WHAT IS EPIGNOSIS?

The morning air probably brought chills across my chubby checks, air drifted across the big hall, hanging between the trusses of the building was a big black bird that had nested there for a while, the palm trees lined outside the building engaged in a romantic dance, the wind breezed through unabated, the paint on some parts of the room was angrily parting ways with the plaster, the white plastic chairs arranged in a neat pattern protested silently as they endured the morning breeze, when the security checkpoints fang open, swarms of people burst forth into the rectangular building, there was no burgundy bricks but a mixture of monolith and steel, you would have a feeling the windows hadn’t been opened in weeks, the glazes were fuzzy. 

As you enter through any of the five entrances, the smartly dressed ushers would smile at you and some generous ones give you a warm embrace. In no seconds, a well-trimmed man suddenly appears on the dark and white patched stage, his job would be to welcome everybody and speak in tongues for a few minutes, when the room burst into tongues, you could mistake the church for peters upper chamber, there seemed not any man who wouldn’t bubble in unknown tongues,  shortly the choir had been ushered in and was singing one of the most bespoke Christian music you could ever find, a lady with a dark complexion played the guitar while a very energetic young man, well into his 20s played the drums, he hit them so hard that you couldn’t know there was a man playing a saxophone.  When the preacher took to the stage, he spoke very articulately and expounded on a greater dimension of knowledge unbeknownst to me, while he uttered one word that had never been heard by my indigenous acoustic meatus, the word epignosis.

What exactly is Epignosis?

Epignosis (pronounced e-pē’-gnō-sēs) is a compound Greek word from EPI (meaning - upon) and GINOSIS (meaning - knowledge). Thus, "upon knowledge" .This word family occurs 62 times in the New Testament. The verb (EPIGNOSKO) occurs 42 times while the noun (EPIGNOSIS) occurs 20 times. [Credit: https://epignosisministries.wordpress.com/what-is-epignosis/]

It differs in use from other words translated “knowledge” (gnosis, ginosko, etc.). Epignosis refers to ethical and divine knowledge of God, which is precise and correct. Paul writes to the church in Philippians praying that the Philippians’ love may abound more and more IN precise and correct knowledge and in all judgment.

“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;” (Philippians 1:9)

Again, in Colossians 3:10, Paul tells us that the new man who believers put on is renewed IN precise and correct knowledge after the image of the creator God.

“And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” (Colossians 3:10)

In writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul prays that God the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, give the Ephesian Christians the spirit of wisdom and revelation IN the precise and correct knowledge of Himself.

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:” (Ephesians 1:17)

Knowledge is multi-dimensional in Greek and it is defined as Epignosis, Epiginosko or ginosko; Epignosko “denotes (a) “to observe, fully perceive, notice attentively, discern, recognize” and “suggests generally a directive, a more special, recognition of the object “known” than does ginosko; it also may suggest advanced “knowledge” or special appreciation; thus, in Rom. 1:32, “knowing the ordinance of God” (epiginosko) means “knowing full well,” whereas in Rom. 1:21 “knowing God” (ginosko) simply suggests that they could not avoid the perception. Sometimes epiginosko implies a special participation in the object “known,” and gives greater weight to what is stated; thus in John 8:32, “ye shall know the truth,” ginosko is used, whereas in 1 Tim. 4:3, “them that believe and know the truth,” epiginosko lays stress on participation in the truth.”

Epignosis is completely superior to these types of knowledge. The next time you want to execute a decision, idea, concept, weigh it against knowledge which is Epignosis, you will move very fast. You will do in one year what it takes other men 20 years to do.

THE POWER TO EVOLVE

The sun draped in crimson and gold rose hastily, spilling its beautiful light all over the plains of Lango, the white clouds beamed with glee when the half-baked hues penetrated their opulent canopies, it could only take a weather man to discern that the last days freezing night would turn into a scorching day, the sun snaked through the skies, and when it had reached its zenith, half the people on the streets had retreated to their homes or hidden under the trees that swayed gently, as the sun set, the strips of clouds turned to shimmering gold setting the stage for the abnormally large moon to bath the earth in its luminous glow.

December is invitingly rude, its high sunlit clouds, the skyrocketing commodity prices and a mass of people flocking through the streets are a huge eyesore, 16th December was not an ordinary day, I had travelled across the plains of Yumbe, drifted through the undulating hills of Moyo and embraced the savannah of Adjumani and gazed at the unforgetting huts in the outskirts of Gulu, the breath taking scenery captivated me as I traveled, the Japanese vehicle I was driving vibrated across the corrugated dusty roads, I had arrived in Lira, a City that was in a hurry to grow that evening, the shooting storied buildings and unplanned slums all competed for the land, the huge rumble strips and humps that gave us sore backs rolled out the red carpet. I was in Lira City to attend the overly anticipated crusade slated from 20th – 22nd January 2023 by Phaneroo Ministry International. On Thursday 19th January, something happened!

It was a cold grey afternoon with a dull sky, The hue clouds rolled slowly and low across the parched lawn at the Lira Mayor’s garden, a row of 2000 or thereabouts of plastic armless chairs were arranged in an orderly pattern, the young boys and girls dressed in immaculate white shirts and dresses patrolled the pews like they searched for beads in a sea of sand, In a second, I saw one of the ushers standing with hands akimbo through my left cornea, she was convincing a heavily drugged street child to come and take a seat, it seemed like they were selling ice to an igloo.

