“How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?” ¹

TIME: We often wish to hold onto it-to linger in the moment, the hour, the day- and make time pass more slowly. Just one more day, just one more hour, just one more moment. . . And then we will have time to say what we want to say, do what we intend to do, and be what we think we can be. But time just, somehow, slips away—and we don’t have time enough, we reason.

TIME: It does not wait for us. It does not hold “the moment.” It does not provide the “right time.” We decide what to do with the time God gives us. The main focus and allocation of our time should be to follow the Lord, obey His Word, and wake up to the reality that Time does pass and it really could be “too late too soon.”

¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.                              (Romans 13:11-12)

TIME: It gives us the hope to change. It grants us the opportunities to make a difference. It bestows us with the gift of each second to unwrap and open the possibilities.

(9) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (10) Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.  (Galatians 6:9-10)

TIME: Isn’t it about time we DID SAY what we wanted to say, we DID DO what we intended to do, and we DID BECOME what we wanted to become—before we end up asking ourselves “How did it get so late so soon?”

“God will bring into judgment
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time to judge every deed.” (Ecclesiastes 3:17)

TIME: It won’t last forever here. It will last forever with the Lord. There is much to do in the time God grants us in this life. Let us “put on the armor of light” and boldly SAY what the Lord would have us say, DO what He would have us do, and BECOME what we know we must become-like Christ- to make a change, a difference, and open the possibilities to “do good to all people.”

  What we do-or don’t do- each and every today affects our eternity in a forever way.

¹ Dr. Seuss. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/25/15) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

Do we have daily conversations with God where we make sure we are heard—but forget to listen? Are we really even conversing at all in this situation–or are we just presenting a one-sided monologue to the Lord, consisting of our personal list of requests, wants, and needs?

“The word listen contains the same letters as the word silent.” ²

To engage in true conversation with our God, we must also be silent and listen to what He has to say to us. There is much that can be heard in silence. Noise drowns out the Word, which the Lord wants to impart to us. Our own words can interfere with and block out His part of the conversation. Maybe WE TALK TOO MUCH–without letting Him speak.

Listening involves a focused mindset. In our society today, such a mindset is difficult to develop and sustain: short quotes on Facebook, short blurbs in ads, condensed recaps of news, texts and tweets, instant messaging. We move from one item to another quickly on Google. In fact, in a recent Microsoft study reported in Time, the results indicate that our focus of attention has declined to a mere eight seconds. ³

So how can we listen and be silent before God to hear all He has to say when our attention span is so lacking? It is possible! Each one of us can remain absorbed, engrossed, riveted and totally engaged for a longer duration of time in something we love to do—fishing, reading, cooking, sewing, a sport, exercise, camping, etc. We can develop and maintain this intentional focus when the “want to” is there.

“Hearing” God and “listening” to His Word are referenced many times in scripture:
Psalm 85:8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.
Matthew 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

If we are to truly live “by every word” coming from God, then we must love this conversation with God more than our desire for anything else—and we must learn to listen and be silent.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

¹ Hazlitt, William
² Brendel, Alfred
³ time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/11/15) Meditations on God’s Word teacherforjesus.com

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

The leaves are falling. More spiral downward, covering the ground. He watches them through the window, his face pressed against the glass, a worried expression imprinted there. Small handprints on the pane reach outward to try and catch the leaves—on the other side.

“Mommy, how do they get back up?”
“They will come back in the spring.”
“But how?”
“The leaves will grow in the buds- green and new again.”
“Why did they fall down?”
“It was just their time, son.”

We are blessed with special people in our lives. Some leave handprints on our hearts. We watch them swirling downward. We can’t bring them back up. We can’t hold them through the glass on the other side. Yet, in our loss as they leave us, we must remember there is spring and life again. God has promised this renewal to those who love Him and keep His commandments.

Job spoke with God, asking the question all humankind needs answered:

14) If someone dies, will they live again?
All the days of my hard service
I will wait for my renewal to come.
15) You will call and I will answer you;
you will long for the creature your hands have made.
16) Surely then you will count my steps
but not keep track of my sin. (Job 14:14-16)

The verb repeatedly used in this conversation is “will.” This future tense is the expectation that God will grant this renewal. It will happen. Job’s “I will wait” statement is the demonstration of faith by Job that he knows new life will come in God’s time and plan, not his.

David affirmed this belief, using the same future tense verb, in his song to the Lord.

9) Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10) because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay. (Psalm 16:9-10)

John confirmed this promise, using a comparable future tense verb “shall.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:16)

The leaves are falling. Our season will come. God’s promise of renewal on the Tree of Life shall be fulfilled. Let us remain faithful that we may receive our promised inheritance—a new life in forever bloom with the Lord.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/04/15) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word