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!

Teaching Deception

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Rebekah coached Jacob on how to deceive his father, Isaac.Jan 11 2015 teaching deception a

Later in Genesis, Laban deceives Jacob.

Then Jacob deceives Laban.

And then Rachel, Jacob’s wife, steals from her father, Laban.

Deception.

Trickery.

Lies.

Stealing.Jan 11 2015 teaching deception b

This is what Rebekah taught Jacob and what Laban taught Rachel.

When adults do these things, for whatever reason, children are watching….

and learning.

It’s not a legacy to be proud of.  Rebekah taught Jacob how to deceive his father to get what she wanted.  Laban taught Rachel that stealing was the way to get what she wanted because he tricked Jacob and stole from him to get what he wanted.

I’m sure both Rebekah and Laban rationalized all of this in their minds.  We tend to do that when we’re planning to sin.  The end justifies the means.  It would be so unfair the other way – we’re just evening the playing field.

And I’m sure they both complained about what their deception actually gave them.  Both of them were separated from their children and their grandchildren as a result of these actions.

We can see this legacy of deception show up over and over in Isaac and Rachel’s lives.

And we can learn from it.

We definitely don’t want this in our lives, right?

We want a legacy of honesty and truth and love in our family.  With our friends.

So, today, we confess any of our behavior that has not been honest and true and done in love.  We commit to set that standard in our lives so that we can teach and role-model it with our family and friends.

Today is the start of a new legacy.

Please help us, dear Father.

Sword Fighting Class- Stop the Blame Game

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trial of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you can be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”James 1 1 -9

“If anyone lacks wisdom, they should ask God who gives generously to all with fault and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not double, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not believe that he will receive anything from the Lord, he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”

“The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wildflower.  The sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the plants; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, a rich man fades away even as he goes about his business.”James 1= 13-18

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to all who love him.”

Awesome!  We are memorizing James 1 and it’s getting really challenging!  With God, all things are  possible!  Here’s our next verse,

“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.”

When we sin, there is no one to blame but ourselves.  Sometimes that’s a hard thing to admit – we’d like to blame anybody else…even God.

There is nothing evil in God, this temptation to sin does not come from him.

He sometimes tests our faith – that’s not the same thing.  He tests us in order to grow us, to mold us, to help us persevere and become more wise.  When he tests us, we can step up to the plate or we can disobey.  It’s our choice.

Dear Father, We choose to grow and to persevere – please help us.

 

The Immediate

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew in Genesis 25.

This doesn’t make sense.Jan 11 2015 The Trade Off

Esau was going to inherit the majority of Abraham’s wealth and he trades it for a bowl of stew?

Not smart!

We would never do something like that!

Or….would we?

Are we doing this when we fill up our calendars with good things and we have no time for the best things?  The best things that bring long-term benefits? Benefits that we don’t see right away?

Like regular 1 – on 1 time with God?  Are we too busy?

Like significant time making memories with our family?  Memories that don’t include running from calendar item to calendar item?  The memories that include lots of laughter and fun like playing poker on a rainy day in Italy with elbow macaroni as chips. (My family will smile at that one :).

When we buy items with credit cards that we can’t pay off right away, we’re doing the same thing.  We’re trading off a happier, debt-free life in order to have something right now.

The ‘immediate’ calls to us.  It’s very loud.

We have a hard time not listening and responding.

God promises us in James 1 that he will give us a generous amount of wisdom……when we ask.

We just need to take the time to ask and then obey as he guides us.

None of this happens immediately.

We need to turn down the volume on the ‘immediate’ in our lives and turn up God’s volume.  How do we do this?  We’re doing it right now as we read and study and internalize God’s word to us.

Forget the immediate – we want God’s best.

So we’re focusing on you,  Abba Father.

Growing

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Mistakes.

We all make them as we travel this road of faith.Jan 5 2015 Growing

The important thing is to learn from each mistake and grow from it.

