Category: December

It’s The Way

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

The Way we should begin our day.

The Way we should end our day.

The Way we should live our lives.

In Acts 19 we are told that people were starting to call Christianity ‘The Way’.

our-treasure-map

I like it!

The Way to love.

The Way to joy.

The Way to find purpose, our path, the direction we should go.

The Way to what we’re all looking for.

Unfortunately, we can be easily distracted and lose our Way.  Do you ever get distracted?  Probably a better question is – when was the last time you got distracted and lost your way?

Have you found yourself thinking that ‘stuff’ will make you happy?  And you became obsessed with ‘more’?  There are times that I have.

Or we start thinking that a person will make us happy – a new boyfriend because the current one doesn’t know how to make us happy, a new wife because the current one isn’t making us happy, a new church because the pastor in our current one isn’t making us happy.

We can get lost in thinking our job or career should be making us happy so we spend too much time there trying to be successful and ‘happy’.  Maybe one more raise or promotion will do it?

It’s easy to get lost in all the ways we see others searching for happiness.  I have made a bunch of mistakes myself going down the wrong roads, looking in all the wrong places but never finding ‘The Way”.

Until I focused on my personal relationship with God.

Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37

It’s The Way.

Let’s Not Get Comfortable

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

I am almost finished reading the entire Bible for the 14th time and, as I begin to read God’s final Revelation to us, the Spirit is writing to the 7 churches through John.  Of these messages, the one that reverberates through my heart and mind are his words to the church of Laodicea –

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”  Rev. 3: 15 – 16.

The Spirit sounds pretty disgusted with this church.  They were rich and they were acting like they had everything they needed.  But the Spirit calls them pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

And then he offers them the truth – “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.  So be earnest and repent.  Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me.”  Rev 3: 19-20.

 The Spirit tells the church of Laodicea they are blind because they don’t see how badly they need a personal relationship with Jesus. He tells them to repent and reminds them that Jesus is always ready to forgive them and redeem them.

It’s very obvious that 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.  ‘Comfortable’ is not our goal. The Holy Spirit wants to set a fire burning within each of us as we seek to know and love our Abba Father.   As our love for God grows, he transforms our hearts so we can truly start to love other people like he does.

There is a fire burning in my heart.  It burns hotter the closer I get to God.  This fire keeps me passionate about following Jesus on this journey towards the truth.

What’s the temperature of your heart for God?  Is there anything or anyone you care about more than God? 

Are you lukewarm?  Or sold out?  

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

It’s an awesome mental picture!

A cloud of witnesses is standing at the gates of heaven cheering us on as we run this race of faith with perseverance here on earth.

My parents are in that cloud and so are my grandparents.  They are there with many more of my family who all lived by faith here on earth, passing their love of God on from generation to generation.

That’s what my cloud looks like!  What a blessing!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”  Hebrews 12: 1 & 2a.

As I read this passage, I can hear the faint cheers from heaven…

encouraging me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus.

Encouraging me to keep focused on running this marathon of faith well here on earth.

Encouraging me to avoid the sin that so easily entangles.  Entangles is such a great description of what sin does in our lives, isn’t it?

God has marked out a race for each one of us.  One step at a time.  Sometimes its baby steps.  And other times we slow down to a crawl.  But it’s very important to keep moving forward.

To persevere.

To keep our relationship God our first priority and let the Holy Spirit transform us.

Our cloud of witnesses is ready to cheer us on as we take our next steps toward a deeper love relationship with God.

I know one of my next steps in 2025 is to continue to memorize scripture.  I have been extremely blessed by how God has used the scripture etched on my heart and mind to guide me, comfort me and love me.  I will also be blogging through the Chronological Bible again in 2025. This will be my 15th year of reading the whole Bible and it has become such an important part of my life, I can’t imagine not doing it.

What is your next step?  If you want to hear God more clearly, memorizing scripture is a sure way to do that.  God speaks clearly through his Word, whether it is written on a page or engraved on my heart.  Are you going to read through the Chronological Bible with me in 2025?  I know that around 20 of you read it with me this year and, without talking to you,  I know you were blessed.  There is no better way of developing a deeper relationship with God than to read and listen and respond to his Word.

So let’s each make a plan of how we’re going grow closer to God in 2025.  We have a great cloud of witnesses watching.  Do you hear the cheers?

