June 3rd, 25: One Year Bible –– Finding Hope and Encouragement in Scripture: Lessons from Proverbs and Romans

Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible! In today’s episode—June 3rd, 2025—your host Hunter guides us through day 154 of our journey through the Bible. We dive into Proverbs 25-27 and Romans 15, reading from the New Living Translation, and seek God’s wisdom for our lives.

Hunter reflects on the power of scripture, reminding us that the Bible’s purpose is not to be worshipped, but to point us to Jesus—the living Word and the source of hope and encouragement. As we listen, we explore Paul’s call for Christians to grow in harmony, love, and joy—not getting lost in religious disputes, but focusing on a kingdom life marked by peace, patience, and service to others. Hunter leads with heartfelt prayer, encouraging us to be vessels of love and unity in a divided world.

So settle in for another rich time in God’s Word as together we let scripture shape our hearts, our hope, and our journey of faith.

TODAY'S DEVOTION:

The scriptures teach us and give us hope and encouragement. I typically spend a little time at the start of each podcast referencing the role that the scriptures play in our lives. And I do this because there's a danger of Christians worshiping their Bible rather than worshiping God. The Bible is not the savior of the world. Jesus is. And here, Paul gives us a description of some of what the Bible is doing in the life of the Christian.

In Romans, Paul writes, “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us, and the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.” So what is it the Bible is doing? It’s not only teaching us, but igniting in us hope and encouragement as we walk through this life, as we wait for the fullness of what God has promised.

And more specifically, Paul says that God gives this patience and encouragement and helps us live in complete harmony with one another. So it is God—the giver of hope and encouragement—who is working in us through the Scriptures, shaping us to look more like Jesus. The Scriptures, when we approach them with open hearts, direct us to the Living Word, to Christ himself, our source of life.

What was Paul waiting patiently for? If we look back, Paul’s prayer was that the church—those first followers and us today—would come to know that the kingdom of God is not about rules or regulations or arguments over food and drink, but about a life marked by goodness, peace, and joy in the Spirit. The early church was getting lost in religious arguments, and missing the point: they were missing Christ. Paul isn’t discouraged, though. He continues to pray, to point them to the Bible, and so encourages their hearts, that their lives might reflect what the kingdom of God is truly like.

God’s invitation is to something far bigger than religious questions or cultural debates. The kingdom life is an invitation to goodness, to peace, to joy. It’s a life marked by healing, service, and love, even for our enemies. This kingdom life, lived in us and through us, puts Jesus on display. The motivation in this new life isn’t fear; it’s love, because God’s Spirit makes it possible.

So, may we be taught today. May we receive hope and encouragement today. May our vision of God’s kingdom expand, and our patience deepen as we trust that the best is yet to come. My prayer today—for myself, for my family, and for you—is that we would see it, trust it, and live it out with hope, patience, and courage.

May it be so.