The Holy Spirit struck me the other day concerning the study of God and all that He is. No, this is not a class, but as I was ingesting God's Word last Sunday, a few key words came to mind which led me to a small devotional as well as a self-examination.
How many of us have interests, hobbies, sports, or other such things that help us get through, well, life? For some, it is their favorite sports team/s and their sport that keeps them going. They will study a player and how they move, pass the ball, and so forth. For others, it is geo-caching where they are carefully reading over instructions to seek out that buried/hidden treasure.
As for me, I am a television show person. Mostly from the 80s and because of time, I am far behind on current television shows. With that said and with some confession, I thoroughly enjoyed and still enjoy many shows from that era such as the Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider, Airwolf, A-Team, Alf, and many, many cartoons.
As a younger adult, I watched and rewatched many of these shows and would discover so many mistakes throughout the episodes. Take for instance the Dukes of Hazzard, aside from reused footage of the jumps, I would notice how many skid marks were on the dirt or asphalt as I saw a car slide to a halt. I began to keep count and discovered that it took at least one, but sometimes as much as five skids before I saw what the director or editor wanted me, the viewer, to see.
I would notice the steam from the actor's breath when they were recording in the early morning hours or see the boom mic in the shadows. Occasionally, I would see the sound stage buildings towering in the background of the Hazzard town set as well.
On Knight Rider, I would catch the indestructible K.I.T.T. dent his fender when driving off of the main road onto a field. Or catch a lapel mic while the actor is driving the car.
Over and over, I found myself studying these and other shows and I am quite sure I'd either make a film company money or break them because of the lack of detail I catch.
With that much passion for man-made entertainment, can we safely ask ourselves do we study God's Word with that much passion? Do we study each word within a verse to understand what God is - present tense -
IS saying to us? Do we casually read it and check off that we've read the Bible in a year? Do we read a chapter or two and claim that we are in God's Word daily?
Take a look at a simple Scripture: Romans 15:13 NKJV
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Now - In context, looking over Romans 15, we would see that the word
Now could be used like therefore, or, and now because of the previous Scriptural references to Glorify God.
Because the people of God, those that praise Him...the Gentiles also have hope, and now...
... may - What is
may? It is a word used to allow, permit, or perhaps in this wording,
may is more likely to invite in this instance.
the God - something that has been lost over the years is the reverence of refering to God with a capital G. The God, the only God who is not only God the creator, God the father, but here He is referred to as
The God of hope. He provides us with an eternal, assured hope. Not a vain hope but a concrete expectation for things to come to include heaven, eternal life, and so on.
Fill - This is a simple word.
Fill but there are many instances and meaning in this word as well. Does it mean to fill to the brim? Does it mean to satisfy? Does it mean supply? In this context,
fill is most likely the best word but emphasized as the fill you full or cram/pack. Who?
You - God is speaking to
you. May the God of hope fill or cram/pack
you full...of what?
With all joy and peace - He wants you to have a fulfilling,
joyful and peace-filled life. Living for Him does this. Living and believing in Him and what His Son, Jesus, did on the cross to wipe away your sins, allows that God of hope to pack you full of
joy and
peace. The
joy from living a free life, the happiness of having a new family, the
joy of being able to go direct to the One that can do miracles and the
peace of knowing all of this and the
peace that you will live eternally free.
in - Though
in is a preposition, in this context, this could be used as a mathematical addition, a + sign or could be swapped for the word while.
believing - Our faith is based upon a blind faith. One that is not seen. Unlike the Apostles who saw Christ and saw Him die and raise to life again, we have a blind faith but it is a faith that comes straight from our soul. While we feel it in ourselves, the Holy Spirit is also felt and leads us through many things and to be filled with rejoicing praise, sometimes when we do not initiate it.
That - this word, typically interchanged with which, is a word that could be phrased as so that or therefore.
You - God continues to speak to
you.
May - Again, this could be changed out with allow or permit. Permitting the next action to occur or be a continuation from the previous. Another word that would work well is will.
Abound - Many words could be used such as thrive, prosper, and overflow, the latter perhaps would be a good equal to this word. God is a God that wants to give us abundantly and, many times, He overflows us with blessings, joy, peace, and so on.
in hope - we see
hope again and like before, it is more of an assured conclusion. It is not a wishful hope but a fulfilling hope.
by the power - self-explanatory but what is this
power? It is a supernatural
power that will be delivered.
of the Holy Spirit - The third in the Triune God. The Helper of Christ, the Spirit of the Living God lives within us and helps us to experience God more than we could ever fathom.
Here is another way to look at the Scripture from our single verse study of God: "Because we glorify God, even as Gentiles, now we invite the God of an assured, eternal expection, to pack you full of overwhelming happiness and an eternal peace with your heart-felt faith so that you may or will overflow in a fulfilling hope delivered by the supernatual power of the Holy Spirit that lives within your soul."
A deep, deep study of God on one verse. The Bible is full of this power, full of wisdom, and we have this in the palm of our hands, hard copy or digitally. I encourage you to study God's Word as much, if not moreso, as you study a tv show, sport, hobby, etc.
