Thoughts were coursing through my mind this morning. I came upon a Word that sort of confused me a bit. The word is “Profound.” How strange is this? Being a writer, words are my stock and trade (so to speak). It sort of struck me that most think a writer is supposed to have a Profound Understanding of words; and yet, that word “Profound” eludes me to a degree. Why? I am not too sure.

Actually, it sort of surprised me a bit as to how I came to think about that word. My Cousin is dealing with Cancer; and after 50 years in the Medical Field, that…shouldn’t bother me…really. Somehow or some way, it has. Could it be because my Cousin and I are so close in age? Probably not. Or could it be that Cancer in general is bothersome to me? It hasn’t been that way before. So why is my reaction to this…more Profound?

I decided to look in Webster’s Dictionary, and this is what it said:

PROFOUND’, a. L.profundus; pro and fundus, bottom.

1. Deep; descending or being far below the surface, or far below the adjacent places; as a gulf profound.
2. Intellectually deep; that enters deeply into subjects; not superficial or obvious to the mind; as a profound investigation; profound reasoning; a profound treatise.
3. Humble; very lowly; submissive; as a profound reverence for the Supreme Being.
4. Penetrating deeply into science or any branch of learning; as a profound scholar; a profound mathematician; a profound historian.
5. Deep in skill or contrivance.

The revolters are profound to make slaughter.

6. Having hidden qualities.

Upon the corner of the moon there hangs a vap’rous drop profound.

PROFOUND’, n. The deep; the sea; the ocean; as the vast profound.

1. The abyss.

I travel this profound.

PROFOUND’, v.i. To dive; to penetrate.

Then, I researched another angle, so to speak. Is there a way to measure the word Profound? There is none to be found, evidently; this word is very extensive indeed. If one is feeling something in a very Profound manner, how deep is that feeling? It was strange to me to find no reference to measuring the “Profoundness…of Profound.” We can measure so many things, yet being “Profound” is not one of them. This is when the Word of God came to mind.

How Profound is the Love of the Lord for all of us? How Profound are HIS Blessings to us? How Profound is our Sin concerning the Lord? And why do I find my Cousin having Cancer to be so Profound at the moment?

Please understand, I spent 50 years in the Medical Field; My Mom died of Pancreatic Cancer; My Wife had a Lymphoma under her left eye. She endured 3 1/2 weeks of Daily Radiotherapy for it as well. And after all of this, I have no way to measure the Intensity of the word “Profound.” Trust me when I say these instances in my Life are indeed “Profound.”

Luke 22:44 “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

That, my Friends…is some serious and Profound…Praying! How “Profound” was the Lord’s love for us as HE hung on that Cross at Calvary? How Profound was HIS Beating before being Crucified? How Profound is our Sin…in the eyes of the Lord God? And then, it becomes even more Profound when we realize that our Sin is what stands between you and me and the Lord! So Profound, that should we fail to Ask the Lord to forgive us of our Sin…it sends us to Hell for Eternity! Our Profound Choice. Indeed, it is a very Intense word that has no measurement!

Matthew 27:45-46 “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Again, how Profound was the Lord when HE cried that?! How Profound was HIS Pain and suffering?

The Intensity of the word “Profound” is greater than we truly believe, and to think, there is no way to measure it. I am very sure the Lord has a way to measure it, but we do not.

We are able to measure the intensity of the Sun, and it is 93.28 Million miles from earth. The Moon is 238,533 miles from earth. Having stated that, the Intensity of the Sun’s effects on us here on earth is measured in Degrees…am I correct? Therefore, the Sun is indeed Profound in its intensity. We see that effect in Droughts across the globe; we feel it on our skin. So, we have ways to measure things according to its intensity, everything except for the Word Profound. This does indeed confound me to a degree. Thus, how Profoundly sad is the Lord when we Sin? Evidently, that is some serious sadness; yet…we as humans continue to commit Sin. How serious should our Sin be to you and me?!

Obviously, we should be more concerned by our Sin than we are…am I correct? I am Profoundly serious about this issue! What about you?

John 3:16 “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.”

All Passages of Scripture come from the King James Version of the Bible.

All Emphasis is mine twobears44@gmail.com

My Friends, we have so much to be thankful for in our everyday lives. That being the case, I wonder how many of us take that to the Lord. I know there have been people that would thank me for something, and it was usually, “Hey man, thanks.” And it left me with a feeling like I had done next to nothing for them… Sad, right? How many of us do the exact same thing with the Lord?

