Category: August

Finding the Book

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

The Book of the Law.

Moses’ book.

God’s words.

God tells us an encouraging story about King Josiah in 2 Chronicles.  King Josiah knew it was time to repair the temple of the Lord 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”.(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 could be boiled down to three words, ‘disaster is coming’.

The king reacted immediately by having the Book read to all of the people and then leading them in recommitting to their relationship 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.  Great job, King Josiah!

So what about me?  What about you?  Do we 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 to sources other than God for our guidance and direction?   How often to we check with Google on important things rather than checking with God?

Is our Bible sitting on the shelf more than its been sitting open on our lap?  Are we letting God transform our lives as we soak in his truth, not the lies that swirl around us?

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.

I am in my 11th consecutive year of reading the entire Bible and I continue to experience this renewal and celebration as, each day, I let God’s truth guide me and fill my heart with peace, love and strength.

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 in your Word, Abba Father.

The Challenge

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

“You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.” says Jeremiah (12:2) as he talks to God.

He was talking about the people of Judah…..

but is he also describing you and me?

Do you talk about God while keeping your heart safely out of his reach?

Do I read God’s Word without letting his truth soak into my heart and mind so he can change me?

Have you experienced God touching your spirit and renewing your mind recently?  Today?  This week? This month?  This year?

Are you and I stuck on giving God lip service when what he really wants to do is totally transform our lives?

What will it take for us to open up our hearts…

take that next step…

stop just talking about God but sincerely turn over our lives to him,

and then watch him do something amazing with them?

Today is the day, dear Father.

Get Ready!

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Be prepared!  Get ready!

Stand up and do what needs to be done!

God gave these directions to Jeremiah thousands of years ago as he began his prophetic ministry.  God also gives these directions to you and me each day as we go about our lives.  Always be prepared to love God and love others.  Be ready to share our experiences with the living God with whoever will listen.  Be ready to speak the truth when we get an opportunity.  Stand up against the lies of our culture.    

God tells us that he will give us strength for the things he asks us to do.

I can’t do it on my own.  You can’t do it on your own.  Do you ever feel powerless?  I know I do.

Then I realize I feel that way because I am forgetting to plug into my power source –  God.  I forget to ask for and receive his help.  No wonder I feel powerless!

I need to remember each day to ask for God’s strength..

for his wisdom….

for his peace.

“For I am with you and will rescue you.” declares my LORD.  Jeremiah 1:19.

Please help me remember to ask, Abba Father.

Great is His Faithfulness

On By Judy GlasserIn August1 Comment

I am not consumed by my sadness.

or my problems..

or the chaos in our world.

Because God is always loving and caring for me..

One of my special joys in reading through the Bible every year is when I read words that were used in the old famous hymns.  I was raised in a musical, conservative Christian home so these hymns bring back a lot of precious memories.

“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22 – 23.

As the sun rises each morning, I am reminded of God’s promises.

God’s compassions never fail – I receive more love and grace every morning.

He is never late (even though it can sometimes appear that way to us).

He is never tired.

He is never distracted.

Whenever doubts about God enter my mind, all I have to do is look back. I see God’s faithfulness to me all of my life – day after day, year after year. Even when I wandered, God never left me. He never stopped loving me and caring for me.

Just like he cares for me today.

And I know I can count on him to love me and care for me all of the rest of the days I walk on this earth…and on into heaven.

Great is your faithfulness, oh God, my Father!

Under Attack

On By Judy GlasserIn August2 Comments

I feel it. Do you?

I feel that the values Jesus role-modeled for us as believers are under serious attack in our culture. Loving others, forgiving people, and giving other people grace when they aren’t perfect are all getting lost under mountains of political division and widespread judgement of anybody who doesn’t think like we do.

Jeremiah’s prayer to God echoes some of my concerns. He is praying this while he was confined within Jerusalem which was itself being confined by the Babylonians as they began to attack the city. “See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city,” Jeremiah prayed. ” Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it.” Jeremiah 32:24.

I see the siege ramps being built up to take away many of the values that have made our country a great “One Nation Under God’. I see the sword of division, the famine of truth and a plague of fear.

As I pray about this, I hear only one response from God, “I am in control”. God highlights Jeremiah 32:27 for me as I read his Word. “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything to hard for me?’

No, Father. Nothing is impossible for you.

Your will be done, Abba Father.

He is Looking for Anyone

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Our country is going crazy, right?

It’s frustrating.  It makes us angry,

bitter,

and disillusioned.

So – what am I doing about it?  What are you doing about it?

Are we busy just talking about it and shaking our heads?  Are we spouting off negativity to everyone around us and filling Facebook with our rants?

Or are we doing something positive to help turn the trend one small step at a time?

When Israel was going down the tubes thousands of years ago, God told Ezekiel, “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30.

God was looking for someone – anyone – who would build a wall against the injustice that was happening.  A wall that would keep out the lies and violence. God was looking for someone to stand in the gap before him on behalf of the Israelite people.  “But I found no one.”

Is this same thing happening today?  Is it all just talk and emotion?  Or are you and I figuring out how to do our part in standing in the gap for our country before God?

We can stand in the gap by daily praying to God for our country.

We can stand in the gap by putting our feet and hearts into action while working together with God to help turn our country back into the land which was founded with “In God We Trust”. One step at a time. Each of us creating a small ripple that can grow into a wave when we all get involved.

You have found someone who wants to stand in the gap, Abba Father.

Fill it Up!

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

“The cloud filled the temple and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD.” Ezekiel 10:4.

