Ginosko

I want to know what God wants me to do.  I want to know what’s coming, and I know that He knows already.  Do you think God wants us to know in advance what things will happen to us, and give us knowledge that will help us to experience goodness and to avoid pain?  Why would someone who knew something valuable not share it with a person for whom knowing could produce some benefit?  I think that the Creator has different definitions and values than we Creatures do, and one of the words we confuse is this word “knowing.”  Did you knowtice how many times I used it?  I knew you would….ok I’ll stop.

When we think of the word “know,” we think of thinking thoughts about facts & information…that’s how we think of knowledge…cold, arbitrary, emotionless.  That’s the Western-ness in us.  But in the language of the Bible – which is decidedly not Western – there are different words for knowing, they have colorful and varied meanings and they lead to different places than the territory of the intellect.

For example…

In Matthew 9:4, when it says that Jesus “knew” the peoples’ thoughts about Him, the word translated “knew” is οἶδα - eídō (oida) – to see with physical eyes, as it naturally bridges to the metaphorical sense: perceiving ("mentally seeing"). This is akin to the expressions: "I see what You mean"; "I see what you are saying."  This is the closest parallel to our Western definition of “knowing.”

But all throughout scripture, we see another, deeper definition of knowing that is anything but cold, arbitrary, emotionless.  It’s more relational and committal…often intensely so.  What or whom you “know” represents something about you, your character, and your values.  This is also not like us at all.  We hold information as a commodity that we either have or do not have, and when we have it we own it.  This is not how knowledge was viewed by Jesus, His followers, the Jews, or anyone who has pursued God honestly throughout the ages.  Godly knowledge is not about information, it’s about relation.  Here’s a stunning example that may stop you in your tracks…

In Matthew 1:25, when describing how Joseph did not make love with his wife Mary until after she had given birth to Jesus, the phrase translated in NIV as “have sexual relations” or “consummate their marriage” is actually the single word γινώσκω - ginṓskō – properly, to know, especially through personal experience (first hand acquaintance).  This carries forward the ancient Old Testament Hebrew use of the term “Yada”/ “to know.” (יָדַע).  Have you ever heard someone say something like “He knew her in the Biblical sense.”  Yeah, that kind of know! My favorite Bible passage of all time has this word:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).  The word translated “acknowledge” is KNOW….in the Biblical sense.  So what in the heck is this supposed to mean for us, practically, today?

It’s obvious that this is not about sex; though there is certainly a component to human sexuality that is tied to an overwhelming sense of “knowing” another person, yes?  And in-so-far as sex is not a logical or intellectual endeavor, but one characterized by desire & passion & union, our relationship with God is meant to embody this level of pursuit and fulfillment.

Let that sink in.

When was the last time You felt so enraptured by God’s love for you that you literally felt like you were going to blow up?  Has your awareness of His workings in & through your life been so heightened and acute that you temporarily lost sight of other things?  Have you experienced such a depth of His strength and care and peace that all you could do was just lay there dumbstruck in the afterglow and say thank you?

Ok, sorry if that made you uncomfortable, but not really, I hope it caused you to pause and reflect on Your relationship with Your God the Almighty…the Bridegroom who is preparing a place for His Bride and even today wooing her to Him….wooing you.  Have you ever considered that the story of the Bible is not primarily a record of laws and moral obligations, but the love story of our relentless Father who moves heaven & earth to redeem our union with Him?

So after all that, I come back to my first paragraph about how we want God to give us knowledge about what’s coming and what we should do.  But when we look through His eyes, in terms of His continued pursuit of each one of us with a love we can’t really comprehend, it’s clear that our circumstances are not the point…HE, AND OUR UNION WITH HIM, IS THE POINT!  I don’t mean this to diminish the brokenness of our world and the pain that so many of us endure; but if this world truly is not our home, and making it out of here alive is not reality, then why do we so often chase-the-mirage like it is?  Walking in daily KNOWING with God is the point of this life and the next…everything else flows out of this fullness of union.

“Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will KNOW [GINOSKO] the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8:31-32) 

“I am the good shepherd; I KNOW [GINOSKO] my sheep and my sheep KNOW [GINOSKO]  me— just as the Father KNOWS [GINOSKO] me and I KNOW [GINOSKO] the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never KNEW [GINOSKO] you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23) 

“In all your ways, KNOW [YADA] Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:6)

The Pursuit of Happiness

As Americans, we are heirs of a culture that is fixated on the concept of happiness as an acquisition…something that is to be pursued, chased after, worked toward.  The implication is that happiness is not something that we have, but a deficiency which can only be fulfilled through effort.  I think there’s a nugget of truth in this, but it’s been hijacked by lies that many of us get tripped-up in believing.  There is a pursuit that produces happiness, but it’s a byproduct rather than the goal itself…and it doesn’t come from us.  There are also vast, well-traveled highways that reward pursuers with glimpses of happiness as they venture farther & farther from it.

We were made for much more than happiness…it’s simply not enough.  “Happiness” has to do with “happenings,” ergo the way to get happy and stay happy is to control the things that happen to you…or that happen because of you.  But we know that this world is far beyond our control, right?   Yet we try every moment of every day to fill that void.

• “If I watch this…
• “If I eat these…
• “If I manipulate these circumstances…
• “If I indulge in...
• “If I am noticed and admired by…
• “If I get this promotion…
• “If I make this money…
• “If I can be more successful than….
• “If I buy this…
• “If I sleep with…“If I drive that…
• ...THEN I will be happy!”

…Until I’m not anymore. Right?  What do we really need in order to be happy, anyway?

There is a God, the Living One who is actually there and at work in His creation to restore the hope and love with which He created it.  His is the realm of the Spirit; which invites us into union with Him, His values, and the delights that come to those who trust Him.  There is also an enemy, one whose defeat has been clinched yet his poison continues to distort all that is good.  His is the realm of the Flesh; which entices our desires, lusts, and jealousies to take control of our own destinies and pursue happiness as an end unto itself.  There is also you and me, God’s image-bearers who are dearly loved, who are called upon to choose whom we will pursue. 

“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” (Romans 8:5-11)

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:13-25)

“Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man [or woman] of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:6-12)

This morning, as I continue my journey of seeking the Lord Jesus for the contentment and peace that only come through Him, I’m reminded of these things.  I say AMEN to them, and commit my way to pursuing HIM; knowing that I can trust Him to give me what I need.

Intimacy & Identity Intro

For this morning’s blog, I’m going to share some words with you that are totally blowing my mind.  I don’t usually parrot the words of another writer in my blogs, but I just had to share this brief excerpt from an amazing book I’m reading right now called “The Forgotten Way” by Ted Dekker.  You may be familiar with Dekker as a popular novelist; but this non-fiction treatise about following Jesus is as honest, vulnerable, and true to scripture as anything else I’ve come across.  It’s a series of deeply scriptural meditations, preceded by his personal testimony of finding Intimacy and Identity with Christ.  I’m reading it as part of my own personal devotions right now, and wanted to pass this along to you to strengthen your journey with Him.  I welcome your comments…

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ...How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:7, 9-11)

"The prophet Ezekiel was among the first to write about a radical personal encounter with God, high and lifted up.  His writing shook the religious establishment of his day.  How could God be encountered so directly outside of the Temple, and without the help of a priest?  More, how could God be described in such strange terms, as a wheel within a wheel?

Still, many people longed to have a relationship with God like the one he described.  To know God so directly - so personally - made the establishment as nervous then as it has throughout history and still does today.  How can this be?  A deep, personal relationship with God, not with dogma or with institutionalized religion, is at the heart of Christianity.  The wall between mankind and God, erected by the church and heavily reinforced for over a thousand years, began to crumble during the Reformation.  Many periods of renewal and revelation in the five hundred years since have further demolished that wall of separation.  Perhaps the most significant one occurred in the early 1900s, when explosive personal encounters with God defied the traditions of men.  The movement to know God experientially continues to accelerate today as more and more believers find true peace and love and power.  Such gifts come only from knowing God INTIMATELY and sharing His divine nature through IDENTITY in Christ…

Has any church more fully experienced the power of the gospel than the one that first embraced Jesus’ Spirit in the twenty years following His resurrection?  This church did not have any of the gospels or the epistles to argue about or defend.  And yet perhaps far more than we, its members lived and breathed the power of ‘being in Christ’ on earth.  Those sacred writings that we now have are called the Scriptures, and they point to Christ, but they are not the Word who is Christ and Christ manifested in us.  Let us worship Christ alone, not the words or the religious dogmas that point to Him.  If we worship doctrine, we will have unwittingly made a god out of something other than God.  Then we will not understand our need to KNOW (experience) Him intimately.  We will be no different from the religious leaders during the time of Jesus who would not yield to Him.

