This is How

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

Do what is right and good.

I am reading the entire Chronological Bible for the 16th consecutive year and I know there is a significant number of you who are reading it with me. It’s February so we’re still in the beginning of the Bible and today God highlighted a phrase to me that we have already read several times, ” Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may be well with you.” Deut. 6:18.

I definitely want things to ‘go well’ with me and I’m sure you are on that same page. God is telling me – and you – that he wants to guide us. He wants to light up our path. He wants to walk beside us when the trials of life on this planet try to overwhelm us.

The part you and I have in this is to do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight.

That’s my goal. I’m not perfect- no one knows that better than my Father God. It’s very clear to me that God doesn’t expect perfection, he desires that I admit my mistakes and sins to him with a humble heart and turn away from them. He desires an open heart that is submitted to him and his will. He desires a willing heart that obeys him, even when I don’t understand or don’t agree.

I have found that it is much easier to do what is ‘right and good in the Lord’s eyes’ when I am reading God’s Word each day with my eyes and heart open to what he is saying to me. I am also finding a huge benefit from reading the entire Bible – not just a verse here and a chapter there. Reading God’s Word in Chronological order has helped it make sense to me. I tried one of those reading plans where you read parts of the Old Testament, New Testament and then a Psalm or Proverbs. It didn’t keep my attention. I lost my motivation. What I was reading didn’t tie together into a bigger picture.

The Daily Chronological Bible has kept my attention for 16 years. Because it is a Daily Bible, it has dates on the top of the pages which help give me the structure I need to keep going. I sometimes get ahead and other times I get behind but I keep moving forward. This Bible is not good for studying verse by verse because chapters are condensed and combined. But it is a great reading Bible.

Because I am consistently reading his Word, God is constantly talking to me, guiding me and teaching me his truth.

There’s no question in my mind that this is ‘right and good in the Lord’s sight.‘

Never Too Short

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

There are times when I am tired and discouraged and other days when I am sad and feel a little lost.   I also have hours of impatience and frustration.  So I pray.  And, sometimes, I start wondering –

When is God going to do something about these things that are discouraging me?  When is he going to take care of this struggle?

How can God possibly work this out for my good?  I just don’t see how that’s possible.  When is that going to happen?

Then God responds to me like he did to Moses thousands of years ago, “Is the LORD’S arm too short?” Numbers 11:23.

I just have to smile.  This really sets me back in my place.  Because – of course, God’s arm is not too short, it is never too short. He is the Creator of the Universe, the Great I AM.  He spoke the world into existence.  He sees and knows everything.  Nothing is too hard for him.

When God said this to Moses, Moses was doubting that God could provide meat for all of the Israelites for a month.  The people had started grumbling about eating manna everyday and God responded by saying, “Tomorrow you will eat meat.”

As the leader of these complainers, Moses thought he had to ‘help God’ by figuring out how to get this done.  But he just didn’t see a way to make this happen.   It was impossible!

Yes, it was impossible for human hands.  But there are no limits for God.  His arm is never too short – it reaches across universes that we don’t even know about yet.

So we should not be surprised that the Israelites ate meat – they ate meat until they were sick of it.

When my son, Davey, was killed in the line of duty 10 years ago, I learned how very short my own arm was. I was plunged into a horrible situation where I had absolutely no control and it was very clear that only God was in control. I found myself on an extremely painful path of grief and loss that is going to continue for the rest of my life here on earth. I learned to trust God with absolutely everything because that’s the only way I could move forward without bitterness and anger.

God’s arm is not too short but sometimes our faith can be too small.  At times, our faith can be too limited.

Do you believe that God’s arm is never too short?

Do you really trust him?

Looking for Guidance

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

Every morning,

looking….

What’s in store for me today?  Do I move?  Do I stay?

I’m imagining what it was like for the Israelites as they began their journey through the desert.  When the Cloud of Guidance covered the tabernacle, they stayed.  When the cloud lifted above the tent, the estimated 2.4 million Israelites packed up and moved on.

There were times they stayed in the same place for months and other times when they were moving again the next morning.  Every time they stopped, they set up the tabernacle right away because God wanted his presence known first and foremost.

Every morning, they would look to the tabernacle to determine their direction for that day.  Everybody could see it – not just the priests and the leaders.  God made this visible to everybody – he wanted all of them to be able to see that he was the one leading them.

What would your life be like if you had that clear guidance from God for each day?  What would it feel like to know for sure you were on the path God had designed for you, confident of God’s presence beside you each step of the way?

Great news!  This is all available to you and to me.  God’s guidance through his Word is available for us each day.  It’s much easier to feel his presence when we’re reading his Word, letting it soak into our hearts and minds.

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105.

He wants me to look to him before I stay or go….

he wants you to check with him on a decision you are making to ensure that’s its going to be the best for you…

he wants me to look to him for help when I’m trying to choose what words to say in a conversation about a difficult subject….

and he wants to be our leader on this journey towards the truth.

I know I need to keep moving forward, growing in my faith and trust in God.  And I’m confident that I’ll stay on the right path when my eyes are focused on him.

I’m watching and I see your light, Abba Father.

Being Filled

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

It’s done.

All the weaving, measuring and hammering was done.  Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and put up the curtain to the entrance.

Done.

“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:34

Awesome!

There are times during the praise part of worshipping God with my spiritual family when I visualize a cloud billowing into the room.  As I watch in my mind, the glory of the LORD fills the space around me.  God’s word tells us that he ‘inhabits’ the praise of his people and I know that to be true.

God is always beside me but there are two places in my life where he feels most near to me –

  • the first place is right now with my Bible open in my lap and my ears and heart open to what he wants to say to me.
  • the second is when I’m joining with God’s people in praising him.  This is especially true for me when a praise song includes pivotal truths that have been game-changers in my life.  One of my favorite current praise songs talks about God fighting my battles. I have personally witnessed God fighting for me and pushing back the darkness when Satan has tried to discourage me. Gratitude fills my soul as I sing these words. I feel a cloud of God’s grace and love filling the room and my heart.  God is good, he loves me and always wants the best for me even when I can’t see it.  These are all facts that have gotten me through the last 10 painful years since my son was killed.

Do you know what it feels like to have the glory of the Lord fill your heart?  If you want to get closer to God, read his Word daily, listen and obey and spend time sincerely praising him with your spiritual family. 

Open your heart and mind to him and he will fill you with his love and grace.

It’s All About What He Wants

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

I am blessed to be living in a country ruled by a democracy.   Although there are constant challenges to our constitution and freedom, it’s still a democracy.

Personally, I have chosen Jesus to be my Savior and King so I am living in a theocracy.  I pray for our country but my life is secured on my God, the Solid Rock.  He will not be moved or shaken.

A theocracy means that it’s all about what God wants.  His desires.  His plans.  His will. His purposes.  In order for God to be the LORD of my life, I need to let go of my plans and desires and be dependent on him as I make decisions about my next steps.  Because Jesus is Lord of my life, I want to submit my will to his, trusting that his ways are right, his love is perfect and he wants the best for me.

That is a lot easier said than done.  It has been a constant process of turning over parts of my life to him and growing my understanding of how dependent I am on God.  How much of your will have you submitted to him?  What parts of your life still need to be given over to his authority and blessing?

As I read the book of Exodus, it’s amazing to watch God use Moses to transform the Israelites from a nation of slaves into a theocracy.  God himself led the Israelites with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. God fed them by sending manna from heaven.  When God gave them laws and commandments in order to teach them how to live as his people, they responded, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.”  Exodus 24:3

This is the same commitment I have made in order to live in line with God.  Everything God says, I will do.  For me to say that, I have to make the choice each day to take myself off the throne of my life and put God on it.

It’s all about what God wants.

Together, We Win!

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

I love the visual image I get as I read Exodus 17.  Moses is holding up his hands with the help of Aaron and Hur as the Israelites fight the Amalekites.  As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning.  But, when his hands got tired and he lowered them, the Amalekites started winning.  To help the Israelites win, Aaron and Hur stood on either side of Moses and held his hands up for him.

God’s message to you and I? Together, we win.

This is what our church families should be like.  God tells us in the New Testament that we are all different parts of the same body.  When we all show up and do what we are called to do, we all win.

When we hold each other up, encouraging each other, loving one another, and spurring each other on in this marathon of faith, we stand firm as the body of Christ.

The Kingdom of God dwells on earth for all to see when the people of his church are obedient.

So, let’s hold up each other’s arms and share the victory!

Glory to God!  Amen!  Hallelujah!

The Light of the World

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

Secret Arts.

Those are the words used in Exodus 7 to explain how the Pharaoh’s magicians did the same ‘tricks’ as God did through Moses.

Do you know who the power is behind these ‘secret arts’?  Satan.  And he doesn’t like the fact that I’m pointing him out today.  He loves to lurk in the shadows, creating havoc while speaking lies into our minds.

The battle of good versus evil has raged across our planet ever since the Garden of Eden.  Most of the activity is in the spiritual realm.  This altercation between Satan and God is unusual because it was very visible on earth.

It started when Aaron, Moses’ brother, threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and it became a snake.  With Satan’s help, Pharaoh’s magicians did the same thing with their staffs.

But here’s a twist – Aaron’s snake swallowed up the other snakes.  In the writing world, we would call this foreshadowing – this is how the whole battle is going to go.  God is all-powerful, Satan is not.

Even after his snakes are eaten right in front of him, Pharaoh remained stubborn and unmoved.  No surprise there – that’s who he was.

Next, God changed the Nile into blood. (Yuck!)  But then Pharaoh’s magicians did the same thing – again with Satan’s help.

Of course, Pharaoh’s heart remained hard and stubborn.

So God sent a plague of frogs which covered the ground as well as the insides of their houses.  Once again, Satan helped Pharaoh’s magicians do the same thing.

Pharaoh’s stubborn refusal to let the Israelites go continued, so God sent a plague of gnats.  But – get this.  Pharaoh’s magicians were unable to produce gnats.

What happened, Satan?  Run out of steam?

Or did the Creator of the Universe get tired of playing your games and shut you down?