This was one part of a vision that God have to Ezekiel and I love visualizing this when I’m in a worship service where something special is happening.  The pastor of the new church family my husband and I have joined in Denver always transitions into a simple explanation of the gospel at the end of each of his teachings and then invites anyone who had not yet accepted God’s gift of grace to do it that day.  I love this because I think too many churches assume everyone who is sitting in the pew is a Christ-follower.

During the prayer that always follows my pastor’s invitation, I have gotten into the habit of watching in my mind as the Spirit of God fills the room.  While I visualize this in my head, a huge cloud of grace and love and goodness billows in and covers the heads of everyone in the congregation. The glory of the LORD fills the space over God’s people and hangs there – crowding out fears and disbelief and regrets. I can feel the blessings of God pouring out of this cloud.

I know God is always with us all the time but I get goosebumps when I visualized the cloud of God’s spirit billowing in and changing people’s lives – redeeming them from their past mistakes and lighting the way to a better future.

Thank you for filling our lives with your grace and love, Abba.   You are a good, good Father.

My Heart Condition

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

What’s the condition of my heart? Big? Soft?

What’s the condition of your heart?

Writing about the size of our hearts reminds me of one of our Glasser Family’s Christmas traditions.  We watch ‘The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” every year.  The Grinch was very concerned about the size of his heart so he often measured it.  He wanted a small heart so he wouldn’t feel anything or care about anybody else.

What about me and you?

God tells me often through his Word that he is concerned about the condition of my heart. He offers a remodel of my heart if I listen and do what he asks. This is what I hear when I read Ezekiel 11: 19 “I will give you an undivided heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

When I obey and keep my relationship with God as the first priority in my life, God promises he will me give me an undivided heart – a heart centered on him and his love and his grace.  He promises he will bring a new wind of his spirit into my life – giving my life purpose and meaning.  He promises to replace my rebellious and self-centered heart with a heart devoted to obeying God.

I’ve been on this Journey Toward the Truth growing in my knowledge and love for God through his Word for over 10 years and, as the years accumulate, I see God transforming my heart.  He is softening it and opening it up to the things he loves and cares about.  He has brought a new, powerful wind of his spirit into my world, giving my life purpose and filling any emptiness.  My heart has become undivided and focused on God.

What is the condition of your heart?

Please soften and grow our hearts, Abba Father

There is Danger

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

On my trip to Israel 7 years ago, we visited a village in Nazareth which is set up to show us what it looked like when Jesus lived there.

nn watching over Nazareth

A watchman was placed on the hill overlooking the village and the land surrounding it.  Their responsibility was to call out warnings or sound a trumpet to warn the people of the village when they saw possible danger approaching.

God explains a spiritual watchman’s duties in Ezekiel 33: 17-20.  “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.  When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin and I will hold you accountable for their blood.  But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will be saved yourself.”

What does this mean for us today?

We don’t have watchmen……or, do we?

As I read this, God reminds me that I am a watchman for the people he has placed in my sphere of influence.  I know the truth.  And I know the danger of eternal separation from God if a person doesn’t accept salvation through Jesus Christ.  So I must say something. I cannot be silent.

I wish it was as easy as sounding trumpet.  It’s much harder today to warn others of danger coming their way.  Our culture is  more independent than that of the Israelites and many people don’t understand that God still holds us accountable for each other.  Those of us who know the truth need to share it with others.  Those of us that know the danger of not accepting God’s free gift of salvation need to talk to the people around us about the Gospel that sets us free – eternally free.

So how do I make sure I’m fulfilling my responsibility as a watchman?  I have a great role model in Jesus who used equal measures of grace and truth.  He didn’t judge people (except for the religious leaders who should have known better).  He didn’t condemn people who didn’t believe he was the Son of God.  He communicated truth with love every chance he got.  He communicated in ways that the people around him could hear.  And understand.  And avoid the danger.

Thank you, dear Jesus.  Please help me do the same.

Do Not Listen

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Do you ever feel surrounded by lies?

Do you automatically question news you read on Facebook or hear on TV?

When you see graphs and numbers and statistics, do you wonder if any of it is accurate?

I do. I question any news I hear – all of it. I don’t believe a lot of things that people tell me. If it’s important, I research it myself looking for corroborating information from several credible sources. I no longer automatically trust leaders – any kind of leader.

Being lied to by people we should be able to trust is not a new thing. God spoke very clearly about some of the liars in Jeremiah’s day. “Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articles from the LORD’s house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. Do not listen. ” Jeremiah 27: 16 – 17. God goes on to say that the articles of the temple would stay in Babylon until he brought them back. Ultimately he was saying that it wasn’t happening until he made it happen and it wasn’t happening now.

I also question things that I hear come out of pastor’s mouths during sermons. I’m in my 10th consecutive year of reading the entire Bible and, if I don’t remember reading something that is said in a sermon, I go home and research it. Most of the time it’s a phrase or a situation that I’ve never fully understood before and it’s great – I learned something. I’ve had a few times when I didn’t agree with how the pastor used a scripture especially when a single verse is not used in context with the verses around it.

The one source I never question is the Bible. It is the Living Word of God. I question people’s interpretations of scripture but not what God has actually said. God is perfect and he doesn’t make mistakes. The Bible is as relevant today as it was when it was written.

And God is saying, “Do not listen.” There has never been a time in my life where this direction is more important than right now. There has never been a time where asking God to help me discern the truth has been as high of a priority for me.

Because I feel like I’m surrounded by lies. Surrounded by information that is being manipulated by leaders who are putting personal goals of power and wealth ahead of the greater good.

And God is saying, ‘Do not listen.”

Thank you, Abba Father.