Whaddya Know?

Waddya know?

If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know. Now, THERE is a statement that can confuse you. If I think I know something, I don't....!!! Wow, that takes all the fun out of learning! Well, not really, I guess. Scientists are always finding new finds. I guess they think they know something, but sooner or later, find out that they don't know as much about that thing as they thought they did in the first place. Sorry about that statement....I know it is ....oops, I THINK it is as confusing as Romans chapter 7: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good........Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (verses 16-20)

I find, because of my pride, I think I know a lot of things. I think I know best in lots of situations. Unfortunately, I don't. I only know a little bit about things to get me into trouble, and that's about all. I suppose I know SOME things; but unfortunately the older I get, the more 'some' things I forget. A few years ago, I started to study God's word for the very first time in my life. I was 46. Prior to that, ask me anything and I would have probably told you that I knew about it. Of course, I was lying......but wait a minute....don't condemn me yet...God DID say that all men are liars, and I wouldn't want to disappoint Him. Just kidding!!! Anyway, I thought I knew a lot about things back then. When I started to read, and understand, the teachings found in the Bible, I slowly started to learn I knew absolutely nothing about things that mattered. I didn't know you had to confess your sins, repent from them, believe that Jesus is my Lord and is in complete charge of my life, nor that I had to be baptized---all those things---, in order to be saved a special place in Heaven. I found out I knew NOTHING about what I THOUGHT I knew a lot.

The more I read, the more our preaches preach, the more my friends get together to study, the more I know. I enjoy learning. Always have. I enjoyed learning in school so much that I missed only two half-days of school my first 12 years of it. One half was when I got my glasses in 5th grade, and the other was in high school, but now I forget the reason why. I was fortunate enough through all those school years to have the mumps, measles, chicken-pox, colds, and other ailments all during non-school time. I thought it was fun to learn....of course now at my age, I forgot 99 percent of it. I am going to keep this email short, as I know you have lots better things to do than read my ramblings. I am really writing this to encourage you, much the way I was encouraged by my disciplers (remember that term?) as I studied and started to 'know' things I had never known before. But I find it miraculous that all the knowledge I have gained for the past 9 years, is only a minute fraction of what can be learned from the Bible. Every day that I study, I learn something new. I hope you do, as well.

We will never know everything, that is reserved for God. Paul tells the people of the Corinthian church that, and I qoute, "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven." But immediately after that, he proved correct my introductory statement, and said: "Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know.", and then he captured the pure essence of knowledge when he said: "--God knows". God knows all, but He expects us to learn. Are you interested? Turn to 1st Corinthians and read and study chapter 8. It is only 13 verses long, and one of those verses is the introduction to this email. Waddya know? or, should I say, Waddya know now? I bet you know more than you did 10 minutes ago if you read that chapter.