Where's the Fire in the MOPS Theme Verse?

I had a special request to hand-letter the MOPS theme verse, and then I ran into a snag. Was their version of Romans 12:11-13 accurate?

Where’s the Fire in the MOPS Theme Verse?

September 27

~ Today’s Scripture Art and mini Bible study were designed with love to help write the MOPS theme verse Romans 12:11-13 on your heart. ~

*This post may contain affiliate links. To learn more, click here.

New Here?
Click to snag 7 Welcome Gifts!

One of my favorite readers (Just so you know: I say that about all of you!) asked me to hand-letter the MOPS theme verses for 2018-19, which are …

Romans 12:11-13 (NIrV): Never let the fire in your heart go out. Keep it alive. Serve the Lord. When you hope, be joyful. When you suffer, be patient. When you pray, be faithful. Share with God’s people who are in need. Welcome others into your homes.

“Sure!” I said. And then I ran into a snag.

As always, I wanted to study these verses first.

The first thing I did was read other Bible versions, since I wasn’t familiar with the version they used. (More on that in a sec.)

When digging deeper into any verse, I usually start with the ESV or NASB version since they are word-for-word translations. The two are very similar, but the ESV is a little more modern.

Here’s the ESV …

Romans 12:11-13 (ESV): Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

My first thought: Hey – where’s the fire?

So that made me want to read some thought-for-thought versions like …

Romans 12:11-13 (NLT): Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Again, no fire!

Did that mean that the version they chose wasn’t accurate?

I did a quick search to see what I could find about the NIrV. I found that it is included on BibleGateway.com and that Lifeway sells it as a children’s Bible.

Aha! That’s a big clue.

Then I went down that trail and found this article that said the NIrV was designed to make the Bible understandable to early readers, like a typical fourth grader, which would also make it good for anyone learning the English language.

It all started to make sense. Since MOPS stands for Mother of Preschoolers, that might explain why they chose a children’s version.

That reminded me of when Angie Smith revealed in her Seamless Bible study that she read children’s Bibles when she was a brand new Christian (as an adult) – to help her understand the Bible. And look at her now!

Back to looking for that fire.

Next, I proceeded to read a bunch of different versions. (I am a firm believer in reading more than one version. I even carry a parallel Bible around, even though some snicker about how fat it is!)

Here’s the Amplified Version, which adds word meanings …

Romans 12:11-13 (AMP): never lagging behind in diligence; aglow in the Spirit, enthusiastically serving the Lord; constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ], steadfast and patient in distress, devoted to prayer [continually seeking wisdom, guidance, and strength], contributing to the needs of God’s people, pursuing [the practice of] hospitality.

Ok, we’re getting a little closer with “aglow.”

Now it was time to skip to the chase and do a word study. When in doubt, go back to the original version.

Side note: Read How To Do A Word Study the No Sweat Way

The word used here is Strong’s g2204, which literally means to boil with heat; be hot.

There’s the fire!

(With a boiling pot over it.)

And what a vivid word picture it is.

Keep your zeal boiling.

Or as the NIrV puts it …

Never let the fire in your heart go out.

It’s telling us to take an active roll in fanning our flame.

2 Timothy 1:6 (ESV): For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you …

Let’s get to fanning right now!

What can make our hearts burn again?

Luke 24:32 (ESV): They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he [Jesus] talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

Ask Jesus to open the Scriptures to you.

He would love nothing more.