Category: January

A New Beginning

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Dust off the treadmill.

Buy some storage boxes.

Make some new goals.Jan 1 2016 a new beginning

This is our normal January to-do list.

Because we want to:

Get in shape.

Get organized.

Get motivated to move forward.

It’s a time of beginning again.

A new year.

Things can be different this year.

They can be better!

We have this hope because the God of all Creation molded us in his image.

We are not an accident.

We are not a mistake.

We are here for a purpose.

And its only through a relationship with God that we find that purpose.

Why did we open our eyes this morning?

Why will we take our next breath?

God knows.

And he’s going to reveal new and wonderful truths to us this year as we once again seek him through reading his Word.

I’m excited!

I’ve VERY interested in what God has in store for us in 2016.

When we focus on him, we know we’re on the right path.

When we are listening and meditating on his word, we will know our right next steps forward.

When we’re seeking him, we know we will always find him as we continue this journey towards the truth.

“In the beginning, God.”

Amen!  Hallelujah!

All We Need

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

God our provider.

And he gives us everything we need.Jan 27 2015 All We Need

Not all we want.

All we need.

He provides for us just like he provided quail and manna for the Israelites as they travelled through the desert in Exodus.  Each one of the Israelites had all the food they needed.

God provided for them….and he provides for us now.

Living in our materialistic culture, we can often be lured into thinking that we don’t have enough.  We start worshipping the god of More.

We can quickly be enticed by the need to have more.  We end up spending our time and energy on getting more instead of building a close relationship with our omnipotent God who created it all and would give us more if he wanted us to have it.  He tells us in Luke to be faithful with what we have – that is his provision for us.

Do we have enough faith to be content with what God has already given us?  Do we trust God enough to put away our lists of wants and live of life of contentment and generosity?

Thank you, Abba Father, for all of the things you have already provided for us.

A Hardened Heart

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

We’re not listening.Jan 23 2015 ahardened heart a Jan 23 2015 a hardened heart b Jan 23 2015 c ahardened heart

We’re focused on doing our own thing.

We’re stubborn.

We want to control what’s going on.

We think we know what’s best.

Sometimes God will throw up a roadblock when we’re doing these things in order to get our attention and turn us in a different direction.

Other times, God just lets us follow our natural inclinations.  He knows we will have consequences to pay for the bad decisions we’re making and, hopefully, we’ll turn to him in our distress.  Hopefully we’ll ask for his wisdom and we’ll learn to become wise through the trials we are bringing upon ourselves.

Sometimes, God lets us do just what we want to do without trying to stop us.

That’s what he did in Moses’ epic showdown with Pharoah.  God let Pharoah follow his natural, stubborn, evil, greedy, self-centered inclinations.  God hardened Pharoah’s heart – he didn’t do anything to change Pharoah’s mind or open his eyes to the truth.

God let Pharoah do what he wanted to do and it led to the death of Pharoah’s firstborn son and destruction of his army.

When our ears are not open to the whispers of God, our hearts are hard.  Beware!

When we’re focused on getting what we want, when we want it – our hearts are hard.  We are on a path of heartbreak and destruction.

But our Father God is always near.  We just need to turn to him, confess our rebellion and get in step with him once again.

His grace is sufficient for us.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Equipped

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

“What if they don’t believe me?” Moses asked God in Exodus 4 as God mapped out Moses’ mission of freeing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

Moses had all kinds of questions and doubts about this huge task that God was setting before him.Jan 22b Equipped

God replied to him, “What is that in your hand.”

God had already equipped Moses.  God was going to use Moses’ shepherd staff and it was already in his hand.

God says the same to us today when we have doubts about what he is calling us to do.  We often don’t think we’re good enough to make a significant contribution to the kingdom of God.  We wonder what we could possibly do for God.

God responds with “What is that in your hand.”

What do we already have that we can use for God’s purposes?  Our house?  Our car?  He also gives us our passions – do we have a passion for kids?  A passion for the hungry?  A passion for new believers?  A passion for mentally or physically challenged people?  A passion for the grieving?  A passion to help where ever we can help?

God has given us both material things to use for his kingdom and he has given us the things we’re passionate about – to use for his kingdom.

We just need to step out in faith alongside Moses using whatever is already in our hand.

When we do our part, God always comes through with his part.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Our Burning Bush

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

While he was out doing his job of herding sheep, Moses saw a bush that was on fire but didn’t burn up.Jan 22a 2015 our burning bush

It caught his attention.

He went over to look.

And God spoke to him.

God opened Moses’ eyes to what he had planned  for the people of Israel and he gave Moses an outline of the mission that God was sending him on.

