Month: July 2020

TeacherStudent

TO KNOW GOD IS TO LOVE: BEING A CARE GIVER TO OTHERS

 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.

Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (I John 4:16)

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A wave of the hand over the sensor. I remember. The door opens to the cancer floor. I did not expect to be here again. The last times . . . Dad getting chemo, blood transfusions, platelet transfusions, the final doctor visit before hospice. Wheeling him in, wheeling him out. He waved his hand over the sensor to open the door to leave that floor-forever. . .

God blesses us with moments and memories. Some are beautiful– even through the storms. They can be times of togetherness, unity of heart, strength of purpose. A time of special love flowing through tears, hand holds, hugs, a kiss on the forehead– unspoken love clearly spoken.

We love because He first loved us. (I John 4:19)

 Maybe the world has forgotten this love. Isolation can make us more selfish and me-centered. That self-focus will make its way outwardly through our actions and words. We may show less kindness around others, feel little unity with others, and struggle with purpose toward others.

We should be each other’s care giver.

 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

 He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)

 YES! We are and must be. “There are no random acts. . .We are all connected. . . You can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind .1

 The world needs a LOVE transfusion.

 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

 A daughter is called to be her father’s caregiver.

A son is called to be his mother’s caregiver.

Duty. Commitment. Love.

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (I Corinthians 13:4-5)

 Do everything in love. (I Corinthians 16:14)

 “Strangers are just family you have yet to come to know.” 2

 We must be each other’s care giver.

Duty. Commitment. Love.

 TO KNOW GOD IS TO LOVE.

1 Albom, Mitch. The Five People You Meet in Heaven. goodreads.com

2 Albom, Mitch. The Five People You Meet in Heaven. goodreads.com

(Sharon G. Tate blog 07/19/2020) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

REFLECTION ON GOD’S ENDURING LOVE

 

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
(1 Corinthians 13:12)   

Remembering the innocent child whom we must become again to enter heaven;

Embracing the warmth of family love and protection in our youth;

Facing the reality that evil exists– shaking our belief in innocence and protection;

Leaning on the Lord when doubting the direction for our future;

Emerging as the children of God through faith, obedience, and baptism;

Changing our lives as new Christians to follow in the path of Christ;

Transitioning to an outward focus on others;

Investing in quiet time with the Lord in prayer;

Owning the legacy of suffering as a Christian in this world;

Needing to hold onto faith until the last age when the child in us returns home.

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Remembering the past, reflecting on the present,

embracing the future–which God holds.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;

but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Faith: Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will uphold you. . .”

Hope: 2 Corinthians 4:16 “Therefore we do not lose heart.  Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”

Love: Matthew 28:20 “. . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

God is with us always:

at birth—through life—in death—

in heaven . . . waiting–for us to come home.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 07/12/2020 ) teacherforjesus.com    Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

LISTEN TO HIS VOICE

 10 ” I AM the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
    Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11 “But My people did not listen to My voice;
    Israel would have none of Me.
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
    to follow their own counsels.
13 O that My people would listen to Me,
    that Israel would walk in My ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies,
    and turn My hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward Him,
    and their fate would last forever.
16 I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
    and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

                             (Psalm 81: 10-16)

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A different people, a time long past.

A relevant message, the time today.

The same God, then-now-forever.

Listen and Silent. The letters are the same to form both words: Harmony.

Noise and Clamor. The letters are not the same to form both words: Discord.

 Have we heard His Voice? Can we listen and be silent to hear Him, amid the noise and clamor of our time today?

How richly He would bless us if we had all of Him in our hearts,removing our stubborn selves to allow Him to fill us.

 In our time of noise and clamor, He is still the Lord our God. He will fill us fully with Him if we but “open our mouth wide.” What comes out of our mouth, then, will be His Voice, His Words. The world in our time needs us, His adopted sons and daughters, to speak and proclaim His Truth, not in noise and clamor above the world’s but in listening silence to know how to speak before those who have not really heard God’s Voice and allowed Him entrance into their hearts.

Our time is a decisive one for Christians to take a stand and speak God’s truth. In harmony, not discord, showing His truth in our words, our actions, and our lives, we can make a difference. And we must make a difference, for the “Israel” of our time does not “walk in {His} ways.” That difference will be beyond us for our children and their children.

Listen and be silent. Hear His Voice. Ask Him to help us know how to be the difference of change to reach stubborn hearts and unknowing hearts as we, also, pray for our own hearts to be right with Him.

(Sharon G. Tate 07/05/2020 blog) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word