Please help us take our next steps closer to you in 2025, Abba Father.

Great Love!

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Do you feel it?

I do.

I see it in the gorgeous sunrise as God once again declares his faithfulness to me with the start of a new day.  I feel it in my 4 year-old grandson’s hug.  I see it in the smiles of my friends.  I feel it in the ‘love you’ from my husband of over 43 years.

It’s the great love God has lavished upon me.

God tells me that I am his precious child and he proves that by showing his love for me in a multitude of ways, every day.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God.”  1 John 3:1a

It’s very encouraging to realize that the closer I get to God, the more of his love I feel pouring out over me.  As I’ve been consistently memorizing God’s scripture these last 9 years, I also feel his wisdom pouring out from his Word.  More knowledge.  More understanding.

I am his child!  How much more love and wisdom and knowledge and understanding does he have available for me?

There is no limit!

As 2025 quickly approaches, I am looking forward to seeing what God has planned for this next year.  New challenges.  More love.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Just Renting

On By Judy GlasserIn December2 Comments

I don’t own anything.  When I die, nothing is coming with me.

I know – I check the box ‘own’ when I’m asked about my house but I should really be marking ‘rent’ because my house is not coming with me when I leave this earth.

The Apostle Peter says it like it is, “Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.” 1Peter 1: 17.

Do you ever feel like a foreigner here?  I certainly do.  

Living in this world is often disappointing and difficult.  It’s confusing and full of conflicts.  The moments of joy seem fleeting compared to the problems that hang on forever.  When I hear people talk about their ‘forever homes’ here on earth, I’m really glad to know that my ‘forever home’ is not here – it’s in a much better place.

The hole left in my life by the death of my son will only be filled in heaven.

So I’m good with my foreigner, renting status here on earth.  When my lease is up, I’m going home, where I belong…..forever.

I know you already have a place prepared for me, Abba Father.  Thank you.

Accomplishing the Impossible

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Have you ever done something that you thought was impossible? I have.

I have a terrible memory and I’ve been like this for quite a while. Go ahead and shake your head ‘yes’ if you are with me on this. I don’t know my husband’s telephone number that he’s had for 25 years. I get confused about the address of my house where I have lived for almost 5 years. I was making cookies for Christmas the other day and stopped in the middle, looked down, and had no idea if I had already put in the baking soda or not. For you non-bakers, baking soda is VERY important. And don’t get me started on names. I forget names of people I have known for 40 years. If you know me and see me, I probably won’t use your name because…I can’t remember it. Sorry! Nothing personal, I’m like that with everyone.

So when God challenged me to memorize the entire first chapter of James many years ago, I laughed. Ha, ha! That was impossible. I had some success memorizing scripture earlier in my life but the older I get, the harder it has become. Not just hard, impossible from my point of view.

God told me he was serious and that he would help me. I’ve told you before that I have learned the hard way to obey God. Just obey. Don’t question. Don’t ‘pray about it’. Just obey.

So I told him I would try but that I thought it was impossible. He reminded me of Mark 10:27. It’s one of the few I could still remember from my early years. Look it up 🙂

I started with James 1. One verse at a time. I wrote them on index cards and added a card as soon as I could say the last one from memory. I took out my index cards every day – sometimes multiple times a day. I had told God I would do my part – get out my cards and say the verse a hundred times but he was going to have to do the rest. The actual etching of the words on my memory was his job. We were a team.

Imagine my amazement when the verses started to stick and I started moving through the chapter. I also researched and studied each verse as I memorized it which added a depth of understanding for this scripture that I had never had before. As I worked through it, I started to ‘feel’ the truth in James 1, not just say it. It buried itself deep in soul. When I actually could say the whole chapter from memory, I was totally amazed at how awesome it was to see God work like that in my life. He did the impossible!

