Tag Archives: curiosity

Don’t let Epiphany end, January 7, 2019

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary provides three definitions of the word epiphany. 1capitalized : January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ

2: an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being

3a(1): a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something

(2): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking

(3): an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure

b: a revealing scene or moment

So in the Christian calendar, the Epiphany is over. January 6th is past. The commemoration of the visit of the Magi to see Jesus and representing his ministry to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. So for millions in the Christian faith, we don’t mention the Epiphany again for another year. But why? Why can’t we live in a state of epiphany, the third definition? Why can’t we be like children in our Christian walk and through our daily activities and study, gain an intuitive grasp of reality through those activities? Why can’t we have the kinds of revealing moments children have in their discovery of life as we mature in our Christian walk?

I think our problem is we quit looking. We think as we physically mature into adulthood, we forget when we come to Christ, we come to him in a rebirth, infants. We soon think we know it all and lose the excitement of learning new things about him. It’s a phenomenon we see in most people in terms of their learning process in almost every aspect of life and applies to our Christian life as well if we are not careful.

As children, we are amazed at every discovery. Our brains are molded by all those new things we find in the world. They start with the discovery of our mom’s face, our hands and fingers, the small world that consists of the stuffed animals in our crib and the need for food and dry diapers. As we grow, our discoveries expand to the an every enlarging world around us, we explore on our knees as we learn to crawl, then our discoveries begin to get stifled by parents as we learn to walk and run and play because our parents need to confine our learning process to protect us in some ways.

Now why would I blame our parents for confining and limiting our epiphanies? Because I’m a parent. I’ve done it and if you’re a parent you’ve done it. It’s for our kids protection in a very evil world. I didn’t let my kids loose to do their own thing when they were five. They didn’t understand how the world works. They didn’t understand the harm that could come to them. They didn’t know the things I had learned through my thirty plus years of life when they were toddlers. The world for them would have been a scary place in which they could not have survived if I had just let them go out on their own with no supervision in their learning process at that young age.

When kids have been stopped from their inquisitive nature enough by parents or teachers or other adults, they stop learning. They give up. If they don’t learn as fast as others, peers can even make them stop because of embarrassment over their achievement or lack thereof. That’s what happens in our physical world. It’s what happens at school and at work.

If we are not careful, that same hindering of growth carries over into our spiritual world. Because we have lost the desire to learn in other areas, we can lose the desire to learn in our spiritual lives. We forget how to even have epiphanies. We let ourselves get buried in the same ruts that the rest of our society travels and refuse to learn. We just go along with the crowd.

So how can I say these things with any authority? A study done by the Pew Research Center in 2017 showed that the average American read only 17 minutes a day for pleasure and read no complete books during the year. Even those who identified themselves as avid readers reported reading an average of only four books a year for pleasure. But we are spending three hours a day in front of the television watching meaningless shows.

We are losing our epiphanies.

So how do we get them back? How do we get back the capacity as adults to have those moments of discovery that just blow us away? How do we capture ideas and thoughts and truths that cause us to pause in awe of the creator and help us know we have unearthed some revelation that will cause us to be more like the giver of life when we apply that truth in our everyday journey of life?

Let me share a few ideas to bring them back.

First, fall in love with God. Recognize what he has done for you and fall in love with him because of it.

Second, read about him every day. Spend some time in God’s word. Devotional books are okay, but they are not the same as reading the words he gave to us through his divine inspiration of those whose histories and prophecies and letters make up our Bible. His love and plans for us scream at us through the pages of his word, so spend time devouring it every day.

Third, pray. Ask God to teach you something about him often. Prayer doesn’t have to be long and wordy. It doesn’t have to follow a particular formula or pattern. Those can help as you learn to talk with him. But talk with God often. Short conversations with him throughout the day as you would talk with a friend keep you in tune and ready for an epiphany moment.

Fourth, journal. Write down your thoughts, your questions, your requests and answers as you hear them from God and other trusted Christian brothers and sisters. Explore them and record what God shares with you through his spirit. Make notes in your Bible, underline passages that speak to you. Put questions in the margins you want answered. Jot down things you will do because of what you read.

