2 Words That Can Move You To Tears

I love to wake up early on Saturday mornings and read with a great cup of coffee. I am often walking around my apartment sifting through which book I want to dive into the next morning. Last night I was convicted that I just don’t dive enough into the right book – the Bible.

So this morning after I made my coffee I sat down with my Bible and prayed this, “Lord, remove anything from my eyes, ears, heart, and mind that would prevent me from seeing You for who You really are and what your Word says.” This morning the Lord did just that. All the sudden I was reading Scripture and after some time of just crawling through verses, these two words helped bring to light how I better read the text.

[Indicatives] – what God has done.

[Imperatives] – what you should do.

Many of you have probably heard this words, may even know what they mean. I would include myself in those two categories. However, have you let these two words impact how you read Scripture? If so, then you know that after a while, as Pastor Paul Vroom often says, Scripture starts to read you. Let’s use my reading for the morning – 1 Peter 2: 1-25 (focusing on 13-25)

  • Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. [Imperative]
  • For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. [Imperative]
  • Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. [Imperative]
  • Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. [Imperative]
  • Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. [Imperative]

  • For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. [Indicative]
  • He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. [Indicative]
  • When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. [Indicative]
  • He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. [Indicative]

A long list, but I hope you are seeing the point. After reading the above imperatives, the things I am supposed to do, the indicatives, the things God has done, become sweeter, richer, more powerful, and ultimately helps God get the glory He deserves from you reading. This helped move me to tears this morning through reading Scripture like this, I pray it would do the same for you.

If I am not communicating this clearly, read this article that helped me. Try it for yourself. Read Ephesians 1-3, 4-6. Read Romans 1-11, 12-16.

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