Author: Judy Glasser

Life is a journey. Sometimes I'm coasting downhill and, other times, its a tough road uphill. My journey has been straight uphill since May 19, 2016 when my son, David Glasser, who was a Phoenix Police Officer was killed in the line of duty. When my life and dreams blew apart, I only had one option - to hold on tightly to my Rock, my Father God. I have a new understanding of just how short life is and how important it is to take loving each other seriously. God is love and all love comes from him. I have seen love do supernatural things since my son was killed. I have published a book, "Then I Looked Up: Losing a Child, Finding His Legacy of Love." about my tough and painful journey since my son was killed. You can order it from Amazon or you can get an autographed copy by contacting me on messenger. I am sharing some of my experiences as a survivor of a line of duty death in MYFAMILYBLEEDSBLUE.COM. Please feel free to share these blogs with anyone you know who might find them helpful. My other blog - JOURNEYTOWARDSTHETRUTH.COM - has been a work of love for many years as I read through the Chronological Daily Bible each year and share what I hear from God when he stops me. I am inviting you to come along on one or both of my journeys. Please share as often as you'd like. Thanks so much for reading!

Standing in the Gap

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment
  • remaining faithful to God and his word through all of life’s ups and downs.
  • discipling and mentoring others as we walk this path of faith together.
  • praying and loving others, leaving the judging to God.
  • keeping our eyes on God instead of all the ‘attractions’ of this world.
  • sharing the Good News with others so they might believe.August 20 2015 standing in the gap

In Ezekiel, God told the people of Judah that he had looked for someone to stand before him in the gap on behalf of the people of the land but he found no one.

Not one.

Dear Father, you are a righteous and holy God.  Please help us walk in step with you, repentant and obedient.  When you look on us today, may you find us standing in the gap for others.  You have made that possible by your grace and the power of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us.  We love you!  In the redeeming name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Trying To Get Our Attention

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Attempting to cut through the din of noise that surrounds us.

Trying to squeeze into a small slot of time in our packed schedules.

Waiting for even just a few brief moments when our attention isn’t totally focused on ourselves.august 19 2015 trying to get our attention

This is how I imagine God spends a lot of his time – just trying to get us to focus on him for more than a few fleeting thoughts during our day.

He wants to guide us.

He wants to give us wisdom.

He wants to heal our brokenness and bring us joy.

If we would just let him.

Give him some space in our lives.

Give him some time.

As we read Ezekiel, we see God using the image of a polished and sharpened sword as he tried to get the people’s attention.  He described the slaughter and slashing and striking that was coming if the people didn’t repent and turn back to him.

But none of these warnings had any affect on the people of Judah.  They continued to ignore Ezekiel.

They continued to ignore God.

Any of us reading this story today would say they should have listened.  We have the benefit of hindsight.  They should have repented and got their act together.  Really bad things were coming their way – couldn’t they see they needed to get close to God?  Couldn’t they understand that God was reaching out to them through Ezekiel – trying to get their attention?

Just like God is reaching out to us today through Ezekiel?

He is trying to get more of our attention.

We know what the people of Judah did – they ignored God.

The question is – what are we going to do?

Sword Fighting Class – Step Away From the Line

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

This is an amazing journey as God faithfully writes his words from Proverbs 2 on our hearts and minds.  You may have used the same excuse I used to use  about not memorizing scripture – that I have a bad memory.  We are discovering that our bad memories don’t matter.  Nothing is impossible with God – and he’s proving it!Proverbs 2 1st page - this one

“My child, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will know the fear of the Lord and you will find the knowledge of God. 

For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless.  He guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.  Then you will understand what is right and just and fair – every good path.  For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.  Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you.  Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse.  Who leave straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and who rejoice in the perverseness of evil.  Whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.”

Thank you, God, for helping us memorize these verses!  Now we add another verse of warning this week:

“For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead.”

Wise people will avoid getting close to ‘sin’, having conversations with ‘sin’, and they will avoid stepping onto the path to ‘sin’s’ house.  A sure way not to give into temptation is to not go near it.  It is not possible to step over the line unless we are close to it.

Dear Father, please help us step very far AWAY from the line.

Audio file of Proverbs 2:

False Words

On By Judy GlasserIn August1 Comment

Wrong interpretations.

Using scripture out of context.August 17 2015 false words

Changing one word in the verse which changes the whole meaning.

Using an interpretation of a Hebrew or ‘original word’ which is not accurate.

We’ve all heard or read these words that are false.  They are not true.

But do we know scripture well enough to know they are false when we hear them?

Or do we believe everything we hear from pastors, prophets and teachers?

Ezekiel had a hard time getting people to listen to him because there were so many false teachers at that time who were sharing messages they said came from God.

God told Ezekiel that these people were prophesying out of their own imaginations.

Their own imaginations.

Scary.

The reality is that people are still prophesying and teaching out of their own imaginations today.  If we don’t personally know God’s truth, we are open to believing these phonies.  We could believe their lies.  Their false words.

Please give us wisdom and discernment, Abba Father.

They Were Free…

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Free from the protection God gives to those who are faithful to him.

Free from the shield God places over those who are walking closely with him.

Free from the hand of God which guards the path of those who listen to him and obey.August 15 2015 we are free

The Hebrews had made a promise to God to let go of their fellow Hebrews who had become slaves.

But then they changed their minds and took their slaves back.  They probably realized when they started to do all of the work themselves that this deal wasn’t going to be as easy as it sounded.  When it became inconvenient, they decided it was too much, too hard, not something they wanted to do.

So they ignored the promise they made to God.

Do we ever make a promise to God….and then change our minds?

When the going gets tough, we decide we really aren’t going to do what we told God we would do?