Take comfort, because we know, as Jesus said, that God reveals Himself to children, so His way must be simple.  We know that His yoke (His interpretation) is easy and His burden (what is required to follow that interpretation) is light.  So we look for the good news of the Father in a simple story, and we become like children so that we may know the Father."

Dictionary.com definitions....

INTIMACY - A close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group.  A close association with or detailed knowledge or deep understanding of a place, subject, period of history, etc.

IDENTITY - The state or fact of remaining the same one or ones, as under varying aspects or conditions. The condition of being oneself or itself, and not another... the qualities, beliefs, etc., that distinguish or identify a person or thing.

What does it mean to you to experience INTIMACY with your Creator?  

How do you feel about your IDENTITY as His son / daughter?

What aspects of His magnificence has He invested into you as part of your specific IDENTITY?

Who Can Straighten What God Has Bent?

“Consider what God has done. Who can straighten what He has bent?” (Ecclesiastes 7:13)

I was recently asked for my take on this cryptic verse.  The person, a friend of mine, shared that she had often wondered about its meaning.  Let me share a brief story…

A few years ago, while walking through the forest, I came upon this strange tree.  I was surrounded by hundreds of beautiful evergreen conifer trees – fir trees I think.  But this one tree was amazing.  It was literally coming out of the ground sideways, then bending straight up towards the sky.  It was as tall and massive and straight as any other tree in the forest, but its footing was totally cockeyed!  As I stood there studying it, I noticed that the ground on one side gave way to a little depression about 5-feet deep – like a ravine or sinkhole had developed long ago when the tree was just a sapling.  Apparently the young tree was able to endure the trauma and thrive in spite of it.  I have seen trees growing crooked or bent before, but this was the first fully-matured tree I remember seeing that turned a full 90-degrees!  I thought of how fitting this vision was of my life, and the lives of so many people I have known over the years.  God’s Word promises us that He is able to bring good out of every circumstance.  Even the most painful experiences we endure can be used by Him to produce good in the world and strength in us.  This isn’t just a godless, gooey “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” message, but an affirmation of the scripture in Romans, “…We know that all things work together for good to those WHO LOVE GOD, to those who are CALLED according to His purpose.”  When I was a kid, I believed that following Christ would mean He would take all my problems away and give me a carefree life.  The older I get in Him, the more I realize that His power to transform me and bring meaning & hope to my life “is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  It is when we trust Him with our struggles, and go where He leads, that we can see Him most clearly and rise above this broken world.

Back to Ecclesiastes 7:13: “Consider what God has done. Who can straighten what He has bent?”  This one verse is in the middle of a larger exposition of poetic musings regarding God’s view of wisdom and folly, and where they lead.  In looking at the original Hebrew, here I’ve rewritten it with some clarifying meanings: To SEE or BEHOLD the CONSTRUCTS / ACCOMPLISHMENTS that God has BUILT (as opposed to the act of Him working).  Who can STRAIGHTEN or ARRANGE what He has BENT / MADE CROOKED / PERVERTED.  This last word “perverted” seems strange and blasphemous to me.  When I think of this word, images of sexual predators and demonic evil come to mind….surely this isn’t true of our Heavenly Father, right?!  The word means “deviating from what is considered right and correct.”  Let’s learn from the scriptures…what do we know about our God, His purposes, and the strategies with which He has fashioned the world?  I’ll share 4 passages, then a summary of my thoughts…

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:13-15)

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:18-21)

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?  (Romans 9:15-24)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whoⁱ have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)

Here’s a summary of my thoughts…

God is 100% Pure Good, and that’s how He made the world.  Love and relationship are the primary expression of His character, and for that to remain true He had to create us with choice – aka “Free Will.”  His ultimate creation, man & woman, fell to temptation from the enemy and were cast out of the perfect goodness & relationship that God had created.  Their hearts became bent and perverted from that point on, though the glory of God’s created image in them remains as well.  So from then on all of humanity, and the world around us, is living in an amalgamation of good & evil by God’s design, His presence and absence, blessing and curse….not because He’s mean-spirited and capricious, but because He is Good and Just!  God beckons each one of us to return to relationship with Him in the midst of a broken world we cannot repair, while living with perverted desires that we cannot control without Him.  He is intimately involved with each one of us, pursuing and wooing each of us through the circumstances of our lives; and because He exists outside of time (another of His constructs), He sees our beginning and end and everything between all at once.  This vantage point unleashes His blessing and guiding on those who will choose Him and His values; and His thwarting and hardening on those who will forever refuse His opinions, methods, and salvation itself.  Only He sees the outcome.

