"For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." ~ Deuteronomy14:2

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Pleasant Stone Devotional Meditation: February 7

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing..." ~ Romans 15:13
This (now) unmistakable "clear stone" would have been dropped once into my basket of "purple stones" for comfort, or at least into the basket of "green stones" for rejoicing that there is such a God of hope. It could still fit in either place. But I tapped it once lightly as my friend Ellen read it aloud, and it fell open to expose two little words I [Eugenia Price, the author] hadn't even noticed before! Words which "cut right through" to the "how" of experiencing this joy and peace. Perhaps you have read through some of Paul's "letter closings" or "salutations" with as much haste as I. Now and then a phrase will strike into our very hearts or minds, but I confess skipping them too often. But God directed their writing, and we only rob ourselves when we read them hastily. Here in this one is a gleaming facet of secret instruction which exposes the way to receive this peace and joy. "The God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in believing!" In believing. And blessedly Paul, again within the framework of the same sentence, reminds and reassures us that he too knows we can't manage this kind of believing on our own. "The God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." He will give us the power to believe.
"... ye shall receive POWER, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you ..."

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