Do we have daily conversations with God where we make sure we are heard—but forget to listen? Are we really even conversing at all in this situation–or are we just presenting a one-sided monologue to the Lord, consisting of our personal list of requests, wants, and needs?

“The word listen contains the same letters as the word silent.” ²

To engage in true conversation with our God, we must also be silent and listen to what He has to say to us. There is much that can be heard in silence. Noise drowns out the Word, which the Lord wants to impart to us. Our own words can interfere with and block out His part of the conversation. Maybe WE TALK TOO MUCH–without letting Him speak.

Listening involves a focused mindset. In our society today, such a mindset is difficult to develop and sustain: short quotes on Facebook, short blurbs in ads, condensed recaps of news, texts and tweets, instant messaging. We move from one item to another quickly on Google. In fact, in a recent Microsoft study reported in Time, the results indicate that our focus of attention has declined to a mere eight seconds. ³

So how can we listen and be silent before God to hear all He has to say when our attention span is so lacking? It is possible! Each one of us can remain absorbed, engrossed, riveted and totally engaged for a longer duration of time in something we love to do—fishing, reading, cooking, sewing, a sport, exercise, camping, etc. We can develop and maintain this intentional focus when the “want to” is there.

“Hearing” God and “listening” to His Word are referenced many times in scripture:
Psalm 85:8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.
Matthew 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

If we are to truly live “by every word” coming from God, then we must love this conversation with God more than our desire for anything else—and we must learn to listen and be silent.

He says, “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

¹ Hazlitt, William
² Brendel, Alfred
³ time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/11/15) Meditations on God’s Word teacherforjesus.com

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

The leaves are falling. More spiral downward, covering the ground. He watches them through the window, his face pressed against the glass, a worried expression imprinted there. Small handprints on the pane reach outward to try and catch the leaves—on the other side.

“Mommy, how do they get back up?”
“They will come back in the spring.”
“But how?”
“The leaves will grow in the buds- green and new again.”
“Why did they fall down?”
“It was just their time, son.”

We are blessed with special people in our lives. Some leave handprints on our hearts. We watch them swirling downward. We can’t bring them back up. We can’t hold them through the glass on the other side. Yet, in our loss as they leave us, we must remember there is spring and life again. God has promised this renewal to those who love Him and keep His commandments.

Job spoke with God, asking the question all humankind needs answered:

14) If someone dies, will they live again?
All the days of my hard service
I will wait for my renewal to come.
15) You will call and I will answer you;
you will long for the creature your hands have made.
16) Surely then you will count my steps
but not keep track of my sin. (Job 14:14-16)

The verb repeatedly used in this conversation is “will.” This future tense is the expectation that God will grant this renewal. It will happen. Job’s “I will wait” statement is the demonstration of faith by Job that he knows new life will come in God’s time and plan, not his.

David affirmed this belief, using the same future tense verb, in his song to the Lord.

9) Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10) because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay. (Psalm 16:9-10)

John confirmed this promise, using a comparable future tense verb “shall.”

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)

The leaves are falling. Our season will come. God’s promise of renewal on the Tree of Life shall be fulfilled. Let us remain faithful that we may receive our promised inheritance—a new life in forever bloom with the Lord.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/04/15) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

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)

A bedraggled man with scraggly beard and uncut hair, sweat-stained and dirt-laden face, wearing torn and soiled clothing, walks down dusty paths in worn sandals.
A prostrate man lies in the dust, fervently praying, tears infused with blood flowing down, soiling the face, staining the tunic.
A bruised, weakened man, scarred and bloodied, thorns embedded in unkempt hair, drags a cross, falling under the load, face buried in the dirt.
A half-clothed, broken man, suspended on a cross, sinks into the nails, gasping for breath, in agonizing torment with each living moment.

The picture of Beauty? By worldly standards, a definitive “NO.” And, yet, He IS. “Fairest Lord Jesus,” a hymn believed to have its origins in 17th Century Germany with unknown authorship, praises the “Beautiful Savior” who is fairer than the meadows, the woodlands in spring, the sunshine, the moonlight, the stars, and all of nature.¹

The psalmist David also speaks of the beauty of the Lord in his song of praise:

One thing I ask from the LORD
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)

But what is this beauty that is spoken of in these songs of praise? Living in a culture so focused on outward appearance and good looks, Jesus would not pass the “handsome man” test. His beauty is an inner one, reflected through His goodness, His purity, His compassion, His obedience, His sacrificial love, His pierced hands and side, His risen soul.

When we face ourselves in a truth-rendering inner search, confronting our reflections in the mirror of our souls, we should see these qualities of Jesus in our hearts, in our eyes, in our tears, in our smiles, in our scars. Here, in this physical world, we can only hope to be but a dim reflection of the Lord. One day, we shall meet Jesus “face to face.” Will He see the mirror of Himself in us? If our reflection is true, then we will know His full Beauty, as we dwell with Him forever, His image surpassing the likeness of ourselves in the mirror of His grace.

Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All His wonderful passion and purity;
O my Savior divine, All my being refine,
Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.²

Citations:
1 Author unknown, http://www.hymnary.org
2 Albert Orsborn, http://www.hymnary.org

(Sharon G. Tate blog 09/20/15) teacherforjesus.com   Meditations on God’s Word

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

Somewhere beneath the laughter
If we listen loud enough,
We can hear the heart-sounds whisper:
“I am hurting; I am sad.
Can you help me? Do you hear me?
I am struggling; it is hard.”
Whispers speak above the laughter-
When we listen loud enough.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.           (Romans 12:15)

We are commanded to help each other and share the burdens and sorrows of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Can we hear their heart-sounds whispering to us? Do we listen loud enough?

Recently, eight women from this church prayed the directory of this membership. In looking down the list of names, heart-sounds began whispering to us. We could hear the hurts, the sorrows, the disappointments, the regrets, the frustrations, the struggles, the pains, the burdens, the loneliness, the concerns, the fears, the losses, the needs, the wants, the hopes . . .

And we prayed the whispers.

How often do we pass each other and hear only the laughter? There are whispers from the heart being spoken all around us. Sometimes, they are written down for public prayer; sometimes, they are shared quietly with those we feel closest to; sometimes, they are not spoken at all—yet God still hears. “. . . Would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?” (Psalm 44:21)

God will always hear the whispers of our hearts, but for us to hear what is unspoken, we need Jesus in our own heart to help us listen to the murmurs. Let us know each other more deeply–beyond the surface, beneath the laughter—and listen with our hearts, more like Jesus. “. . .The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7) In order to “carry each other’s burdens,” we must also look at the hearts of our brothers and sisters—and listen loud enough.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 09/13/15)   teacherforjesus.com     Meditations on God’s Word

Have we truly considered the beauty of the Mind of God? He is both the Creator of worlds and the Creator of butterflies, every intricate and minute particle. He is the Artist of rainbow colors, fall splendor, and white sands. His creativity is evidenced in each snowflake, each seashell, each pebble, and each seed.

The Mind of God is imaginative in design. He made the tiny hummingbird and the flamboyant peacock, the bleating lamb and the growling tiger. His protective design allows the color-changing chameleon, the shape-shifting mimic octopus, and the winter white/summer brown snowshoe hare to merge with its environment and thrive.

God has a Mind beyond the scope of any scientist’s understanding. Albert Einstein, an acknowledged agnostic and theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, wrote this in 1954, “I don’t try to imagine a God; it suffices to stand in awe of the structure of the world, insofar as it allows our inadequate senses to appreciate it.”¹ Einstein later made this statement in 1955: “I want to know how God created this world. I’m not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.” ² A man whose name is usually associated with the highest form of human genius does not know how this world was created, cannot find the answer in science, and is in awe of the structure– as designed by God.

The Mind of God created man, granting him the mind to choose. How does one comprehend the awesome wisdom of the Creator of everything in this decision to grant mankind the choice to love and worship Him or deny and turn from Him. This beautiful Mind of our Father sent His only begotten Son to die for us, His adopted children, offspring who could love Him or reject Him.

33) Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34) “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
35) “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
36) For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)

To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

Citations:
¹ Letter to S. Flesch, April 16, 1954; Einstein Archive 30-1154
² From E. Salaman, “A Talk With Einstein,” The Listener 54 (1955), pp. 370-371, quoted in Jammer, p. 123.

Sharon G. Tate blog (08/30/15) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word

New International Version: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Revised Standard Version: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.

New King James: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

King James: Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Hebrews 13:8

The message is the same: Jesus does NOT change. He does NOT read new interpretations of the Bible, reflect on the author’s views, and decide to compromise His own knowledge. He does NOT listen to a speaker in a large auditorium who claims to proclaim new wisdom regarding the Word of God, question His own understanding, and change His entire belief system. He does NOT follow the daily concerns expressed on Facebook, Twitter, messaging or the newscasts with a fear of tomorrow; His faith is NOT shaken. He does NOT become desensitized to the despair, poverty, war, and violence in the world. He does NOT take a break or tire from listening to and hearing the prayers of those who lift up their voices to Him in supplication. “For Jesus doesn’t change—yesterday, today, tomorrow, He’s always totally Himself”(Hebrews 13:8 The Message).

There is no one else we can count on to be the same always. As we grow up, we see different aspects of our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and trusted adults. These important people in our lives are changing human beings, and so are we.

For us, change is necessary in order to grow spiritually. We need to examine differing perspectives, question those views, hold them up against the Word of God, read and study the Bible, and talk and pray with others who are searching for the Truth. We need to be able to discern what truth is, who is speaking truth, and who is speaking untruth. We haven’t arrived at the state where Jesus is—to fully know and understand.

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.” (I Corinthians 13:12 RSV)
We don’t know now, but as Jesus promised His disciples, one day we will: “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”(John 13:7 NIV)

Our goal is to be more like Jesus, striving to reach that high standard—but we aren’t there yet. We can’t stay the same yesterday and today and forever to be like Him. We must change.

One day, we will know in full. One day, we will understand completely. One promised day, we shall be like Jesus: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”(I John 3:2 NIV)

What changes do you and I need to make daily to
become more like our unchanging Savior?

(Sharon G. Tate blog 08/15/15) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word