Category: December

Here Come the Arrows

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

“Take up the shield of faith in order to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”,  Paul tells us in Ephesians.

Oh, yeah.  The arrows.

These flaming arrows definitely come at me when I least expect it.  I’m confident Satan plans it that way.dec 15 e 2013

Here’s an arrow that comes at me – I get an opportunity to say something bad (but true) about someone I don’t like or who has done something unkind to me.  My shield of faith has to be up and in place if I’m going to keep my mouth shut on that one.

Another arrow comes my way!  Satan loves to arrange it so that I don’t pay for everything in my cart at stores.  I hate to waste the time to go back and pay for something when I realize that it was missed in the check-out process. I need my shield of faith in place to help me remember that my integrity is more important that the inconvenience.

Another arrow – sometimes I feel surrounded by people who are lacking morals and good judgement in their personal lives.  My shield of faith needs to be up and ready so that I can accept these people and love them with the love God gives to me.  Satan would be pleased if I would judge them and forget to be compassionate.  My shield of faith helps me dodge that arrow.

These are flaming arrows which can really hurt me if my shield isn’t up.  They can make my behavior not pleasing to God.  They can also make me look more like a servant of Satan than a beloved child of the One True God.

So I need to have my shield of faith up and ready every day. 

I never know where the flaming arrows will be coming from.

Thank you, dear Father, for my shield of faith.

Blown Back and Forth

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Let’s grow in maturity in Christ so that….

* we are no longer infants.Dec 15 d 2013

* we are no longer tossed back and forth by the waves of this life.

* we are not blown here and there by every different wind of teaching.

*we are not influenced by the cunning schemes of deceitful people.

Instead, as we speak the truth in love, our faith with mature and we will become the body of Christ with him as our head.

Christ holds our body of believers together in love as we each use our spiritual gifts to do our part.

Thank you, dear Father.

More to know

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

We could study God’s word all day everyday and there would still be more to know about Christ. 

After our purpose on earth is ended, we’re going home (YIPEEE!) to heaven where we will live with Christ into eternity.  I’m confident that we will continue to grow in our knowledge and experience of Christ in heaven – forever – and we will never know it all.   There will still be mysteries.

Wow!dec 15b 2013

I’m comforted by the fact that I don’t understand it all here on earth.  I only have a 3 1/2 lb. brain – if I could understand everything about God, he wouldn’t be much of a god.  I like that fact that I can’t fully comprehend

* his omnipresence

* his holiness

* his righteousness

* his omnipotence.

I’m trying very hard to understand his grace so that I can live it every day.

We struggle to try to understand the Trinity – how complicated!

And I can visualize God smiling on us as we confuse ourselves by trying to fit his ‘Otherness’ into our human box.  He knows he’s only told us Trinity 101 – it’s actually much more intricate and supernatural – we’ll never understand it.  Ours 3 1/2 lb. brains just aren’t going to handle it.

So, this is where faith comes in.  We believe it because we trust in God.  We know God is perfect.  We know he wants the best for us.  He proved this by sending his best – Jesus- to die for us AND to show us how to live.

So we believe.  And we walk by faith, not by sight.

Yes – we gradually unravel some of the mysteries of Christ.  And there are so many more to go!

This brings me to share my decision to continue this journey with you through God’s word in 2014.  I have learned so much these last 2 years by blogging through the Bible – I don’t feel like I can stop!

The Joy!

The Comfort!

The Truth!

The Value of taking the journey.

I have also really enjoyed the ‘story’ feeling of the Chronological Bible so I’m going back to the beginning with this one.

I hope you will continue on the journey with me!

God has a lot more to say to us in 2014 and I’m REALLY looking forward to it!

Put On Love

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Dec 14b 2013As God’s chosen people,

Put on compassion,

Put on kindness,

Put on humility,

Put on gentleness,

Put on patience,

Put on forgiveness – how much has God forgiven us?

And over all of these virtues, put on love which makes it all work in perfect harmony.

How do we do this?

* By letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts everyday.

* By talking about God and sharing with each other what we have learned and experienced.

In your name and for your glory, dear Jesus.

