God's Verb-age

Ok- read the word today and took notes about what I read, looked up the meanings of words in Strong’s Concordance and tried to be “studious’ and I did learn stuff, but it all seemed so cerebral, and stifled. 


Has reading the Bible ever felt like this to you? Sometimes we just don’t get it, so we have to stop and read the word in a new way. This is where learning, knowing, and understanding parts of speech help me.

O I hope I haven’t lost all of you now. Bear with me. Here is a quick chart to help….hopefully.

Parts of Speech	What it does/means in a sentence
NOUN	PERSON, PLACE, OR THING
PRONOUN	TAKES PLACE OF A NOUN IN A SENTENCE Example: I, me, we, they, us…etc.
VERB	A WORD THAT DESCRIBES AN ACTION, (run)  or A STATE, (freeze)
ADVERB	WORDS THAT DESCRIBE OTHER WORDS Some end with 'ly', and they can modify or change the emphasis of the action words in a sentence.
ADJECTIVE	WORDS THAT  DESCRIBE OTHER WORDS These words modify or change the emphasis of nouns in a sentence. Example: the good Shepard, the wise men

 Once you learn how every one of these types of words work, you can read the verse with renewed insight, seeing how it flows and what it says. What is God’s main point of this verse/ how does it apply to me?  I will show you what I mean with a few verses from my reading today.

Ephesians 1- KJV       

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Now take those bold words and condense what you read. It looks like this:

God hath blessed us before the foundation of the world; we should be holy- without blame- in love.  Having predestinated us unto the adoption by Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will: praise – glory! His grace hath made us accepted beloved.

I am not advocating this all the time, but sometimes this brings a new perspective to the verse, honing the focus and zeroing in on the heart of the matter more quickly.

 Stay on Target!

Now we can look up these words in Strong’s Concordance and get a better understanding of the original Greek. Then we can begin to ask what does this mean to me? What is the Father saying to me here? Sometimes I also write down other scriptures or stories from the Bible that this passage reminds me of. This helps me decide if what I am seeing is bearing out (in agreement with) the rest of the word. We are supposed to ‘rightly divide the word of truth’ and one scripture by itself can never be the only basis for a doctrine.

So this is what I got out of these verses.

 First, God opened up heaven and poured out his love freely (John 3:16) to us through Jesus and what He gave on the cross. Secondly, God did this because he chose me to be in relationship with Him before the foundations of the earth (2 Thes 2:13). He has called us to live separate, (Romans 12:2) holy, without blame, constantly before his presence (Ps 95:6) and serving the body of Christ. (Galatians 5:13) He knew that he would claim us as HIS! (If you have no family, or are estranged from them you know how miraculous this is!) This adoption was legally binding and irreversible. And He did it because it made him happy to do so. (Romans 8:29-30)

Because we are now HIS, with the promise now in our hearts, we praise (promise with our lips) and glorify God. And God is faithful to bring us joy, sweetness, charm, loveliness, and goodwill by HIS GRACE. (Phil 4:8, Galatians 5:22-23) He makes us ACCEPTED (redesigns us to be graceful, loving, charming, and honors us with blessings) (Romans 12:1-3, Ps 16:9) so we can minister to other people God loves (John 3:16) (the ones we welcome, entertain, and have fond affection for) so HE can take pleasure in us as we are content in him. (Duet 10:15)

Wow! That is just a few verses from Ephesians, but it speaks whole volumes. In fact, it shows God’s love for us so perfectly that if that were the only gospel you were ever to hear; it would be enough to cling to forever!

Be blessed and be a blessing. Remember that focus is both a noun and a verb; it all depends on how you use it. 

Relationship is key!

Abundance 

There is no lack when it comes to God’s love for you and I. 

When we feel like we have sinned so much that there is no way we could be forgiven, He forgives. When we have walked away from Him so many times, His arms are open for us to return to. When we are afraid to ask our Father for something He wants us to ask, to seek, to knock the door down, asking…

Psalms 51:1 says “have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.”

Limitless 

There are no limits on God’s love because He is limitless. So when David cried out ‘according to thy loving-kindness’ he knew that God’s love and mercy would overshadow the sin he was asking forgiveness for. David understood relationship with God is not about what we can DO as much as the motives and the intent of our hearts.


That is why in the same chapter, verses 10 through 12 says

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit."  


We have all made mistakes in this life, and no one is perfect. “…there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Ps 14:3, Ps 53:3, Romans 3:12)

Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”.

That is why we all need a Savior. 

Relationship is the key. 

Do you have a relationship with God? Deuteronomy 4:29 says “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And Acts 2:21 says “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Cry out to God and He will save you. You will never be the same and you will never be alone.

You may or may not know what to say. Here is a prayer you can pray:

Lord, I know I am not perfect. I have sinned. Forgive me. Cleanse me. Jesus, come into my life. I want to serve you forever. Be my Lord and Savior. Amen. 

If you prayed this, welcome to the Kingdom of God! You now have many brothers and sisters in Christ, and a relationship with a Father who loves you no matter what! Now, tell me if you prayed this prayer. There is a link over to the side that you can click, or leave a comment below. I want to encourage you and pray for you as you begin this new life.

Be blessed and be a blessing and remember that repent is a verb, relationship is a noun.

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