Category: February

Blessed

On By Judy GlasserIn February1 Comment

We are blessed.

You, Oh God, watch over us.

You provide.feb 24 2016 blessed

You protect.

You teach.

And you show your love for us.

We feel you smiling down on our lives every day.

You shower your grace upon us.

We always have your attention – it never wanders.

You bless us with your peace.

And your peace is not like the fleeting feelings of peace we may experience here on earth.

Your peace quiets our souls and dispels our worry.

You remove our anxiety.

You place our feet once again on the Solid Rock of our Salvation.

And we are blessed.

Thank you, Abba Father, for the blessing of this benediction you gave to Aaron centuries ago.  

 

Who is Coming to Dinner?

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

One of my favorite hobbies is reading.

And I read a lot.feb 22 2016 fellowship with God

But I’ve never read a book more than once because, when I know the ending, there is no motivation for me to read the book.

The only exception to this is the Bible.  I am on my 6th time of completely reading the Bible, cover to cover and I am amazed at all of the new things God is still teaching me.  I love how God speaks so clearly through his Word.  The fact that I know the end of the Bible gives me peace and joy and confidence.  I love getting to the end where Jesus says he is coming again and then starting over “In the beginning”.

I am excited about the things God has to show me in 2016.  And I love sharing some of those thoughts with you.

Let’s face it.  If you’re like me, I like the historical accounts of the people in the Bible – Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and especially Joseph’s interesting relationship with God.

Numbers and Leviticus are much harder to read and try get something from.

But God always reveals tidbits about himself to me when I persevere through these chapters.

Like today – Leviticus tells us all about the various festivals the Israelites were supposed to celebrate and their required offerings.

Honestly, I used to skip a bunch of these chapters the first couple of times I read through the Bible because all the splashing of blood stuff and directions for animal parts turned me off.

Now, God points out to me pieces of his relationship with the Israelites that increase my understanding of him and what he desires from me.

Today, he pointed out the Fellowship offerings that the Israelites were to give him.  These offerings were given to praise God and to show their gratitude for what he had done for them.

They would all eat the meat and bread of their offering together like they were eating a meal with God.

A meal with God.

How would something like that work for us?

Instead of just praying grace over our food at the beginning of the meal, what would our meal be like if we dedicated the food to God in thankfulness for what he has done for us and then we eat the meal with him?

Maybe we should try it?

Dear Abba Father, Would you like to come to dinner?

 

More Refreshed

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

Would you like more time to rest?

I know I would.

Everything has gotten so fast…….

So immediate……

I remember being told that computers were going to make our lives easier….feb 20 2016 refreshed

Really?

Computers and technology have grown the demands on our time….

so many options…..

so much information…….

less time to rest.

God instituted a Sabbath rest in Exodus 31 because, prior to this time, the Israelites had been slaves and never had a day off.

Now, God commanded that they rest on the Sabbath day just like God had rested on the 7th day after he finished creating the world.

He commanded that they rest so they could be refreshed.

And God desires the same for us today.  He wants us to set aside a day to remember what he has done for us.  A day to rest in his love.  A day to be refreshed by extra time spent with him.

We can make this happen if we try.

We can do our errands and chores on Saturday.

We can avoid scheduling a full day of activities on Sunday like it’s any other day.

We can prepare for Sunday by not staying out late Saturday night.

Then, on Sunday, we can spend extra time with our Bible open on our laps, talking and listening and learning from God instead of vegging out in front of our TVs or computers.

We choose.

And our choices determine how we feel when Monday  rolls around.

God desires that we are refreshed and rested.  He made a plan to help make that happen.

The rest is up to us.

Thank you, Abba Father.

The Support Team

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

In every situation, there are people in the lead roles and then there are those whose job it is to support them.  We don’t hear as much about the supporters because they stay in the background, helping those in the lead roles to complete their tasks or purpose.Feb 8 2016 supporting cast a

I have a couple of favorite support team members from the Bible whose actions and loyalty resonate with me.  If I lived at that time, these are the people I would want to be like.

Caleb is one of these people.  Everytime we read about him in the Bible, he is being faithful to God and supportive of Joshua who had the lead role at this time.

