrote these letters to help build up understanding and continuity of a people blessed to know they could turn to Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. I googled when Paul’s letters were added to the Bible and in the AI Overview: “Paul’s letters were considered Scripture during his lifetime, as evidenced by the apostle Peter’s reference to them in his own letter (2 Peter 3:15-16). Peter explicitly states that Paul’s writings are “as they do the other Scriptures” and that his words were given with divine wisdom. The process of formally compiling and canonizing the New Testament was a longer one, with the core of the New Testament being largely recognized by the end of the second century.” Can we appreciate and give thanks to each person who was led by God and faithfully shared what the Spirit was leading them to write so we could have this amazing book of Scripture encompassing thousands of years of experiences of mankind? And not to leave so great a wonder to AI, I turned to Peter’s letter and included a bit more than was cited by AI: Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3:14-18. You know, this morning in prayer, God reminded me to be steadfast in looking to Him for answers and understanding…to give to Him my hope and trust and that He will guide my heart to love and wait in patience for all I long for in Him. And I realized how greatly blessed I am to be in this sacred place with Him – of trusting Him and looking to Him for understanding – and His love that will never fail us. Can we be in awe and give glory and praise to Him, our Creator, because this is huge!