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| Yellow moon shines bright and low in the evening sky. How did God create such awesome geometry as to have a moon look like a sunset? |
I write all week in my other blog and prepare words for others at the end of each week.
So, I thought I'd publish what I write to share with others on a Sunday.
The pictures simply remind me that the Spirit of God is always alive, especially in the stillness of winter.
So, I thought I'd publish what I write to share with others on a Sunday.
The pictures simply remind me that the Spirit of God is always alive, especially in the stillness of winter.
As I linger with these words I am reminded that the mind is a wonderful thing. One thought can trigger another and a chain of creative thoughts may flash before us.
I wonder if that happens in ‘senior moments.’
We become distracted as a conversation might trigger a memory that totally moves our thoughts away from the current moment.
Suddenly we are in another world of
thought.
We become distracted as a conversation might trigger a memory that totally moves our thoughts away from the current moment.
Suddenly we are in another world of
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| To create this mega-snowflake is far above my IQ. Our creative God created us to be creative. |
As I read the scripture in Mark 8: 31-38, I think I had a senior moment.
My mind flashed back to a profound phrase that my english teacher spurted out in class one day.
Perhaps some of us can think back to our senior year in high school.
We are at the top of the heap.
We’ve done it all.
Some in the class are nearing the end of their formal education, knowing full well they will not go on to college. This may be the pinnacle of one’s life.
Triumph!
We know it all!
My mind flashed back to a profound phrase that my english teacher spurted out in class one day.
Perhaps some of us can think back to our senior year in high school.
We are at the top of the heap.
We’ve done it all.
Some in the class are nearing the end of their formal education, knowing full well they will not go on to college. This may be the pinnacle of one’s life.
Triumph!
We know it all!
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A camera lens can see better than my eyes but my mind knows what to discern.
Gray sticks and man-made wooden shapes covered in snow create
an incredible story of humanity in God's creation.
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In fact, many times I am sure I felt I knew more than the teacher (fool that I was) until I heard this phrase from a much admired, very demanding teacher.
If one was taught under Miss Westby, one knew they were getting the best education in English that any high schooler could have.
So, when she spoke, we listened.
“The more you know, the more you know that you don’t know.” That’s all she said.
I’ve carried these words and chewed on them to this day.
If one was taught under Miss Westby, one knew they were getting the best education in English that any high schooler could have.
So, when she spoke, we listened.
“The more you know, the more you know that you don’t know.” That’s all she said.
I’ve carried these words and chewed on them to this day.
The words are so profound!
The more I know, the more I know that I don’t know.
Therefore, I keep seeking to know more.
Anyone in search of more knowledge . . . about themselves, another, life, a specific subject, God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, whatever . . . feels compelled to seek more and know more because the more we seek, the more we know that we don’t know.
The more I know, the more I know that I don’t know.
Therefore, I keep seeking to know more.
Anyone in search of more knowledge . . . about themselves, another, life, a specific subject, God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, whatever . . . feels compelled to seek more and know more because the more we seek, the more we know that we don’t know.
We will never know it all.
We are no different than Albert Einstein or Madam Curry or Thomas Edison or Bill Gates.
I consider all of these people geniuses.
Yet, they are simply people who have known that they do not know it all and have continued to seek knowledge in the area that most interests them.
We are no different than Albert Einstein or Madam Curry or Thomas Edison or Bill Gates.
I consider all of these people geniuses.
Yet, they are simply people who have known that they do not know it all and have continued to seek knowledge in the area that most interests them.
Knowledge, linked with understanding, becomes wisdom. Some of the wisest people might make foolish decisions or make a statement that diminishes them from the ranks of the wise.
That was the Apostle Peter.
He had a ‘senior’ moment.
He wasn’t thinking.
It was like he curled up in a tight little box and needed to remain within its confines.
Jesus, on the other hand, saw the broad picture and needed to implant that broad picture into the hearts of His most faithful followers.
That was the Apostle Peter.
He had a ‘senior’ moment.
He wasn’t thinking.
It was like he curled up in a tight little box and needed to remain within its confines.
Jesus, on the other hand, saw the broad picture and needed to implant that broad picture into the hearts of His most faithful followers.
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| Blue gray of evening as black pops out from white. To know what these bits of dark are in the midst of open space creates a picture that give peace to the soul. |
Peter knew Jesus was Messiah, the anointed one.
Yet, his idea of Messiah meant a warrior who would enter Jerusalem on a white stead and cut down all the Roman soldiers and free the Jewish people from persecution.
Peter knew Jesus would conquer every enemy of the Jews and place the Jews in power.
He saw Jesus as ‘immortal.’
When Peter hears the words from Jesus, that He must suffer and die, and then be raised again, it was like Peter’s brain froze.
This statement by Jesus was totally outside of Peter's ‘knowledge level.’
This was Peter, a man who knew Jesus, the Christ, and totally believed in him as savior.
Peter had never questioned his devotion to Jesus. But, at this moment, it was like Peter had an ‘out of body experience’ with Jesus.
Yet, his idea of Messiah meant a warrior who would enter Jerusalem on a white stead and cut down all the Roman soldiers and free the Jewish people from persecution.
