Meditations on God’s Word

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“Thanks” giving to God

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Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him; bless His name. (Psalm 100:4)

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But not today, some might say.  “After all, tomorrow is another day!” 1 This famous line, uttered by Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, is one that is, often, used or paraphrased when we wish to procrastinate or just believe in tomorrow to the extent that there will always be another day, waiting– for us to complete what we haven’t completed, to do what we should have already done, and/or to say what we should have already said.

Expressing gratitude might be placed in the category of a “tomorrow” delay to friends, family, colleagues, or peers. We may believe this is all right, because we intend to do this, just not today. But showing appreciation should not be on hold for “another day.” Today is the day to say, “Thank you.” How different the world might be if today was always the day for gratitude.

Our thankfulness to God should be communicated to Him daily, hourly, every minute, every second and never be withheld for another time. We can show THANKSGIVING and PRAISE to God every day by:

T: Trusting in His faithfulness to us.

H: Honoring Him by the way we live.

A: Asking for His forgiveness when we fall short, wanting to be faithful in His eyes.

N: Needing Him in all aspects of our life and demonstrating this to Him.

K: Knowing His Word through personal study, reflection, and obedience.

S: Singing praises to His Name in honor and gratitude.

G: Giving generously to others from our hearts as He gave sacrificially to us.

I: Inquiring deeper in personal prayer with Him to understand His ways and His Word.

V: Voicing His truth to others to help bring them to the salvation we have in Him.

I: Immersing ourselves in His Word to know how to live more like Christ.

N: Nonconforming to the world around us that we may obey and follow only Him.

G: Going through life with God in all we say, do, think, and decide.

The gratitude we should express to God is related to us in scripture: ” Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.”(Hebrews 12:28-29)

Psalm 28:7 -The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.

Psalm 69:30 – I will praise the name of God with song, and shall magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6-7 – Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

Psalm 34:1 – I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

1 Thessalonians 5:18- In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Let us always remember to give thanks to God every today. Tomorrow is not promised.

This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

                                                    And we will offer up our thanksgiving to Him.

1Mitchell, Margaret.  Gone with the Wind. http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes

(Sharon G. Tate blog 11/20/16)   teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

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OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS CHILDREN OF GOD: FACES OF POVERTY AND HUNGER WANTING MORE

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“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.” (Psalm 12:5)

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** “Child as he was, he was desperate with hunger, and reckless with misery. He rose from the table; and advancing to the master, basin and spoon in hand, said, somewhat alarmed at his own temerity: ‘Please, sir, I want some more.’ ” 1 (Oliver Twist)

** “Miss Caroline began the day by reading us a story about cats. The cats had long conversations with one another; they wore cunning little clothes and lived in a warm house beneath a kitchen stove. By the time Mrs. Cat called the drugstore for an order of chocolate malted mice the class was wriggling like a bucketful of catawba worms. Miss Caroline seemed unaware that the ragged, denim-shirted and floursack-skirted first grade, most of whom had chopped cotton and fed hogs from the time they were able to walk, were immune to imaginative literature. Miss Caroline came to the end of the story and said, ‘Oh, my, wasn’t that nice?’ ” 2 (To Kill a Mockingbird)

** “The master was a fat, healthy man; but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupefied astonishment on the small rebel for some seconds, and then clung for support to the copper. The assistants were paralyzed with wonder; the boys with fear. ‘What!’ said the master at length, in a faint voice.   ‘Please, sir,’ replied Oliver, ‘I want some more.’ The master aimed a blow at Oliver’s head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arm; and shrieked aloud for the beadle.”¹ (Oliver Twist)

** “While Walter piled food on his plate, he and Atticus talked together like two men, to the wonderment of Jem and me. Atticus was expounding upon farm problems when Walter interrupted to ask if there was any molasses in the house. Atticus summoned Calpurnia, who returned bearing the syrup pitcher. She stood waiting for Walter to help himself. Walter poured syrup on his vegetables and meat with a generous hand. He would probably have poured it into his milk glass had I not asked what the sam hill he was doing. The silver saucer clattered when he replaced the pitcher, and he quickly put his hands in his lap. Then he ducked his head.” 3   (To Kill a Mockingbird)

