Category: December

Struck Down

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

It’s nothing new –

the troubles I have,

the trials you are experiencing.

The Apostle Paul talks to us about how to respond to these storms in our lives –

“We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4: 8 – 9.

How can I not be crushed and destroyed by the trials and tragedies in my life?

I can persevere because the Spirit of God lives in me, giving me strength, peace and hope.  The Spirit reminds me that this earth is not my home – my forever home is with my loving Father.

This is how the Spirit translates these words in my head as I read them –
I  may have troubles coming at me from all directions but, when I stay close to God, he will not let me be crushed by them.  I don’t always understand why struggles and problems happen to me but I know God is in control and he is a Good Father who is working all things out for my good so I can stand firm on these truths.  Even when Satan hunts me down, God never leaves my side.  I’ve been knocked down by a horrible tragedy but God has given me the strength to get back up.

I say this knowing there are more storms are coming my way.  It’s not a question of ‘if’ they are coming, the question is ‘when’.

Thank you, Father, for teaching me how to respond to trials in my life.

He Uses It For Good

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

When I make a bad decision, I often experience negative consequences.

When you make a bad decision, in most situations, you will also experience negative consequences.

I don’t think any of us enjoy dealing with the consequences of our bad decisions.  Sometimes the consequences have long-term affects on our lives.  It’s hard.

But what’s even harder is when I make a bad decision, sometimes you experience negative consequences from that, too.  We live together in this broken world.  A couple of examples of this are deadly car accidents and forest fires started by a person throwing a cigarette out of their car window.  There can be huge consequences to many people when one person in these situations makes a bad choice.

People often ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”  This is why.  We all experience the pain and results of other people’s wrong decisions.  My world blew up when a young man decided to kill my son who was a Phoenix Police Officer.  The hurtful consequences of that choice have been huge, wide-spread and never-ending.

I have learned that my best response to this tragedy has been to turn to God.  I’ve been getting as close to God has I possibly can.  He is my comforter and my anchor in the midst of this dark storm of loss.  And I have watched him pick up the pieces of my broken heart and use them for good.  God has given me the opportunity to share my journey on this extremely tough road of grief in this blog as well as a different blog – Myfamilybleedsblue.com.   Many people have told me it has helped them put words to their own experience and not feel so alone.  It has encouraged them to turn to God who comforts us and can help guide us into a positive tomorrow.

Paul knew that this was one of ways that God can bring good out of bad things that happen to us.  “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves received from God”. 2 Cor. 1:3.

It was a huge blessing to me when God gave my pain a purpose.  I can’t change what happened, but I can share the comfort I have received from God in the middle of my heartbreak with others.  I can let God use my ‘bad thing’ and do something good with it.

Only God can do that.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Don’t Waste Your Time

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

How many hours a week do you watch TV?

How much time do I spend on social media and other aps on my phone?

Do we organize our lives so we can catch every game – baseball, football, basketball or whatever game is on?

How much time do you spend playing games on your various devices?

None of these things are bad….unless we do them a lot.

So much wasted time.

I have gained a new understanding these last 5 years since my son was killed of how very short our time here on earth really is.our-life-so-easily-snuffed-out

We are a flame that can be snuffed out in an instant.

We are a flower that blooms and then quickly fades.

We are but a whisper in the winds of time.

Let’s not waste it.

Paul encourages us to ‘Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”   1 Corinthians 15:58.

This is one my favorite verses in God’s word.  I love the fact that nothing I do for God and with God is a waste of time.  All of it has eternal value.  That’s extremely encouraging to me.

When I think of all the time and effort and concern I’ve spent on things that were temporary and fleeting….

wasted time.

None of us have time to waste.

Please help us keep focused on you, Abba Father.

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 throw off everything that hinders me from running this marathon of faith strong and sure 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 focused on Jesus 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 2020 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 2021.  This 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 has changed my life.  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 2021?  I know several of you did this year and 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 2021.  We have a great cloud of witnesses watching.  Do you hear the cheers?

Please help us take our next steps closer to you in 2021, 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 2 year-old granddaughter’s hug.  I see it in the smiles of my friends.  I feel it in the ‘love you’ from my husband of almost 40 years.