James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

This is a verse from the Holy Word of God. Let’s take a short look at it. It says, “Confess your Faults to one another.” How about that word “Faults”? Got any ideas on this? “Faults” is a Greek word for a “*trespass, offence, sin, fall.” And then it says, “Pray for one another, that ye may be healed.” To talk to one another about our Failures, essentially our Sin, and then ask to be “Healed.” That sounds pretty profound to me; how about you? How many of us would be willing to “Confess our Sins to one another”… Few, I am sure. Much less, to think we would need to be Healed. All of a sudden, this passage of Scripture takes on a whole new aspect; am I correct?

Then we have, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” This is another Greek word that means “*to be operative, be at work, put forth power, to work for one, aid one, to effect, to display one’s activity, show one’s self operative.” It makes me wonder, how this sort of praying is to be done. Evidently, the normal people are not using this as a guide for Prayer. It strikes me as being a “Groaning” in our hearts. What do you think?

The “Effectual Fervent” – could this mean to groan in our Prayers…deeply?! That maybe we need to Pray as the Lord did in the Garden? Jesus Prayed so earnestly, HE was sweating Blood! Are we even capable of doing the same? Would any of us be willing to PRAY for someone else that deeply?!

Now let’s take a look at “prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Of a “Righteous man” sounds pretty specific to me. In the Greek, it means “*righteous, observing divine laws, in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God.” I wonder how many of us could be able to say, this is me?! Be careful now! Let’s not think too highly of ourselves…right?! Just how Righteous are we as Individuals? It makes me think that this a pretty high standard; am I correct? What are your thoughts on this, my Friends?

Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

“God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.” I see this is how God speaks, that in many instances God as the Holy Spirit… “Groans” in our intersession. So should we not GROAN in our Prayers as the Lord God does for us?! This is a Greek word for “*a groaning, a sigh.” Have we missed the point when we Pray?

Luke 18:10-14 “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself: God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess.

“And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Does this Passage of Scripture exemplify what “Groaning” really is? The Publican “Beating on his Chest?” A Jewish Sign that says “I am abased,” a sign for Humility on the part of the one Praying, concerns one showing they are a Sinner. Wow! There’s that word again, “SIN.” Could it be that we do not take SIN to be as important a subject matter as the Bible says it is?!

So many times, I have seen and heard someone pray, their hands lightly folded on their Lap, head tilted to one side; and then we hear, “Oh Father, we JUST come to you….” What’s with this word JUST that so many use? We don’t speak normally and use that word JUST, as we do when one prays. As with the Publican, we should be on our knees, beating our chest because we are Sinners and begging for Forgiveness of our SIN…before a completely RIGHTEOUS God. Am I not correct? In other words, we should be “Groaning” our petition for Forgiveness before The Lord God.

We do not understand that our SIN…stands between the Lord God and You and me! SIN is a most grievous concern in each of us; it is the one thing that dooms anyone to Hell if it is not dealt with. In other words, if God will not tolerate SIN, then neither should we because the Blood of Jesus Christ is the only way to be Forgiven! This is the Most serious concern for us in this Life!

Let me ask you this: how often do you or I…SIN each and every day? Can’t give us a number? Neither could I! Why do you think the Holy Spirit…GROANS for us?! Sin is the most horrendous condition to find ourselves in! Thankfully, we have the Lord to go before and beg HIS forgiveness; am I correct?!

The problem is, I do not believe that we take SIN as seriously as we should. How many sermons in church are teaching about SIN and its effects?! My Friends, the entire world is going to “Hell in a Hand-Basket”…because of SIN. My Friends, that is our SIN. If the Lord God will NOT tolerate SIN in HIS Presence, then HE will NOT tolerate you and me in HIS Presence with our unforgiven SIN. So when we go back to the question of, how much do we SIN each day, we should see this as a most serious situation for you and me.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.” Wow!… Short and sweet…right? And now people wonder, what should I be Praying for? Forgiveness of our SIN…ya think?! Because we SIN so often, we need to be Praying…Groaning…Often! Does that make any sense to you?

“My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… I come before you in All Humility… (Beating your chest) … and I ask you to forgive me of my SIN… (Then you elaborate)… Father Forgive me! In Jesus name I Pray.” This is a most serious Petition! And each and every Prayer should be FERVENT…A GROANING…to the Lord God!

John 9:31 “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.”

Is that serious enough…or not, my Friends? Sin is a very serious subject with the Lord God, and it should be the same with you and me!

John 3:16 “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.”

All Passages of Scripture come from the King James Version of the Bible.

All Emphasis is mine.

twobears44@gmail.com

(*) Strong’s Concordance