It’s too hard.

Now that the crisis is over, it just doesn’t seem important.

Or any number of other excuses we give ourselves for backing out of our committment to God.

We change our minds.

Break our promise.

And we step out from under the umbrella of God’s protection and blessings when we do this.

Then we experience the pain of the consequences of these decisions.

God has given us freedom of choice.  As a result, we are ‘free’ to make some very bad decisions.

Unless we’re reading God’s word,

and listening,

and obeying.

We know the way, we just have to use our freedom of choice to choose it.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Sword Fighting Class – Stay in the Light

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

We are memorizing Proverbs 2 together and we are watching in amazement as God blesses our faithfulness and write all of these words on our minds:

My child, if you accept my words and store up commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and you will find the knowledge of God.Proverbs 2 1st page - this one

For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless.  He guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.  Then you will understand what is right and just and fair – every good path.  For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.  Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you.  Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse.  Who leave straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil.  Whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.

Great job!  We are through the wicked men section and now we’re going to start memorizing about wayward women.  I put the next 2 verses together because it made more sense as I was memorizing it:Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words who has left partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.

As we read this, the obvious message is that wisdom will save us from partnering up with someone who is going to be unfaithful to us.

God is also talking with us about being wise in avoiding sexual sins and the things that will draw us away from his light.  Our world is full of sexual messages and its hard to avoid all of the invitations to go down this dark, slippery path.   As Christians, God’s Spirit lives in us – our bodies are his temple – and he wants us to take that responsibility seriously.

We will be memorizing a couple of more verses warning us to avoid the wayward woman who represents sin.

Please give us wisdom, Abba Father.

Audio file of Proverbs 2:

A Hope and a Future

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

We love this famous passage in Jeremiah 29 where God tells us he has a plan to prosper us – to give us a hope and a future.  We often stop quoting this section of scripture right there and we miss it!August 11 2015 a hope and a future

We miss the ‘how’ God is going to do this.

Because God goes on to say that, when we call on him and come to him and pray to him, he will listen.

When we seek him with all of our hearts, we will find him.

THIS is how he plans to give us a hope and a future.

Our part of this equation is to call on God, to pray to him and seek him with all of our hearts.

He asks us to do this because this will bring all of the success and joy and purpose we are looking for.

Today and on into eternity.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Maybe We Will Understand

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Maybe we will turn away from our bad choices.

This is what God wants for us. August 7 2015 maybe we will get it.

He wants to forgive us.

He wants us to know him

– to feel his love.

– experience his peace.

– live in his joy.

– rely on his strength for each day.

– and anticipate all of the good things that are coming to us tomorrow because he is already there.

God wants all of this to happen in our lives.  That’s why he had his wisdom and guidance for us written down in the Bible.

As our Bibles lie open on our laps with our minds actively seeking God, his truth is soaking into our souls, changing us, renewing us.  Helping us make better choices.  Enabling us to build better lives.

This is what God wanted for the people of Judah in Jeremiah 36 when he had Baruch write down all of the words he had given to Jeremiah.  Maybe when the people heard all of these directions and predictions together, they would actually get it.

Maybe they would understand it.

Maybe this would help them decide to turn away from their sin and turn toward God.

God wanted this to happen for the people of Judah and he wants this same thing to happen today.

Right now.

For us.

As we read his word.

Please open our eyes, Abba Father, so we can turn away from our sins and turn to you.

Sword Fighting Class – Walk on the Straight Path

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

We are partnering with God as we memorize Proverbs 2.  As we review the scripture 2 or 3 times a day, God writes it on our hearts.Proverbs 2 1st page - this one

“My child, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and you will find the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless.  He guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.

Then you will understand what is right and just and fair – every good path.  For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.  Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you.  Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse.  Who leave straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil.”Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Great job!  We are almost done memorizing about the wicked men.  Here is the last verse of this part:

‘Whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.’

Dear Father, thank you for helping us to soak your word deep into our hearts and minds.  Please help us straighten out any paths in our lives that are not honoring to you.  Help us see any of our thoughts or motives that are devious.  Help us change, dear Father.  Transform our thoughts and desires so we can walk more closely with you.  In the redeeming name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Audio file of Proverbs 2:

They Found the Book

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

The Book of the Law.

Moses’ book.

God’s words.

King Josiah knew it was time to repair the temple of the Lord.August 2 2015 They found the book

So he made it happen.

While they were cleaning and fixing the temple, they discovered “the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses.( 2 Chronicles 34:14)  The book was read to the King who immediately tore his robes and asked the prophetess Huldah to tell him what God wanted to say to him.  Her message from God can be boiled down to on word, ‘disaster’.

The king reacted immediately by having the Book read to all of the people and then leading them in renewing their covenant with God.   The king cleared out all of the idols from the temple along with the idolatrous priests.  He destroyed all of the places for idol worship and altars.  He got rid of the mediums and spiritists along with all other ‘detestable’ things.

When everything was done, they celebrated the Passover which had not been celebrated properly for hundreds of years.

Is it true that some of us need to ‘find’ the book of the Lord?

Are there ‘things’ in our lives that we put a higher priority on than our relationship with God?  These are our idols.

Do we look at sources other than God for our guidance and direction?  These are our mediums and spiritists.

Is our Bible sitting on the shelf more than its been sitting open on our lap?

We need to read it.

And let God transform our lives through it.

King Josiah’s cleansing of the land of Judah was a high point in their history.  He heard God’s word, he listened and he obeyed.

King Josiah found the Book.

The book led him to God.

God led him to renewal and celebration.

Is it time for some renewal and celebration in your life?

Maybe its time to REALLY find the Book.

Thank you for revealing your truth to us, Abba Father.