Fifth, take inventory of your thoughts and actions at least weekly. Pick a time one day a week, either at the beginning or end of the week when you have some routine time that will not be filled with the hustle and bustle of life. Make an appointment with God and put it on your calendar as an appointment. You might need an hour or so to look over the last week and highlight the things you’ve learned about your walk with God, your relationship with him and others, what you did well and what you need to do differently to be more like him. Then write down the one or two things you will do different this next week to be more like him. Look for those epiphanies for continued growth.

Epiphanies sometimes come in the most unusual and unexpected times and places. Thomas Edison talks about the epiphany that became the modern light bulb. However, it came after 1,000 failures in trying to create it. So, finally, don’t give up. Keep looking. Keep searching. Stay inquisitive. Fall in love with the Savior every day. Don’t let the season of Epiphany end because the calendar says so. Keep it alive in your heart throughout the year.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

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Get out of the children’s way (Mark 10/14-15) August 19, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Hosea 1-7

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Mark 10:14-15
Jesus (to the disciples): Let the children come to Me, and don’t ever stand in their way, for this is what the kingdom of God is all about. Truly anyone who doesn’t accept the kingdom of God as a little child does can never enter it.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I’m visiting my two year old grandson today. It’s always interesting to watch these little guys as they explore the world around them. He’s fascinated by so many things we just take for granted as old folks. We forget the wonder of the world around us. It’s good to stop and watch the world through the eyes of a two year old again every once in a while.

A few minutes ago a landscaping crew came to the neighborhood to mow several lawns around his house. He loves to watch them. He’s fascinated by the sound, the smells, the way the workers race through the yards with their mowers and neatly cut and trim the yard then finish up by blowing the grass off all the sidewalks. We see it as work. A chore that must be done every other week throughout the summer. He sees it as a minor miracle to watch the grass change shape from that scraggly mess to a beautiful carpet he can play run and play on.

He’s fascinated by trash. I know. It sounds a little weird. He probably gets the weird side from my gene pool. But he likes to find trash because he likes to open the trash can. It has one of those foot pedals that opens the lid when you step on it. He’s just heavy enough to push the pedal down, open the lid, and deposit his find. So far, he’s found trash for the can. My granddaughter like to do the same thing at that age, but with keys, phones, remotes. So we’re happy Gideon likes trash.

Little children teach us a multitude of things when we watch them. They don’t care about the color of other children’s skin. They just play together. They ask each other why one is brown or tan or white, but they play together great. Kids are fascinated by older kids. Just watch a two year old around a crowd of older kids and see where his eyes go. He’ll immediately start watching what the three and four year olds are doing. Kids love to ape their slightly older peers.

Put him down and in just a few minutes he’ll be trying what the older kids were doing. He might not do it well, but he’ll keep trying and eventually, he’ll learn the task. The same thing happens with language, behavior, mannerisms, all sorts of things. Winning and losing doesn’t matter to them when they play together, they just play. It’s the fun of the game that interests kids and they seem to get along.

That is until adults intervene in their playing together. Then the color of skin seems to matter. The rules must be followed. There has to be winners and losers with every game. Someone has to be the best. If you don’t get it right, you’re labeled and either given special help or distracted and encouraged to do something else so you won’t be embarrassed by your failure. We adults really mess kids up sometimes with thinking we know what’s best, you know?

Jesus said some pretty smart things during His short ministry. All of them are really good. This is one of His great one. “Don’t ever stand in the children’s way, for this is what the kingdom of God is all about.”

How much do we stifle our children by trying to mold them into something the world says they should be? How much do we crush their spirit by trying to make them into what we want them to be? I’m not saying we should let our kids just run wild and always do what they want and live carefree without discipline and always do what they want. That would be irresponsible and negligent as a parent. But God made each of us different and we forget that children are inquisitive by nature. We should encourage that curiosity and help them learn and absorb all of the beauty of God’s creation around them.

We should teach them self discipline. We should teach them about God’s love and His will for all humankind. We should help them explore His goodness, grace, and mercy. We should emulate children in their trust and love and acceptance of all people.

