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!

He Knows What’s Best For Me

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

Psalm 23, 2023

The LORD takes care of me each day.  He provides everything I need.

My Father guides me on the right path – he knows what is best for me.  He gives me exactly what my soul longs for as I walk closely beside him.

I can always trust my Father’s guidance.

Even when I’m going through the darkest, most painful times of my life, Father, I have no fear.  You are with me.  You comfort me.

You pour out blessings on my life.  Even those around me who don’t want the best for me see how well you take care of me.

You fill my mind with your truth as I continue to study your Word and grow my knowledge of you.

I am overwhelmed by your love for me.  Your goodness and grace fill all the days of my life here on earth.   And I am 100% certain of what happens when my time here is done.  I will go to live with my Abba Father forever.

Amen.  Hallelujah!

No Payback

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

No revenge.

As a believer, I know I can totally turn over to God any need I feel for revenge or payback to people who have done things that hurt me.  He is the perfect judge, I am not.

God tells us in Psalms 10 that he knows all about wicked people.  He sees them and he assures us that justice will be served.

Meanwhile, God never forgets the helpless..

the victims…

the afflicted….

the fatherless….

the oppressed.

Those that hurt others and do wrong cannot hide from God.  He sees it all and calls “the evildoer to account for their wickedness that would not otherwise be found out.”

No need to worry – they don’t get away with it.

We don’t have to take revenge for ourselves.  Jesus clearly told us in the New Testament that we should not pay back evil with evil.  We need to love our enemies.

God’s got this.  We may never know how it happens, but God promises they will get what they have earned.

It’s all taken care of.

Thank you, Abba Father.

It’s All Yours

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

I love the picture I get in my mind when I read 1 Chronicles 29.  King David is standing in the middle of more than 300 tons of gold and 638 tons of silver along with 675 tons of bronze with his arms stretched out, praising God saying “It’s all yours”.  I think about this passage whenever I find myself focusing on my money and my stuff.

Do you see that ‘my’ word crop up?  The truth is – it’s not mine.  Everything I have has been given to me by my Father God.  He owns everything.  I am just taking care of what he has given me while I’m here on earth.  And I give some back to him because I’m grateful for all that he has given me. I give a tithe to his purposes and ministries and missions because they are doing God’s will here on earth.

And it’s about more than just money. You and I are called to get involved – being a disciple of Jesus is not a spectator sport. God has given us EVERYTHING we have which includes the air that we breathe. We are Jesus’s hands and feet on this planet so we need to be moving and doing in Jesus’ name.

In gratitude for all he has given us, please join me and King David as we lift our hands to the sky, praising our Father today –

“Praise be to you, LORD, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.

In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name.” 1 Chronicles 29: 10 – 13.

Thank you, Abba Father!

A Pure Heart – Psalm 51, 2023

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

I ask for a pure heart, O God! I want my life to be focused on you.

Keep me close by your side and grow your spirit within me. Keep the joy I felt when I first asked you to be Lord of my life alive in me. Give me a faithful heart so I stay near you. Then I will tell others about your saving grace and I will share the truth you have revealed to me.

You lift the burden of my guilt about my sins and rebellion from me, O God, and I sing of your goodness forever. When I open my mouth, Lord, let it be to praise you.

I know you don’t want me to just ‘show up’ at church because it’s the right thing to do. I know you don’t want me to give money to the church just because it’s the right thing to do. I know you don’t want me to read the Bible just so I can check it off of my reading plan for the year.

You want my heart to be broken open,

repentant,

humbled,

willing to be filled with your truth.

Amen. Let it be so, Abba Father.

Stay Away – Far Away

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

There are two forces at work on this earth – good and evil.

Every story, every book and every movie has the underlying theme of good versus evil. God is the force of good on this earth. Satan is the force for evil.  Yes, Satan is very real.  Unfortunately, he is very good at influencing us and others to do things that are wrong, mean and evil.

Spoiler alert – Satan’s power is limited  He wins some battles here on earth but he has already lost the war.

God’s power is limitless, eternal and he has already won the final war.

Satan uses his power on earth well – confusing us, distracting us, helping us rationalize the bad things we do and even making wrong things look like right things.  He is the Father of Lies.  He’s sneaky – he gets people who have given into his lies to tell others that ‘it’s all okay.  I’m doing this, you should, too.”

Satan has power in this world and we should not take that power lightly.  This is why God told King Saul to get rid of all the mediums and witches among his people.  Mediums and witches and all of those types of people have power –

but it’s not from God.  There is no such thing as a good witch.

Satan is the source of their power.  They willingly open their minds to Satan and he gladly uses them for his purposes.

