Month: October 2020

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SEASONS ORDAINED BY GOD

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven . . .

(Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Autumn on display in all its splendor. The color tours. Driving the back roads. Walking trodden paths in the woods. Looking upward as the leaves swirl downward. The ground below covered in fallen beauty.

A season lasts for the time ordained by God. The leaves fall and cannot be put back on the trees.

14 . . . whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (James 4:14)

We take the tour through life, witness the beauty, experience the loss, ponder the questions.

. . . But how can a man be just before God? (Job 9:2)

. . . If a man die, shall he live again?  (Job 14:14)

God gives the answers through His Son. Through Jesus and our faith in Him, we can come before God when our life season ends on earth and have an eternal home with Him.

23 . . . since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 they are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as an expiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins; 26 it was to prove at the present time that He Himself is righteous and that He justifies him who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:23-26)

“Not every one who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)

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Snow covers fallen leaves. The final season. We look back at our spring, summer, and fall. Memories. People. Places. Transient passages. If we have followed Christ, our focus shifts forward to a permanent home with God–

A season that never ends.  

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/11/2020 blog) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word

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SHARING OUR BLESSINGS FROM GOD

“When I stand in a blessing, my first question is
“How can I be used?” 1

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Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it. (Proverbs 3:27)

3 Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4)

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If we have been given a blessing, it is our responsibility, per God’s Word, to look to the needs of others. It is not just what we can give in a physical sense but, also, in a personal way:

“HOW CAN I BE USED?”

Can I be used to help someone through a cancer diagnosis, because I have been through one and am now cancer-free? Can I be used to teach a young couple how to deal with their financial debts, because I was helped by a caring, older couple when I faced a similar issue in my marriage? There are as many possibilities as there are blessings.

We should—and must–be grateful to God for the blessings in our lives, but what about the use for the blessings beyond ourselves. Have we prayed for wisdom to share and give in appropriate ways? Have we asked for the sight and insight to recognize opportunities?

24 “He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’”

(Matthew 25:24-30)

God does expect us to make good use of the blessings He bestows. With all the problems in the world today, the way we can each make a positive difference is to share what we have been given with a good heart, a heart striving to be more like that of our Lord and Savior.

HOW CAN I BE USED, and HOW CAN I USE THE BLESSINGS

I HAVE BEEN GIVEN BY GOD TO HELP OTHERS?

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:16)

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 15 Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

“Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.” 2

1 Nash, Niecy. Quoted in Reader’s Digest. September 2020.  p15.

2 Oatman, Jr, Johnson. “Count Your Blessings.” 1897. https://library.timelesstruths.org/music.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/04/2020) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word