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The face of poverty and hunger: Walter Cunningham, the young boy who heaps his plate with food and pours syrup, a sweet delicacy, over every portion, and then feels shame, dropping his head, when a young girl questions his unacceptable behavior. A boy in age, adult in knowledge, Walter speaks to the girl’s father with a man’s understanding of farm problems. The children in Miss Caroline’s class, including Walter, are unable to connect with the imaginative cat story read to them by their teacher. Their life is one of day-to-day survival, working like adults, steeped in reality.

The face of the orphan: The young lad Oliver Twist, who dares to ask for more. For this bold act, he is publicly punished and abused in front of his peers. The adults are astonished, awed, and outraged at such a request. Reality strikes back. There will be no more food. But there will be more punitive consequences for asking.

We read the stories and imagine the faces, we see the pictures of poverty, and we watch the suffering of children. Do we close the book and not remember? Do we watch the television requests for aid and turn the channel? Do we hear the news and think, “This is not my problem.”

Our God is “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,  Is God in His holy habitation.” (Psalm 68:5) 

“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27)

 This is our problem. They are our responsibility. The faces of children—poor, hungry, and abused—must be remembered. And we must give them MORE.

1 Oliver Twist/charlesdickenspage.com/twist 

2 To Kill a Mockingbird/Chapter 2 https://docs.google.co

³To Kill a Mockingbird/Chapter 3. https://docs.google.com

(Sharon G. Tate blog 11/13/16) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word

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Two Mites: Submission. Sacrifice. Trust. Faith.

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41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.43 Calling his disciples to Him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44

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    Are you there in your mind, picturing this scene, watching it play out,

possibly like this?

A poor widow enters the crowd, remaining alone.  Her garments clean but faded, restitched and resewn.   Head bowed and back bent, moving slowly through the crowd.  Separate from those with heads proudly raised, arrayed in the finest apparel.  Leaning on a walking stick, looking to the ground, carefully watching her steps, she approaches the temple treasury.

Without display, she holds two coins in her calloused, wrinkled hands.  Not holding back, not gripping tightly with difficult release, but freely letting go of all she has to give. She places the coins in the temple treasury, a decision made before this moment, a commitment of faith. It is all she has, a few cents to offer. Head bowed, she moves slowly away, drifting through the crowds, leaving as she came, alone.

Someone else is watching. His eyes see all. The Teacher instructs His students: Out of poverty- the point we all enter His presence. The wealth we think we leave in the treasury-never ours. The faith to place everything we have in His hands-to freely give.  A remonstrance to those who proudly give of “their wealth”– while allowing a widow to depart alone to a life of hardship. Did they understand?

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 Where are we in this scene? Are we among the proud givers?  Are we hidden in the crowd, merely bystanders, giving nothing to the treasury or the widow?  Are we near the disciples, whom Jesus must call to Him? Or are we close to Jesus, watching what He sees and hearing what He hears?  Are we listening to His Words? Do we understand?

 Two mites, coins with very low value.

The poor widow of low social status.

Submission.   Sacrifice.   Trust.   Faith.

A simple story of profound significance.

Would we watch her walk away?

Could we give the two mites so freely-

 If this was all we had?

(Sharon G. Tate blog 11/06/16)  teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

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“This World Is Not My Home”

 world-not-my-home

For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.  (Hebrews 13:14)

Places you have called “home.” How many have you had in your life thus far? My journey began in Battle Creek, MI, where I was born. My first home was in Union City, MI, the second one in Millington, MI. The 3rd-4th homes were in Saginaw, MI until I was 20. The 5th-6th moves were at Rochester, MI; the 7th-8th moves to places in Traverse City, MI; the 9th move to Big Rapids, MI; the 10th move back to Saginaw briefly; the 11th-12th  moves to housing in Louisiana; the  13th-16th moves to residences in Texas; the 17th  move back to Saginaw; the  18th-19th  moves in Cadillac, MI. And here is the place I have called “home” the past twenty-seven years.

