TeacherStudent

Behold the Light of God!

Light of the world

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17)

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Peering out the plane window,
Clouds drifting, shape-shifting,
An opaqueness one cannot penetrate-
Until the plane climbs higher,
Breaking through the cloud barrier,
Rising to meet the sunlight,
Bursting forth in brilliance
To shine across faces of travelers,
Blinded until their eyes can behold
The glory of an endless sea of light.

The difficulties we face in this life can seem unending at times. We lose our focus, adrift in uncertainty and the unknown. Nothing seems to have a definite form, like the changing clouds. We cannot break through the cover to see the light. Yet, we know it is there–on the other side.

The Lord is waiting. His Light will show us the way. We must rise to meet Him, bursting through our own cloud barrier, to see His brilliance and behold His glory.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

(Sharon G. Tate blog 02/19/17) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

Jesus Defines Love from the Cross

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And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:13)
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Valentine’s Day, a time when the card companies, flower shops, and candy stores take in the profits. Love is in the mail and in the flower shop vans– sent and delivered. Love is in the stores where merchandise is promoted for one’s sweetheart. Love is in the restaurants by candlelight. Love in one day –February 14th.

Can love be fully expressed in a day? There was ONE DAY when love was truly demonstrated and given, not with candy, flowers, cards, or dinner at a fancy restaurant–but on a wooden cross.
For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Jesus gave us the example of what love is through His actions:
(16)This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (17) If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? (18) Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.  (1 John 3:16-18)

Our Lord exemplified humility on the cross as He took our sins upon Himself. He showed great patience with us, even as sin continued while He endured this trial. He acted in gentleness, not lashing out at those who were crucifying Him, but instead asking the Father to forgive them–to forgive us.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)

The love Christ showed to us all that day on the cross, with outstretched hands held by nails, has endured past those dark hours to the sunrise when He arose and to every sunrise thereafter and yet to come. Love knows no boundaries of time.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are                 tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.                                    (1 Corinthians 13:8)

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Purchase the card, the candy, the flowers, and go to the restaurant on Valentine’s Day, knowing that it is only one day of many. Love is washing dishes, doing laundry, watching the kids to let a spouse rest, sitting quietly together without conversation on the beach, staying up all night with a sick child, spending time with an elderly neighbor, listening to a baby sleep. Love is in the days.

To know Love is to know Christ, the crucified Savior, the victorious Redeemer:
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8)

(Sharon  G. Tate blog 02/12/17) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

God’s Direction in the Path of Life

path to life

“You make known to me the path of life. . .” (Psalm 16:11)

The high school was in my backyard, an easy walk across the lawn and a small field to the complex grounds–until the day workers began building the fence. It was constructed, link by link, the full length of the street. There was no gate, and it was too high to climb over, although I did examine the fence closely for a possible way to get through to the other side.

Finding it impossible to breach the fence, I had to start walking to the end of the street and up the next block, waiting for all the traffic at the entrance drive to the school, before arriving at the high school grounds. Such a waste of time and effort, I fumed for days. The other path was so accessible, so easy, before the fence denied this access.

ACCESS DENIED. How many paths were changed during the course of our lives? How many roadblocks of some kind were put in those routes to divert our walk elsewhere? How many times did we long for the easy, familiar way when all along God had other plans for us on this new journey?

“The steps of a man are from the Lord,
and He establishes Him in whose way He delights…”
(Psalm 37:23)

What did I gain from this new path to the high school? I encountered other students that I didn’t normally see. Some became friends. It was good exercise. I noticed more about my own neighborhood and neighbors on the walk. My perspective changed about the easy route. It was almost automatic, footsteps moving in the same tread-worn path. It was solitary, for no one else walked that way. The other route was more engaging with people, nature, and my own awareness of surroundings I had not really observed.

What can we learn from the paths God denies to us? What can we gain from the paths God directs us to in life? What can we give to others we meet on this course? How can we carry out the Lord’s Will in the direction chosen for us?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make straight your paths.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

ACCESS GRANTED.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 02/05/17) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

Eternal Focus–Beyond the “Stuff” of Life

things of heaven

“Set your minds on things above,
Not earthly things.” (Colossians 3:2)
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The stuff of life –
Packed in boxes, stored for years.
Dormant in attics, dusted with time.
Encased in glass, memories sealed.
Hidden in dressers, locked inside.
Folded in pages, the family Bible.
Was the life in the “stuff?”
All the sorting, sifting, tossing
Of  things once important.
Memories piled and stacked.
Was the “stuff” the life?

We hold onto the things that bring forth memories of what we once were, what we might have been, what we are now. We hold onto the things that remind us of who we were at different stages of our lives with the people important to us at those times. We hold onto the things that take us home to our parents and siblings, to our cousins, aunts and uncles. We hold onto the things that signify special events in our lives. We hold onto the things that flood our eyes with tears, our minds with memories, our hearts with emotions. The stuff of life. Our life.