The story of Saul going to the witch in the book of Samuel in the Bible makes me sad.  Saul knew better.  Unfortunately, he did not have a strong enough character to keep his behavior in line with what he knew to be true.

Saul asked the witch to ‘bring up’ Samuel after Samuel had died.  First she protested but then she did it, ‘crying at the top of her voice’ when Samuel actually appeared.  She was so surprised when Samuel showed up because she probably knew where her powers came from and she never expected a man of God to respond to her summons.

God obviously took this opportunity to override Satan’s powers with his own to give Saul a chance to talk with Samuel one more time.

But Samuel was mad that Saul had called out to him. (I would be, too – who would want to leave heaven?)  Samuel reminded Saul that God was fulfilling Samuel’s earlier prophecies about the end of Saul’s reign as king.  It was all happening.

Not long after this episode, Saul was killed.  This is such a pitiful end to the first King of Israel’s reign.  He had reached out to a servant of Satan in order to get what he wanted.

Yes – witches, warlocks, mediums, seances and even Ouji boards can be used by Satan as his hands and feet here on earth.

That’s why God has made it very clear to us to avoid getting close to any of it.

Please help us keep focused on you, Abba Father.

Psalm 57, 2023

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

(My version – a great psalm for our current culture.)

Have mercy on me, God.

Keep me safe.

Every day I come to you and you give me strength and peace.  Please wrap your loving arms around me and hold me close.

I count on you each day, Father, to save me from dangers pressing in on me.  You are always loving and faithful.

I am surrounded by deadly evil.  It is everywhere – visible and invisible.

I praise you, Father, for being in control of everything in heaven and on earth.  Please help all of us to understand how awesome you are – we need it now, more than ever!

Evil is spreading a net over the earth, trying to catch us.  Trying to draw us in.

My heart continues to beat for you, Father.  I will sing your praise for the rest of my life.  As the sun rises this morning, I am reminded once again of your faithfulness.

I will tell everyone about your power and mercy, God!  For great is your love, reaching around the world and beyond.  You always keep your promises.

I praise you, Father, for being in control of everything in heaven and on earth.  Please help all of us to understand how awesome you are – we need it now, more than ever!

Thank you, Abba Father.

Nothing Is Hidden

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

No faking it.

You and I see the outside of people – what they look like, what they wear, where they live and how they act.

God has an entirely different perspective of us – he looks on the inside.  He knows my intentions, my motivations and desires.  He knows what I’m thinking – I don’t have to say anything.

When Samuel was picking who would be king after Saul, God said to him, “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”  Knowing this is true challenges me as well as gives me confidence.  I’m glad God sees below my surface – he understands my true feelings.  He knows me better than any human being ever could.

But the fact that God knows my thoughts also challenges me.  Like many of us who have been on this road of faith for a long time, I have gotten better at not saying things I shouldn’t say.  But have I trained my mind to not think them?  Have I let God renew my mind so it doesn’t go where it shouldn’t go?  The honest answer is – sometimes.  There are areas of my life where it is difficult to control my thinking.  There are other situations where I find it pretty easy to leave it all with God.

I recently wrote a book, “Then I Looked Up: Losing a Child, Finding His Legacy of Love.” It’s about my son’s, death and life and my journey of grief. God told me to write the book and he has been right in the middle of the whole process. Now that it’s out on Amazon, I am watching God move as he works out his plan for the book.

It’s comforting to know that when God looks at my heart today, he can see that I’m trusting him with all of it.  I know that he loves me with a perfect love and is working it all out for my good.

God has promised and he always keeps his promises.

Thank you, Abba Father.

People Pleasing

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

Or should I call it making the ‘popular’ choice?

In 1 Samuel, Saul disobeyed God by keeping some of the ‘stuff’ that they took from the Amalekites after defeating them.  When Samuel pointed this out to Saul, Saul rationalized the sin by telling Samuel that they did this so they could give the best of the sheep and cattle to God.

Samuel then tells Saul,” Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD?….Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.” 1 Samuel 15:22,23.

Well, THEN Saul admitted that the real reason he kept the plunder was because he was afraid of how his men would react if he destroyed it all like God wanted him to do.

The bottom-line in this story is Saul didn’t trust God.  He didn’t believe God had his back.  He got all wrapped up in being a hotshot king that everyone looked up to and he didn’t want to put any of this hero-worship into jeopardy.

So Saul made the ‘popular’ choice rather than the obedient one.

Do I ever do that?  Do you ever do that? Are we ever more concerned about what other people think than what God thinks?  Do we fail to take the more Godly position on issues sometimes because it may not go over well with others? 

We probably all do, sometimes without realizing it.