I realize now that God was writing the whole chapter of James 1 on my heart and mind for a couple of reasons –

  • My life shattered into small, painful pieces on May 18, 2016 which was the year after I finished memorizing the chapter. My son, David Glasser, was a Phoenix Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty on that day and my world went very dark. My life continued to crumble around me as I experienced the reality of life without Davey and God constantly spoke to me through the truth I had cemented into my mind. He comforted me and guided me down the long, difficult path of losing a child. He was my Rock then and he is still my Rock today. When God told me to memorize James 1, he was preparing me so I could hear him clearly and know exactly what he was talking about when I experienced the most devastating thing that can happen to a parent.
  • He was also teaching me and showing me what it means to partner with him. I do my part, he does his part and impossible things happen. This has eliminated my list of things that I think are impossible. Nothing is on that list. Since I have learned this, I have watched God do many impossible things in my life. I do my part and he does his. Partnering with him on the first chapter of James was so awesome that I have also memorized the entire 2d chapter – with God’s help – and I’m starting on Chapter 3.

I still have a bad memory when it comes to telephone numbers, addresses and names. But I can memorize scripture because I’ve got a supernatural, powerful God working with me.

I challenge you to get rid of your impossible list and start a very tangible working relationship with all-mighty God. You obey and do your part and then watch him do his.

Nothing is Impossible with God.

Fight the Battle Well

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

2024 is almost over.  It has been a quieter year than the last couple for me. There have been several peaks and valleys which generally describes my life ever since my son, David Glasser, who was a Phoenix Police Officer, was killed in the line of duty on May 18, 2016. Losing a child is the most difficult thing I think a parent can experience. The challenge of picking up the pieces and moving forward changes with time but remains a very tough road to be on.

How would you describe your 2024? 

My husband experienced more health issues this year which were not life-threatening but are a constant reminder that we are quickly moving through the fall years of our life. Life is short. A snap of our fingers and our time is up. I am the last one standing of my nuclear family so the reality of how our lives are just a flicker of time is very real for me.

Now God is speaking to me about 2025.  He has plans for me.  If you read my blogs, you know I published a book last year on Amazon, “Then I Looked Up: Losing a child, Finding His Legacy of Love’. Its the story of my son’s life, his death and my journey to find hope and a purpose after losing a child. I have met many great people and have had a boatload of important conversations since my book was published. Imagine my surprise when I received a call several months ago asking me if my story could be used in a screenplay? What is God up to now?

These last couple of months, I have been seeing God make some big moves with the David Glasser Foundation. It’s a foundation that we started after Davey was killed in order to remember and honor him. The foundation is designed to complete some of the work Davey would have been doing if he was still here. It’s very clear to me that God has some significant plans for the foundation in 2025 and, as president of the foundation, I’m going to be in the middle of them. I can’t wait to see what He is going to do!

It’s obvious that God is using these last several days of 2024 to tell me what He wants me to focus on next year. God stopped me as Paul talks to Timothy in his first letter to him – “Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience..”  1 Timothy 1: 18 & 19.

How do I fight the battle well 2025?  When I’m connected to God through his Word and through his people, he fights my battles with me – guiding me, encouraging me and giving me victory.

How do you plan to fight the battle well next year?

How do I hold onto the faith in 2025?  I have a hunger that growls in my soul with the desire to grow in my love for and knowledge of God.  I am confident that turning off the TV and putting down my phone so I have more time to read and study God’s Word is the right thing for me to do.  God has been giving me opportunities to mentor and disciple other people all over the country. I always grow in faith as well as I watch other people open their lives to God’s redeeming love. My favorite thing about retirement – other than not having to set an alarm – is having all the time I want to spend with God.

How will you hold onto the faith in 2025?

How do I hold on to a good conscience in 2025?  When I’m in line with God, I know down to the depths of my heart and mind that I’m in the right place.  I feel God’s approval and blessing when I focus on him and what he is calling me to do.

How will you hold onto a good conscience next year?

With God by my side, I’m ready. I’m really excited to see what God has planned!   

So bring on 2025 with all its challenges and opportunities!

Paul’s Prayer … and Mine

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Paul prays for us in Ephesians 3 and I respond –

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name.” vs 14.

You are awesome, Father.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he will strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,.. ” vs 16.

Please give us your strength, Father.

“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” vs 17.

Make your home in our hearts, Jesus, and teach us how to trust you more.

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with the Lord’s holy people to grasp how wide, and long and deep is the love of Christ…” vs 18.

Grow our roots deep in your awesome love, Jesus.

“and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of God.” vs 19

Please help us feel and understand the perfect love you pour out on us each day.  Only you can make us complete, Abba.  The power to live a full life comes from you.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,…” vs 20.