Yet, none of these places were ever home. They were my parents’ homes, apartments, rentals, campus housing, Army housing, more rentals, a bedroom, another rental house, and now a condo. Temporary. Transitory. Transitional. Temporal. Terminable. And I was/am just the transient wanderer waiting for transport to my real home. There is only one place that is truly home for those who believe in the promises of Christ.

 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14: 1-3)

Do you long for this eternal home, our true home?  Enduring. Perpetual. Eternal.  Ever-Lasting. Permanent.

Revelations 21:4-7  4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Revelations 22:3-7 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.6 The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” 7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

 Revelations 22:8-9 8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

Let us continue to worship God in this transitional world until we can meet Him in our true home and bow down in the very presence of our Lord and our God. And find permanence with Him.

This world is not our home.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/30/16)  teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

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“Word(s) Fitly Spoken” with Grace and Wisdom from God

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“Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a ruling rightly given.”  (New International Version of Proverbs 25:11)

The language of the citizenry in a country is, often, a mirror of the culture and civilization of that society.  What words are said publicly- and regularly -now that were not accepted just a few years ago? Language changes with time and cultural acceptance.  Do our words today give us this beautiful image as depicted in Proverbs 25:11?

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” (Revised Standard Version of Proverbs 25:11)

When we think of the word choices used in our society today and what may be regarded as “fit” for the occasion, what “word” do we visualize in our minds or “hear” in our thoughts? Does it come from a television character, a news moderator, a commercial, a celebrity, our next-door neighbor, a colleague, a spouse, our best friend, a politician? Does the word fit the image described in Proverbs 25:11?

“The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry…” (The Message translation for Proverbs 25:11)

Custom-made.  Just for you. Just for me.  We can go online and find words to copy and paste that might seem like the right words for the occasion. But they are not custom-made just for you and just for me. Only God can give us THE right word at THE right moment, custom-made.

1) Luke 21:15 “For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” 

2) Psalm 141:3 “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

3) 2 Timothy 2:14-15 “ 14 Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. “

4) I Peter 4: 10-11 “10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. “

5) Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Our words speak much about us– as a people, as a society, as a culture. Our words speak much about us-as individuals. Our words speak much about us- to our children and our grandchildren. Our words speak much about us—to all those with whom we engage in conversation, discussion, or debate. Where do we turn to find the words we should speak? Only God can give us “a word fitly spoken” that evokes an image of “apples of gold in a setting of silver.”

Let us turn to the Creator of everything to know what to say and how to say it with thought, with grace, with wisdom, and as “one who speaks the very words of God.”

(Sharon G. Tate blog  10/23/16)  teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

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BLESSED ASSURANCE IN CHRIST

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It times of distress, where do we go for help?

 “In Sorrow I Wandered,

Does Jesus Care?

Whispering Hope,

Heaven Came Down,

In Loving Kindness Jesus Came,

He Touched Me.

I Lay My Sins On Jesus,

He Knows Just What I Need,

A Shelter In The Time Of Storm,

God Is My Refuge.

Into The Heart Of Jesus,

I Know Whom I Have Believed,

Glory To His Name,

I Will Sing Of My Redeemer,

I Will Sing The Wondrous Story,

A Wonderful Savior,

Nearer Still Nearer,

I Know That My Redeemer Lives.

It Is No Secret,

In The Cross Of Christ I Glory,

Washed In the Blood,

Saved, Saved!

Victory in Jesus,

How Firm A Foundation,

Rock Of Ages,

Jesus Is Mine.

Love Lifted Me,

No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus,

Safe In The Arms Of Jesus,

He Whispers Sweet Peace To Me,

Peace, Perfect Peace,

There Is A Place Of Quiet Rest,

There’s A Rainbow In The Cloud,

It Is Well With My Soul,

Thank You, Lord.”

The lyrics of songs contain assuring words. Let us not only sing the notes but the words with blessed assurance that Jesus has been, is, and always shall be there for us as our Savior and Lord.