Caleb was one of the spies God sent into the Promised Land and, when the people were afraid to go because of the other spies’ report, Caleb joined Joshua in pleading with them to go ahead and claim the land.  “The Lord is with us.  Do not be afraid of them.” (Numbers 14: 10)

Unfortunately, the people listened to the other 10 spies which made God very angry and resulted in 40 years of wandering around in the desert so that their generation could die off.  They had walked through dry land in the middle of the Red Sea, they saw the Egyptians defeated, they ate quail and manna every day in the middle of the desert but they still didn’t trust God.  As a result, the older generation never got to see the Promised Land.

The 10 spies died right away from a plague.Feb 8 2016 supporting cast b

After the 40 years of wandering, Joshua would lead the way into the Promised Land with his faithful supporter, Caleb, at his side.  They would be the only ones from their generation and older to see God’s promise fulfilled because they had believed God would do what he said and they were willing to stake their lives on it.

God commended Caleb by saying, “he follows me whole heartedly.” (vs 24).

Most of us aren’t given the lead role in our faith communities.  We are the supporting team.  The encouragers.  Standing strong and faithful next to those who are called to lead.

S0…….how well are we doing?

Thank you, Abba Father.

Our Cloud

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

Today we have a new definition of a cloud.  It’s where all of our digital information goes so we can get it back when we want it.Feb 7 2016 our cloud

Hopefully.

In the time of the Israelites, their cloud was from God and he guided their journey through the desert with it.  During the day, the cloud covered the tabernacle.  At night, the cloud looked like fire so that the Israelites could see it.

When the cloud lifted, the Israelites knew it was time to pick up everything and move their camp.  As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they stayed where they were.  Sometimes they stayed just a day.  Other times it was a year.  This seems like a very unusual way to live until I remember that Abraham was originally a nomad so this was not as strange for them as it would be for us today.

And we don’t have that same kind of cloud now.  We have a much better guidance system today – the Holy Spirit and the Bible.

Because God speaks to us through his word.  We grow our relationship with him as we study his word and listen to him speaking to us.  We can understand more of his guidance to us as we increase our understanding of who he is.

When we listen and obey, we discover that we can usually hear his voice clearly as he guides us.  The Holy Spirit lives inside of us, interpreting for us and revealing truth to us.

He is our cloud.

He leads the way.

When we listen and obey, we are right behind him.  In step.  On the right path.  Each day, becoming more and more the person God created us to be.

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

What is Your Offering?

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

What are we giving to God that goes beyond just a tithe?

Goes beyond money?

Feb 4 b what is your offeringGoes beyond attending worship every week?

In Numbers 7 & 8 we read about the Israelites leaders bringing their offering to God’s altar as it is being dedicated.  Each person is listed by name in the Bible.

What would my list look like if God did this today?

Judy, from the Glasser clan, brought this offering.  Her offering was….

Are we just giving God a minimum amount of our time?

A minimum amount of our money?

A minimum amount of our attention?

God has gotten more of my attention this last year as he has challenged me with memorizing chapters of his Word.

And he has poured out his blessings on me as he has etched his Word upon my heart and mind.  This amount of memorizing has caused me to go to a whole new level of devotion to God and his Word.

And it’s all good.

Every day we bring our offering plate of attention, love, service and resources to God.

How full is your  plate?

We love you, Abba Father.

 

 

Paying the Consequences

On By Judy GlasserIn February3 Comments

It happens to all of us.

And we don’t like it.

We end up paying the consequences for our bad decisions.

It’s not a happy experience but it can be a growing experience when we learn from our mistakes.  Its a good choice to grow from our mistakes – otherwise we’re just going to keep making them over and over.  And the consequences pile up.

Even when we’ve learned from our consequences and we don’t do it again, we can still pay the price for that first mistake, that in-the-past decision, for a very long time.Jan 31 2016 Paying the Consequences

We see Moses paying the consequences in Exodus 32 for his lack of faith way back when he was standing by the bush that was burning but didn’t burn up.  That was where he was making excuses about not speaking well.  So God added Aaron to Moses’ leadership team.

Now we see how well Aaron leads the people on his own.  He flunks out by buckling under popular pressure and forming a golden calf for the people to worship while Moses is up on the mountain with God.

