In my morning Bible Study on Saturday, I found myself adding ADJECTIVES to many of the descriptive words that the various scribes had used in the verses I was studying… and the more I wrote in my notes, the more personal and exciting God’s promises became to me!
At one point I
had to pause as I remembered the way my wife’s voice would change whenever she preached
and/or taught the word. I know that I
have mentioned this before… but it’s worth a reminder.
As the
anointing came over her during her sermon, she would become visibly more and
more enthusiastic over the Word that she was sharing… and with her contagious
smile and innocent demeanor… the congregation would almost always flow in sync
with her. Her voice would continue to raise
in octaves until the congregation was literally on the edge of their seats,
being totally caught up with every word, every example and every funny
antidote she threw in to make her point hit home. And everyone in that room knew that she
was not only sincere, but also a living, breathing successful example of what
she was saying.
Well… that
memory definitely brought a warm smile to my face… but then, I had to
sit back in my chair… as I had an inspired thought… ‘You know… I bet Paul
was the same way when he dictated his letters to the congregations in the
developmental years of the early church.’ Can’t you just see him getting more and more
excited, his voice getting higher and his speech getting faster and faster as
the Holy Spirit came upon him… and the scribe sitting at the table with him… struggling
to keep up with him and not wanting to miss a single word! I can’t wait to interview the scribes
when I get up to heaven!
But Paul wasn’t
the only one! As I began to study how
Paul piled on the ADJECTIVES to his letters when describing the
goodness of God, I also discovered that most of the other New Testament writers
do the same thing. They may not use
multiple ADJECTIVES to make a point, but they definitely used
very descriptive words that help to bring the reader (ie;
you and me) to a place
beyond the natural boundaries of our thought, expectations and faith.
One of my first
and favorite examples comes from Jesus Himself when he made the bold
declaration to the crowds in John 10:10 saying,
“The thief (ie; the devil) cometh
not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might
have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (KJV)
Notice that He
didn’t just leave it at “ABUNDANTLY” but specifically said “MORE ABUNDANTLY!” And
this is a great example of why I like to look at various translations of the
Bible when I study the Word. The
original Greek and Hebrew words of the Bible are thick with layers of meaning
that doesn’t always fully come out with a single English word. So, similar to the Amplified Bible which “AMPLIFIES”
the traditional translations by including more words that give the reader a greater
understanding to the depth of what the writer was trying to get across… Many of
the modern translations will also use multiple common place words to best
relate the full meaning and emotion of the points
being made.
For instance,
The Passion Translation tends to ignite a spark of enthusiasm, excitement
and wonder into what Jesus really wants us to understand in John 10:10
and apply to our lives, saying,
“A thief has only one thing
in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything
in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until
you overflow!”
WOW!
I read that translation and fireworks go off inside of me! My mind immediately brings me to Hebrews 11:1
in the God’s Word Translation where the writer teaches us that,
“Faith assures us of things
we expect…”
So, I put two
and two together and realize that if “Faith assures us of things we EXPECT…” and Jesus tells us that He has come to
give us “everything in abundance, MORE THAN YOU EXPECT,…” then, I’m going to start EXPECTING
more and bigger things so that I don’t allow my meager EXPECTATIONS
to limit the hand of Jesus operating in my life! Wouldn’t you agree? WOW! Isn’t God and His Word good!
And… that is what can happen everyday as we give
Jesus and His Word a door into our lives.
To me… It’s like living my Christian walk within the descriptive
ADJECTIVES that the writers have given us in order to spark our
faith to a brighter level on a regular basis.
And… these descriptive ADJECTIVES are
found throughout the pages of your New Testament! For example, take a look at,
Luke 6:38
Ephesians
3:20
I Timothy
1:14
Philippians
4:7 & 19
Ephesians
1:19-21
Romans
5:17
Ephesians
1:28
I Peter
1:3
These aren’t in
any order, I just listed them as I thought of them and they are only a small
example of the verses that accentuate the GOODNESS of God in a
variety of subjects.
As I was
completing my Bible Study hour this morning, I had an inkling to check out Acts
10:38 before I left my desk. I pulled it
up on my Bible Study program and looked at numerous translations until The
Message Paraphrase put another “WOW!” on my lips. Here Peter was telling a group of believers
about Jesus and stated’
“Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, READY
FOR ACTION. He went through the country helping people and
healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this
because God was with him.”
There is a lot
in this verse, but in order to stay on subject I’ll just point out what caught
my attention this morning. Peter told
his listeners of how Jesus came from Nazareth, was anointed with the Holy
Spirit and was “READY FOR ACTION!”
And my very first thought as I read this part of the verse
was,
“Am I READY FOR
ACTION when I walk out the door each morning? Am I ready and fired up, confident and PASSIONATE
about my faith in Jesus Christ and the TRUTH of His Word?”
I’d like to
think I am… BUT I would be amiss if I don’t admit the times I’ve
kept my head down when I’ve stepped out of my apartment for my early morning
walk… simply because I’m not feeling really sociable at the moment! Can I catch an AMEN from any
other honest individual?
Are you READY
FOR ACTION when you step out of your front door each day?
Now, I can
understand that their may be various personal and outlying situations that may
cause us to not always be at the top of our game… BUT… might I humbly
suggest a few moments of your busy mornings spent in fellowship with the Lord
in your Bibles (and maybe a couple of different translations*) while you
pump your faith up with the Biblical ADJECTIVES that infuse us
with the EXCITEMENT, EXPECTATIONS and POWER
of the Goodness of God for each and every area of our lives!
And after a
few days of this… I bet
you’ll soon find yourselves READY FOR ACTION!
Have a great
week!
*There are many
FREE Bible Study programs online that you can download to your
computer &/or phone. My
personal favorite is e-SWORD - https://e-sword.net/
I learned about
it in Bible College and have used it daily ever since! Most of the major Bible translations and
study guides can be added for free, but there are some that you can purchase
for a nominal price (which I’ve done over the years)!
