Category: April

The Battle Rages On

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

We all have them – issues that we battle over and over in our lives.

The same  problem rears its ugly head again and again.  It may start out looking like it’s something different this time but it’s really not.  The core of it is that same old problem.April 10 2 sam

In 2 Samuel 21, the Israelites had the Philistines that they were battling with over and over.  And over and over.

We have our own Philistines, don’t we.  These are areas of our lives where we just aren’t winning the battle.  We can’t seem to conquer this issue.

I thought it was really interesting to hear about the Israelites battling a huge Philistine in Gath who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.

Some of the things we battle can also feel like they have extra fingers.  They reach out these extra fingers to mess with other aspects of our lives creating more consequences and more issues.

God promises that he can give us victory in these battles.  Nothing is beyond the power of God.  Our role in this is to trust him and let him fight the battle for us as we obey him.  It’s tough to do but that’s what it’s going to take to find the victory that we’re looking for.

We forget.  We try to win the battle ourselves.  And we fail.  As long as we turn to God when we fail, we’ll keep moving closer to One who has the power to win these battles for us.  One step at a time.

Dear Father, please keep drawing us nearer to you.  We trust you to bring us victory over our personal Philistines.

Holy, Holy, Holy

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

We’re singing along with the angels in heaven as they surround the throne of God – that’s what I think about whenever we sing ‘Holy, Holy, Holy” in a worship song.April 9 this one 1 chron

Our voices rising to heaven in perfect harmonies with the multitude of angels who sing praises to God 24/7/365.

We need more songs with those words in them 🙂

As I read 1 Chronicles, I realize that King David organized the first worship services and we follow his directions every time we join with our family of Christ to worship God.

David told the priests to minister regularly, doing what was needed.

He told Obed-Edom, Hosah and the sons of Jeduthum that they were greeters at the gates.

He asked others to present the offerings regularly.

Heman and Jeduthun ( whose sons were also serving as greeters) were responsible for the band – the trumpets and cymbals and other instruments.  David told them they were to give thanks to the Lord whose goodness endures forever.

We re-enact David’s plans for worshipping together every week.

We join with our faithful ancestors from throughout the ages in worshipping our awesome God.

Love it!  Thank you, God!

Whatever Works for You

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

Sounds good – let’s all do whatever works for us.   Then we’ll be happy.March 26 Judges 21

Or not.

Everyone did as they saw fit – 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 tribes.  I wonder how they could 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.

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

God has been very clear to us on moral boundaries.  We may not like them all or agree with them but that doesn’t make them untrue.  He has given us the choice to follow his compass or not.  What are we choosing?

Dear Father, we desire to walk in your path of truth.  Please guide us so that your moral standards become what ‘fits’ us best.

He Loves to Dance!

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

Now he loves to dance for God.  It’s a beautiful thing.handsome micah (2)

We have been handing over my little 2 ½ year-old grandson to the Toddler room volunteers at our church every Sunday morning for almost a year.  Every time we left there was a possibility of tears because all of the different big people and the loud noises struck a note of fear into his tiny heart.  He was not happy to be going there.

Now everything has changed- he’s excited about going to church. His big blue eyes light up and he gets a huge smile on his face as he says ‘ Dance’.  Have you ever seen a pack of toddlers dancing and singing to God?  It’s amazing.  It’s inspiring.  It’s a beautiful thing.

And there’s more.  One of the young dancing and singing volunteers is a daughter of someone we know.  My husband and I are privileged to teach one of the Fresh Start classes at our church and the young volunteer’s mother, Maria, was in our last class.

Maria was one of the most engaged and faithful members of that class.  She always had great questions and was very open about wanting to figure out how to become a better follower of Christ.  She clearly had found what she was looking for when she found God and she was doing everything she could to grow in her faith, even against some stiff opposition from her Catholic family.

So, while we were serving and teaching and encouraging Maria, her daughter was serving and teaching and encouraging our grandson.  This is one of the truly beautiful things about a church family when it is centered on God and his truth.  As we all love and serve God together, he blesses us through each other.  And he just keeps on blessing us.

And now Micah loves to dance for God.

Spiritual Heartburn

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

Have you felt it?  The men who walked with our Risen Lord Jesus on the road to Emmaus talk about the burning in their heart as Jesus explained the scriptures to them.

It’s the truth being seared on our hearts like a brand.  When we hear the truth, the Holy Spirit witnesses to our spirit that this is from God and it is burned into our minds, changing us forever.  Sometimes it feel like the hot poker of a blacksmith – poking and burning a simple but profound reality into our hearts.  Sometimes it’s a widespread burning in our gut that demands a response to God as he opens our awareness to new thoughts and new understandings.

When it happens, we are just like the men on the road to Emmaus – we walk with Jesus and his spirit explains the scriptures to us in a way that sears through the lies we believed in the past.