Peter knew Jesus would conquer every enemy of the Jews and place the Jews in power.
He saw Jesus as ‘immortal.’
When Peter hears the words from Jesus, that He must suffer and die, and then be raised again, it was like Peter’s brain froze.
This statement by Jesus was totally outside of Peter's ‘knowledge level.’
This was Peter, a man who knew Jesus, the Christ, and totally believed in him as savior.
Peter had never questioned his devotion to Jesus. But, at this moment, it was like Peter had an ‘out of body experience’ with Jesus.
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| Pops of dots, patterns in the snow. Incredible patience. Time. Knowledge. Understanding. A desire to create beauty from nature's delight. |
Peter was so in charge of the moment, he forgot where he was.
Peter was still under the tutelage of Jesus, the Rabbi, the teacher, the mentor, the leader.
What on earth was Peter thinking when he told Jesus that this ‘suffering’, this ‘rejection’, this ‘being killed’ . . . would not happen?
I don’t think Peter even heard the words, “and rising after three days.”
I think he only heard the words, “suffer” and perhaps “rejection.”
Peter definitely had a ‘senior moment.’
Peter was still under the tutelage of Jesus, the Rabbi, the teacher, the mentor, the leader.
What on earth was Peter thinking when he told Jesus that this ‘suffering’, this ‘rejection’, this ‘being killed’ . . . would not happen?
I don’t think Peter even heard the words, “and rising after three days.”
I think he only heard the words, “suffer” and perhaps “rejection.”
Peter definitely had a ‘senior moment.’
Peter thought he knew everything yet he knew nothing.
Peter stopped seeking to know more when he planted in his heart the notion that Jesus would be the warrior-savior who would never suffer and never die. Peter may have even thought
Jesus would be ‘taken up’ by God like the prophets Enoch or Elijah. Peter ‘knew’ (in his lack of knowledge) that Jesus would never have to suffer a mortal death.
Peter stopped seeking to know more when he planted in his heart the notion that Jesus would be the warrior-savior who would never suffer and never die. Peter may have even thought
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| A silent place to linger and wonder how beauty can remain so simple after a heavy snow. Do we ever understand our mortality? Does winter remind us of God's presence in the absence of activity? |
Praise God for Jesus’ command, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Jesus knew this was not Peter speaking. Jesus knew that one with a severe lack of knowledge, one who seeks to learn nothing, satan, was in the midst of these words. It’s as if the devil had placed a brick wall in front of Peter to stop Peter from seeking a greater knowledge of God’s infinite realm through His Son.
“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” because a ‘little’
To ‘know’ that we cannot know enough is the most powerful motivator we can have in any field of learning.
With correction, Peter learned that he would never know it all.
Peter would eventually have to totally rely on God’s Spirit to give him words, to direct his path, to press him into the next phase of his ministry.
Peter learned that not being a ‘know it all” was a good thing. In time, Peter had enough wisdom to know that he could never know enough.
Peter knew to teach others, “the more we know, the more we know that we don’t know,” to keep seeking more of God through His Son.
Yet, in Jesus’ day, the ones who were suppose to “know,” the Pharisees, thought they knew it all.
They stopped seeking. They remained in their little box of knowledge.
It’s the “know-it-alls” who rejected Jesus’ message and condemned him to death.
There will always be pharisees of a sort.
To this day, Christians are being slaughtered by those who claim to ‘know a god’ that is not our God.
Our God is love and grace, drawing all seekers, by faith, into his outstretched arms.
They stopped seeking. They remained in their little box of knowledge.
It’s the “know-it-alls” who rejected Jesus’ message and condemned him to death.
There will always be pharisees of a sort.
To this day, Christians are being slaughtered by those who claim to ‘know a god’ that is not our God.
Our God is love and grace, drawing all seekers, by faith, into his outstretched arms.
Today, those who accept, by faith, the God of Abraham, Isaac
That’s what the New Covenant is all about. That was the ‘next step’ God gave to His chosen people, a New Covenant. The more we seek to know about God through His Son, Jesus Christ, the more we find that we don’t know.
Instead of giving up and saying, “Oh well, I’ve gone as far as I can in this Christ-knowing journey," why not seek more? Why should there ever be an end to our understanding of our own personal Christian life?
Why should we ever be satisfied with being where we are in our Christian walk?
Why should we ever be satisfied with being where we are in our Christian walk?
Perhaps this Lent is the time for us to walk more deeply into our Christian faith.
Perhaps we can become wiser in our life journey.
It’s never too late. Have we explored every avenue
Perhaps we can become wiser in our life journey.
It’s never too late. Have we explored every avenue
Have we participated in every opportunity to become closer to God through His Son?
Would we dare attend a bible study even if we can do no more than listen? Would we dare attend eight weeks of ‘Confirming Our Faith’ class to find out where we stand with Christ in our own personal walk?
Would we dare walk the Stations of the Cross to deepen our understanding of Jesus' walk to the Cross?
Would we dare commit to attending the Maundy Thursday service to embrace the end of Christ’s life before we celebrate His Resurrection?
Perhaps by seeking more we will know more.
"The more we know, the more we know that we don't know."
God knows your heart, do you?
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