A nugget from Greek class.

I want to share something I learned at Greek Class this evening.

We were translating Revelation 1:8 and came across the Greek words egw eimi – these two words put together mean “I myself am”

The context: Jesus speaking to the Apostle John and assuring the believers in the seven churches that He Himself Is. This verse is translated: "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." (Rev. 1:8 ESV) So in a sense what Jesus was saying is: “ego eimi (I myself am) the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Now, let’s go to John 8:58.  The context: The Jews interrogating Jesus: Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?" Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.' But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad." So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" (John 8:53-57 ESV)  Jesus’ reply is: "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." From the Greek: Truly, Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, - egw eimi – I myself am! Jesus was telling the Jews that even before Abraham existed “He Himself existed in the present tense”  

No wonder the Jews picked up stones to kill Jesus. Because of what Jesus said, claiming to have existed before Abraham they could (by their law) accuse Jesus of blasphemy and sentence Him to death!  

A Greek word that was of interest to me this evening: anaginwskwn – this word comes from the Greek word ginwskw which means: to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel (Thayer’s Greek Definitions) – notice the three letters added to the front of the word? Those letters are the prefix ana. This prefix brings a deeper intensified meaning to any word is precedes.  So in this case anaginwskwn means: to understand, or to read so you come to the understanding of the subject. A deeper knowledge, UNDERSTANDING!!!

I hope you enjoyed this little word study! Even if you didn’t get anything out of it, I did!

Choices We Make

Today I was struck with the realization that the choices we make will affect at least one other person, and depending on the choice more then one person is affected. 

I am in a current situation where this really hits home for me. I have made a choice that has directly affected another person.  But I also realize that when other people make decisions that affect us, in positive or negative ways, we have the choice of how we will act and what we will do.  Will we choose JOY in the hard times and good?

Old Moccasins my Grandpa used to wear …

For as long as I can remember I haven’t liked the size of my feet.  Maybe because I thought them too large to be considered “ladies” feet a “huge” size 10.  But recently I found reason to like the size of my feet. 

Last month my mother was going through my grandma’s items in my sister’s attic and stumbled across my grandpa Eberly’s moose hide moccasins, and since he has “small” feet (a size 8 mens) they fit me. 

Now I have my own pair of authentic moose hide moccasins, and every time I wear them I think of my Grandpa Eberly, a man I never knew, but have heard much about. I look forward to seeing him in glory!

A Pile of things to do …

There are piles of things here and there in my bedroom … but I lack the DISCIPLINE to DO that needs to be DONE!!

I have found that’s the way it can be spiritually too! A pile of bitterness here.  A pile of anger there.  A pile of immorality hiding under a chair.  and the list could go on and on …

I find it  easy to write about such things but to act takes too much WORK – I “know” what I need to do … but what about doing it?   

It Is Well With My Soul

People have been asking me: "How are you doing?" And I answer, "I'm doing well" – Some may ask, How can you be doing well considering the circumstances?  This is what I came up with …
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. 
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate and hath shed His own blood for my soul. 

It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.  

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, even so,

it is well with my soul!

It Is Well with My Soul - Text: Horatio G. Spafford - Music: Philip P. Bliss

When sorrows like sea billows roll, he who puts his trust in his Heavenly Father can truly say, with the writer of this song:

It is well, it is well with my soul!

This hymn was written by a Chicago lawyer, Horatio G. Spafford. You might think to write a worship song titled, 'It is well with my soul', you would indeed have to be a rich, successful Chicago lawyer. But the words,
"When sorrows like sea billows roll ... It is well with my soul”, were not written during the happiest period of Spafford's life. On the contrary, they came from a man who had suffered almost unimaginable personal tragedy.
Horatio G. Spafford and his wife, Anna, were pretty well-known in 1860’s Chicago. And this was not just because of Horatio's legal career and business endeavors. The Spaffords were also prominent supporters and close friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1870, however, things started to go wrong. The Spaffords' only son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, it was fire rather than fever that struck. Horatio had invested heavily in real estate on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 1871, every one of these holdings was wiped out by the great Chicago Fire.
Aware of the toll that these disasters had taken on the family, Horatio decided to take his wife and four daughters on a holiday to England. And, not only did they need the rest -- DL Moody needed the help. He was traveling around Britain on one of his great evangelistic campaigns. Horatio and Anna planned to join Moody in late 1873. And so, the Spaffords traveled to New York in November, from where they were to catch the French steamer 'Ville de Havre' across the Atlantic. Yet just before they set sail, a last-minute business development forced Horatio to delay. Not wanting to ruin the family holiday, Spafford persuaded his family to go as planned. He would follow on later. With this decided, Anna and her four daughters sailed East to Europe while Spafford
returned West to Chicago. Just nine days later, Spafford received a telegram from his wife in Wales. It read: "Saved alone."
On November 2nd 1873, the 'Ville de Havre' had collided with 'The Lochearn', an English vessel. It sank in only 12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people. Anna Spafford had stood bravely on the deck, with her daughters Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta clinging desperately to her. Her last memory had been of her baby being torn violently from her arms by the force of the waters. Anna was only saved from the fate of her daughters by a plank which floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up. When the survivors of the wreck had been rescued, Mrs. Spafford's first reaction was one of complete despair. Then she heard a voice speak to her, "You were spared for a purpose." And she immediately recalled the words of a friend, "It's easy to be grateful
and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God."
Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife. Bertha Spafford (the fifth daughter of Horatio and Anna born later) explained that during her father's voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of his great hymn.
The words which Spafford wrote that day come from 2 Kings 4:26. They echo the response of the Shunammite woman to the sudden death of her only child. Though we are told "her soul is vexed within her", she still
maintains that 'It is well." And Spafford's song reveals a man whose trust in the Lord is as unwavering as hers was.
It would be very difficult for any of us to predict how we would react under circumstances similar to those experienced by the Spaffords. But we do know that the God who sustained them would also be with us.

http://www.biblestudycharts.com/A_Daily_Hymn.html