Month: August 2018

TeacherStudent

The City Illumed by God’s Glory

 22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. (Revelation 21:22-25)

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The sun shone brightly ahead with a fierce intensity. It was impossible to look directly at it. Because the lowered car visor was insufficient, I raised my hand to try and deflect the rays to continue driving. This temporary, and mostly ineffective, shield did not allow me to look at the sun, but I did view a sight I had never witnessed before. The power lines all along the road ahead of me were ablaze with light, a golden brilliance that seemed to sweep upward toward the sky. Literally aglow from the sun’s radiance reflected onto the lines, the sight brought to my mind’s eye the path to the City we each strive with hope and faith to reach one day at the end of our life journey.

This City is described in Revelations in the context of many precious gems that we regard as valuable in this mortal world: jasper, ruby, pure gold, sapphire, emerald, topaz, turquoise, jacinth, amethyst, pearls, onyx, chrysolite, and more.

DESIRABLE. BEAUTIFUL. PRECIOUS.

The depiction is one that gives us some understanding and context as we attempt to grasp what this place is like that awaits us when we follow His Light. As we travel in this world on a dusty, bumpy, pot-holed road with weed growth in the cracks that is not paved with gold, the Light beckons–and we continue onward in anticipation of our arrival at the gates of this beautiful City of God’s Light.

The power lines that late afternoon were a reminder of the Power of the One Who IS Light—our Lord and Savior. The golden glow emanating from them seemed like a path paved with gold, directing my focus upward. How many times do we miss these sights provided just for us. Everywhere we look, we see God’s glory. Do we fail to witness and stare in awe?

That day, that moment in time, a golden glow of His Light from the sun was cast onto a row of power lines. I was a witness to this beautiful sight. I could not stare directly into the sun, for it was/it is a power beyond my ability to meet eye-to-Eye. Yet, the reflection was one I could behold, a gift that afternoon and a reminder that God is here. We just have to look and witness.

(Sharon  G. Tate blog 08/26/18) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

God’s Wondrous Creation-Through our Children’s Eyes

My granddaughter had the biggest smile on her face, as did my grandson who was standing next to her in the picture that arrived on my phone. I couldn’t make out what she was holding, but it looked alive. This mystery was solved when a magnification clearly showed several worms in her hands. My grandchildren had dug up these worms in their backyard to give to a Momma Robin to feed her little ones who weren’t yet born. The nest was in a tree branch at the rear of the house. They were excited to be helping this new Momma and her babies, keeping a daily watch until the real excitement came as the eggs hatched and little mouths opened, wanting to be fed!

There was no computer screen nearby, no television, no Netflix, no I-pad. Just the nature that God created. And it was exciting to them!

How many are Your works, Lord!
In wisdom You made them all;
the earth is full of Your creatures.

(Psalm 104:24)

 What WONDER to hold God’s creation in our hands and what WONDER to behold the birth of life. But we might not truly appreciate this if not for the smile, excitement, and awe of a child.

 7 But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In His hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.

(Job 12:7-10)

Ask the children, and they will teach you.

1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  2 He called a little child to Him, and placed the child among them. 3 And He said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in My name welcomes Me.” (Matthew 8:1-5)

 Our children are our teachers while we become the students who need the tutorial of how to appreciate the smallest creatures that we, otherwise, might overlook as common and unworthy of wonder.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  (Matthew 19:14)

Watch our children,

Wonder of Creation

In their eyes;

Behold the reflection

Cast into our own;

Watch our children,

To see God’s Wonders

All around us.

(Sharon  G. Tate blog 08/19/18) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

Prayer Voices to God

Voices… praise, penitent, present, patient.

Voices…cries, complaints, compromise, consent.

Voices…soft, sincere, solemn, submissive.

Voices…articulate, academic, artificial, announcer.

 Voices…inaudible, innermost, introspective, intentional.

 Voices…rote, rigid, repetitious, recitation.

Voices…joyful, jubilant, joyous, joy.

Voices…thanksgiving, transparency, trust, truth.

Voices…unspoken, underneath, unconscious, unresolved.

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What prayer voices do we offer to God? Our tone, attitude, purpose, approach, language in prayer all indicate something about our relationship with God. We know that He can listen even when we don’t physically utter words, because He is omniscient and all-knowing. I AM—in present tense—is always present when we use our public voices, our inner voices, and even our unconscious voices for prayer. Yet, as David’s prayers indicate, God will not listen and hear if sin is “cherished” in our hearts.

 Psalm66:17-20                                                                                                                                                              17 I cried out to Him with my mouth; His praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

 Psalm 116:  1 I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.

What voice should we present before God–that He will listen to and hear the prayers we bring to Him? What heart must we have that He will listen to what has been uttered and hear what is really being said?

Like any father, God desires communication with His children. We owe Him a respectful voice; we owe Him our utmost presence; we owe Him our praise, our submission, our gratitude; we owe Him joy for all He has done for us. We owe Him a voice and a heart that demonstrates our love for Him, our Father.

Hallowed is His Name and hallowed is our time with Him. Our prayer voices must be appropriate for this special time spent with our God.

(Sharon G. Tate blog -8/12/18) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

 

TeacherStudent

We Are His Creation, Wonderfully Made!

 The spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. (Job 33:4) ***********************************************

How often do we think about and reflect upon–

**breathing–unless there is a health concern that affects that life necessity?

**walking–unless something happens which impairs or prevents our ability to move?

**seeing--unless our vision is reduced, diminished significantly, or gone?

**hearing–unless communication becomes challenging or lost through this sense?

We, often, take much for granted in this life—until something is missing, changed, or gone.

Maybe by taking the essentials of our creation for granted,

we are taking God, our Creator, for granted.

 So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27)

For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:13-14)

Yet You, Lord, are Our Father. We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand. (Isaiah 64:8)

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?  (I Corinthians 3:16)

 We should daily think about and reflect upon God’s gifts of–

**breathing —taking in every breath gratefully as it is given from God.

**walking —moving forward in the moment and experiencing joy in the ability to do so.

**seeing—beholding the creation around us, including family, friends, and family in the Lord.

**hearing—listening to the sounds of God’s nature, the voices of loved ones, the praises to God.

His gifts to us, just in the creation of our own being, are beyond what we can comprehend. Even when impairments occur within our mortal forms, there is so much wonder in how we have been “knit together” by God that we should still be in awe. We can–and must–daily appreciate, in wonder and gratitude, our created existence in all its complexity and simplicity from our Father, our God, our Creator.

Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. (Psalm 100:3)

 

(Sharon G. Tate blog 08/05/18) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word