Moses was reluctant to do what God told him.

He was standing on holy ground next to a supernatural phenomenon.  He was up close and personal, talking with the Creator of the Universe.

And Moses was reluctant to serve.

Today, it’s not every day that we get a burning bush moment with God….but it happens.  God still knows how to get our attention if we’re not giving it to him.  He throws up red flags like letting situations go terribly wrong, allowing issues to get really messy, and letting people hit rock bottom where the only place they have to look is up.

But, most of the time, God speaks to us first in whispers.  That’s why we need to be listening.  If we’re paying attention, the Holy Spirit will open our eyes and urge us forward in the purpose God has planned for our lives.

Many times, this happens to us as we’re reading God’s word or talking with God because that’s when he’s got our attention.  We’re focused on him so we can hear him.

As we grow closer to God, his voice gets louder and we can hear him more clearly.  We are gradually thinking more in line with God and he’s renewing our hearts so that we care for the things he cares about.  More and more, we love the things he loves.

So, we  are naturally more in tune with what he’s saying.  God has room in our hearts and minds to work and communicate.  The farther down this road of faith we travel, the easier it is for God to get our attention.

We don’t need a burning bush.

We’re listening closely, Abba Father.

Retribution

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Sometimes things happen to us by chance and, other times, people actually do things to hurt us on purpose.Jan 21 2015 Retribution Jan 21 2015 Retribution

When bad things are done to us on purpose, it’s very hard not to want to strike back.  The bad thing that happened to us creates negative consequences that change our lives and this fills our hearts with negative emotions.

After Israel (Jacob) died, Joseph’s brothers immediately feared retribution from Joseph.  They had done an extremely harmful thing when they sold Joseph into slavery.  It was evil and selfish.  Now that their father was dead, they feared that is was payback time for Joseph.

I have found that this kind of thinking happens in people’s minds because this is what THEY would do.  It’s not because they’ve evaluated the actions of the person they are worried about and see indications that this is going to happen.  They just know how they would react and so they assume this other person is going to act like they would.

In this situation, the brothers hadn’t really taken into consider how Joseph was caring for them or how he had grown and matured.  They were still stuck in their selfish and mean mode.

So, they told Joseph a made-up story that, before he died, their father had left Joseph instructions to forgive his brothers. (Are they ever going to stop the lies?)

After telling Joseph the lies, they threw themselves down at his feet, asking to be his slaves.

Joseph was a man of God.  Joseph had already looked back at what was done to him and he had seen God’s hands in everything.  God had orchestrated it all so that Joseph would be in Egypt in a position to save a multitude of people along with his family from dying in the famine.

So Joseph said to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.”

What a great role-model for us!  When bad things happen to us, we know that God is in control and even this has come through his hands.  He has a purpose for everything – a purpose we may understand some day or maybe we’ll never understand.

Because we trust God, we can face any circumstance with faith and perseverance.  The grudges fall away as we forgive others like God has forgiven us.

We can live our lives resting on the Rock of our Salvation and it doesn’t matter how high the waves are that crash around us.

God has a purpose for all of it.

We are secure.

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

Very Difficult

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Waiting

Wondering.

Waiting some more.

Trying to be patient.Jan 18 2015 Very difficult

Wondering what’s going to happen.

Wondering if anything is going to happen.

Joseph was in prison.

For something he didn’t do.

He knew God was with him – God had proven that to him over and over.

Now Joseph was put in charge of the prison so he had a lot of freedom…..but he was still in prison.

Joseph had interpreted the baker and cupbearer’s dreams and asked them to remember him when they got out of prison.  They forgot.

And, two years later, Joseph was still in prison.  Two years.

He had to be wondering if anything else was going to happen.

It’s been a long time.

A very long time.

Am I supposed to take care of it on my own?

We get these thoughts, don’t we?

So we try to take control of situations and we mess it all up.

I recently had a family situation happen and I wanted to intervene.  I need to say something.  I needed to do something.  I even had myself convinced that it was my responsibility to do these things.

But, when I prayed about it, I could never get the ‘go ahead’ from God.

Very frustrating!

So I prayed some more and I knew I was not supposed to get involved.

Even more frustrating!

Finally, I received a call and found out that God had worked it all out – without me saying or doing anything!  And he had orchestrated it all in a much better way than I would have ever been able to.

Waiting.

Wondering.

Trusting.  That’s what it comes down to – trusting God.  We don’t have to wonder if he’s at work – he has promised that is taking care of it for us.

As he was for Joseph.