Suddenly, Satan no longer replies but we read the deadly result of his continued whispers into Pharaoh’s ear.  Pharaoh’s heart becomes more and more stubborn so God ups his response with the next plague of flies.

Do you notice?  Now the plagues start to only affect the Egyptians, not God’s people.  The 9th plague of darkness is truly amazing to me.  The land was in total darkness – they couldn’t see their hands in front of their faces – except God’s people.  The light still shone down on the people of Israel.

I feel that is true today.  Our world can be such a dark and confusing place – full of disappointment and heartbreak.  Only God brings true light into the darkness.

We can fool ourselves into thinking that money or recognition or a relationship with the right person brings light.  But all of those will eventually feel empty – ‘is this all there is?’ – without God.

Have we figured this out yet?  Our lives will be ‘plagued’ by darkness until we put God in the center.

Thank you for being the Light of the World, Jesus.

What’s in My Hand?

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Sometimes I don’t feel like I have the right skills or experience or knowledge to do what God is asking me to do.  That’s how Moses felt when God told him to go back to Egypt to free his people from slavery.

“What if they do not believe me or listen to me..?”  Exodus 4:1.   I can hear the worry and concern in Moses’ voice, can’t you?

And then God asked Moses to look at what he already had in his hand and use that to do what God was asking him to do.  Moses was holding his staff in his hand.  As the story of the Exodus unfolds we will read of Moses regularly using his staff in order to do what God is asking him to do.

Applying this to my life, I need to consider what I already have and figure out how to use it to serve God.  What is God asking me to do and what has he already given me in order to accomplish it?  I have a car.  I have a house with chairs.  I have leadership and writing skills.  If I turn off the TV, close down my computer, lay down my phone, and adjust my priorities, I also have time.

When God asked me to start writing this blog, I was already writing a different blog.  So I had everything in my hands to do what he wanted me to do except for time.   I had to take a couple of things out of my already packed schedule to fit in the new blog but God blessed my efforts.  Here I am, 16 years later, still reading through the entire Bible every year and sharing the journey with you in this blog.

I have learned that it’s important to remember when God tells me he wants me to do something that I’m not doing it alone.  God with his supernatural power is working with me – making the impossible possible.  When I focus on what I can do, God takes care of the rest.

The questions God has for you and I today are – what is he asking us to do and what can we use that is already in our hands to do it.

What’s Next?

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

So many decisions…

sometimes its hard to figure out my next steps.

A lot of options.

burning-bush

Why can’t I get a burning bush like God gave Moses?  It was big.  It was dramatic. Moses couldn’t miss it.  If I got one of those, it would be so much easier to listen and follow, right?

In my life, God gives me what I would call burning plants. They are a lot smaller than a bush and much less impressive but when I’m reading God’s word, praying and listening, God will set fire to the next small plant in my mind- lighting the way to my next decision – and then my next.

Here’s how it works – I’m regularly reading God’s word and listening to how he wants me to apply it to my life.  I pray – expecting God to move and answer but keeping my mind open knowing that God can answer in a way that’s much different from how I think he will answer.

I watch.

And he lines up my circumstances, one step at a time. When I see what many people call a coincidence, I call it a God-incidence. It’s evidence that God is moving, answering my prayers. If we pay attention, we can see how he’s guiding us and understand what he’s showing us.

He will also add confirmations along the way. Godly people around me will say something that reinforces the direction indicated by a recent burning plant.  And it’s not unusual for my pastor on Sunday to say something that confirms my next decision.

I recently had a pressing situation that I was praying about and, in the middle of the night, God woke me up. He reminded me of an option that was available to me which I had totally forgotten about. It gave me a clear answer to my question and my next step was obvious. I was watching and waiting for God to show me the way and he did!

When God knows I am watching and listening, he can work through all of these things to make my decision clear to me. I have found that I don’t need a big, dramatic burning bush if I’m paying attention.  My small burning plants work just fine.

Thank you for your guidance, Abba Father.

A Precious Legacy

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Since I was born –

from then to now –

God has been my Shepherd.

Israel’s (formerly known as Isaac) words echo through my mind as I read in Genesis how he describes God as he blesses his grandsons during his last days on this Earth.  “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, the God who has been my Shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has delivered me from harm- may he bless these boys.”  Genesis 48:15-16.

Israel and I share the experience of having a long family legacy of faith.

In Genesis 48, Israel is talking to Joseph’s sons – the son he had thought he had lost forever.  This was very serious business and Joseph isn’t happy when Israel switches hands and gives the younger son the greater blessing.

But I know that one of the biggest blessings these grandsons and all of Israel’s grandsons are receiving is the long family history of belief and faith they have been nurtured in since their birth.  It started with their Great, Great Grandfather Abraham and it is being passed down to them.

They have had years and years of role models in their lives of people who followed God and obeyed.  This is a precious legacy that will change their lives forever if they choose to follow in the steps of those who have gone before them.

I have received this blessing as I pursue a life of following God and being faithful to him….

as my mother did….

and my grandmothers…..

and my great grandmothers – on back through history.

If this isn’t true of your family, you have the awesome opportunity to get the legacy started.

Thank you for giving me the blessing of having a long family history of faith, Abba Father.