When the Phaneroo Thursday service was set and rolling, the preacher, Apostle Grace Lubega beaming with gladness appears on the mega screens in front of us, his voice immaculate, his splendor unmatched, he was sandwiched between an army of well draped choirs. “Today I am preaching a sermon entitled the ‘Power to Evolve’ exclaimed the man of God.” What is to evolve asked Apostle Grace, 

“Evolve is to grow, to alter, to transform, to convert into a greater, better, improved and more glorious version of yourself"

In the sermon, Apostle Grace taught;

“Our God is a God of advancement, growth, transformation and conversion and that He has designed our lives to adapt to a greater glory, so that we are better today than what we were yesterday in all aspects of our lives.” 

When the sermon concluded, the screams of joy and ululations were ear-splitting in confirmation of the impact it had had on us. The sermon punctuated with stories of mega conglomerates such as Kodak, IBM, Blackberry, Blockbuster, Nokia that failed to evolve eventually leading to their downfall, was breathtaking. I could hear resounding shouts of young men and women speaking in tongues as the worship song filtered through the gigantic speakers hanging on metallic trusses.

One of the most articulate analogies to depict the power to evolve, is the Butterfly Life Cycle, the butterfly develops through a process called metamorphosis. This is a Greek word that means transformation or change in shape. There are four stages in the metamorphosis of butterflies: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The eggs are laid on plants by the adult female butterfly, then the caterpillar, which is the feeding stage, primarily the caterpillars only job is to eat and eat and eat. As the caterpillar grows it splits its skin and sheds it about 4 or 5 times while growing 100 times their size, food eaten at this time is stored and used later as an adult, the pupa which is the transition stage also called a chrysalis. Depending on the species, the pupa may suspended under a branch, hidden in leaves or buried underground. The pupa is protected inside a cocoon of silk, this stage can last from a few weeks, a month or even longer. It may look like nothing is going on but big changes are happening inside. Special cells that were present in the larva are now growing rapidly. They will become the legs, wings, eyes and other parts of the adult butterfly. Many of the original larva cells will provide energy for these growing adult cells and then the adult which is the reproductive stage; this is what most people think of when they think of butterflies. They look very different from the larva. The caterpillar has a few tiny eyes, stubby legs and very short antennae. The adults have long legs, long antennae, and compound eyes. They can also fly by using their large and colorful wings. The one thing they can't do is grow. 

How does a caterpillar rearrange itself into a butterfly? What happens inside a chrysalis or cocoon may not be fully explained but one thing for sure, it’s where the biggest transformation happens and If it is possible for a caterpillar, then how much more and often is should be for a human being.

The year 2023 is a year of transformation and evolving, that is why I enrolled for the Harvest Institute, School of Leadership to help transform me into a better version of myself, a better leader and person. Fundamentally as the eons unwrap and close with the passing of time, what are you doing about yourself, if you are not evolving, chances are your are frustrating Godly potential.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. - 2 Corinthians 3:18

 

“I DON’T HAVE TO WALK LONG DISTANCES FOR WATER” – SARAH’S STORY

Sarah stands with a 10 litre water container on her head, in her purple short sleeved shirt and black skirt in front of a makeshift tapstand, on the one side of the tapstand is a 10,000 black plastic tank and on the other is an incomplete mud and wattle house, within an arms reach are little children fetching water in plastic containers, in the background is a woman with a smiling gaze and across is a middle aged man who is muttering to the kids not to splash the precious water down.

13 year old Sarah is one of the 2000 refugees who have fled fighting in the DRC and have since been settled in Kyaka II refugee settlement. On a normal day, she is desperate to complete her daily chores, she knows her mother expects her to collect water every day for cooking, washing and bathing.

“When we had just arrived in Kyaka II, we used to fetch water from a swamp which was very far, the water was dirty but we had no option” she adds “we didn’t expect to get flowing water, but I was excited when Oxfam put this tank here, it has made our life easier and we are happy”

A short distance away, is Sarah’s household, a temporary mud, wattle and tarpaulin house crammed with utensils and beddings, besides it is her mother who has just finished fixing the family meal.

“I am pleased with the quality of water they give us everyday, the water truck has never stopped coming to bring water for this tank” said Sarah’s mother who we met when we followed up Sarah at her home. “I am not worried when I am cooking food, or washing utensils because the water we use at home is clean”

Sarah has been studying in DRC in Primary four and expects to continue with her studies here in Uganda. “During school days, I don’t have to walk long distances to the valley to look for water, the water is right here near our home, I reach school early.” She had asked us about the opportunity to continue with her school in the settlement.

Oxfam with funding from UNHCR has constructed and installed temporary water trucking tanks in Mukondo and works are underway to extend piped water and build a steel reservoir tank to provide sustainable access to safe and clean water thereby reducing walking distances and increase on productivity time for the settled refugees and asylum seekers.

Story first published in Oxfam blog: https://uganda.oxfam.org/latest/stories/%E2%80%9Ci-don%E2%80%99t-have-walk-long-distances-water%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-sarah%E2%80%99s-story-0