The Eyes of My Heart

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Enlighten the eyes of our hearts, dear Father, so we may really know and experience the hope you have called us to.

Please help us understand the riches of the glorious inheritance we have received as your holy people.Dec 15 2013

We want to experience more of your incomparably great power in our lives.  We know we were spiritually dead in our sins, following the ways of this world and helping Satan with his plans and schemes by living in disobedience.

But we now know your great love for us.  Your great mercy, dear God!  You have made us alive in Christ, showing awesome grace and kindness to us.

We now know and believe that we are your precious children, redeemed by Christ and called to fulfill your purpose for us here on hearth before we come home to live with you in heaven.

Amen, Hallelujah!

It’s Growing!

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

The gospel is growing in us and through us as we continue on our journey towards the truth.  As we understand more and more about God’s grace, the gospel is able to bear fruit in our lives.Dec 14 2013

Paul wrote to the Colossians over 2 thousand years ago to encourage them in their journey.  God speaks to us today through these same words as he encourages us on our journey.

Dear Father, we praise your name.  We are so grateful for your grace.  We are so grateful that – yes – we have heard the truth of the gospel and our understanding of it is growing daily as your spirit works in our lives.

Please help us grow the gospel in the world around us so that your hope can set other prisoners free.

We love you!  In the redeeming name of your son, Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

The New is Here!

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

When we put our faith in Christ, we are transformed into new people.  And the message God entrusts with us to pass on to others is that everyone needs to be reconciled to God. 

God has already reconciled us to himself by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.  Now all we have to do is accept God’s gift of grace to complete the process.dec 4 2013

We don’t have to ‘do good things’.

We don’t have to give up all of the fun things in our lives.

We don’t have to try to be ‘good enough’.

After we accept God’s grace and are restored into a relationship with him, we become his ambassadors.  God makes his appeal to the world through us as we grow in our relationship with him.

The old is gone!  The new is here!

Thank you, dear God.

Is it Worth It?

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

How much of our time do we spend working?  Watching TV?  Playing games on our various devices?  On our hobbies?

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that, when the day of Judgement comes, whatever we have accomplished will be tested by fire.  The fire will reveal the quality of each person’s life.Nov 30 2013

Things that were done in Christ’s name and for the glory of God will survive. 

All of the other things we have done will be burned up because they have no eternal value.

If a person has accepted salvation through Jesus Christ, they will be saved even though everything they’ve done in life will be burned up.  They will be like ‘one escaping through the flames’.  They will have nothing to show for their time on earth because they will have wasted their lives on things that just weren’t worth it.

So – all of the things we spend our time on……

Are they worth anything?

Test Me!

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

God promises in Malachi to bless us so greatly that we won’t have enough room for it all.Dec 31

He says that this will happen when we bring all of our tithes into his storehouse.

“I will open the windows of heaven for you,” he promises us.

And then he tells us to try it – to test him.

Have you ever tried this?

It’s true.  As we learn to tithe, we will start to experience these promises coming true in our lives.  As we learn to give offerings above and beyond our tithe, we experience even more of these blessings in our lives.

When we’re obedient in this area of our lives, we have stories.  These are stories about God’s supernatural provision in our lives.  Stories about times when he opened up the windows of heaven for us – in just the right way and at just the right time.  All as a result of  the bringing of our tithes and offerings into his storehouse.

Test him!  You’ll see!

Why Should He?

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

God tells the Israelites through Malachi that they are defiling his altar by bringing blind, diseased and crippled animals as their offering.Dec 30

He tells them they can go ahead and beg for mercy, but why should God show them any favor at all?

God asked them and he’s asking us today for the first fruits of our labor.  The first.  The best.

Not the leftovers.  Not the amount that we can do without.

And he showed us exactly how to do this when he sent his son, Jesus.  His first.  His best.  For us.  He held nothing back.

God could ask for it all – since it’s all his.  And God does ask some people to give it all – including their lives.

For the rest of us, he asks that we put him first and give him our best.                      

Then we can anticipate his blessings as we are obedient and walk in his will.

Thank you, dear Father!