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

God tells me that I am a 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 love of his love I feel pouring out over me.  As I’ve been consistently memorizing God’s scripture these last 5 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 2020 comes to an end, God is revealing his goals for me in the new year.  Yesterday he started the list with fight the battle well,  hold onto the faith, hold onto a good conscience.  Today he stopped me with, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”  1 John 4:11.

Love other people.  In my experience, the only way I can genuinely love people is to get close to God and let his love flow through me to others.   As I open up my heart to God, he fills it with so much love that it spills over into the lives of people around me.  It’s all about God, not about me.

I’m looking forward to the opportunities God is going to give me in 2021 to love others with the love God gives me.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Fight the Battle Well

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

2020 is almost over.  It was one of the longest years on record for me.

In the middle of a worldwide pandemic, God did some incredible things in my life this year.  My husband and I sold a house, moved out of state and bought a house during the first nationwide shelter-in I’ve ever witnessed in my life.  The result is that we are right where we needed to be this year when our littlest grandson came into the world.

It also feels like God organized all this zooming for us – to help us transition from where we had lived for over 40 years to a new community, a new city, a new state.  This amount of zooming clearly would not have fit into a normal, non-pandemic calendar and it has helped us continue many relationships which have kept us grounded through all the changes and unknowns.

Now God is speaking to me about 2021.  He has plans.  Call them resolutions, call them goals, call them my ‘words’ for 2021, it’s obvious that God is using these last few days of 2020 to tell me what he wants me to focus on next year.

So 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 2021?  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 I hold onto the faith in 2021?  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.  I’m adding another small group Bible study to my calendar this year.  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 do I hold on to a good conscience in 2021?  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.

So bring on 2021 with all its challenges and opportunities.   God is by my side.  I’m ready.

Thank you, Abba Father.

A Tight Rein

On By Judy GlasserIn December2 Comments

Sometimes the truth stings.

Sometimes it hits us in a vulnerable spot – an area of weakness.

If we are believers, the Holy Spirit convicts me and convicts you of things in our lives that we need to change.  One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to point out things to us that we need to stop and other things that we need to start.  He does this in a positive “you have the potential to be better in this area” way.  He says, “you are loved as you are and changing this will help you grow into everything God created you to be”  in our heads. His voice can point very clearly to an issue but is always helpful and encouraging.

The Holy Spirit is not the negative, whispering voice some of us hear in our heads reminding us of all our failures and telling us we’ll never be good enough.  That’s Satan.  Don’t listen to him.  Turn him off.

I love how God speaks with a practical and direct voice to me from the letter of James 1: 26,

“If anyone  considers himself religious and yet does not have a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

Boom!

Ouch!

The first time I read this with my eyes really open, I spent several days thinking about how this related to me.  I took a critical look at what I talk about and who I talk about.  Are my conversations helpful?  Encouraging?  Building up the other person?  Building up the people who aren’t there?

First, I realized that my conversations could be more encouraging.  We all need encouragement- especially today.  I’m a thinker and a fixer so I can easily skip talking about all the things going well and focus on the issues being discussed.  I am now trying to make sure my conversations include regular and genuine encouragement.

Some of my conversations with my close, Christian friends get into discussing the difficult relationships in my life so they can be brutally honest and painful.  But having these discussions with mature Christians helps me get a different perspective of situations and that is very helpful to me.   After meditating on this verse,  I have tried to make sure in these conversations that I am presenting an evenhanded description of the issues, keeping unkind and venting-type discussion out of it.

One of the things God has called me to be is his light in this very dark and confused world.

What I say reflects on him – good or bad.

Please help me be a good reflection of your love and truth, Abba Father.

Wisdom for Each Day

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

I need to hear this again.

I’m still surprised some days at how practical God is as he speaks to me from his Word.  Yes, there are many complicated topics in the Bible and, yes, there is a lot of violence especially in the Old Testament.

But God speaks out of all of it when I’m listening.  This is my 9th year reading through the entire Bible and I’m amazed at how obvious God is as he reaches out of the pages to touch my heart and transform my mind.

God stopped me here today.  I have memorized this chapter so these words are etched on my mind and heart and God is highlighting them for you and I –

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”  James 1:19

Wow!  I needed to hear this again.  It’s hard to listen – I have been working on this and God is saying I need to continue to work on it.  Got it!

