Knowing Him

Posted on December 30, 2017 by brocke

Last post of the year!

A long while back I became interested in how “know” is used in the Bible after reading John 10 – The sheep know my voice. How do we know his voice? So, I did a word study.

There are nine Greek words in the New Testament translated as the word “know”, but six of them are used sparsely, such as only once and then translated as other words. I’m going to concentrate on the other three that are used most often. (I’m using KJV and Strong’s Concordance; I’m choosing not to type out the verses as that would make this post very long.)

EIDO

Definition – perceive or come to know information
Other translations –See and Saw: as often as it’s translated Know
Examples – Matt 9:6, Luke 23:24, Romans 8:28, Phil 4:12
I was blind but now I see
Lest they should see with their eyes and believe

EPIGINOSKO

Definition – recognition or identification
Other translations – Acknowledge
Examples – Matt 7:16,20, Luke 1:4, I Cor 13:12, II Cor 13:5

GINOSKO

Definition – process of understanding with personal involvement
Other translations – Understand; most often used with will, shall, and should have
Examples – Matt 13:11, John 8:28,32, John 10, John 17, I Cor 2:14,16, Gal 4:9, Phil 4:5

These can be put together into a progression…

Eido – I know that you are there; I perceive it.
Epiginosko – I recognize who you are; I can identify you.
Ginosko – I understand you in the process of getting to know you.

Likewise our “knowing” Christ is also a progression…

Eido – I know that there is a Christ
Epiginosko – I recognize that he is the Son of God
Ginosko – I understand him through the process of getting to know him.

Although God has known us before we were born, for us as sheep, coming to know him and understand him as shepherd is a process. What an awesome thought that God wants us to know him and provides the means for that process to take place through prayer, reading, meditation, the Holy Spirit, worship, fellowship, and gratitude.

May 2018 be a continuation of this process for all of us!

Art Therapy, Part 4

Posted on December 21, 2017 by brocke

Here’s the last art project I plan to share. This one was actually done in the step-down program. We were instructed to create something that expressed our identity using any of the art supplies available. One woman actually wrote a song and sang it for us while playing the guitar.

I had a coloring book with geometric designs and patterns in it and decided to use something out there; I was really enjoying the soothing repetition of filling in the spaces and seeing how the colors blended together. As I paged through I found this design. I colored all the orange, purple, and green, and then glued letters of “I am…” that I’d cut out of magazines.

Each of
the oval spaces
provided just enough room to write something about myself.

What positive, true things would you write about yourself?

This page had 102 spaces
to fill!

Art Therapy, Part 3

Posted on December 18, 2017 by brocke

This third art project wasn’t part of the art class itself. We were asked to consider two quotes and draw how one of them resonated with us.

“Sometime in your life you will go on a journey.
It will be the longest journey you have ever taken.
It is the journey to find yourself.”
~Katherine Sharp

“One does not discover new lands without consenting
to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
Set the sails. Pull anchor. Cast away. Feel the wind at your back.
Keep your eyes on the horizon.
Or stay on shore.
But choose.”
~Andre Gide, French writer

I chose the second one.

One the left side is a dark
land fraught with peril. It’s
dark trials. It’s self-absorption.
It’s works instead of grace.
On the right side is a brighter
place filled with grace, peace,
and love. It’s peace in the circumstances. It’s reaching
out to others. It’s relying on
God and believing his truth.

In the middle is the vast sea with many waves and just a little vessel. Because of the vastness, the little vessel has to let go the shore before it has any hope of seeing the other side. There’s two consolations to the small person in this vastness. The land to come holds promise the previous one didn’t, and the mast is a cross as a reminder that Jesus went before, endured all things, and intercedes for all.