Month: June 2014

Call It What It Is

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

Today, as we read chapter 5, Isaiah looks us in the eye and says:

‘Trouble is coming to you who play with sin, acting like it’s not sin.

You’re deceiving yourselves.June 23 2014 Too Comfortable

You say that you don’t know what God, the Holy One of Israel, wants from you.”

(If Isaiah was in my livingroom right now, he would point at the Bible on my lap and tell me that I know 98% of what God wants me to know.  I just need to do it and God will tell me the rest as I go).

Isaiah says, ” You’re going to regret it whenever you call evil good.” ( we have a name for this – rationalization.)

“You will have trouble every time you say that darkness is light, every time you say that something bitter is actually sweet.

And you will regret every time you think you are wise and clever when the truth is – you’re not.”

Please help us stop the rationalizations, dear Father.

 

Too Comfortable

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

Are we too comfortable?

Too set into our religious routines? June 21 2014 Call it like it is

Too focused on our own schedules?  Our own happiness?

Too content in ‘living the good life’?

God appointed Amos who was a  just a shepherd to warn powerful and successful King Jeroboam about these very things.

Israel’s worship was meaningless to them and so it was meaningless to God.

They were enjoying their life of excess while the weak and poor that lived around them continued to be oppressed.

They were focused on themselves.  They just didn’t care about others.

God warned Israel that he would take it all away if they didn’t turn back to him.

Complacency, pride and empty worship did not please God.

Today would be a good day to consider our own lives.  Do any of these things describe us?  Have we started down a path toward any of these behaviors?

Please open our eyes, dear God. 

 

 

If You Were Wise

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

We are in one of my favorite sections of the Chronological Bible.  This is where June 17 2014 if they listened.some of the prophets seem much more relevant to me because this Bible has them speaking God’s word directly to the kings who were actually ruling at the time.

Hosea spoke to 5 kings from both Judah and Israel.  Hosea tells them God offers them acceptance and forgiveness if they will repent and be faithful.

Hosea tells the priests they have been rejected by God because they have led the people into idolatry.  When Israel’s repentance only lasts a short time, Hosea points out their deceitfulness.

Hosea predicts captivity for Israel when they experience the wrath of God and their kingdom is destroyed.  The book of Hosea ends with a promise of forgiveness from God if they will turn back to him.

Hosea says to them (my version): “If you were wise, you would have figured this out.  You would understand that God is right and you should be following his directions for you.”

But they didn’t listen.  Instead, rebellious Israel continued down their path of destruction which took them into captivity and slavery.

What about us – you and me?

What path are we are on today?

How well are we listening?

Is it time for us to turn back to God?

Are we following God’s directions for us?

Dear Father, Please give us wisdom.

 

He Brings Peace

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

It happens over and over and over – when people get their relationship right with God, they find peace.June 13 2014 he brings peace

When Jehoiada took over control of the Kingdom of Judah for the child-king Joash, he once got rid of Baal worship by smashing the altars and idols, and killing all of the priests.  Jehoiada also reorganized the responsibilities of the temple according to David’s original directions.  They were to present the burnt offering with rejoicing and singing.

The gatekeepers also made sure no was that was unclean entered the temple area.  The good thing about the gatekeepers needing to discern whether someone was ‘clean’ or not was it gave them a way to tell how serious someone was about their faith.  The directions they had to follow to stay ‘clean’ enough to go to the temple were extensive.   So someone would have to be very intentional about staying ‘clean’.  The negative side of this would be like what happened in the story of the Good Samaritan.  In that instance, the religious people passed by a person in need because it would have made them ‘unclean’.  The right thing to do would have been to get ‘dirty’ and help the person in need.  Being legalistic about God’s directions can sometimes make us blind to the real message God has for us in his word.

Jehoiada was very aware of what God wanted as he protected the child-king and pointed the people of Judah towards God.  When a king who was following God was seated on the throne, the city was calm and the people found peace.

We can experience this same peace when we place God on the throne of our lives.  Even when the circumstances of our lives are not great, God is with us, and, when we let him take control, he can give us peace.

Thank you, dear God.

Surrounding Us

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

We are surrounded by them.  When we are afraid and need help, we just need to ask God to open our eyes.June 10 they are surrounding us

When God opened Elisha’s servant’s eyes, he saw that the hills around them were filled with the Army of God.

God promises the same to us.  He is always with us and his army is ready to go to battle for us.  Sometimes they are already in the midst of a battle for us and we just don’t know it.

Other times we know it.  When our lives are really messed up with conflict everywhere we turn, we can stand firm.  We know God and his army are fighting for us.

Sometimes things happen that are clearly an attack of Satan.  A couple of years ago in my office several very weird things started happening and mean, name-calling emails started flying around from ‘anonymous’ sources.  In the midst of it, Satan showed me very clearly that he was behind it all.  This was his plan.  He thought he was taking charge.

Somehow, the fact that Satan was so blatant about it made it easier for me to remember that the battle was God’s, not mine.  And God worked it all out for my good – just like he has promised.

