Category: February

I WIll See It

On By Judy GlasserIn February2 Comments

Standing firm – what does that mean to you?

When I think of standing firm, I see this picture of a lighthouse in my mind.  The lighthouse is being beaten by enormous waves but it can’t give up, it has a job to do – especially in the middle of a dark, dangerous storm.  This lighthouse is built on a rock, its foundation is solid.  So it is able to keep shining it’s light no matter how high and how strong the waves get.  And, yes, the lighthouse is more worn when the waves stop.  It is scraped and bruised from the ravages of the storm.  But it stands firm, ready for the sunshine or the next storm – whatever comes.

That’s how firm I want to be as I stand on my Rock, my Father God.

In Exodus 4, Moses told the Israelites to “Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.”

God is telling me this same thing today as I read and meditate on his Word.

I need to do my part of standing firm – trusting him, obeying him and loving him  first.  Then, as I watch, God will fight my battles.  I will see my Father fit the puzzle pieces of my life together to fulfill his purposes.  I will experience his blessings as his plans unfolds.

I will see it.

So I’m going to stand firm.

Thank you, Abba Father.

So Undeserved

On By Judy GlasserIn February4 Comments

I have worked hard.

I have more than paid my dues.

I’ve planned and struggled and persevered.

I can feel like I’ve earned it – everything.  I deserve it.

But what I have really earned from our perfect and holy God is eternal separation from him.  My rebellion, sins and lack of so-underservedconsistency deserve condemnation by my Father God.  And you aren’t off the hook, either.  We share this tendency to sin and rebel, don’t we.

A re-enactment of Sodom and Gomorrah – that’s what we deserve.

But that’s not what God offers us.  He offers us salvation through this son, Jesus.  He offers us an unwarranted gift of grace and mercy.  He offers us unconditional love for today and unconditional love for all of eternity.

As I trust in Jesus to lead me through my life here on earth, I receive peace and joy and strength and purpose.  I am so undeserving of all of this.

In Deuteronomy 6, we read the list of things God was planning to give to the Israelites –

cities they did not build,

homes filled with good things they did not provide,

wells they had not dug,

vineyards they did not plant.

The list was long.

And Moses went on to tell the Israelites ‘when you eat and are satisfied, be careful you do not forget the Lord.’

I have a very long list of things that God has given me.  I know you also have a long list.

Let us be humbled by how undeserving we are.

Let us not forget our Father God who gives us everything we have.

The best and most important thing he gave us was Jesus – our salvation and our role-model for life here on earth.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Keep Watching…..

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

Every morning,

looking….

What’s in store for me today?

Do I move?  Do I stay?bike-path

I’m imagining what it was like for the Israelites as they began their journey through the desert.  When the Cloud of Guidance covered the tabernacle, they stayed.  When the cloud lifted above the tent, the Israelites packed up and moved on.

There were times they stayed in the same place for months and other times when they were moving again the next morning.

Every morning, they would look to the tabernacle to determine their direction for that day.  Everybody could see it – not just the priests and the leaders.  God made this visible to each person – he wanted all of them to be able to see that he was the one leading them.

What would our lives be like if we had that clear guidance for each day?

I think God still wants us to look to him each day just like he asked the Israelites to do.

He wants me to look to him before I stay or go….

Before I agree to something….

When I’m trying to choose what words to say in a conversation about a difficult subject….

As I take steps forward on my journey.

Because I have to keep moving forward.  We all do.

And we’ll find what we’re looking for when we move forward with our eyes focused on God.

We’re watching you, Abba Father.

 

It’s A Struggle….

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

the journey..

the heartaches….

the joys…

the pain…

the uncertainty…the-struggle

the many twists and turns of life as the earth revolves each day.

You struggle…. I struggle….

We struggle just like the Israelites struggled on their journey of 40 years through the desert.  It’s one of the reasons why I like reading Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

The Israelites battled unbelief,

lack of control,

wanting more than they had,

wandering away from God’s truth,

fear of the unknown,

self-centeredness and more.

Any of that sound familiar?

It’s a struggle.

But that struggle becomes easier when I keep my eyes focused on God.  His truth is the solid ground I stand on every day.  His love heals the hurt in my heart and fills the empty places.  His purposes fuel my efforts and give me strength.  His total control helps me give up mine.  His faithfulness that has no end reminds me to be faithful.

Yes, it’s a struggle.

I have a choice.  I can grow through the struggle or I can become bitter and stuck.

I choose to grow and move forward.

What are you choosing?

We love you, Abba Father.

Does It Make a Difference?

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

Do I act differently?

Do different words come out of my mouth?

Do I look different?

Is there an obvious difference in my life – other than going to church – because I’m a Christ- follower?