And, yet, while holding onto these things, we have an increasing awareness as we age of the temporal nature of this world. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19)

Even with this understanding, as we sort and sift and toss, we still hold back and save, all the time knowing that we will take none of the “stuff” with us when this life is over. “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (I John 2:17)

But the things have seemed like an integral part of us–explaining who we are, how we got here and now, what we endured, and what we sacrificed. So hard to let go. Yet, what is before us in boxes, in closets, in basements, in attics, in pictures, in videos, in flowers pressed and preserved   will never define us. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Is our life in the “stuff” seen?
Or does it go beyond this realm
To the unseen, the eternal?
What things do we hold onto here
That can be taken with us there?
Sort and toss, sift and let go;
Leave behind the transient.
Keep faith and love enduring.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 01/29/17) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations of God’s Word

TeacherStudent

God-given life, the precious gift

life-is-a-gift

You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
(Psalm 16:11)
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God-given life, the precious gift. We open the gift with a cry as we enter this world, unaware of its value. The baby must have needs met to live, crying to let someone know. As children, our carefree laughter in play accepts the gift of life as one to experience with curiosity and the assumption that tomorrow will open yet another day to play and discover. The teen, emotional and uncertain about the life he sees, questions its meaning for him personally, trying to understand his place in this life and if he even has one. The young adult with a new family struggles with the reality of life as work and debt but, also, sees the promise of life continuing through children. The middle-aged couple wistfully look back at youth and promise–how their lives might have been different-but holding hands, move forward to the days ahead. A new retiree may have a difficult time finding purpose to continue in life– or he may look at life as a chance to begin anew, opening the gift each day with anticipation.

During the stages of everyone’s existence in this world, the gift of life is one that most want to open with each sunrise. We will seek God’s strength and wisdom to help us endure trials, find medical help to sustain our daily existence, connect with people like ourselves who will encourage us to keep going, read books to see how others cope with similar problems, and even take treatments that are toxic to our bodies with the hope of more sunrises–to open and reopen God’s gift of life again and again.

“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)

Let us, like David, “know full well” that God’s works are “wonderfully made.” The life He breathed into us can be no less. We honor Him by living our lives for Him, looking forward to each sunrise, the gift of God-given life continuing.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 01/22/17) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

Following the Voice of the Lord

God speaks His Voice

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)

 I heard the Voice. I questioned Who was speaking.

I heard the Voice. I was too busy to listen.

I heard the Voice. I didn’t want to get involved.

I heard the Voice. I couldn’t possibly be the instrument.

I heard the Voice. I began to feel the urgency.

I heard the Voice. I spoke out loud, “All right, Lord!”

So I called my best friend and asked for her daughter’s number. I said I had to call her daughter, that it was urgent. I had never called her daughter before on the phone. This seemed confusing to my friend, but she gave me the number after I told her that her daughter absolutely had to go to Bible study this Sunday.

I heard the young woman’s voice when I called, a question in the tone after I identified myself. Her thoughts spoke in the pause, “Why would she be calling me?”

I told her that I heard His Voice, over and over again the entire day, telling me to call her, urging me to tell her to attend the young adult Bible class Sunday morning. I could hear the question again in her response, but after continued efforts to convince her to attend the Bible class, she said she would consider it. The voice wasn’t what I had wanted to hear, but I hung up the phone and prayed that she would go.

Have you ever heard His Voice, compelling you to go, to do, to speak, to become involved? How did you answer Him?

I have heard His Voice. He was there, whispering to me, calling to me repeatedly all day long. I could not shut Him out. I could not ignore Him. I had to make the call.

This story is real. And the ending was fairy tale in human lore. The Bible teacher–a young man, not yet engaged– spoke on marriage that Sunday morning. Happily ever after, there was an engagement and, then, a marriage and, later, a family. To this day, this young couple is very involved in youth ministry, in teaching, and in leading young people to hear and respond to His Voice.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. (Isaiah 30:21)

Let us listen and hear His Voice leading us, guiding us, directing us to do His Will.

 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations;

I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10)

 (Sharon G. Tate blog 01/15/17) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

Listening for God’s Voice, His Word Spoken, in all Creation

heavens-declare-god 

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4)

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The child, awkwardly running in his baby waddle to catch the whirling snow, lifts his small hands to grasp the flakes-as they melt within his hand. Laughing, tilting his head back, mouth wide open, he tries to hold the flakes on his tongue—while they disappear  at his touch. These delicate intricacies, patterned with individual God-designs, cannot be captured and kept. Yet, the toddler persists in his quest, running and laughing with the wind, to hold the tiny droplets-for a moment.

