Daily Dose of Hope

March 9, 2026

Scripture: Romans 3

Prayer: Everlasting Father, We thank you that you are a God of hope. You are a God who keeps his promises. You are a God who always has our best interest in mind. Forgive us for those times that we want things to go the way we want things to go. Fill us with your wisdom and discernment. Help us try to think about things from a more eternal perspective. How difficult that is for us! Lord, we submit to you our lives, our families, our jobs, our burdens, our physical bodies. We give them to you and we trust you. In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading. My prayer for each of you is that as we move through this season of Lent, you will make plenty of time to read, interpret, and pray over the Scripture. What is God teaching you through Paul's letters? We have now reached Romans, which I think is fascinating but one of the most difficult of Paul's letters to understand. I would love to hear your thoughts. What is God teaching you? What are you gleaning?

Today's reading is Romans 3. Paul continues to discuss the sinfulness of human beings. No one is righteous, no matter one's religious upbringing (Jew vs. non-Jew), occupation, or station in life; every single person is a sinner. It sounds a bit hopeless but Paul is leading up to something very important. Yes, all people are sinners and all people fall short of God's standard BUT we can be saved through the gift of grace that comes with believing in Jesus Christ. It's pretty incredible really. We are all a broken mess. We are born inclined to sin and this sinfulness creates a barrier between God and us. But Jesus' sacrifice on the cross atoned for our sins.

What in the world does that mean? When Jesus died on the cross, our sins and the sins of all humanity died up there with him. If you think back to the Old Testament sacrificial system, the priests would sacrifice animals to atone for the sins of the people and the community. And the people could not sacrifice their sick and lame animals, only the strong, healthy ones. They needed to feel the sacrifice. And then, the animal's blood was shed to demonstrate that sin has consequences. It wasn't pretty at all but it wasn't supposed to be. Now, Jesus is the final, perfect sacrifice. It was his blood that was shed to atone for the sins of all people, for all time.

Let's go just a little deeper here. As God himself, Jesus was holy and totally without sin. He gave his life to be the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. His death on the cross created a bridge between God and us. No more barrier. If we have said yes to Jesus, then when God looks at us, he doesn't see our sinfulness but rather Jesus' sacrifice. The blood of Jesus essentially covers us or atones for us.

Now, because of Jesus' sacrifice, we are free to walk hand in hand with a holy God. And we did nothing to earn this or deserve it. As Paul writes, it was a gift of grace. Grace is God's unmerited, amazing love that is freely given to all those who believe.

How have you experienced God's grace?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki