Month: February 2023

It’s All About What He Wants

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

You and I are 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 changed.

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 have to let go of my plans and desires and be dependent on him as I make decisions about my next steps.  I have 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.

Each hour.

Of every day.

Please help me make my life a true theocracy, dear Father.

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.