There should be a difference – right?  It should be all different – how I act and speak and look.  God is in the process of transforming me  – a big religious word for this is sanctification.

Believing in God, trusting in Jesus and obeying the Holy Spirit’s promptings and guidance should change my life from what it would be without God.

I’m reading in Exodus that Moses’ face was radiant after he met with God.

What would it take for my face to radiate after meeting with God?  What about your face?

I know Moses actually went inside the tent and ‘met’ with God but don’t we also meeting-with-god‘meet’ with God every time we read and study his word?  We meet with him when we have a conversation with him in prayer.   And when we worship him.

What would it mean for us to genuinely radiate God’s love and mercy and truth in our lives?

Please open our eyes and our hearts, Abba Father.

Mediocre

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

Unexceptional.

Uninspired.

Unexciting.

Unremarkable.

I have been told that the definition of mediocre is inconsistency.  I agree – a lack of consistency will get you mediocre results every time.

If I had to use one work to describe the Israelites after they were freed from Egypt, I would use inconsistent.

We read in Exodus the dramatic account of God dividing the Red Sea to let the Israelites go through on dry land – a wall of water on their right and a wall of water on their left.  Wow!

Then God drowns the Egyptian army right in front of their eyes.  That’s exactly what should have happened to the Israelites!  But it didn’t.

We’re told in Exodus 14 that the people “feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.”

For awhile.

They actually trusted God and Moses for just a very short time before they started grumbling.  Right after their song of praise to God, we read they are complaining that they were going to die out in the desert.

Inconsistent.  “I believe” one day.  “Oh, maybe I don’t” the next.

Mediocre.

Is our faith like that?  One day we’re trusting God with everything and the next we’re grumbling and doubting?

This really challenges me because I don’t want to have an inconsistent, mediocre faith.  I don’t want to have the same ‘on again, off again’ response to God that the Israelites had.

That kind of faith will not stand strong through the trials that keep coming my way.  A mediocre faith will sink under the waves of frustration, anger, sadness and pain that wash over me as I try to deal with all the ‘stuff’ life throws at me.

A mediocre faith just won’t cut it for me.  So consistency is one of my goals.

I have found that this helps – when I feel doubts and questions starting to surface, I he-is-alays-faithfulremind myself of the many ways God has blessed me in the past.  I remember all of the promises he has kept and all of the mercy he has shown me through the years. Remembering his faithfulness to me helps me continue to be faithful back to him.

Consistent.

Not mediocre.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Where’s the Light?

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

Evil thrives in the dark.

Greedy, selfish hearts.

Angry, bitter souls.

Cruel minds crawl out into the dark – looking to harm the innocent.

In Exodus, we are witness to an epic battle between Moses and Pharoah – actually God and Pharoah – and Pharoah is losing badly.

By chapter 10, God had sent 8 plagues causing wide-spread disease and hardship for the people, death and destruction for livestock and crops.

And the intensity of the plagues continued to grow.

It’s significant to read that the 9th plague – worse than the other 8 –  was darkness.

Darkness spread across Egypt for 3 days.  It was so dark, they couldn’t see anyone else around them.

Pitch black for 3 days.

Can you imagine the depression, anxiety and fear?  This plague affected their minds – it was worse than the rest.  Because we can’t go somewhere else to get away from our minds.   We can’t avoid thinking.

They couldn’t stop feeling the oppressive darkness – the void where light and warmth used to be.

Pitch black for 3 days.

I love the fact that there was light where the Israelites lived.  I visualize a huge spotlight shining down from heaven onto the Israelites.my-people-live-in-the-light

The light of God’s love.

God’s care.

Light for God’s favorite people.

Bright, warm, good.

Those of us who trust in Jesus live in that light every day.

The light of God’s love and care – his favorite people.

God wants to transform any darkness in my life into light.

He  wants to transform your darkness into light as well.

He wants to fill any voids in our lives with warmth and goodness.

His spotlight of grace, strength and wholeness shines down on me everyday, filling my mind and heart with his love.

I feel it.

Do you feel it?

Thank you for your light, Abba Father.

 

His Daughters

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

This was a time when women were ‘sold’ to men in marriage.  Women did not own land or livestock  – they were considered part of a man’s belongings and wealth.

But God breaks through all of this false thinking thousands of years ago in Numbers 27 by letting Zelophehad’s daughters inherit their father’s land.March 2 2016 his daughters

God revealed what he really thought about the current cultural norms of treating women less than men.  That wasn’t how he saw these things.

Sure, the head of the family clan (male) didn’t like it.

So the women were instructed to marry within their clan so that the land would stay within their group.