Don’t get in the way of the children. The kingdom of God is all about them, their behavior, their curiosity, their innocence, their love and acceptance. Jesus says, get out of their way and instead follow their example. So go find a two year old and learn from him.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

To be a kid again (Matthew 18:3-6) April 23, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Mark 13-14

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 18:3-6
Jesus: This is the truth: unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. In that kingdom, the most humble who are most like this child are the greatest. And whoever welcomes a child, welcomes her in My name, welcomes Me. And do not lead astray one of the weak and friendless who believes in Me. If you do, it would be better for you to be dragged down with a millstone and drowned in the bottom of the sea.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I used to watch my kids to understand what Jesus meant by His words, become like little children. They grew up, though. I had to start watching other people’s kids. Then my grandkids came along and I get to watch in house kids every once in a while again up close and personal. I think it always best to observe their behavior up close to really find out what Jesus meant as He talked to His disciples, those that wanted to become like Him.

So what can we learn from watching kids? First, they are happy. Watch a bunch of kids. They usually play well together until adults get involved. Then they learn how to bully and want to be first and how to trip up the other guy so they win. But until they are spoiled by the world’s definitions of success, kids just play and as they play, they are happy with themselves and with each other.

Second, they are trusting. Tell them almost anything and they will believe it. Why? Because they trust people. They believe you. They think no one would every lead them down the wrong path, so they trust people. They don’t think anyone would every do them anything but good. They believe in the good in everyone. That’s what trust is about. They give you the benefit of the doubt and trust that you have their best in mind with every action you take towards them.

I remember my kids jumping off the porch expecting me to catch them. They just knew I would. They trusted me. Of course, I did… every time. I wasn’t about to let them fall or lose their faith in me.

Third, they are inquisitive. Kids want to soak up information and knowledge and wisdom like a sponge. We cut them off because it’s inconvenient for us to answer all their questions sometimes. But it seems they never tire of asking those questions. I remember when my daughter was just putting sentences together she was sitting in her car seat in the back and must have asked a hundred “Why” questions non-stop. My wife was having a pretty stressful day as it was one of my Army absentee days and finally had enough. She blurted out, “If you ask me ”why“ one more time…” I don’t remember the punishment, but I’m sure it would not have been something my daughter looked forward to.

Without missing a beat she said, “Mommy, how come…” Children are inquisitive and God wants us to ask questions so He can answer them for us. He wants us to talk to Him and learn from Him. If we don’t ask questions, we can’t grow in wisdom and knowledge and understanding. He likes our curious nature.

Finally, children know where to go when they are hurt and broken hearted. They run to their parents. They want to be wrapped in their mother or father’s arms for consolation and comfort. They need the safety of knowing Mommy or Daddy will be there for them and love them no matter what is going on around them. If its an injury or illness or bullies or whatever the situation, they want the unconditional love only a parent can give. Jesus point us to our heavenly Father and says be like little children. Run to Daddy when we feel broken and alone with no one else to turn to.

Jesus looked around at the children playing in the village and in the fields around Him. He saw their behavior and their character. He saw their openness and joy. Jesus saw in them the trust and curiosity that comes with being a child and longs for us to scrap off the façade the world tries to get us to paint on our faces to make us think we’re all grown-up, self-sufficient, in need of nothing. But we’re not. We need Him. We need to humble ourselves. Become like little children with their joy, their trust, their curiosity, and their wisdom to know Who to turn to.

We can learn a lot from children if we will just stop and watch them carefully. Jesus had a lot to say about them. He said such as these will inherit the kingdom of heaven. I guess I really want to be like a kid again. How about you?

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Be a curiosity, it’s okay (Acts 25:1-22), Feb 18, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Acts 25:1-22
Set – Numbers 4; Acts 25
Go! – Numbers 3-4; Acts 25

Acts 25:1-22
¹Three days after arriving in the province, Festus traveled south from Caesarea to Jerusalem. ^2-3 The chief priests and Jewish leaders still had a plan to kill Paul and gave a report to Festus about their unresolved grievances against Paul. They suggested that as a favor to them, Festus should move Paul to Jerusalem. Of course, this was part of the plan to set an ambush for Paul and kill him en route. ⁴ Festus instead offered to reopen the case. He would be going back to Caesarea soon.

Festus: ⁵ So let your leaders accompany me, and bring your accusations against the man.

⁶ Eight or ten days later, Festus returned to Caesarea, and the next day he took his seat in court. He ordered Paul to be brought before him. ⁷ The Jewish opponents from Jerusalem immediately surrounded Paul and from all directions bombarded him with all sorts of serious charges, none of which could be proven.

Paul (quietly and simply): ⁸ In no way have I committed any offense against Jewish law, against the Jewish temple and all it represents, or against the emperor.

