Month: August 2017

TeacherStudent

Witness: The Almighty Creator

 

1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Genesis 1:1-3)

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 The Lord does whatever pleases Him,
    in the heavens and on the earth,
    in the seas and all their depths.

(Psalm 125:6)

 Witness: Day transforms to night.

Witness: I AM.

 He who forms the mountains,
    who creates the wind,
    and who reveals His thoughts to mankind,
who turns dawn to darkness,
    and treads on the heights of the earth—
    the Lord God Almighty is His name. (Amos 4:13)

 Witness: Night is consumed by the light of day.

Witness: God’s order in the universe restored.

 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for You created all things,
    and by Your will they were created
    and have their being.”

(Revelations 4:11)

 Witness: An eclipse of the sun.

Witness: Our Creator and our God!

 AMEN!

 (Sharon G. Tate 08/27/17 blog) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

JOY in Trials

Can we experience God’s blessings through difficulty, tragedy, disease, or loss?

During such times, we may raise our hands to the skies while crying out, “Where are you, God?” Through the different phases of these hardships, our outcry may be “Why, Lord?” Inside, we may be struggling with the words, “Unfair. What have I done to deserve this?”

It takes a different perspective, not a human one, to move past these feelings and advance forward with the point of view revealed to us in the Word: 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you are involved in various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But you must let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)

Our human selves do not normally find “joy” in trials. We experience pain, sorrow, depression, loss of hope and even anger. Faith can be lost during these times. But faith can, also, be greatly strengthened. To gain through trial, we have to perceive our struggles in a different way. Maybe when things are hard, that is when God is showing us just how much He does love us. Struggles can mold and shape us closer to His image; bring us to our knees before Him to seek His counsel, wisdom and forgiveness; and take us to the realization that we cannot make it alone without Him. We must be transformed by Him– to be with Him. Trials can create this change in us, and we can understand the joy in the Lord from a Godly view.

Our individual “thorn in the flesh” is hard to bear, but it may be the blessing given to bring about the change that is needed to help us grow as a Christian and remain faithful. Our experiences through trials may also be used to help others with the same problem. Our attitudes toward hardship may bring souls to Christ. All has been done/is done in love—and through joy in the hope given by Christ.

Can we experience God’s blessings through trials? The answer is “yes” for those who remain faithful and persevere through the difficulties of life, through the “thorns” and the trials. The promise of eternity awaits us beyond this mortal clock. No more loss there. No more tragedy there. No more disease there. NO MORE. In the presence of God, only blessings can abound. “Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow” (James 1:17).

Dear Lord, please help us see the blessings in trial. Help us use these trials to grow and mature in Christ. May we look for opportunities to bless others’ lives through our experiences with hardship.  Help us persevere to the day when it is all made clearer in Your presence.  Amen.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 08/20/17) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

The God-Ache Within Us

Desire for God

“It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for.” (1)

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Have you ever wanted some “thing” so much that you pursued it with persistence and perseverance, expended a great deal of time and energy and, perhaps, money into seeking a way to have it– only to discover that when you finally obtained it, you lost that feeling of really needing or even wanting it? In a short time, the item might be stuffed away in a closet, unused and forgotten, eventually ending up in a garage sale. “I have it now, so what’s the next ‘thing’ that gives me the same feeling of want and desire because I don’t have it yet?”

What we desire and want say a lot about us. How we pursue those things also speaks volumes. These are physical, observable wants, but what is really special to us and what we truly “ache for” may be hidden in a solitary quest of the heart and soul, only seen by God, El Roi, Who sees all.

“What makes something special is not just what you have to gain but what you feel there is to lose.”(2)  Something that is very special goes beyond the “gain” of merely having it– to the “ache” of loss without it.

What do we truly “ache for?” Do we have an “ache” inside for Christ that is such a special desire and a want that we would do anything to never lose Him? Would we pursue a relationship with God at a greater degree of persistence and perseverance, giving our time in abundance, for such a yearning in our hearts and souls for Him?

The scriptures speak to this ache and yearning for the Lord, our God:

Isaiah 26:9 My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. . .

Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 

Psalm 63:1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

Psalm 143:6  I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land.                        

John 6:27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”          

John 7:37-38 37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, 38 and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”

What we earnestly seek, we will find, if it is in God. What we find, we will hold dear in the God-given soul that aches for Him and longs to be with Him eternally.

Thank you, Lord, for this God-ache within us that yearns for You. Only in You can we fulfill all our wants, our desires, and our needs. Only in You, can we find true satisfaction and peace.  Amen.

(1) Oriah Mountain Dream, poet

(2) Andre Agassi, tennis pro

(Sharon G. Tate blog 08/13/17)  teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

The Touch of the Master’s Presence

Raindrops lightly tapping against an uncovered head;

A strong wind pushing a young boy ahead of his steps;

The tree branch brushing across the face of a hiker;

A bee striking the hand of a woman in her garden;

The mother cradling her newborn son gently in her arms–

The Touch of the Master, who was in the beginning,

Creating with the touch of His voice,

Who Is and Will Forever Be a Presence.

We cannot go where the Master’s touch is not upon us.

 JESUS PHYSICALLY TOUCHED OTHERS IN HIS LIFE HERE.

The Master’s touch healed a leper:

2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 3 Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. (Matthew 8:3)

The Master’s touch restored sight to the blind:

22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When He had spit on the man’s eyes and put His hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

25 Once more Jesus put His hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (Mark 8:22-25)

The Master’s touch raised the dead to life again:

12 As He approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, “Don’t cry.” 14 Then He went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”  15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. (Luke 7:12-15)

The Master’s touch calmed the fears of the disciples:

5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”

6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 17: 5-7)

Touching the Master brought Thomas to belief in the resurrection of Jesus:

25But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”(John 20:25-29)

 Although we have not seen, we have each been touched by the Master. We have felt His presence in all of creation around us; our fears have been calmed by His promises; sight has been restored more clearly to us by His Word; healing has taken place within us through His sacrifice; eternal life has been promised to us when we touch the hands and feet of the Savior, feel the nail wounds through faith—and BELIEVE.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 08/06/17) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word