Moses is able to appeal to God’s mercy and save the lives of the people who didn’t worship the calf.  But when Moses came down the mountain, Aaron didn’t even want to own up to what he had done.  He blamed the people.

Bad leadership.

Bad decisions.

Bad accountability.

Bad consequences for Moses.

Fortunately, our consequences don’t lead to thousands of people getting killed.  Our consequences often cause:

– broken relationships.

– children in trouble.

-lack of income.

-addictions.

-pain

-sorrow.

Our perfect Father in heaven lets us pay the consequences for our actions in order to give us the opportunity to learn and grow and thrive.  He doesn’t protect us from these lessons because his desire if for us to become wise and mature.

God never leaves us alone – he walks through these trials with us.

Guiding us – if we’re listening.

Transforming us – if we’re obeying.

And forever loving us.

Thank you, Abba Father.

When do We Retire?

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

I’ve often heard pastors say that we never retire from serving God.  And that’s true – we don’t read anything in God’s words that tells us we are ever too old to serve him, to fulfill the reason why we are here.  The fact that we’re still alive proves he still has a purpose for us.

But that purpose changes.Feb 4 2016 It's time to retire

In Numbers 8, God tells Moses that the men must retire from their work in the Tent of Meeting at the age of 50.  That was actually pretty young back when people lived a lot longer than today.  After the men retire, they are to assist their younger brothers who are actually doing the work.

The torch of leadership needs to be passed on to the next generation.  And the older, wiser crowd still works by teaching, mentoring and encouraging those who are now leading.

The responsibilities are passed on to the younger generation.

Some churches really struggle with this.  Because the older crowd doesn’t want to give up control.  They want everything to be like it has been for the last 30 years.

And the younger generation just isn’t going to do that.  They are going to change things!

So the older generation fails to hand over the baton and the younger generation leaves to go to another church or maybe stops going to church at all because there is no place open to them where they can use their strengths to serve God and grow their faith.

This discussion of retiring in order to reach out a hand to others who are leading and learning resonates with me because this is what God has been doing in my life these last several years.  He has changed my purpose within my church family to assisting my brothers and sisters in deepening their faith and growing in their spiritual leadership.

To encourage.

To challenge.

But not to hold the torch myself.

From my perspective, its easy to see that God’s plan in Numbers 8 works very well.

When we listen.

When we obey.

We love you, Abba Father.

 

Details Matter

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

God cares about the details.

Feb 2 2016 detailsWe see this very clearly as we read through the end of Exodus as the Israelites are building the Tabernacle for God.

It’s definitely not the most interesting part of the Bible. 😦

But I lift praise to God today for caring about the details –

*the spectrum of light which gives us such beautiful sunsets.

* how each one of us are so intricately created so differently, yet all in his image.

*my 2 year-old granddaughter’s sparkling blue eyes.

*my 5 year-old grandson’s growing intellect as he figures out where we live on the map.

*the loving smile of my husband for 35 years.

I praise God for he is a God of order and excellence!

Chaos and disorganization do not come from him.

In God’s creation there is a right place for everything, a right color and a right material it needs to be made from.

We can be assured that God cares about all of the details of our lives.  He really does number the hairs on our heads!

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

 

 

 

 

 

May the Lord Bless Us

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

God gave this benediction to Aaron to bless the Israelites thousands of years ago.  Today, God repeats this blessing over us as we read his Word:

The Lord Bless You and Keep you,Feb 24 2015 My the Lord Bless you

* Bless us with his abundance.

* Bless us with the constant knowledge of the Holy Spirit living with us.
* Keep us close to him, our lives resting in his hands.
The Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you,
*when God’s face shines on us, we feel the warmth of his love.  We see the light of his goodness.
* the freedom of God’s grace replaces our feelings of guilt, shame and regret.
* God’s grace gives us rebirth – we are new creations.
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
*when our relationship with God is good, his face is turned toward us and we are within his will, under his protection and guided by his hand.  The result is peace – peace that passes understanding because it’s not dependent on our circumstances.  We get this peace by being close to God.
Thank you for abundant blessings, Abba Father.