(Sharon G. Tate 10/16/16)  teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

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Seeking the Lord’s Direction

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In their hearts humans plan their course,  but the Lord establishes their steps.      Proverbs 16:9

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Assignment: IF you could have three wishes, what would they be?

Answer: To never be born. To never be born. To never be born.

This wasn’t the response I ever expected to receive from any of my students. It was a question included within a diagnostic survey, which I used at the very beginning of the course to help me better understand my students and where they were coming from in life to the point they entered my classroom. The girl was a freshman, around age fourteen. To not want life—ever. What prompted her to write this three times for her three wishes?

Reading that response was like a Frank Capra moment with George Bailey on the bridge ready to jump and the angel Clarence showing up, rather clumsily, to save him as George declares he wishes he had never been born. And I was a new teacher—with no wings. Do I jump into this, like Clarence, and take the dive to get involved-or just pass it on to the counselor?

It is a choice we make in our lives with the people we encounter. Involvement or disengagement, empathy or apathy, personal or impersonal–or none? Before the choice is made, we should ask ourselves the wristband question: “What would Jesus do?”

When the Lord saw an opportunity to reach a soul, He engaged: with the Samaritan woman at the well, the crippled beggar at the pool, tax collectors, James and John, lepers, the adulterous woman, a rich young ruler, the Pharisees, religious leaders at the temple as a youth, and more and more throughout His life here on earth. Even when alone, He engaged with God.

We have become a society of lesser engagement. We may have 800+ Facebook friends, but how do we really classify 95% of the encounters on a scale of true involvement? We even have a growing constituency called “None” in this country who are not particularly associated with any religious group and may not even believe in God.

If we are here, God has a purpose for each and every one of us:

Acts 26:15-18. God’s purpose for the Apostle Paul: 15 “And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and bear witness to the things in which you have seen Me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles—to whom I send you 18 to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ ”

John 15:16 –“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you.”

Purposeful engagement. It is what the Lord modeled for us-and what he expects of us. So, yes, I jumped and helped this girl who had no purpose to find one by letting her know I cared, I was praying for her, and I was there for her. I had her for three years in English 9-11 and followed her through her senior year. She got through school. She endured more struggles regarding the answer to those three wishes, but the last time I saw her, she was pushing a shopping cart with two little children inside, beaming that she was happily married. God had a different plan for her than those three wishes she wrote down that day.

  In their hearts humans plan their course,  but the Lord establishes their steps.      Proverbs 16:9

And we may be the ones God uses to encourage those moves with our purposeful engagement in others’ lives.

(Sharon G. Tate 10/09/16 blog) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

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THE LAST BREATHS OF CHRIST: LESSONS FROM THE CROSS

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 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that He thus breathed His last, he said,

“Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15: 33-39)

Breath.  Breathing.  Inhale. Exhale. Breathe.

It isn’t something most people stop to think about. Breathing is just automatic to many. Breath is there.

Breath is life. Without it, like Jesus, we breathe our last and die, ending our mortal lives. But what lives on, that is still breathing life into others around and beyond us? The centurion declared that Jesus must be the Son of God, based on what he saw and heard. What did he do after that? How was he affected and how did he affect others through this testimony? What lived on through spoken words breathed out?

Our lives can be a living, breathing testimony to Christ. When we cease to be in this life and take our last breath, have we thought about what those standing around us will say? What will they utter in small breaths? What will they declare afterward? How will we each yet live and breathe-even after our last breath?

Jesus used the last breaths He had to speak some very important words that yet live and breathe in us:

— Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His clothes by casting lots. (Luke 23:34)

— Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

— 26 When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. (John 19:26-27)

— About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).  (Matthew 27:46)

— Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28)

— After Jesus had taken the wine, He said, “It is finished.” Then He bowed his head and released His spirit. (John 19:30)

— Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” After He said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:46)

Until and after His last breath, Jesus was teaching:

–Forgiveness to enemies, to those who do not come to our defense, to those who walk away.

–The reality of heaven, this prepared place where He will take us home to be with Him eternally.