It’s hard to be slow to speak – I’ve got an opinion about everything 🙂  God is telling me I have a ways to go on this one as well.  Got it!

Well, here’s one I don’t have a lot of issues with – anger.  I get frustrated but I have learned (most of the time) to keep my mouth shut during these situations.  It really helps when I consider whether I want to deal with the consequences of what I’m going to say before I say it.  Once it’s said, I can’t take it back.  I can say I’m sorry, but the unhelpful words are still out there – remembered and hurting.

This one verse holds so much wisdom for each day.

Being slow to speak will help me keep away from the temptation to say things I shouldn’t say.   It will give me more time to listen.

And, when I am frustrated, I need to do both – be quick to listen and slow to speak.  I want the words coming out of my mouth to be full of grace and wisdom.  That doesn’t happen when I’m frustrated.

Thank you for speaking to me on this verse again today, Abba Father.

 

How Can I?

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

The world is crazy.  Bad things just keep happening.  I’m disappointed so often.  I’ve lost so many people I love – one person in particular who should still be here.

God tells us through James to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.’ James 1: 2 & 3.

How I can I consider it all joy?  But I’m not happy about any of it.

Ok, I know that happiness is not the same as joy.  Happiness depends on my circumstances and joy comes from the condition of my soul.  But persevering is a hard thing to do.  It’s easier to give up when the going gets tough – get frustrated, get angry, get bitter.  Our culture teaches us to choose the ‘easy’ way, the fast way, the immediate gratification way.

God says to you and to me today that these choices don’t lead to maturity and completeness.

As I look back on my ‘trials of many kinds’, I can see God working through each of them.  He guided me, he comforted me and, probably most directly affecting my faith, he taught me many things about myself and about him.

One of the major lessons he gave me was the need for me to trust him in all of it.  That was difficult to do when my son, David Glasser, who was a Phoenix Police officer was killed in the line of duty 4 1/2 years ago.  As I leaned on God through this tragedy, I gradually learned to filter everything through these facts I know are true about God:

God is good, all the time.

God loves me with a perfect love and nothing is impossible for him.

God wants the best for me and he is working all things out for my good.

I have persevered through this tragedy, standing on these truths about God with a huge hole in my life and a heart broken into a million pieces.  Somehow this is the best for me.  Somehow God is working this all out for good for me.  I have learned a lot about trusting God on a whole new level – even when it doesn’t make sense.

God has been seriously working on maturing my faith.  Trusting him with all of this has deepened my love for him and helped me have a better understanding of how dependent I am on him.  I’ve been changed.  My eyes are refocused on God and my ‘forever home’ with him.

Trusting God, I have decided to persevere and grow my faith through my trials with him by my side.  He knows what’s best.

I trust you, Abba Father.

Always Ready……

On By Judy GlasserIn December2 Comments

to fight the enemy.

Prepared.

Equipped.

Satan is plotting against me every day – watching for the weaknesses in my defense.  Satan is whispering in your ear – do you hear him?  Telling you you’re a loser or encouraging you to make decisions that are going to create negative consequences for you.

It’s a battle.

God has given you and I real armor in order to fight this battle.  He teaches us about how to use it through what Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:

The Belt of Truth needs to be buckled around our waist.  This is what we’re working on right now as we read God’s word – knowing and living the truth.  All the lies swirling around me are not going to change my thinking when I know the Truth.

The Breastplate of Righteousness needs to be in place – protecting our hearts.  I know the right thing to do because I know the truth. Through the power of the Holy Spirit living within me, I can do the right thing.

We must put on the the sandals of peace – always ready to share the Good News of Salvation.  The only real peace any of us will ever find here on earth is in a relationship with Jesus.

We carry our Shield of Faith with us everyday so we can deflect the flaming arrows coming at us from Satan and his army.  He’ll try to  distract me or harm me but my faith will keep me safe and steady.

We put on the Helmet of Salvation to protect our minds from the confusion, anger and evil which surround us.  My perspective is very different from the culture around me because the Spirit of God lives within me.

The Sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon we need.  Satan has already lost the war.  And when I know and use the Word of God in my thinking, decisions and actions, Satan is reminded of his defeat and he retreats.  Every time.

Thank you for your perfect armor, Abba Father.