We believe, Father, that you can do anything – things beyond what we can imagine –  and that you want to accomplish your plans through us.  We are your hands and feet here on earth.

“to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” vs 20.

Amen.  Love you, Abba Father.

It’s Difficult

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

It’s not easy to understand and its even harder to accept. The rest of our world doesn’t work like this.  It’s totally counter culture.

You and I have a tough time accepting the fact that when we put our faith in Jesus,  God forgives us for all our rebellion and self-centeredness and attempts to do things our way.  He loves us unconditionally – not because we are good, but because he is good.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is a gift from God – not by works so that no one can boast.”  Ephesians 2: 8 & 9.

I memorized this verse many years ago and completed several Bible studies about God’s grace until – gradually – the truth sunk into my soul and changed my perspective.  I started to understand God’s grace.  I started to live in God’s grace.  When my heart and mind finally accepted that it was a free gift – nothing I could earn – my relationship with God flipped upside down.  I stopped trying to be good enough and started living in gratitude for everything God has done for me.

I was raised in a Christian family in a small town in Iowa.  There were a lot of rules for Christians in this small town – what we should wear, what we could and couldn’t do on Sundays, how often we should go to church, and the list goes on.  And everybody watched each other very closely.

When I moved away and matured, I realized that this was a fake, man-made way to ‘look like a Christian’.  I now know there is nothing I can do to earn God’s grace – Jesus did it all.  As I learned to love God without rules, he transformed my heart and my thinking which caused many outward changes to my behavior and priorities.  I gradually ‘looked more like a Christian’ because I was growing closer to God – nothing fake about it.

God’s grace was difficult for me at first to understand and accept, but when I ‘got it’, it rocked my world.

Thank you for your grace, Abba Father.

Reconciliation

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Conflict.  Emptiness.

Despair.

Our world is full of people who are without hope of things ever getting better.  Its a tragedy that so many people are choosing suicide as a way out of the muck and mire that defines their lives.

I believe that the underlying cause of a lot of this pain is the lack of a relationship with God.  We were all created with a God-sized hole in our soul.  We can try to fill it with all kinds of things – new possessions, people, drugs, and a lot more – but we will still be empty.

I have experienced this.  As a young adult, I wandered from a relationship with God to try out all the ‘fun’ things the world had to offer.  After several years, I was very empty and tired of all those things that looked like fun but were dead ends.  So I started working hard on different goals and got everything on my list in the next 10 years – a great husband, two awesome kids, a good start on a career, a nice house with two cars.  I had everything I wanted but I was still empty…. and very tired.  It took a lot of work all day every day to keep everything going.  If this was all there is to life, if this is what I was going to have to do for the next 60 years, I didn’t want it.

I was going to church at that time, singing in praise band and teaching Sunday School.  But I was not investing time and effort into a personal relationship with God.  So I was empty.

Then God opened my eyes to the fact that what I really wanted and needed was more of him.  As soon as I committed to putting God first in my life, I could feel his love and grace filling up the hole inside of me.  His light began to overflow into all parts of my life, giving me joy and a purpose.

God reconciled me to him.  I had been acting like I was a Christian and I thought I was ‘saved’ but I had never made Jesus Lord of my life.  I didn’t have strong spiritual habits or feel like God and I had a good relationship.  In my mid-thirties I found out what it really means to be ‘saved’.  Jesus redeemed my life from the emptiness and lack of purpose I felt.  Everything in my life changed for the better.  I still had problems and issues but God was right beside me, guiding me and working it all out for my good.

God is on a mission of reconciling with everyone who will put their faith in Jesus.  Accepting salvation through Jesus Christ, making him Lord of our lives is the first step.  It lets us feel his grace and his love and his power moving in our hearts and minds here on earth.

Paul tells you and I today, “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – if you continue in your faith, established and firm and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.” Col. 1:22 & 23

Did you hear that last part?  That’s what I was missing as a young adult.  That’s why I was so empty.  I was not continuing in my faith.  I was not building my life on the Truth.  I was not putting God first and letting him transform me through the hope of the gospel.

After I did these things, God was able to take over my heart and change the list of things I had created in my mind of what was really important. He gives me peace and a plan for the rest of my life – walking closely with him.

All of the emptiness is gone.

Thank you, Abba Father.