Month: October 2017

TeacherStudent

Onward to the Goal for Christ


18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

G–Go

O–Out

A–And

L–Love

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)

Love was made known to us through Christ when He gave His life for us while we were sinners, knowing we would sin yet and continually need His saving love.

THE GOAL

— Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (Hebrews 13:1-2)

–Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deed. (Proverbs 19:17)

–Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27)

–Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. (Ephesians 4:25)

–Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4:29)

–“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.’ (Matthew 25:40)

–Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

PERSEVERANCE

–But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.      (II Chronicles 15:7)

–So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. (II Corinthians 8:11-12)

–Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

THE WAY

–I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

–But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

WHEREVER WE GO, WE WILL FIND THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED OF WHAT WE CAN GIVE THROUGH LOVE IN CHRIST. DO WE HAVE THE GOAL? THE PERSEVERANCE?

THE WAY IS THERE FOR US.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/29/17) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

Do We Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness?

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)

H—Hunting                            T—Transforming

U—Understanding.                H—Hunger.

N—Needful                             I —Insatiable

G—Growth.                             R—Redemption.

E—Emancipating                  S—Summoning

R—Renewal.                           T—Truth.

Do we truly hunger and thirst for righteousness before God? A hunger is a need to be satisfied, to be filled. It is a gnawing pain inside that growls, telling us that we must find a way to ease it.

What does our “hungering” for God and His righteousness sound like in our everyday lives? Does it find expression in our words, in our prayers, in our actions? Do we hunt for the understanding to try and be what God wants us to be? Do we pursue the change we need in order to reach an emancipating renewal in our lives?

Once our hunger seems satisfied with understanding and change, will we continue to thirst? Will we always have an insatiable hunger, a strong desire for His redeeming love in our hearts?

 . . . like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation. . . (I Peter2:2)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. (John 6:35)

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)

I stretch out my hands to You; My soul longs for You, as a parched land. Selah.  (Psalm 143:6)

Transformation will occur when we truly listen to His summoning Truth. It calls us to be His, beckoning us to share His Word with others that they may hunger and thirst as well–and be filled.

Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”(John 4:13-14)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. (John 6:35)

. . . Until the time when we will hunger and thirst no more—for we will be with Him. Amen.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/22/17) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

 

TeacherStudent

A Beautiful Mind: The Mind of God

Have we truly considered the beauty of the Mind of God? He is both the Creator of worlds and the Creator of butterflies, every intricate and minute particle. He is the Artist of rainbow colors, fall splendor, and white sands. His creativity is evidenced in each snowflake, each seashell, each pebble, and each seed.

The Mind of God is imaginative in design.  He made the tiny hummingbird and the flamboyant peacock, the bleating lamb and the growling tiger. His protective design allows the color-changing chameleon, the shape-shifting mimic octopus, and the winter white/summer brown snowshoe hare to merge with its environment and thrive.

God has a Mind beyond the scope of any scientist’s understanding.  Albert Einstein, an acknowledged agnostic and theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, wrote this in 1954, “I don’t try to imagine a God; it suffices to stand in awe of the structure of the world, insofar as it allows our inadequate senses to appreciate it.” 1  Einstein later made this statement in 1955: “I want to know how God created this world. I’m not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.” 2 A man whose name is usually associated with the highest form of human genius does not know how this world was created, cannot find the answer in science, and is in awe of its structure–as designed by God.

The Mind of God created man, granting him the mind to choose. How does one comprehend the awesome wisdom of the Creator of everything in this decision to grant mankind the choice to love and worship Him or deny and turn from Him. This beautiful Mind of our Father sent His only begotten Son to die for us, His adopted children, offspring who could love Him or reject Him.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
    How unsearchable his judgments,
    and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
    Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
    that God should repay them?”
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
    To him be the glory forever! Amen.   (Romans 11:33-36)

To Him be the glory forever! Amen.  

Citations:

1 Letter to S. Flesch, April 16, 1954; Einstein Archive 30-1154. 

² From E. Salaman, “A Talk With Einstein,” The Listener 54 (1955), pp. 370-371, quoted in Jammer, p. 123.

Sharon G. Tate blog (10/15/17) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

Perspective from the Mountain

Mountain Climbing of faith

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them …  (Matthew 5:1-2)

 Did every person hear what Jesus had to say?

Did each one listen attentively?

Did some only catch a phrase and miss the next when distracted?

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There was an incident. Witnesses were summoned to report what they saw or heard.

—The first witness heard tires squeal and saw a red car turn around and race past him. He could not really see the driver inside but was sure it was a male.

—The second witness was on the other side of the road and caught a glimpse of the driver who appeared to be tall inside this vehicle and wore a baseball hat backwards.

—The third witness saw another man run out of a convenience store with a bag in his hand and jump into the red car that seemed to be waiting outside, but he did not see the driver inside.

–-The fourth witness, the store clerk, said the man forced him to hand over the money in the cash register and then ran out. The clerk was calling the police and never saw the car or the driver.

—The fifth witness was texting in the middle of the street crosswalk and just looked up in time to jump out of the way of a speeding vehicle that did not stop at the sign. He dropped his phone, bent down to pick it up, and didn’t really see what kind of vehicle it was or get a description of the driver.

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Angle of view. Senses of hearing, of seeing. Perspective.

In most incidents, events, and occurrences, we only see dimly.

“We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing Him directly just as He knows us! (1 Corinthians 13:12 The Message)

Our view is an earthly one in all things, while His is from on high, looking down from a clear perspective of the whole—from the very beginning of creation. Christ saw the multitudes and went up on a mountain. He was a witness to everything below Him, seeing and knowing all, and He taught what this representation of humanity needed to hear from that perspective. The lessons are still “heard” today through the scriptures, if we truly listen, for He spoke to us as well.

We are each a witness. What we share in our testimony will depend on our willingness to focus intently on His Words, to see with eyes that want to learn, to hear with ears that want to listen, and to view from a place of least distraction to obtain a clearer and a higher perspective. We, too, must climb the mountain.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/08/17) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

 

 

TeacherStudent

Holding Steadfast to Faith


58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

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Relationship with God       —Comparison—        Societal, Cultural Relationships

S—Stay————————————————————- F—Fluctuating

T—True————————————————————-O–Objection

E—Evermore——————————————————R–Rarely

A—Always———————————————————-M–Maybe

D—Dedicated——————————————————E—Erratic

F —Faithful———————————————————T–Temporary

A—Ardent———————————————————–I–Indifferent

S —Steady———————————————————–M-Makeshift

T—Trustworthy—————————————————-E—Errant

God’s Steadfast Relationship with Us:

 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in Him.(Psalm 32:10)

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.
His love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1)

 In a “for-me-time” society and culture, relationships are not steadfast. The only relationship that is enduring and faithful is the one with God.

 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. (Galatians 6:9)

 Doing good for others as onto Christ.

 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.’” (Matthew 25:34-40)

Our connection with God is the sole true relationship that will never fail us, never disappoint us, never leave us, NEVER.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/01/17) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word