What moments are we the child chasing after God’s creations? Do we remember the awe, the first view of snow, the first touch on the tongue?  The voice of God, Elohim the Creator, resounds in each individual flake and in each individual child. He speaks, “I AM.”

Do we hear Him when we plant the seeds in the furrows? Do we hear Him when wafts of lilac drift near? Do we hear Him when lightning sparks the sky? Do we hear Him when the first movement is felt in the womb? Do we hear Him when the birds sing? Do we hear Him when the sun bursts through the clouds in radiant glory? Do we hear the song, the rejoicing of God’s creation all around us?

 

11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. (Psalm 96:11-12)

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24 How many are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small. (Psalm 104: 24-25)

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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)

 Listen for the whisper of God. Hearken to the song of creation.

Hear God’s Word spoken all around us.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 01/08/17) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word

 

TeacherStudent

Ringing in the New Year with the Lord

new-year-go-deeper-with-god

“They call us to wake, to pray, to work, to arms, to feast and,

in times of crisis, to come together.” 1

BELLS. Their tolls signal a new birth, a wedding, a departed soul, an emergency, a call to unity, a New Year.

Ringing in the New Year: What bells will we hear?

 Hear the loud alarum bells–Brazen bells!

What tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells!

In the startled ear of night

How they scream out their affright!

Too much horrified to speak,

They can only shriek, shriek,

Out of tune. 2

Does the New Year sound an alarm to our ears? Are these the bells we hear of fear, chaos, and uncertainty? If we continue to hear the peals of those clanging out the fright, then we will ring in the New Year with alarm shrieking in our heads.

If, however, we, the church, are one with the Lord as the bride of Christ, we should hear wedding bells.

 Golden bells!

What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!

Through the balmy air of night

How they ring out their delight!

From the molten-golden notes,

And all in tune.2

 The sound from within will be a harmonious melody in tune with God. Whatever alarms are ringing from without cannot disturb the joy of the Lord within and what the New Year with Him will bring to our ears and to our hearts.

 Ringing in the New Year: What bells will we hear?

A new birth that we helped deliver to Jesus.

A passing soul joyously ringing out “Saved!”

A unity resounding forth as “One in the Lord.”

Not the alarm, but the peace of Christ that chimes within.

  Let us ring the bells of a Happy New Year!

 1 The History of Bell Ringing. www.bellringing.org/history

2 Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Bells.”  From The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, vol. II, 1850.   https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/bells

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

 

TeacherStudent

“God with us” : Our Hope from a Child

manger-to-cross

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means ‘God with us’). Matthew 1:23

 “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)

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The baby’s eyes reflect the Light;

Conceived to serve mankind,

Little hands and feet will grow

To endure the pain of nails.

A savior born to redeem must die.

Can it be that one so small

Bears such a weight as this.

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The child, the man, the Son–as One,

Carrying the burden of promise-

At the Manger, the Garden, the Cross;

Compassion, redemption, salvation.

A cry at birth, a cry at death.

Can it be that one so small

Bears such a weight as this.

The Reason to Rejoice this Season—and all Seasons

“Then the shepherds returned, glorifying God and praising God for

all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”

(Luke 2:20)

 As it has been told to us through the Word, let us rejoice in the birth

of Jesus and the fulfillment of the prophecy that led to our salvation.

(Sharon G. Tate 12/25/16 blog) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word

TeacherStudent

SINGING PRAISES TO OUR LORD

sing-to-the-lord

Approaching the Lord

In vocal praise,

With words of song,

Penned from hearts

Joyful with love

To the God of grace,

Thankful with hope

To the God of mercy.

 Throughout scripture, it is evidenced that men and women sang praises to the Lord:

Psalms 95:1– O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation.

Colossians 3:16 – Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Exodus 5: 1-2 -Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted. Both horse and driver He has hurled into the sea. 2 The Lord is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

Ephesians 5:19 – Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.

Psalms 13:6 – I will sing the Lord’s praise, for He has been good to me.

James 5:13 – Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.

Psalms 105:2 -Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.

1 Corinthians 14:15 -So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.

Isaiah 12:5 -Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.

Acts 16:25 – About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Psalms 71:8 – My mouth is filled with Your praise, declaring Your splendor all day long.                         

Hebrews 2:12– I will declare Your name to my brothers and sisters;  in the assembly I will sing Your praises.

Psalms 104:33 -I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as l live.

Approaching the Lord

With vocal praise,

Raising our voices

In song and hymn

To our listening God,

Who hears our hearts

Speaking love,

Offering thanks.

 Let us be like the Psalmist David and sing to the Lord all our lives, offering praise to our God as long as we each shall live on this earth—and beyond into eternity with Him.

(Sharon  G. Tate blog 12/18/16) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word