God and his army stand ready to defend us – we just need to open our eyes.

 

Jonah’s Prayer 2014

On By Judy GlasserIn June1 Comment

When it all hit the fan, I decided to call out to you, God….

and you answered me.June 16 2014 Jonah's prayer

My choices took me to a deep, dark place in my life,

far from you.

But you still heard me when I prayed.

I tried to run from you – a very bad decision.  And now you’re letting me pay the consequences as waves of darkness and regret wash over me.

I feel like you are very far away, dear God.

Even so, I am going to look for you, watch for you, call out to you.

I keep sinking….

down,

into the cold,

deep,

sadness.   This is where my choices have taken me.

But I know you are here, Lord God.

And you will lift me back up into your arms.

When I was lost, I remembered you and I turned back to you, God.

I’m not like those other people who idolize money, success or fame.

I praise you with a joyful heart, my God!

I am here to do your will.  I will do what you have asked me to do.

Warnings Ignored

On By Judy GlasserIn June1 Comment

Hear this!June 12 Warnings Ignored

Wake up!

Mourn!

Despair!

Grieve!

Wail!

Sound the alarm!

The prophet Joel was trying to wake up the clueless people of Judah.  They had wandered back into worshipping all of the false gods that surrounded them.  They took their eyes off of the One True God and he was not going to let them ignore him very much longer.

So Joel spoke warning after warning to the people of Judah.  He pled for them rededicate their hearts to the Lord.  God promised his compassion and grace if they would return to him.  He promised to pour out his spirit upon them if they would call upon his name.

There were some sparks of rededication but they really didn’t change.  They continued down the path towards God’s punishment.

Do we receive any warnings?

What if our finances become all messed up and we’re sinking into debt.  Is that God letting us know that we need to get our finances right with Him so that he can bless us?

What if our relationships are getting all messed up and  it’s just getting worse and worse.  Is that God telling us we need to get our relationship straight with him so he can help us change and grow in our wisdom of how to deal with others?

Maybe this isn’t the right thing to do.

I don’t think I should be saying this.

What am I doing?

How did I get here?  This isn’t where I want to be.

These are some of the warnings God sends into our minds today.  He doesn’t have to speak through prophets anymore because he lives in the hearts of those who believe in him.  And he speaks these warnings into our minds…..

so we can listen…..

and respond…..

and turn back to him….

and he can pour out his love, compassion, strength and wisdom upon us.

Come, dear God.

Our Eyes Are On You

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

” We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”June 6 2014 our eyes are on you.

These are the words of King Jehoshaphat as he stood before the assembly of Judah praying to God about the vast army that was coming to attack them.

The next day, they went out, faced their attackers and God won the battle for them.

God promises us the same victory in our battles today…when we let him fight them for us.

Our battles today have names like sickness, debt, bad relationships, loneliness and addictions.

But the strategy still works – we need to keep our eyes on God.

When we focus on God and love him, he will guide us and work it all out for us.  He has promised.  Our part is to stand firm in our faith, listen and then do our part.

The battle is not our’s.  It’s God’s.

Thank you, dear Father.

He Whispers

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

God often whispers to us.  And we don’t hear him because we fail to quiet our minds and quiet our hearts and quiet our lives so we can hear.June 5 2014

We wonder why he’s not answering our prayers.  We wonder why we feel like we’re confused – with no direction.  We feel a little lost.  Sometimes we feel a lot lost.

All of this time, God is whispering his guidance and his love into our ears.

If we are listening.

If we are still and can open up our ears with faith and trust that God is speaking.

Because he is.

Thank you, dear God.

 

Not An Option

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

King Jehoshaphat of Judah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.  He removed all evidence of false gods from the land.  He got rid of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes and he removed the high places and Asherah poles which were used to worship false gods.June 4 2014

Jehoshaphat sought the God of his father and followed God’s commands.  As a result, God made him very prosperous.

King Jehoshaphat didn’t stop there.  He sent officials and priests out to teach the people the commands of God.  It was not enough that the king was a good leader and that he followed God himself.  He understood that God’s word was for all of the people.  They all needed to know God and follow him.

Because of Jehoshaphat’s faithfulness, he became very wealthy and powerful.  God gave his kingdom a time of peace.

I have talked to some parents who have told we that they don’t want to force their beliefs upon their children.   They want their children to choose for themselves what to believe.

This is a very dangerous idea.  What they are really doing is handing Satan and his team an empty mind to play with and influence.  And they are not following the directions God gave to us over and over in his word to teach our children.

I was talking with a woman in church many years ago who was sad because her 10 year-old son wouldn’t come to church with her.  I told her that not going to church was not an option for my children.  I’m the parent, right?  So I decide what a 10 year-old does or does not do.  It’s different when they become adults – it becomes their decision.  And they make their decisions based on the truth that they were taught when they were kids.

Teaching our children and our grandchildren about God is not an option for those of us who believe.