Just imagine this – 5 young unmarried women who would normally lack any kind of position in the community are now land owners.  God’s love for his daughters is  shining through – challenging this old culture.

And, I’m sure, as landowners, these young women had no trouble finding husbands.  I wonder if these marriages were a little different because they began in a more equal position?

The culture did not treat women equally, but God did.

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

My Perfect Father

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

He’s my Heavenly Father.

He takes care of me perfectly.

He wants only the best for me – he has promised this and he always keeps his promises.

Absolutely nothing is impossible for him to do.

He has proven this to me many times – especially in the area of parenting.

Being good parents is the most impossible thing my husband and I have ever done.  It’s only God’s power and grace and intervention in our lives that caused us to now have 2 mature, educated and successful adult kids.birthday

I was reminded of all the ways God is my perfect parent recently as my husband and I cared for my 5 year-old grandson and almost 2 year-old grand-daughter for 8 days while their parents cruised through the Caribbean.

It’s been almost 30 years since our kids were this age.

As I placed several bandages on my grandson’s knee after he fell off his new bike, I remembered all the times in my adult life when my Heavenly Father had comforted my hurts and my emotional bruises.

Oh, how He loves me!grandma loves me

Whenever my granddaughter gave me ‘the look’ and shrieked ‘no!’, I was reminded of my own rebellious No’s to my Heavenly Father.  But he never turned away.  His patience with me was longer than my rebellion.

Oh, how He loves me!

We struggled to keep up with feeding their hungry bellies.  They are growing very fast and we continually failed to understand the half-formed words behind the pointing fingers of our 2 year-old grand-daughter.  What did she want?  I was reminded of my Father’s perfect provision for me all of my life.   He knows exactly what I need.

Oh, how He loves me!eating

As I looked into the blue eyes of my granddaughter which look hauntingly like my own, I am reminded of how God has uniquely shaped each one of us and yet he has attached us to each other in beautiful ways.  Sometimes he connects us by the color of our eyes – creating a bond which goes straight to my heart.

Oh, how He loves me!

We were reminded that our Perfect Father does not grow tired of caring for us.  As our week of taking care of our grand darlings rolled on, we had less and less energy.   There was a lot of sighing going on at my house after our kids came back from their trip and we dragged our bodies home – so thankful for a quiet place to rest.eden with stroller

Oh, how He loves us!

We were rewarded many times every day during that week with happy smiles that came our way and even tiny ‘thank you’s’ from the little one who has such a big personality but only knows a couple of words.

Oh, how He loves us!

Our Perfect Father.

He has showered his blessing on us with precious memories of extra moments spent with our awesome granddarlings.

Oh, how He loves us!

 

Do Not Follow the Crowd

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

This is easier said than done.

We read these words of wisdom in Exodus 23 where God is directing us to tell the truth and give a fair testimony in a lawsuit.Feb 28 2016 do no followe the crowd

But these words are also a great description of how Jesus lived his life on earth hundreds of years later.

Counter-culture.

It didn’t matter to Jesus what the current religious cultural norms were.

He knew the truth.

He WAS the Truth.

He lived out the truth despite what ‘the crowd’ was doing.

And the crowd despised him for it.

Are we  willing to live our lives according to God’s truth without concern about what everyone else is doing?

It’s not easy.

Many years ago I was in a group of people who were all listening to one man explain how he ‘got over’ on his insurance company by falsifying information on a report and getting reimbursed for something that wasn’t covered by the insurance.

Really?  No wonder our insurance rates are so high!

I could tell that some of the people in the crowd were very interested in the details…….maybe they could get a ‘free check’ as well?  The peer pressure was significant so I didn’t speak up.

Later, I wasn’t happy about the fact that I didn’t say anything.  Some people understand silence as agreement.  And I didn’t agree.

Years later, a man I worked with shared how he ‘got over’ on the airlines by combining different tickets and ‘bending’ the rules.  He suggested this to our department’s leadership team as a tactic for saving money.

I realized that, if the crowd accepted this, I would be expected to do it.

So I explained that I would not be able to lie to the airlines in order to save money.

There was a moment of silence…….

and then we decided not to use this tactic.

It was uncomfortable.

And I had to deal with an ‘attitude’ from this on man whenever integrity topics came up and we disagreed.

But I was very glad I spoke up.  I’m very glad I didn’t go along with the crowd.

It’s not comfortable and there are consequences.

But Jesus role-modelled this for us.  He showed us how to do it.

Now its up to us to stand up to the crowd.  To speak the truth in love.  To offer a different perspective.  And then to handle the resulting awkward situation with confidence and maturity.

Because the crowd doesn’t like someone who puts truth over popular opinion.

But God does.

And his opinion is the only one that matters.

Thank you for showing us your Truth, Abba Father.