Two years later, Pharoah had a dream and the cupbearer finally remembered Joseph who is still sitting in prison.  When Joseph correctly interpreted the dream, Pharoah made him ruler of Egypt second only to himself.

How’s that for a plan?

In this role, Joseph was able to save Egypt and his own family from starvation in the great famine that was coming.

Waiting.

Knowing God is at work.

Trusting – that’s the key.

Please help us grow our trust in you, Abba Father.

From This Day Forward

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

We drive a stake into the ground.Jan 14 2015 From this day forward

This is it.

From this day forward.

Sometimes God shows us we need to make an abrupt change in our lives.  Something happens and God uses it to significantly change the direction we are headed.

Most of the time, God transforms us gradually – baby steps.  But, every once in while, we get an epiphany from God – our eyes are opened to God’s desire to make a big change in us – and we are compelled to drive a stake into the ground.

From this day forward, we will be different.  There’s no going back.

I had one of the epiphanies 6 months ago about eating right and daily obeying God’s commands in the Bible regarding food.  I am forever changed.  My eyes are opened to how God wants me to use food in my life and there is no going back.  The stake is in the ground.

We read in Genesis that Laban and Jacob made a covenant and Jacob set up a pillar to remind each of them of their promises to one another.  From this day forward, we will not harm one another.

A pillar in the ground.  From now on, our behavior is going to be different.

There is no going back.

God is transforming us as we walk this road of faith.  The Holy Spirit is convicting us of the truth in God’s word which we need to apply to our lives.  God is teaching us.  He is guiding us.

If we are listening, we should be experiencing these epiphanies and working with God has he transforms us from the inside outside.  We should be more like Christ today than we were a year ago.

It doesn’t matter if we’ve been on this road of faith for 50 days or 50 years, God is renewing our minds and remodeling our hearts.

Changing us.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Teaching Deception

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Rebekah coached Jacob on how to deceive his father, Isaac.Jan 11 2015 teaching deception a

Later in Genesis, Laban deceives Jacob.

Then Jacob deceives Laban.

And then Rachel, Jacob’s wife, steals from her father, Laban.

Deception.

Trickery.

Lies.

Stealing.Jan 11 2015 teaching deception b

This is what Rebekah taught Jacob and what Laban taught Rachel.

When adults do these things, for whatever reason, children are watching….

and learning.

It’s not a legacy to be proud of.  Rebekah taught Jacob how to deceive his father to get what she wanted.  Laban taught Rachel that stealing was the way to get what she wanted because he tricked Jacob and stole from him to get what he wanted.

I’m sure both Rebekah and Laban rationalized all of this in their minds.  We tend to do that when we’re planning to sin.  The end justifies the means.  It would be so unfair the other way – we’re just evening the playing field.

And I’m sure they both complained about what their deception actually gave them.  Both of them were separated from their children and their grandchildren as a result of these actions.

We can see this legacy of deception show up over and over in Isaac and Rachel’s lives.

And we can learn from it.

We definitely don’t want this in our lives, right?

We want a legacy of honesty and truth and love in our family.  With our friends.

So, today, we confess any of our behavior that has not been honest and true and done in love.  We commit to set that standard in our lives so that we can teach and role-model it with our family and friends.

Today is the start of a new legacy.

Please help us, dear Father.

The Immediate

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew in Genesis 25.

This doesn’t make sense.Jan 11 2015 The Trade Off

Esau was going to inherit the majority of Abraham’s wealth and he trades it for a bowl of stew?

Not smart!

We would never do something like that!

Or….would we?

Are we doing this when we fill up our calendars with good things and we have no time for the best things?  The best things that bring long-term benefits? Benefits that we don’t see right away?

Like regular 1 – on 1 time with God?  Are we too busy?

Like significant time making memories with our family?  Memories that don’t include running from calendar item to calendar item?  The memories that include lots of laughter and fun like playing poker on a rainy day in Italy with elbow macaroni as chips. (My family will smile at that one :).

When we buy items with credit cards that we can’t pay off right away, we’re doing the same thing.  We’re trading off a happier, debt-free life in order to have something right now.

The ‘immediate’ calls to us.  It’s very loud.

We have a hard time not listening and responding.

God promises us in James 1 that he will give us a generous amount of wisdom……when we ask.

We just need to take the time to ask and then obey as he guides us.

None of this happens immediately.

We need to turn down the volume on the ‘immediate’ in our lives and turn up God’s volume.  How do we do this?  We’re doing it right now as we read and study and internalize God’s word to us.

Forget the immediate – we want God’s best.

So we’re focusing on you,  Abba Father.