It’s so interesting that the men used the word ‘burn’ because it’s usually not a pleasant and fun experience.  When the Holy Spirit strips away the film of false comfort we have created in our lives, our new understanding can be extremely challenging.  But good.  And its the Truth.

It’s a good burn.

In an instant…..

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

our relationship with God totally changed. Luke tells us that it was about noon when darkness fell across the whole land.

Jesus was hanging on the cross and, as he breathed his last breathes, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple tore open from top to bottom.  There was no longer a boundary between us and God!  Jesus has paid the price for our sin and now we are all invited into the Holy of Holies. We can have a personal relationship with God – no curtain stands in our way.

Then why do we sometimes try to put the curtains back up? Why do we sometimes put up a curtain of guilt when God wants us to truly accept his grace and get rid of the guilt? Why do we sometimes put up a curtain of control – trying so hard to control our own universe ( and failing)- when God wants us to live a life of freedom, dependent on Him because he only wants the best for us?
Dear Father, thank you for opening up a way for us to become your children. Help us to keep our lives and hearts open so we can enjoy the maximum benefits from our relationship with you.

Don’t Give In

On By Judy GlasserIn April4 Comments

I never noticed this before.  They are at the Mount of Olives the night before Jesus was crucified and Jesus tells Peter, James and John to ‘pray that you will not give in to temptation’.

Later, when Jesus finds them sleeping, he once again tells them to ‘pray so that you will not give in to temptation’.

Temptation to do what?  To go back to sleep?  To be afraid of what was to come?  We know how easily we can become fearful and the danger approaching the disciples was very real and deadly.  Would they be tempted to deny they knew Jesus because of the risk that represented?  We all know Peter fell into that trap, too. 

Not give in to what?  What do you think?

What was up with the Parents?

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

How could this happen? The Israelites didn’t teach their children about God so a whole generation grew up not acknowledging God and not remembering what he had done for them.
What were the parents thinking? That someone else would hand down a legacy of faithfulness to their children? Maybe they thought it was the priests’ job and the priests thought the parents were doing it?
They didn’t pass along the stories of God’s provision for them in the wilderness? They didn’t tell the awesome stories about God dividing the Red Sea for them and drowning the Egyptians so they couldn’t follow them and kill them?
These are great stories – what were these parents doing?
Were they distracted by their daily responsibilities? Did they just wander away from their faith? Were they lured away from the truth by the attractiveness of some of the other gods people were worshipping? Did they find such little value in the rich spiritual heritage that had been handed down to them through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that it just wasn’t important to them?
And now that I’m a grandmother, I have to ask where the grandparents were? These people were living to 100 years old – what were they doing with their Godly influence? The grandparents knew better even if the parents were missing the mark.

I just don’t understand it.

Dear Father, we thank you for Godly parents and grandparents who teach their children about you.

This is Your Opportunity

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

In Luke 21, Jesus is talking with his disciples about the persecution they will be facing as his followers. He tells them they will be dragged into prisons and put on trial. “But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me.” These trials and persecutions were going to give them an audience with a lot of people and Jesus told them that this would be their opportunity to share the Good News. He promises them that he would give them the right words to say.
History tells us that the disciples had a lot of opportunities to witness to the truth of Jesus Christ:
Matthew was nailed to the ground with spikes and beheaded.
Jude was beaten to death with sticks and clubs.
Simon was tortured and crucified.
Philip was scourged and crucified.
John, son of Zebedee, was tortured and exiled.
James, brother of John, was beheaded.
James was pushed from the top of a building; then his broken body was beaten to death.
Bartholomew was beaten and skinned alive before being beheaded.
Thomas was speared with a javelin.
And Peter was crucified – upside down.

The fact that we know all about the Good News today is proof that they took advantage of these opportunities. They did not keep silent even when it meant torture and death. They were ordinary men but it was clear that they had been with Jesus, and that he had changed their lives forever.  They couldn’t stop talking about him.

Thank you, dear Father, for choosing men who were fearless enough to be your witnesses so that we can know the Truth today.

Choose Today!

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

Joshua has fearlessly led the Israelites into Promised Land and God has kept all of his promises about giving them the land.  Joshua is now preparing them to continue after his death and he’s telling them they need to choose.

Their ancestors had had many gods at different times and the previous tenants of the Promised Land also had many gods and idols – it was all around them.  Their culture did not embrace one God – the whole idea was unusual.

In true ‘great leader’ fashion, Joshua role-models the right choice by telling everyone that he has made this choice for himself and his family and he is choosing to serve the Lord.

The question for us today is the same – have we chosen what or who we are going to serve?  Have we made that decision for our families?  And are we leading the way, living in the way that we would want our children to imitate?

As for me and my family…..what?