Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "acknowledging". We find it in these three porttions of Scripture:

2 Timothy 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. KJV

Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; KJV

Philemon 4 I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, 5 Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; 6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. KJV

These are all the Greek word "epignosis". Strong's Concordance says: recognition, full discernment, acknowledgement. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: precise and correct knowledge. Vine's Expository Dictionary says: to know thoroughly, to recognize a thing to be what it really is, to acknowledge, to take knowledge of, to perceive. The Theological Dictionary says: The ordinary use is for intelligent comprehension, emphasizes understanding rather than sensory perception. Being a compound word, the first part, 'epi', means: superimposition. If one thing is superimposed on another, it means that they are layering one thing over another so that both are seen. This "knowledge" or "acknowledging" means that we have layer upon layer of understanding, comprehension, perception. That IS how our understanding of the Word of God grows into useable knowledge! Putting the Word into practice! I am certain that after all of these years of you studying God's Word, there are some things that make sense and you understand right away due to the many layers of foundational knowledge you have built up! Part of what Paul was writing about above is that those whom you teach and share the Word with will come progressively to understand and recognize the Word with understanding from observing the Word active in your life! It should be even easier for them than it was for you because they have had years of observing the Word working in you with such positive results! Just how God means for it all to work! I LOVE it! Here is Hillsong with "Your Word":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!