⁹ Here Festus saw an opportunity to do just the favor Paul’s Jewish opponents had requested.

Festus: Would you like to have your trial in Jerusalem? I’d be willing to try your case there.

Paul: ^10-11 If I had committed a capital offense, I would accept my punishment. But I’m sure it’s clear to you that I have done no wrong to the Jews. Since their charges against me are completely empty, it would be wrong to turn me over to them. No, I do not wish to go to Jerusalem. I am appealing to the court of the emperor in Rome.

¹² Festus conferred privately with his council and returned with this decision:

Festus: You have appealed to the emperor, so to the emperor you will go.

¹³ Several days later, the provincial king Agrippa arrived in Caesarea with his wife Bernice to welcome the new governor. ¹⁴ Their visit lasted several days, which gave Festus the chance to describe Paul’s case to the king.

Festus: Felix left me some unfinished business involving a prisoner named Paul. ¹⁵ When I was in Jerusalem, I got an earful about him from the chief priests and Jewish elders. They wanted me simply to decide against him, ¹⁶ but I informed them that we Romans don’t work that way. We don’t condemn a person accused of a crime unless the accusers present their case in person so the accused has ample opportunity to defend himself against the charge. ¹⁷ I arranged for them to come here for a proper hearing. In fact, the first day after I returned to Caesarea, I took my seat in court and heard his case without delay. ¹⁸ Contrary to my expectations, the accusers brought no substantial charges against him at all. ¹⁹ Instead, they were bickering about their own religious beliefs related to a fellow named Jesus, who had died, but whom Paul claimed was raised to life again. ²⁰ I had no idea how to handle a religious squabble pretending to be a legal case, so I suggested Paul be taken to Jerusalem so he could be tried on Jewish turf, so to speak. ²¹ But Paul refused, and instead he appealed to be kept in custody so the case could be referred to his Imperial Majesty. So I have held him until we can arrange to send him to the emperor.

Agrippa: ²² This sounds interesting. I’d like to hear this fellow in person.

Festus: You will, then. We’ll bring him in tomorrow.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Christians become a real curiosity when they do what I ask of them. Don’t expect others to understand you. But you are not alone. Imagine how people misunderstood Noah. Rain had never fallen on the earth when I told him to start building an ark because I was going to unleash the torrents of water from the sky. Everyone thought he was crazy. He tried to convince them the world was coming to an end, but they didn’t believe him, just like they don’t believe many of My prophets.

Or think about Gideon. How many thought he was out of his mind when he sent a third of his army home if they were just married, had crops to harvest, or were afraid. Then out of the 10,000 soldiers left, at My command, he selected only 300 to attack an army that had been undefeated by any force they faced. There were a lot of curious bystanders taking cheap shots at Gideon…until the Mideonites destroyed themselves.

David was a curiosity. This shepherd that became king because of his military exploits beginning with the slaying of Goliath. Everyone wondered how he mustered up the courage to take on the giant. David’s son, Solomon, certainly became a curiosity for the kingdom and the world with his knowledge and wisdom. His wisdom became known throughout the world and powerful men and women came to listen to him speak about every subject under the sun.

Hosea was curiosity to the Jews around him when he married a prostitute and then retrieved her when she ran away from him. He had every right to divorce her and wipe his hands clean of his adulterous wife. Instead, he restored her to a place of honor and respect in his household because of his love for her.

Then My Son comes along and becomes a curiosity for many who saw Him. No one could deny His miracles. No one could refute His wisdom. No one could deny He was not like everyone else. The same was true of His disciples and all those who came after Him and accepted Him as Lord of their lives. Paul, Peter, John, James, Silas, Barnabas, and the list goes on in the millions of men and women whose lives have been changed because of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Christians are always a curiosity. People remain covered by a veil that blinds them to the truth until they step out in faith and accept Me as their Lord and Savior. But once that single step of faith happens, like Paul, the scales fall from their eyes and the scriptures begin to open to their minds by the power of My Spirit with in them. Then they understand. Until then, Christians remained an enigma.

It’s really okay to be a curiosity, if you’re a curiosity because of Me. You’ll understand the reasons someday. Until then, just do what I ask and know others will question what you do, but one thing is sure. You’ll stand out in a crowd.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.