We see Abraham making a big mistake in Genesis 12 when he shows a lack of trust in God.  He asked Sarai to lie to Pharoah, saying that she was Abram’s sister, not his wife.  Abram was worried that Pharoah would kill him in order to marry Sarai if he knew she was Abram’s wife.

Abram didn’t trust that God would protect him.  He still had to learn that God is in total control of everything – even Pharaohs.

Because of the lies, God had to step in and get Sarai out of Pharoah’s household.  He had to fix the mess that Abram had made.

And we’ll see later that Abram does the exact same thing later.

What?

We’ll even hear him rationalize away his lies – trying to make them not sound so bad.

When is he going to learn?

Does any of this sound like us?

Do we ever make the same mistake twice?  Or 3 times?  We didn’t learn the first time?

Fortunately for us, God has patience with us just like he had patience with Abram.

The good news for Abram is he eventually learned to trust God with everything – even with the life of his promised son, Isaac.

Please help us trust you, dear Father.

Sword Fighting Class – Victory

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be complete and mature, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without fault, and it will be given to him.James 1 1 - 9

“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord: he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”

The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wildflower.  The sun rises with scorching heat and the plant withers; it’s blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, a rich man fades away even while he goes about his business.”James 1, 9-12

Wow!  We are doing great at memorizing James 1!  Keep it up!  Here’s the next verse:

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

When we persevere in our faith through trials, we grow closer to God.  We have victory over the trials and sufferings of this world.

Victory.  A great word.  An even better feeling of accomplishment.  God gives us victory which helps us find meaning and purpose to our trials.

What a great way to show God we love him – by standing the test of the trials that come our way and remaining faithful.  Obedient.

We love you, Abba Father.

They were Both Adam

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

In Genesis 3:20 we read that Adam names his wife Eve.

Up to that point, they were both Adam.Genesis 2 2015 they were both Adam

Male and female.  Both parts of Adam.  Each part made in God’s image.

What a striking picture of what God created marriage to be!

They shared the same name because they were 2 parts of the same being.

Sin changed that.

Just like sin creates the marriage issues we see all around us today.

We marry the wrong person for the wrong reasons at the wrong time.

The grass always looks greener on the other side – because we’re too selfish to fertilize our side.

Temporary lusts fueled by sinful pleasures become marriages that fail while hurting everyone involved ……especially the children.

Our picture of marriage is so different from what God created it to be.

Two bodies making one complete being.

Even in today’s world saturated with sin, a marriage like this is still possible if God is in the middle.  He promises to work all things out for the good of those who love him.  Our marriages are one of those things.  He has promised.  We just need to trust him.  And do our part by obeying.

He will always do his part.

Thank you, dear Father.

In the Beginning

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

The Spirit of God hovered over a formless, dark, and empty world.

Then God created light.  The sky.  The land and the sea.  Plants and trees.  The sun.  The moon.  All living creatures – on the land and in the water.Genesis 1 2015 in the beginning

And he saw that it was good.

Then God created male and female in his own image.

He created US.

He was looking forward to the relationship he would have with Adam and Eve – walking through his beautiful garden with them every day.

He knew they would eat the apple – in defiance of his one restriction to their use of his garden.

God knew Cain would kill his brother.

He knew he would destroy all of the rebellious people with a flood, saving Noah and his family to repopulate the earth.

God knew he was going to grow Abraham into a Father of Faith.

He knew Joseph needed to go to Egypt to save multitudes of people including his family from starvation.

He knew that his people would be enslaved and would need a reluctant hero – Moses – to set them free.

God knew all about the whining Israelites wandering through the desert.  And brave Joshua who would step up to lead them into the Promised Land.

God knew about all of the issues with idols and other gods.  Of sins heaped upon sins.

He knew about David, a man after his own heart, who would be a beacon of light in the darkness even while battling with his own sins.