–Responsibility to care and provide for family, an elder parent.

–The meaning of sin as anguished separation from God.

–Obedience to scripture and God’s Word, to the letter.

–The importance of completing everything God requires.

–That we must- and will—entrust our spirits to God in the end.

 Teaching in breaths, exhaling. Learning in breaths, inhaling.

Breathe in the lessons. Breathe out His Words. Share Jesus.  

Will we yet live and breathe—after our last breath?

(Sharon G. Tate blog 10/02/16)  teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

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Jesus Christ and Him Crucified: Speaking with Boldness

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Jitters. Weak knees. Dry mouth. Shaking hands.

And then you are before the crowd—or the one.

Can you speak the Truth with boldness?

 1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with testimony or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. (I Corinthians 2:1-5)

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The Apostle Paul, speaking before the church at Corinth, not with the eloquence of the orators of his day, not with their perfect elocution of delivery, but speaking plainly and simply the knowledge of “Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” His weakness, fear, and trembling became God’s perfect “demonstration of the Spirit’s power” to deliver that wisdom, not from Paul’s background, training, and education, but from the only One with true wisdom.

How would human “wisdom” explain the crucifixion of Christ? Philosophers would philosophize, orators would debate, jurists would look to the law, Pharisees would look to themselves– and all would likely arrive at the conclusion that this is not wisdom. To allow one’s only son, the only heir, to die and suffer on the cross, one of the cruelest devices of torture surely cannot be wisdom. To choose to suffer and die surely cannot be wisdom. To live, assume one’s rightful heritage, and make a difference through one’s life, surely that is more wise.

Human “wisdom” is limited by human thought. “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?”(I Corinthians 2:11). I cannot know your thoughts, and you cannot know mine. We can each guess and infer, but we cannot truly know each other’s thoughts. If all I know are my own thoughts, then I have little to no means of obtaining knowledge beyond what I already know. To go beyond my thoughts, I can study philosophy, listen to debates, dissect the law—but I will, ultimately, come back to myself in the mirror of my own thoughts to judge, “What is wisdom?”

For me to go beyond me and for you to go beyond you, we must each have the Spirit of God as our teacher to help us understand and speak His wisdom.

13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:13-16).

Paul proclaimed to the Corinthian brethren: “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with testimony or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (I Corinthians 2:1). This is what we need to know and what we need to speak and proclaim, like Paul did long ago. God’s wisdom doesn’t change; it just IS.

We may be jittery, weak, and shaking, but when we go forward and speak of “Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” we have the power of God’s Spirit within us to deliver this good news to others—boldly. And this is our mission.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 09/18/16) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word

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One Moment With Jesus

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Time: One-on-One, Face-to-Face.  One Moment with Jesus

 The disciples sitting at His feet

A woman with a disease for 12 years

The ten men with leprosy

Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night

Paul blinded on the road to Damascus

How did they change after time spent with Jesus?

 Time was a gift Jesus gave to others. Even though He was tired from His return journey to Galilee from Judea, and was sitting down at Jacob’s well to rest, He took time to make a difference in the life of one Samaritan woman who came to the well. He asked her to give Him a drink from this well. He was about to give her living water. He told her things about her past and present that no stranger would know. She thought He was a prophet. She told Him she knew a Messiah was coming who would explain everything. (John 4:25). “Then Jesus declared, ‘I, the one speaking to you—I am He.’ ” (John 4:26)

 Did she change after time spent with Jesus?

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him. (John 4:28-29)

 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”(John 4:39-42).

One moment, ripples extending from one woman to many men, women, and children of that time to even you and me in our time and beyond us through all time. All it took was a little time spent, one- on -one, face- to- face. Are we extending the ripple?

      Time: One- on -One, Face- to- face. What difference can we make? Where will the ripple enlarge, escalate, expand, grow, increase, magnify, mount, multiply, proliferate, rise, run up, snowball, soar, swell, upsurge. . . 

Time: One- on -One, Face- to- face.  What difference can we make?

 (Sharon G. Tate 09/11/16) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word