Month: March 2020

TeacherStudent

WHEN FEAR IS NEAR . . .

When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. (Psalm 56:3)

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Fear is Near–                                                                       Muscles tense,                                                                    Thoughts  implode,                                                           Clarity fades,                                                                       Reason irrationalizes,                                                      Anxiety thrives–                                                                 Peace is Distant.

30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day. (Matthew 6:30-34)

Fear is like a thief in the night, stealing God’s promises from us,

as we toss and turn in restless slumber.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

His peace has been given to us. It is now—and everlasting. Only our fear and anxiety can make us question His promises, lose sight of His gifts, and cast His hope away.

Yet, He is near, sending us a lifeline back to Him.

When anxiety was great within me,
    Your consolation brought me joy.

(Psalm 94:19)

FEAR separates us from God’s loving, outstretched hand.

FEAR separates us from Jesus waiting on the other side of the door.

FEAR holds us back from opening ourselves to Him to receive His peace.

FEAR allows anxiety to grow and create a vacuum, a space devoid of God’s hope.

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

 NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM GOD— EXCEPT US.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)  AMEN!

(Sharon G. Tate blog 03/29/2020) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

IN GOD, WE MUST PUT OUR TRUST.

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. . . (Hebrews 10:23)

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From the time we were children, we have experienced fear: 

 “When but a child, I feared the dark, yet under covers peered                         

At ghastly forms by street-illumed in bedroom corners drear; 

Near heaps of clothes uncanny shapes in shadows moved about; 

My widened eyes sleep could not close as creatures nearer crept . . .”

From a poem I wrote to my grandmother, the ending involves her coming to rescue me by watching over me as I slept. I had a very special relationship with my grandmother, spending many summers with her and my grandfather, always feeling safe in her presence, putting my trust in her when I was a child. But, then, Alzheimer’s claimed her, and I went to stay with her for another purpose—to calm her fears and watch over her as she slept.

Human caregivers and loved ones cannot be the ever-present protectors that we need –for the simple fact that they are mortal and subject to the many frailties of life. The only ultimate caregiver who will always watch over us and protect us when we put our trust in Him is God, our Creator, the forever “I AM”. He knows us better than our parents, our grandparents, our close friends, our brothers or sisters in Christ.

God knows our fears and holds our tears.

We are living in uncertain times. Life is not as we have known it, from expectation. This can result in increased anxiety and fear as we face unknown circumstances and futures. Yet, the Psalmist David says it clearly, “In God I put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:11). In these times of global uncertainty, it is not a virus or men that we should fear—but God, for if  we do not put our trust in Him and praise His Word , we cannot secure our eternity with Him.  He is ever with us, but we must also be with Him.

6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.  

(Deuteronomy 31:6)

“Now I lay me down to sleep/I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake, I pray to God my soul to take.
If I should live for other days/I pray the Lord to guide my ways.
Father, unto thee I pray/Thou hast guarded me all day;
Safe I am while in thy sight/Safely let me sleep tonight.” ¹

8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.  (Psalm 4:8)

 ¹ A Child’s Bedtime Prayer: version by Henry Johnstone.  http://www.beliefnet.com

(Sharon G. Tate blog 03/15/2020)  teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

GOD’S GIFT OF LIFE

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God; 3 all things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

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Our mind’s eye view of a gift may be on a Christmas morning as a child, looking excitedly with wonder and joy at all the presents under the tree, wrapped in beautiful  paper and colorful bows, the glowing hues of tree lights and a shining star illuminating the room. Yet, life is not always the ornately wrapped gift that we await in anticipation and excitement to view. What we open and experience in our gift of life can involve difficult, tragic, heart-breaking circumstances with great suffering. Not the version of a “gift” we remember as a child.

What can we do when life is not the gift we want to unwrap, behold, and accept as our own with our name tag on it?

O God, thou art my God, I seek Thee,
my soul thirsts for Thee;
my flesh faints for Thee,
as in a dry and weary land where no water is.
2 So I have looked upon Thee in the sanctuary,
beholding Thy power and glory.
3 Because Thy steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise Thee. (Psalm 63:1-3)

 “THY STEADFAST LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE . . .”

Through His steadfast love, the Light to guide us through the darkness of the difficult aspects of life is provided with the gift of this life. Christ dispels all darkness with His Light. We must turn to Him to find sanctuary, hope, and strength in His Light. When we do, the Light reveals gifts in life that we may have overlooked as we tried to deal with the struggles on our own. . .

Did we miss the sunrise, that promise of another day? Did we not hear the birds awakening the new day with song? Were we too overwhelmed with the difficulties in life that we missed the wonder of a child’s smile, then failed to notice our own joyful smile in return? Was the meal before us at the table not welcomed with thanksgiving?  Did we not gaze with appreciation and awe as the flaming brilliance across the western sky closed the day to give us rest?

Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17)

And from His fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17)

This gift of life will include struggles, as we try to live as Christ lived. Yet, God’s grace is ever with us. His gifts are always good. To enter eternal life with Him, we must open the gift with our name tag on it—and live the life He has given to each one of us, living this life for Him and His purposes.

20 Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

 (Sharon  G. Tate blog 03/08/2020) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

LIVING FORWARD IN CHRIST JESUS

 “Say not, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.”(Ecclesiastes 7:10)

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

Those days of yore

Cast in the lore

Of memories,

Picture-framed

In glass perfected,

Rose-colored

In time sight–

The captured past.

How “good” were the “good old days?”

We tend to reflect on those times with rose-colored glasses.

 “You can’t go back home to your family, back home to your childhood. . . back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are changing all the time–back home to the escapes of Time and Memory.” 1

But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.       (Genesis 19:26)

Remember Lot’s wife. (Luke 17:32)

The best days are ahead, not behind. The eternal home is before us. To enter, we must become a new creation. And not look back.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

 The “new has come.” Have we crossed the new threshold and entered, closing the old door securely behind us? Have we obtained the wisdom: “I haven’t come this far, to come this far.”

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. 13 Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)

 “I press on—” The goal is ahead. The Lord waits, patiently waits, for us to continue forward, persevering onward toward Him.

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.   (Hebrews 12:1-4)

 “Consider Him” when we grow weary, frustrated, or depressed. “Consider Him” when we feel we cannot go on and think of turning back. “Consider Him . . . seated at the right hand of the throne of God” and find the strength and hope to continue, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.”

LET US PRESS ON TOWARD THE WAITING ARMS OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR–AND TRULY ARRIVE HOME.

1 Wolfe, Thomas. You Can’t Go Home Again. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes

( Sharon G. Tate blog 03/01/2020) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word