The challenge for us is to trust His vision and purposes, because we can't see into the future, or into peoples' souls as He can.  So instead of getting caught-up in efforts to control outcomes and behaviors, we're called as God's children to follow Him, invest ourselves in people & activities that He is blessing, and trust Him with the results.  Amen?

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:20-22)

Philippians 4:6-7

I woke up this morning with the words of this scripture running through my mind:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

I’ve committed this to memory, and have been repeating it to myself often throughout my days…mostly when I’m anxious.  I don’t memorize and repeat scripture because of any sense of religious obligation, but in order to remind myself of the truth and to exert force upon my wayward will that tends to believe in the realities of the temporal world I see around me rather than the REALITIES of the spiritual realm that we cannot see.  I forget constantly, and truly need reminders all throughout my days…are you like me in that regard? 

I’ve also done some digging into the original language of this passage, and have found some deeper truths that illuminate their meanings like a Winter sunrise that pierces the fog. Then, when I repeat these words to myself, their full weight falls upon those worried places in my soul with such force that my worries seem rather small in comparison…and the feelings of fear, dread, worry, etc., evaporate and wither like unwanted fantasies.  Then I see as God sees.

Check out these words with me from the original Greek language:

• “Do not be ANXIOUS about anything…”  “Anxious” is “merimnate” - drawn in opposite directions; "divided into parts"; figuratively, "to go to pieces" because pulled apart in different directions.  
• “…but in everything, by PRAYER…”  “Prayer” is “proseuchē” - from “pros”, "towards, exchange" and “euxe”, "a wish, prayer" – properly, “exchange of wishes”
• “…and PETITION…”  “Petition” is “deēsei” - heart-felt asking, arising out of deep personal need.
• “…with THANKSGIVING…”  “Thanksgiving” is “eucharistias” – expressing gratitude to God, as an act of worship, for His grace.  This is where we get the word “eucharist.”
• “…PRESENT your requests to God…”  “Present” is “gnōrizesthō” – to make known.
• “…and the PEACE of God…”  “Peace” is “eirēnē” - wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are tied together into a whole.
• “…which TRANSCENDS…” – “Transcends” is “hyperechousa” – from “hyper”, beyond, above, and “exō”, have – properly, "to have beyond, i.e. to possess that which is superior/better than, to excel, to surpass, to rise above." 
• “…all UNDERSTANDING…” – “Understanding” is “noon” - the mind; mental capacity to exercise reflective thinking, understanding, reason.
• “…will GUARD…” - “Guard” is “phrourēsei” - to guard, keep watch, like a military sentinel; (figuratively) to actively display whatever defensive and offensive means are necessary to guard.
• “…your HEARTS…” – “Hearts” is “kardias” - "the affective center of our being”, will, character, desires.
• “…and MINDS…” – “Minds” is “noēmata” - thoughts, purposes, designs
• “…in CHRIST JESUS.”  In Jesus, the King.

Maybe I’m just a total Greek Geek, nerding-out with words that nobody else cares about.  But I don’t think so.  These meanings, and the ways that they inform our understanding of God’s Word, are nothing short of transformative!  I’d rather give half an hour to meditating on these words and meanings in the presence of my Father – and receiving from Him what only He can give me – than reading, watching, or taking part in anything else this world has to offer.  Below is a re-rendering of the above scripture, using the meanings from the Greek study above.  Sometimes, restating words that we are familiar with have a way of elevating our understanding and awakening our desire to put them into practice…

“Don’t be pulled-apart by your circumstances, but in everything, exchange your wishes for God’s; asking Him to help with your needs from a place of gratitude for all the ways He blesses you.  With this attitude, make your requests known to God.  This opens you to His wholeness, which will tie you back together in ways that rise far above your capacity to figure things out; actively keeping watch over your desires and thoughts to keep you in step with Jesus, the King.”