He knew that his prophets saying his words to his people would be ignored….ridiculed…..killed.

He knew about the heart-breaking exile that would happen to his people and their struggles to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.

God already knew he was going to have to send his son in order to save the people he had created in his own image.

He knew that this son he dearly loved would have to die an excruciatingly painful death on the cross as the sins of all the world were placed on him.

God knew that the worst part would be when he had to turn away, separating himself from the sin….while his son cried, “Father, why have you forsaken me?”

God knew all of this before he created us.

And he did it anyway.

Because he thinks we’re worth it.

For God so loved the world…..

 

Coming Soon

On By Judy GlasserIn January3 Comments

“I am coming soon”, Jesus says to us in Revelations 22 as God’s holy word to us comes to completion.

Jesus is coming back soon.dec 31 2014 coming soon

And he has told us to ready because he can come anytime.  All of the predictions of man will be wrong because Jesus told us when he was here on earth that it’s not for us to know the date and time that the Father has chosen for his return.

So we focus on our preparation.  We prepare by reading and meditating on his Word.

And then we obey.

Today we celebrate as we begin another year of preparation.

What new adventures is God planning to take us on in 2015?

Who is he planning to bring into our lives so we can share the Good News?

How many opportunities will he be giving us to encourage others who are on this path of faith with us?

What awesome new thoughts and understandings is God going to reveal to us as we once again read through his Word to us?

I’m very excited to find out!

I’ve decided to read the chronological Bible again in 2015 – I really love how the historical context is so evident when we read God’s Word in chronological order.  And, I’ll admit it – I really like reading all the laws of Moses together just once along with some of the other sections that are repeated several times in the Old Testament.

Thanks to all of you who are taking this Journey Towards the Truth with me!

Happy New Year!  May God richly bless us in 2015!

With a smile and a growing feeling of anticipation of what God’s going to say, we flip back to page one and read,

“In the beginning……”

Lukewarm

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

As the final Revelation begins, John is writing to the 7 churches.  The message that reverberates through my mind is his word to the church of Laodicea –dec 28 2014 lukewarm

Don’t be lukewarm.

Be hot.  Or cold.  But not lukewarm.

He sounded pretty disgusted with this church – saying he would ‘spit’ them out of his mouth.

They were rich and they were acting like they had everything they needed.  But John called them pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

And then he offers them the truth.  He calls them to repentance and reminds them that Jesus is always ready to forgive them and redeem them.

Lukewarm is not a good place to be.  Jesus came to earth to save us and transform us into beacons of light in a lost and broken world.

‘Okay’ is not what we are called to be.  The Holy Spirit wants to set a fire burning within us as we seek to know and love our Abba Father.  As we learn to love and care for each other in Christ’s name.

Is there a fire burning in our hearts?  A fire that burns hot?  A fire that keeps us passionate about following Jesus on this journey towards the truth?

Turn up the heat, dear Father!

 

Sword Fighting Class – Don’t Fade Away

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be complete and mature, not lacking anything.James 1- 1-9

“If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all with fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not believe he will receive anything from the Lord, he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.’

‘The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wildflower.’

We are doing a great job of memorizing James 1!  We’re ready for verse 11:

‘ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossoms falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, the rich man will fade away even as he goes about his business.’

This is a poetic picture of what will happen to all of our worldly wealth.  It will be withered and destroyed.

If our identity is attached to what we own and the money we have, we will fade away into nothing along with our wealth.

How easy it is to get distracted by money and owning things, isn’t it?  Our world bombards us with this message constantly.  We step into the flow of our culture, focusing on more and better stuff and suddenly we find ourselves up to our eyebrows in debt with our stuff owning us.  When we look up, we wonder how we got there.

God tells us through James that all of our earthly riches will fade away and be destroyed.

Verse 12 is a good verse to repeat to ourselves when we feel that tug of ‘more, better, newer’ happening in our minds.

Thank you for your truth, dear Father.