If my goal is to be obedient to God, I’m going to need to make what God thinks a higher priority than what people around me think.

Pleasing God trumps popularity here on earth – every time.

Speak! I Am Listening

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

Little Samuel’s story in the Bible is one my favorites.

He heard a voice calling to him in the night and he thought is was the Prophet Eli since he was living with Eli.  So Samuel got out of bed and ran to Eli saying, “Here I am”.

But Eli said, “I did not call, go back and lie down.”

This happened again and then the third time, Eli realized that it was God who was calling the boy.  This time Eli told Samuel, when he heard the voice, to say, “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:9.

When God spoke again, Samuel told him he was listening and God went on to tell Samuel what was soon going to happen.

I’ve got a challenge for you.  The next time you think you might be hearing something from God, say those same words, “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.”  And then listen.  Listen to what is going through your brain.  Think about what you have been reading in God’s Word and how it applies to your life.  Think about coincidences that have been happening in your life and how they relate to what you’ve been reading.  Remember things that Godly people in your life have said to you recently.

I believe God is regularly trying to break through the cacophony of our culture – especially the electronic bubble where we spend a lot of our time.  He is trying to talk to you and me – guiding us, encouraging us, and teaching us.

Have you had the experience where you are reading God’s Word and suddenly a sentence seems to stick out of the page? It almost looks like it’s in bold print? You reread a phrase a couple of times?  You start to wonder what this means in your life?  Has that phrase always been there?  I don’t remember ever reading that or even hearing anyone talk about that before?  That is God stopping us.  That is God drawing our attention to something specific in his Word so he can speak to us. Don’t move on until you’ve heard what God is trying to tell you.

That’s what God did today with me.  He stopped me as I was reading to remind me how much I like young Samuel’s story.  Because I know God, I know he is encouraging me to continue to learn how to hear him more and more clearly as I read his Truth.  My knowledge of God is growing and the more I know him, the better I hear him.

How can I be confident that it’s God that’s talking to me and not just my own thinking?  What God says to me will always be consistent with what he says in the Bible.  He will not contradict himself. This is a great reason for me to be reading the entire Bible every year. God knows he has my attention when I’m reading his Word and he speaks to me.

After I pray about something, I am watching – expecting an answer. When he answers, its easy to connect it to my prayer.

I am also 100% sure it’s God talking when he says something I’ve never thought of before and it’s consistent with what I have read in the Bible. 

God confirms his guidance to me through my circumstances as well.  When it’s God talking to me, things happening around me will line up with what God is saying.  Sometimes it will be something my husband, my pastor or a friend says.  As I pray about what God is telling me, God will often open up my eyes to how he is moving around me and I’m be able to connect the dots.

When I take time to consider all of these things, God’s directions to me become really clear.

The better I get to know him, the easier it is to hear him.

Thank you for your guidance, Abba Father

Whatever I Want

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Sounds good – let’s all do whatever works for us.   Then we’ll all be happy.

Or not.

“In those days Israel had no king: everyone did as they saw fit”. Judges 21:25. This is how the book of Judges ends.  It may sound good until we scan back a couple of chapters and realize what they thought was ‘fit’ to do. 

Family members were stealing from each other.  They obviously thought this was an ok thing to do.

Family members were kidnapping each other.  They thought this was ok as well.

Family members were killing each other to the point that they virtually annihilated one of the 12 tribes of Israel.  I wonder how they could possibly think this was ok but they did.  They could rationalize anything. Their moral judgement was quickly spirally into total chaos and confusion.

Because they had no compass.

Sounds familiar? Our current culture has many of these same issues. Why?

When I base what is right and wrong on what I think, I’m in trouble.  Then I’m just like these Israelites – doing what I see fit and letting my standards waiver in whatever direction the wind is blowing.

God has been very clear to you and me on moral boundaries. His Word to us is full of direction and guidance. I might not like all of it. You may not agree with all of it. But that doesn’t change his Word to us.

This picture of the Umbrella of God’s Blessing is stuck my head and reminds me that one of my main goals in life is to stay in line with God. When I obey God and follow the compass he has given me, I am placing my life under his umbrella of blessing. When I don’t obey God and just do what I want to do, I am stepping out from under his umbrella. I can’t expect God to bless my decisions and life when I’m not obeying him.

One example is tithing. If we have put our faith in God, we also want to put our money in his hands. This means being faithful with tithing. We can’t expect God to bless our finances if we don’t.

It’s my choice and I choose to stay under the umbrella – every hour of every day.

What do you choose?

Dear Father, I desire to walk in your path of truth.  Please guide me so that your moral standards are what ‘fits’ me best.